[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 135 (Wednesday, October 10, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H6494-H6498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MUNICIPAL PREPARATION AND STRATEGIC RESPONSE ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2001, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor for me to 
rise this evening and discuss very important legislation that we intend 
to introduce tomorrow on the floor. My colleagues should know that this 
is the collaboration of more than 45 Members of Congress who have gone 
home and listened to their leaders, listened to their local fire 
chiefs, police chiefs, emergency medical people, allied health 
professionals, and who understand the importance of having a Municipal 
Preparation and Strategic Response Act. That is what our bill is 
called: the Municipal Preparation and Strategic Response Act of 2001.
  The September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States has prompted 
increasing debate and attention to several proposals addressing 
homeland security in the United States at the Federal level. The 
President is to be complimented for his appointment of Tom Ridge, who 
we believe will do an outstanding job in spearheading this effort in 
our Nation.
  The one thing that the recent attack made clear was that for this new 
kind of warfare being conducted against the United States, that those 
truly in the frontline of defense are indeed our local firefighters, 
our police force, our emergency medical teams, the allied health 
professionals that get involved in meeting this kind of imminent 
emergency.

                              {time}  1800

  It has not been lost on Members of Congress as we have gone home to 
our districts and talked to people about what has happened at the World 
Trade Center, in the fields of Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon that 
the first to respond was not the FBI, the CIA, the FAA, or our Armed 
Forces, but indeed, they were firefighters, they were police officers, 
they were emergency medical teams, they were our allied health 
professionals.
  These are the individuals that are most in need, at this very 
critical juncture of homeland defense, of the support and money 
necessitated to carry out homeland defense to make sure that our people 
here at home are safe and secure.
  To do this, they require appropriate funding, and funding that will 
allow them from the bottom up, starting with our local communities, to 
become more involved with the strategic planning, and to be able to 
coordinate with State and Federal agencies in such a manner that will 
provide commonality of communication, that will allow them to prepare 
themselves with the various kinds of equipment they are going to need 
to handle this new threat, this new era that we are living in.
  I am proud to join more than 45 Members in sponsoring this very 
important legislation. The nuts and bolts of this legislation are as 
follows:
  This legislation would provide a total of $1 billion in funding to 
towns, cities, and tribes for strategic planning needed to ensure that 
local emergency responders, including municipal, private, and volunteer 
fire departments, police departments, emergency medical technicians, 
EMTs, paramedics, and other health professionals are fully prepared and 
equipped and trained for emergency and security issues that arise from 
terrorist attacks.
  It would also provide for the development of coordinated regional 
responses to terrorist attacks or other catastrophes utilizing Federal, 
State, and local agencies, and provide an additional $250 million to 
the COPS program and $250 million to the assistance to the firefighters 
program to establish grants specifically for counterterrorism response, 
training, and equipment; and most importantly, as we have heard from 
all of our local officials, with no local matching funds required.
  It is important to emphasize how critical it is that we are proposing 
no local matching funds for these programs. The threat to our 
communities is now, and we cannot give those at war with the United 
States the opportunity to strike while our communities spend years 
saving enough money to pay the local match for Federal grants to 
provide the training and equipment necessary to safeguard the American 
people today.
  In the edition of the Hartford Courant this past Sunday in my 
district, they talked about specific interviews they have had with 
local police departments who say that they are in no way prepared for 
the kind of terrorist threats that currently we can face here in this 
Nation.
  With the State Department predicting it is near a 100 percent 
certainty that given the most recent attacks on Afghanistan that there 
will be a response, it becomes abundantly clear that we need to make 
sure that our front line defenders, that those who are the first to 
respond to these attacks, have the money in place, the training in 
place, the communication that is necessary in order for them to do 
their jobs.
  Our bill specifically establishes a $1 billion grant program for 
cities, counties, towns, boroughs, tribes, and other municipal or 
regional authorities to develop local emergency response plans that 
include the following, and I think it important to enumerate on these 
specific goals: That develop strategic response plans that provide for 
a clearly defined and unified response to terrorist attacks or other 
catastrophes. Municipal leaders feel very strongly, in acknowledging 
their role as the first responders, that it is important that Congress 
not make decisions in a vacuum; that we reach out to our local 
municipalities, that we involve discussion from the bottom up, and not 
foist a top-down decision upon them, so that we are better prepared to 
coordinate the activities and procedures of various emergency response 
units, and that we better define the relationship, the roles, 
responsibilities, jurisdiction, command structures, and communication 
protocols of emergency response units; that we coordinate response 
procedures with similar emergency response units in neighboring units 
of local government, as well as with State and Federal agencies; that 
we identify potential local targets of terrorism, and include specific 
response procedures for each potential target, notwithstanding concerns 
about our local schools, about water supplies, about nuclear generating 
power facilities. It is important that we take this kind of forward-
thinking action, and we do so now.

