[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 537 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 537
Recognizing the exemplary contributions of the Gilmore Commission to
the homeland security of the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 25, 2004
Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and
in addition to the Committees on Armed Services and the Judiciary, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the exemplary contributions of the Gilmore Commission to
the homeland security of the United States, and for other purposes.
Whereas on October 17, 1998, Congress provided for the establishment of the
Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism
Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction in section 1405 of the Strom
Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999;
Whereas the 18-member panel, chaired by the former Governor of the Commonwealth
of Virginia, James S. Gilmore III, also known as the ``Gilmore
Commission'', was the only comprehensive means to address the basic
level of preparedness and response to a terrorist attack within the
United States prior to September 11, 2001;
Whereas the Gilmore Commission was the first annual advisory panel to address
homeland security preparedness using experts in the fields of first
response, intelligence, national defense, public health, and emergency
management at the Federal, State, and local levels;
Whereas Ray Downey, Deputy Chief and Commander of Special Operations for the New
York City Fire Department and a member of the Gilmore Commission, the
most decorated firefighter in the New York City Fire Department,
responded to emergencies in Oklahoma City, Atlanta, and other cities
outside his jurisdiction, was decorated 21 times for valor, brought
incredible insight into the basic needs of first responders, including
the lack of interoperable communications, and, on September 11, 2001,
perished in the collapse of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in
New York City;
Whereas in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the
Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and supported by
the RAND Corporation, the Gilmore Commission assessed Federal agency
efforts to enhance domestic preparedness for incidents involving weapons
of mass destruction; evaluated the progress of Federal training programs
for local emergency response; assessed deficiencies in programs for
response to incidents involving weapons of mass destruction, including a
review of unfunded communications, equipment, and planning requirements
and the needs of maritime regions; recommended strategies for ensuring
effective coordination with respect to Federal agency and local response
capabilities to weapons of mass destruction incidents; and assessed the
roles of State and local governments in funding effective local response
capabilities;
Whereas the Gilmore Commission proposed 144 recommendations in its first 4
reports to the President and Congress, and 125 of those recommendations
were adopted by Congress and various government agencies, including the
establishment of a framework for national security; the basic structure
of the Department of Homeland Security; the establishment of
congressional committees dedicated to the oversight of homeland
security; increased sharing of intelligence and information among
Federal, State, and local governments; the establishment of U.S.
Northern Command, the Department of Defense's unified command for
homeland defense; an emphasis on the use of non-governmental
organizations; the creation of a Terrorist Threat Integration Center to
assess and pool the resources of various classified and nonclassified
intelligence sources; increased resources for State and local
governments to equip, train, and employ responders to terrorist threats;
increased resources for the United States Coast Guard; increased
resources for and improved coordination of homeland security research,
development, testing, and evaluation; increased attention on security
issues for cargo on commercial airlines and maritime and general
transportation infrastructure; increased resources for public health
systems; improvements in definitions and standards; and a consolidation
of all Federal emergency plans into a single national plan; and
Whereas the Gilmore Commission recently published its 5th and final annual
report, titled ``Forging America's New Normalcy: Securing Our Homeland,
Protecting Our Liberty'', and officially disbanded on February 17, 2004:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the exemplary accomplishments and
contributions of the Gilmore Commission to improvements to the
homeland security of the United States;
(2) urges Congress--
(A) to implement the remaining recommendations by
the Gilmore Commission, including the 20 additional
recommendations made in its 5th annual report,
published in December 2003;
(B) to establish an advisory panel to report to the
President and Congress on the adequacy of State, local,
and private sector entities to respond to terrorist,
environmental, and accidental catastrophes and the
coordination of the response of these entities with
that of Federal agencies; and
(C) to establish an advisory panel to report to the
President and Congress on deficiencies in protection of
the Nation's critical infrastructures and strategies to
protect those infrastructures; and
(3) urges the President to establish an independent,
bipartisan oversight board to provide counsel on the effects on
civil liberties of homeland security efforts.
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