Patty Murray: “first, I commend the managers of the homeland security appropriations bill for doing an excellent job of trying to put…”

“first, I commend the managers of the homeland security appropriations bill for doing an excellent job of trying to put together a bill under very difficult circumstances where we have a budget resolution that really does limit our ability, I believe, to make sure we have in place good security for all of our constituents, no matter where they live in this country. Everywhere I travel, people have different concerns, whether it is their seaports, trains, borders, infrastructure that easily could be a target of terror. The managers of this budget have worked hard to put together a package, but today I offer an amendment because I believe everything we are trying to do in this bill to improve homeland security will be undermined if our local communities do not have solid emergency response plans. Let me say that again because it is so important. Everything we are trying to do in this bill to improve homeland security will be undermined if our local communities do not have solid emergency response plans. When a disaster strikes in one of our communities, we know the phone will ring at the desk of some local emergency manager, and when that phone call comes in, if there is not a plan that is ready to go to deal with that emergency, we are in trouble.…”