  The bill will also allow communities to prepare and issue reports to 
units of local government, State legislators, and Congress that include 
recommendations for specific legislative action; conduct public forums 
or other appropriate activities to educate the public about potential 
threats and steps the public can take to prepare for them.
  I do not think there is a community that any Member of Congress has 
visited since September 11 where people have not been willing to roll 
up their sleeves and say, what can we do to help? But in meeting with 
our local officials, they have also said, as much as we are willing to 
help, we lack the necessary resources to do so.
  The best way that we can help and engage in homeland defense is to 
make sure that our local municipalities have the resources available to 
carry out this function.
  To help accomplish this goal, we have asked FEMA to designate for 
each State a representative, not to dictate but to assist and advise 
units of local government with the development of a strategic response 
plan, act as a liaison between units of local government, and 
coordinate the sharing of information about Federal Government 
initiatives and protocol.
  It is clear in talking to a number of local officials, as well, that 
the commonality of communication is at the heart of being able to 
respond successfully. It is this commonality that local municipalities 
seek, recognizing that

[[Page H6495]]

to have commonality nationwide is going to require an enormous effort 
with regard to coordinating all the various agencies at local, State, 
and Federal levels.
  But it definitely needs the input of our local municipalities. It 
definitely needs the information that so many of them are anxious to 
share with us. It definitely requires the kind of coordination that 
will identify the gaps in our program, will identify where there are 
overlaps, and seek to better coordinate our response, no matter what 
the act of terrorism may be.
  It is so critical, as we have witnessed in what happened and 
transpired in New York, in the fields of Pennsylvania, and at the 
Pentagon.
  I am proud that this is a bipartisan effort, as well, and that 
Members like the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), the founder 
of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, is a cosponsor, and the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak), who heads up the Congressional 
Law Enforcement Caucus, is also a sponsor of this critical legislation 
that has more than 45 Members who have already signed on.
  I am also pleased to announce that we have met with several groups 
representing first responders. They have agreed with the need to have a 
coordinated local approach, including the National Association of 
Police Organizations, the National Sheriffs Association, the 
International Arson Investigators, the National Volunteer Fire Council, 
the Congressional Fire Services Institute, and the National Association 
for Fire Chiefs.
  In addition, we are also in the process of soliciting input from the 
National Council of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, the 
National League of Cities, the National Association of Regional 
Councils, and the New England Association of Regional Councils; the 
point being, here again, of making sure that as we put forward 
solutions to this problem, as we seek to work with Tom Ridge and the 
administration, and as Congress seeks to look at this issue in a rather 
broad fashion, that we not forget our local communities, that we not 
forget who indeed are the first responders, that we not forget who 
truly are our front line of defense.
  One can only recall the statements of so many of us who have been to 
New York, and so many people who have talked about the faces of the 
heroes that they saw climbing up the stairs to go save those who were 
in need. They were valiant heroes. The best thing I believe that we can 
do to respect their memory is to make sure that we are providing the 
appropriate kind of funding, and the ability for them to respond with 
the kind of equipment and the kind of training and strategy necessary 
to defend against terrorist attacks.
  I am pleased to be joined by an esteemed colleague on the Committee 
on Armed Services who understands this issue very well, and has always 
been in the forefront of supporting local firefighters and policemen, 
as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Sanchez).
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding to me. I 
heard the gentleman while I was watching in my office. I thought I 
would really like to come down and talk a little bit about what has 
happened.
  I was in New York yesterday, and I know that many of the people who 
worked in the buildings in the World Trade Center came from 
Connecticut. My husband used to work in one of those towers, so that we 
are very well aware that Connecticut lost several people in that 
tragedy.
  I ask the gentleman, was it not wonderful to see our firefighters and 
our police officers, and even those people who volunteered their time 
in our emergency, people who respond in emergencies, who went down to 
help during this disaster, this real disaster that happened to our 
country?
  Somebody was asking me the other day when I was talking to some of 
the volunteers, the Red Cross volunteers in New York yesterday, someone 
said to me, did you in California, my State, really even understand 
what this all is about? And I looked at them, and I said, ``You are 
looking at volunteers who are from California who have come to spend 2 
or 3 weeks here to try to help, even if it is just to serve food to 
these firefighters and servicemen and women who are working down at 
ground zero; or the fact that these planes had people headed to Los 
Angeles, many of them from my region. They also died in this disaster 
in New York.
  It is not just that. As we went around, I was kind of laughing. I saw 
one day on the television the Oregon delegation had taken 1,000 people 
to New York to try to spend money, because they had heard that so many 
people were out of work in New York. I think of the devastation, the 
real devastation and the toll on a city.
  We from California are also pretty based on tourism. My own district 
has Disneyland in it, the happiest place on Earth. Today, it does not 
have a lot of people there, which means the people are losing their 
jobs, hotels are having to shut down, restaurants are not serving food. 
So this devastation has gone not just to New York or to the Pentagon 
area, but really across the Nation.
  I wanted to come down, and I know that the gentleman and I have 
spoken so often about all the work that is being done in New York. 
These people who are doing this, whether they are being paid, whether 
they are our firefighters, whether they are our reservists or our 
National Guard or just our volunteers, have their whole heart in it. 
Across America, we are suffering because of this attack.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. I thank the gentlewoman from California 
for sharing with us her experience and the sentiments, not only of 
people from her native California, but people across this great Nation 
of ours.
  I believe the silver lining of all of this is that we are a nation 
that has come together. It is clear that September 11 has perhaps 
forever changed this Nation, but perhaps also with an eye toward our 
communities coming together, with neighbors caring more about one 
another, with specific outreach that is going on in our communities.

