[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 34 (Thursday, March 21, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E427-E428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HOMELAND SECURITY ISSUES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM H. PUTNAM

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 20, 2002

  Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, in order to maintain our position in the 
world economy America's border security must be highly efficient, 
posing little or no obstacle to legitimate trade and travel. Yet, 
America's borders--land, air or sea--are our first line of defense in 
the war on terrorism. Our budget makes a bold step toward establishing 
the border of the future. It begins the process of integrating active 
measures abroad to screen goods and people, inspections at the border, 
and measures within the United States to ensure compliance with entry 
and import permits. Federal border control agencies are provided more 
resources to establish a seamless information-sharing system that 
allows for coordinated communication with the broader law enforcement 
and intelligence gathering communities. Funding the use of advanced 
technology to track the movement of cargo and the entry and exit of 
individuals is essential to the task of managing the movement of 
hundreds of millions of individuals, conveyances, and vehicles.
  Customs: The 2003 Budget increases the inspection budget of the 
Customs Services by $619 million, for a total of $2.3 billion. This 
additional funding increases the ability of the Customs Service to 
fulfill its critical border security role. Specifically, the additional 
resources in the 2003 Budget will allow the Customs Service to achieve 
two key objectives: Acquisition of Additional Personnel and New 
Technology.
  Coast Guard: The 2003 Budget increases funding for the Coast Guard's 
homeland security-related missions (protecting ports and coastal areas, 
as well as interdiction activities) by $282 million, to an overall 
level of $2.9 billion. After September 11, the Coast Guard's port 
security mission grew from approximately 1-2 percent of daily 
operations to between 50-60 percent today. However, we must recognize 
that the Coast Guard's other important missions, such as suppressing 
illegal immigration, drug interdiction and search and rescue remain 
vital to our constituents and coastal communities.
  INS: We have also included sense of the House language that the $380 
million in Function 750 will be used by the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service to implement a visa tracking system.


                      Supporting First Responders

  America's first line of defense in any terrorist attack are our 
``first responders''--local police, firefighters, and emergency medical 
professionals. Properly trained and equipped first responders have the 
greatest potential to save lives and limit casualties after a terrorist 
attack. The FY 2003 Budget directs $37.7 billion to homeland security, 
up from $19.5 billion in 2002.
  As a first step in our commitment to improving ``consequence 
management'' we passed H.R. 3448, the Public Health Security and Bio-
terrorism Response Act of 2001. H.R. 3448 is intended to better prepare 
America for bio-terrorist threats or other public health emergencies by 
improving America's ability to respond effectively and quickly to such 
threats. This sweeping legislation will cover everything from public 
health preparedness and improvements, to enhancing controls on deadly 
biological agents, to protecting our food, drug and drinking water 
supplies. Our Budget proposes to spend $3.5 billion on enhancing the 
homeland security response capabilities of America's first responders--
a greater than 10-fold increase in Federal resources to ensure that the 
people on the frontline of our defense have the training, equipment and 
technology necessary to protect them and protect our homeland.


                 Defending Against Biological Terrorism

  One of the most important missions we have as a Nation is to be 
prepared for the threat of biological terrorism--the deliberate use of 
disease as a weapon. An effective bio-defense will require a long-term 
strategy and significant new investment in the U.S. health care system 
to defend against attacks on our population and economic attacks 
against our agricultural infrastructure. The President's Budget for 
2003 devotes $2.4 billion to jump-starting the research and development 
process needed to provide America with the medical tools needed to 
support an effective response to bio-terrorism.
  This new funding will focus on: (1) Infrastructure. Strengthen the 
State and local health systems, including by enhancing medical 
communications and disease surveillance capabilities, to maximize their 
contribution to the overall bio-defense of the Nation. (2) Response. 
Improve specialized Federal capabilities to respond in coordination 
with State and local governments, and private capabilities in the event 
of a bioterrorist incident and build up the National Pharmaceutical 
Stockpile. (3) Science. Meet the medical needs of our bio-terrorism 
response plans by developing specific new vaccines, medicines, and 
diagnostic tests through an aggressive research and development 
program. (4) Agriculture. I introduced HR 3198 because I believe 
threats of agricultural bioterrorism should receive the same level of 
priority as other terrorist threats. The FY 2003 budget makes important 
steps in this direction by calling for $74.4 billion in spending, an 
increase of $11 billion over the FY 2002 budget, and $6 billion above 
actual budget outlays in FY 2001. Significant funding increases in the 
agriculture budget that relate to homeland security and the protection 
of agriculture are a $48 million increase for animal health monitoring, 
a $19 million increase in the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) 
program for improved point-of-entry inspection programs and a $12 
million increase for programs to expand diagnostic, response, 
management and other technical services within the Animal Plant Health 
Inspection Services (APHIS).


            Non-Proliferation of Weapons of mass Destruction

  Nuclear weapons technology is now almost 70 years old, chemical and 
biological weapons technology is almost 100 years old. Nuclear weapons, 
and other weapons of mass destruction, are no longer the exclusive 
province of the major powers of the First World. Since the Soviet Union 
became a nuclear power in 1949 five countries have established 
significant arsenals of nuclear weapons; China, France, Russia, the 
United Kingdom, and the United States. India, Pakistan, Israel, and 
possibly North Korea are also reported to have nuclear weapons.
  With the break up of the Soviet Union, nuclear weapons materials and 
production equipment may be available on the international black-market 
or may be transferred from one state to another. Additional countries 
may therefore be able to develop nuclear weapons if they are able to 
obtain fissile material. Even terrorist groups may acquire and use 
radiological weapons that use a conventional explosive to disperse 
deadly radioactive material, evidence of such intentions has reportedly 
been found in Afghanistan.
  Our Budget recognizes the importance of non-proliferation to our 
Homeland Security effort. The resolution accommodates the President's 
request for $1.12 billion for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation in 
fiscal year 2003, a 39 percent increase over pre-September 11th 
funding: including International Nuclear Materials Protection, 
(increased 67 percent, to $233 million) Nonproliferation Research and 
Development, (increased 38 percent to $284 million) and Fissile 
Materials Disposition, (accommodates the President's funding request of 
$350 million, a 40-percent increase above the previous year).
  While much of our past focus has been on the non-proliferation of 
nuclear weapons we must recognize that other weapons of mass 
destruction, such as chemical and biological weapons, also pose a very 
real and present threat. Earlier this week, President Bush articulated 
his administration's doctrine for dealing with this threat, ``Men with 
no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate 
instruments of death. Against such an enemy, there is no immunity, and 
there can be no neutrality.'' Our Budget provides the President with 
the resources he needs to continue our non-proliferation efforts and, 
if necessary, confront any nation posing a threat with chemical, 
biological or nuclear weapons.

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