David Obey: “Mr. Chairman, I have told the House twice now that while I think this bill is an improvement over the budget presented…”

“Mr. Chairman, I have told the House twice now that while I think this bill is an improvement over the budget presented by the President, in fact, it leaves this country seriously exposed to a whole variety of vulnerabilities from terrorist attacks. This bill attempts to try to close some of those gaps. This amendment would provide $1.4 billion more than the bill contains to address port transit and local first responder needs. It will provide a State formula grant increase of $350 million, urban area grant increase of $500 million, port security grant increase of $100 million, fire grant increase of $200 million, et cetera. I know that is a lot of money, but the fact is the Hart-Rudman Commission estimated there is a $90 billion need in order to protect our local communities, and so far we have only invested about $15 billion. We cannot buy that kind of security on the cheap. Secondly, this amendment would provide $550 million more to address aviation security. It would improve the cargo security situation. Right now, there is a huge percentage of cargo that is shipped on passenger airplanes that is not inspected for explosives. It would provide $333 million in additional funding for explosive detection systems at airports. It would increase funding for air marshals by $50 million because right now we are some 8 percent below where the President said we should be.”