                              {time}  1815

  In going back to my community and talking to a number of the 
firefighters and emergency medical people who, in fact, went to New 
York City as well, the volunteer efforts across the Nation have just 
been outstanding.
  I come back to the point, though, of our legislation, which is the 
one thing the municipal leaders have said to me repeatedly is let us 
make sure when Congress gets together that it does not forget who, in 
fact, are their front-line defenders, who are the first responders; and 
as the case is with homeland defense, any act of terrorism is more 
likely to have firefighters, police officers, sheriffs, emergency 
medical teams, allied health professionals, all being the first people 
to arrive on the scene. Therefore, they want to be included in the 
planning.
  Forty-five legislatures have already signed on to the proposal, also 
feel very strongly about meeting with Tom Ridge and his new task force 
which is an enormous responsibility. And, again, we applaud the 
President for his selection and look forward to working with him in 
this endeavor but want to make sure that we get bottom-up solutions as 
well from those that are in the front lines.
  They are all asking what they can do to help, and they are anxious to 
provide the Nation with their knowledge, with their expertise. We ought 
to highlight and spotlight these individuals who are in the field, who 
do understand intuitively some of the problems we are going to face, 
and to develop a commonality of communication to get them the strategic 
planning money that they are going to need, the funding for equipment 
that they are going to need, to deal with heretofore issues that while 
they may have been talked about in the press, while we may have heard 
about them for some time, September 11 has changed all that, and now we 
have got to respond and the time for us to act is now.
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Madam Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, I would say 
to the gentleman that he and I have had many conversations, not just 
here on the floor but in our walks and in talking every day. And we are 
very concerned that the money that we are spending, and let us face it, 
we are spending billions of dollars since September 11 on security and 
on helping the airline industry; and we are very

[[Page H6496]]

