[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 25, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2694-S2695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FIRST RESPONDERS PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 2003 INCLUDED IN THE ECONOMIC
RECOVERY ACT OF 2003
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today in support of Democratic
Leader Daschle's request to bring before the Senate the Economic
Recovery Act of 2003, S. 414, which includes legislation I introduced
last month: the First Responders Partnership Grant Act of 2003.
I thank the Democratic leader for authoring this important economic
stimulus package. In seeking to improve homeland security, I am proud
that he saw fit to include the First Responders Partnership Grant Act--
on which he, Democratic Whip Reid and Senator Breaux join me as
cosponsors. This legislation will supply our Nation's first responders
with the support they so desperately need to protect homeland security
and prevent and respond to acts of terrorism.
I want to begin by thanking each of our Nation's brave firefighters,
emergency rescuers, law enforcement officers, and other first responder
personnel for the jobs they do for the American public day in and day
out. Our public safety officers are often the first to respond to any
crime or emergency situation. On September 11, the Nation saw that the
first on the scene at the World Trade Center were the heroic
firefighters, police officers, and emergency personnel of New York
City. These real-life heroes, many of whom gave the ultimate sacrifice,
remind us of how important it is to support our State and local public
safety partners.
But while we ask our Nation's first responders to defend us as never
before on the front lines against the dark menace of domestic
terrorism, we have failed to supply them with the Federal support they
need and deserve to protect us, as we expect and need them to protect
us.
Since February 7, 2003, the Federal Homeland Security Advisory System
has kept State and local first responders on Orange Alert, a ``high''
condition indicating a high probability of a terrorist attack and when
additional precautions by first responders are necessary at public
events.
Since then, counterterrorism officials have warned that the threat of
terrorist attacks on U.S. soil is at a higher level than in previous
months due to the possibility of impending military action against
Iraq. This is the second time since September 11, 2001, that the
national warning level has been at Orange Alert--from September 10 to
September 24 last year, Attorney General Ashcroft declared our country
at Orange Threat level.
From March 12, 2002, until this month, we were at Yellow Alert, an
``elevated'' threat level declared when there is a significant risk of
terrorist attacks, requiring increased surveillance of critical
locations.
Counties, cities, and towns in my home State of Vermont and across
the United States find themselves overwhelmed by increasing homeland
security costs required by the Federal Government. Indeed, the National
Governors' Association estimates that States incurred around $7 billion
in security costs over the past year alone.
As a result, the national threat alerts and other Federal homeland
security requirements have become unfunded Federal mandates on our
State and local governments. Rutland County Sheriff R.J. Elrick,
president of the Vermont Sheriffs' Association, recently wrote to me:
We are in dire need of financial support to keep our
personnel trained and equipped to meet the challenges here at
home as we continue our vigilant commitment to fight
terrorism.
When terrorists strike, first responders are and will always be the
first people we turn to for help. We place our lives and the lives of
our families and friends in the hands of these officers, trusting that
when called upon they will protect and save us.
Just how, without supplying them with the necessary resources, do we
expect our Nation's first responders to realistically carry out their
duties?
Our State and local law enforcement officers, firefighters and
emergency personnel are full partners in preventing, investigating, and
responding to terrorist acts. They need and deserve the full
collaboration of the Federal Government to meet these new national
responsibilities.
Washington is buzzing about the literally hundreds of billions of
additional dollars the President plans to ask Congress to provide for
our military services to fight the war on terrorism abroad. The same
cannot be said for helping security here at home, which is shamefully
overlooked.
For a year and a half I have been working hard to remedy that, with
allies like our distinguished Democratic leader and assistant
Democratic leader, and New York Senators Schumer and Clinton. As former
chair and now ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, I have made it
a high priority to evaluate and meet the needs of our first responders.
For these reasons, I commend the Democratic leader for including in
the homeland security section of his economic stimulus package the
First Responders Partnership Grant Act, which will give our Nation's
law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency personnel the
resources they need to do their jobs. This legislation will establish a
grant program at the Department of Homeland Security to provide $5
billion nationwide for current fiscal year to support State and local
public safety officers in their efforts to protect homeland security
and prevent and respond to acts of terrorism.
[[Page S2695]]
Similar to the highly successful Department of Justice Community
Oriented Policing Services--COPS--and the Bulletproof Vest Partnership
Grant Programs, the First Responder Grants will be made directly to
State and local government units for overtime, equipment, training, and
facility expenses to support our law enforcement officers,
firefighters, and emergency personnel.
The First Responder Grants may be used to pay up to 90 percent of the
cost of the overtime, equipment, training, or facility. In cases of
fiscal leadership, the Department of Homeland Security may waive the
local match requirement of 10 percent to provide Federal funds for
communities that cannot afford the local match.
In a world shaped by the violent events of September 11, day after
day we call upon our public safety officers to remain vigilant. We not
only ask them to put their lives at risk in the line of duty, but also,
if need be, give their lives to protect us.
If we take time to listen to our Nation's State and local public
safety partners, they will tell us that they welcome the challenge to
join in our national mission to protect our homeland security. But we
cannot ask our firefighters, emergency personnel, and law enforcement
officers to assume these new national responsibilities without also
providing new Federal support.
The First Responders Partnership Grant Act will provide the necessary
Federal support for our State and public safety officers to serve as
full partners in the fight to protect our homeland security. We need
our first responders for the security and the life-saving help they
bring to our communities. All they ask is for the tools they need to do
their jobs for us. And for the sake of our own security, that is not
too much to ask.
I commend Senator Daschle for his leadership, and hope that the
Senate will soon consider this desperately needed economic stimulus
package.
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