concerned, whether it is the employees who are being laid off and their 
need for medical care, for health insurance, whether it is for 
unemployment benefits lasting longer than 26 weeks, whether it is what 
is happening to the people being laid off at motels as I see in my 
district.
  It also is about the fact that when these types of attacks hit, it 
could happen in a city where the Federal Government cannot get to it. 
We just cannot get in there fast enough, and what we will need is our 
local firefighters and our local law enforcement officers. Our local 
health clinics and hospitals will take the brunt of any other type of 
attack like this, and we need to ensure that we are funding not only at 
the top but also funding within communities, funding the workers, 
funding the doctors, funding the hospitals, funding the ability of our 
communities to respond.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time, someone 
who understands that and who has done an outstanding job in the 107th 
Congress is the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), who also is 
currently on a terrorist task force and has been one of our leaders, 
especially in the area of firefighting. And his bill last year I think 
has done immeasurable good and hopefully with additional funding coming 
forward will be able to assist again those very important front-line 
defenders, our firefighters, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Pascrell).
  Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, I would 
say to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez) and the gentleman 
from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) I am reminded when we discuss homeland 
security and the great task that is before us all some words by Walt 
Whitman when he was at this House, when he was at this very House 
during the Civil War.
  He wrote, ``One is not without impression after all amid these 
Members of Congress of both Houses, that if the flat routine of their 
duties should ever be broken in upon by some great emergency involving 
real danger, in calling for first class personal qualities, those 
qualities would be found generally forthcoming and for men not now 
credited with them.''
  I think those words are fitting and I want to commend my colleague, 
the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), and I want to commend the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez), because the task is upon us.
  I cannot emphasize enough to the Americans that are watching and 
listening, I cannot emphasize enough how important that we need to 
bring what we are talking about to the local level; and I want my 
colleagues to know and I report to them that yesterday I convened a 
meeting which we only had 2 days to put together of police chiefs in my 
district, of fire chiefs in my district, of hospital administrators in 
my district, of those who have dealt with infectious diseases, of the 
emergency coordinators in two counties that I represent in New Jersey, 
the State police who have done such a fantastic job in coordinating 
things in our State of New Jersey.
  That group that I have described, if we can hold them for more than a 
half an hour together that is pretty good. I am lucky if I can hold my 
family together for 5 minutes. We were there for 2 hours; and I say to 
the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), this should be a real 
focus of our work, to get these folks who are so knowledgeable, who 
understand what training means, who understand preparedness, who know 
what communications will mean in times of tragedy, who know what 
counseling is all about, we need to be speaking, getting off our chest 
what is on it, how critical this is. For 2 hours.
  I am collecting materials that I will bring to this floor and bring 
to the legislation so that we will put our legislation and make it 
better after introducing it.
  We are still coming to terms; and I think you would agree with me 
with September 11, it is not something that simply fades into the 
night.
  What was carried out, this assault on thousands of innocent people 
who were enjoying the freedom of America, the perpetrators showed us 
the absolute depths which humankind can sink. But in this immediate 
aftermath, we have all witnessed something else. We have also seen amid 
the carnage and amongst the destruction the amazing heights of 
benevolence, of decency, courage that America offers. We witnessed 
America's first responders.
  I commend the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for 
understanding that we have been trying to talk sense into the folks who 
come here today about that our first responders do not need a wave and 
a pat on the back so much, but they need the resources. They need the 
training. They need the equipment. They need the apparatus.
  When I look at what happened in New York State and New York City, the 
numbers of human beings taken, of brave men and women who rushed into 
those buildings, 343 firefighters, numerous police officers, members of 
the Port Authority Security Team, and then 92 vehicles destroyed worth 
close to $50 million. This is nothing that we can simply offer our 
condolences about. We have a responsibility, do you not agree?
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Let me first of all recognize the 
outstanding job that you have done both as an architect of this 
specific legislation and your outstanding work both in the last session 
and this session in terms of bringing to Congress the importance and 
need of firefighting, as you have eloquently pointed out the need for 
training, the need for counseling, the need to see that there are 
appropriate resources there at the point of delivery.
  Clearly, if we have learned anything from September 11, and with all 
due respect to our great Federal agencies of the CIA, the FBI, our 
armed services, the FAA, those first on the scene, those rushing up the 
stairs all came from our local communities. And that was true in 
Pennsylvania. It was true at the Pentagon. It was true in New York 
City.
  I hope the gentleman will stay as we enter into further dialogue, but 
I am proud to say that we have been joined by another architect of this 
legislation, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hill), who also 
understands the importance of funding local initiatives and is also a 
co-author of this legislation.
  Mr. HILL. I thank the gentleman and my good friend, the gentleman 
from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), for yielding me a bit of time. I want to 
also commend the gentleman for the work that he has put forth on this 
particular idea. It is a good idea, and it is an idea that I can 
support wholeheartedly.

  The September 11 terrorist attack on the United States has made us 
more aware of the threats that exist in the world today. It has also 
made us more aware of how we can combat these dealers in death. Your 
Municipal Preparation and Strategic Response Act of 2001 is a crucial 
step toward improving our ability to deal with acts of terrorism. In 
rural districts like mine in southern Indiana, the firemen and 
policemen and emergency medical teams are often the first line of 
defense against disasters. Often funding for these great protectors of 
ours is lacking.
  September 11 has made it clear that for a new kind of warfare, we 
need a new kind of warrior. It will now take more than just our 
military and intelligence forces to keep us completely safe. We must 
make sure that first responders in our cities and towns have the 
training, the equipment, and the personnel to effectively respond to 
any disaster. It has got to be a bottom-up approach because the police 
officer that patrols your street or the firefighter that is your 
neighbor will be the first person in any disaster scene. They are 
taking the greatest risk as we saw in New York City and they are 
providing the greatest service.
  It is our duty to provide for the common defense and general welfare 
of the United States. To accomplish that is now our duty to give them 
the best tools possible to face that risk and to provide that service. 
Your bill provides $1 billion of grant money that will go directly to 
local cities and towns to support emergency responders. It will also 
provide $250 million to the COPS program and $250 million to the 
Firefighters Assistance Program, which has already benefited fire 
departments in southern Indiana.
  In the past, some may have taken our first responders in our 
communities for granted. This bill, our bill, would help ensure that 
that never happens again; and I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.

[[Page H6497]]

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. I thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Hill), who indeed has been a warrior himself on behalf of local 
firefighters, police and law enforcement individuals. I thank the 
gentleman who gives me far too much credit. The genesis of this 
legislation, indeed, came from those front-line responders. It was 
their input. As the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) has 
pointed out, as the gentleman has eloquently stated, as we go back and 
talk to our local municipalities, we hear this repeated all across the 
Nation.
  Is that what the gentleman has found in his 2-hour meeting?
  Mr. PASCRELL. That is exactly what I have found, and I cannot 
emphasize it enough. One of the things that came across in our meeting 
yesterday morning, in this event for a counter-terrorism response, 
training and equipment are very critical. However, this is not going to 
make sense on a local level unless mayors and councilmen and 
committeemen understand that we are under the severest of alerts.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. The gentleman will understand this 
firsthand, as he is a former mayor.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Yes, I do. Mayors are there 24-7. And mayors and 
councilmen and committee people cannot put this aside, cannot put this 
as an addendum. This must be a crucial part of every municipality's 
operation.

                              {time}  1830

  And there are places to find out this information.
  We are going to help. We are going to do our part in a bipartisan way 
in the Congress of the United States, but there is not one community 
which should shrink from the responsibilities that they have within 
themselves. Every one of us, as individuals and as communities, must 
develop plans. We are going to help them do that. The emergency teams 
and their counties in districts throughout America are going to help 
them do that. We are going to provide the resources to do this. This is 
something that has not been on the front line, and we are going to put 
it on the front line.
  I want to commend the gentleman again. Being a mayor, of course, as 
the gentleman knows, the mayor is the father, the sociologist, the 
parent. You are everything when you are a mayor, be it a small town or 
a large town. This is what makes America so great, that small towns and 
large towns work together, particularly in times of crisis.
  And I can assure the gentleman that there is no greater 
responsibility that we have on this floor than to communicate back to 
the mayors of the many towns we have in our districts that they better 
have a plan, they better be able to deal with their hospitals, with 
their firefighters, with their first responders and EMTs and their 
police officers. They better be able to deal with the State police in 
their areas, and the county police and sheriff departments in their 
areas. If they do not have a plan, what happens if communication goes 
out? What is the backup? What is the second line of defense?
  We understand that many of the things we talk about in biochemical 
warfare will mean that first responders, who will be the first on the 
scene and not knowing what even they are attacking, are put in real 
life jeopardy. We cannot allow that to happen, and we must do this 
yesterday. So there is no time.
  I want to assure the gentleman he will have my total cooperation, and 
I know across the line here we will have the cooperation of all our 
colleagues.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. I want to thank the gentleman especially 
for the outreach he has done in various caucuses but, as has been 
acknowledged from the outset, this is a bipartisan effort.
  I think the heartening thing that is going on in America as we 
respond to this tragedy is the way the country has reacted. It is the 
way this body, in truth, which oftentimes is very partisan, but on this 
issue, from the night of the attack, when we all stood together, 
Democrat, Republican, Senate and House, on those steps out front and 
spontaneously broke into God Bless America, from that point forward we 
understood how clear this mission was; that it is important for us, 
especially at the grass roots level and with local government to make 
sure that we are providing resources to our front line defenders.
  I especially want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Weldon) as well, who has been a champion, and who has worked with the 
gentleman on many issues that involve firefighters, and for the lead he 
has taken and for his willingness to recognize how important it is 
going to be for us to get resources back to our local communities.
  I also want to indicate to our colleagues who may be listening this 
evening and to those out in this great country of ours that are 
listening to call in, to implore people to sign onto this legislation. 
We are having a press conference tomorrow with a number of associations 
and groups and Members who have already signed on to the proposal, but 
we are hoping to attract more original sponsors of the bill and hope 
that in true bipartisan fashion, in the way that the gentleman has 
reached out to so many, that we are able to bring this legislation 
forward and hopefully enact it before we leave here so that our first 
line responders get that money when they need it, because, as the 
gentleman so eloquently pointed out, they need it yesterday. They need 
it now.
  We were caught off guard. We were stunned. We have gone through, 
clearly, a period of mourning that, as the gentleman indicated, I do 
not know that we will ever get over. But to honor the memory of those 
brave heroes is to make sure that we are prepared for this response; 
that part of our resolve towards terrorism is at every single level of 
government and then intercoordinated between them.
  Again, this is an experience the gentleman knows about better than 
most. One of the issues that was raised locally with the individuals 
and firefighters, police officers, municipal leaders, mayors and State 
legislative representatives in my meeting was that, look, there needs 
to be better coordination. Somehow we have to get on to a system of 
commonality of communication. Was that part of the gentleman's 
experience?
  Mr. PASCRELL. Absolutely. If we do not have that coordination or that 
education, then we have panic. There is enough fear in this country. 
Walt Whitman hit on it 135 years ago. We must rise to the occasion. And 
he looked around in this very House and saw, as he was attending to 
folks during that Civil War, because he was a nurse, he knew that maybe 
a Congressman once in a while had his head down, but when the call 
came, he knew that they would respond and respond accordingly. He had 
that faith over 135 years ago in this Congress. We have that faith now.

  We need to reduce the panic. We need to reduce the fear. And nothing 
will do that better than knowledge. Nothing will do that better than 
all levels of government and all levels of the community being involved 
in this plan. And I just want to leave by thanking the gentleman again 
for bringing us together on this issue.
  Mr. LARSON. I thank the gentleman again for all his help, and would 
only add as well that I think the important lesson for our children 
with regard to September 11 is how this Nation responded.
  It has been noted by many how several events, including sporting 
events and celebrity activities, were canceled. It was a time when our 
children really, truly got to appreciate the difference between 
celebrities and heroes. The events of September 11, and those brave 
heroes and heroines in New York, those that boarded planes, those who 
proceeded with the heroic acts in the fields of Pennsylvania and those 
at the Pentagon are indeed heroes.
  We have become a Nation now that understands the importance of 
community and working together and extending a hand to our neighbors 
and not painting with the broad brush of prejudice the many because of 
the acts of a fanatical few. These are important lessons for our 
children to understand. It is important that they understand how our 
constitution works and how we must safeguard our liberties and our 
freedoms and how we must stand together as a Nation.
  As Members of Congress, we must understand that aside from the 
rhetoric that we put forward, that we have to provide the resources, 
and those resources have never been needed more than they are today for 
our local communities. We hear this loud and clear

[[Page H6498]]

from them. There is not a Member of the Congress on either side of the 
aisle who does not understand or appreciate the needs of their local 
mayor or selectmen, volunteer fire department, law enforcement 
officials, or emergency medical help people.
  This is something that Congress simply must respond to and act now. 
We must embrace the agenda and proposals of the President and of his 
new appointee, Tom Ridge, with respect to homeland defense, and then 
come together as a body and act soon. Tomorrow is the first step in 
that action.
  We will be introducing this piece of legislation, and we hope to get 
further input from our municipalities so that Congress can join 
together to make sure that our municipalities are prepared, so that 
strategically, and from the standpoint of having appropriate equipment, 
and from the ability of us to respond appropriately, we will be 
prepared.

                          ____________________