[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 108 (Monday, July 21, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9623-S9626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate now will 
proceed to consideration of H.R. 2555, the Homeland Security 
appropriations bill, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2555) making appropriations for the Department 
     of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
     2004, and for other purposes.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The chairman of the subcommittee, the Senator 
from Mississippi.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to present for the Senate's 
consideration today the fiscal year 2004 Department of Homeland 
Security Appropriations Act.
  This bill provides appropriations for the first time directly to the 
new Department of Homeland Security which was created by law last 
November. The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in 
New York City and the Pentagon here in Washington dramatically 
illustrated the need for more effective protection of our homeland.
  On March 1 of this year, this new Department of Homeland Security was 
formally established. Its mission is to reorganize the Federal 
Government's

[[Page S9624]]

efforts to prevent terrorist attacks, to reduce the vulnerability of 
the United States to terrorism, and to deal more effectively with the 
damages that are caused by natural disasters as well.
  The Department has administrative control over and responsibility for 
22 previously existing Federal agencies and an estimated 180,000 
employees.
  The bill we present today provides total new budget authority for 
fiscal year 2004 of $29.326 billion to fund the Department. In 
addition, an estimated $4.8 billion in collections from immigration 
services and from air passenger and carrier fees paid by the users will 
be available to the Department for fiscal year 2004.
  This bill is $1 billion over the President's budget request. The bill 
recommends that this additional amount of money be used to increase 
funding to assist State and local first responders, to enhance aviation 
security, to better protect critical infrastructures, to more 
effectively secure our ports and waterways, to hire and train 
additional border investigators and inspectors, and to establish the 
surveillance capability to protect our northern border.
  As the Presiding Officer well knows, this is a big country. You 
cannot possibly build a wall around it. We have over 95,000 miles of 
coastline. The northern border of our country stretches a distance of 
5,500 miles. Our southern border with Mexico is approximately 2,000 
miles in length, all present very real and very important challenges to 
the security protection effort of our homeland.
   For fiscal year 2003, and with the additional appropriations 
recommended by this bill for fiscal year 2004, Congress will have 
provided over $3 billion for the security of our Nation's ports and 
waterways and over $10 billion for security of all sectors of 
transportation through the Transportation Security Administration.
  Through the firefighter assistance and Office of Domestic 
Preparedness grant programs alone, the Congress will have provided 
almost $9 billion since September 11, 2001, to enhance the capacity of 
the Nation's first responders.
  To further explain part of the uses that are expected by the 
committee for these funds, I invite the attention of the Senate to page 
9 of the committee's report that we have submitted to accompany this 
bill. It says, ``Pursuant to the President's National Strategy for 
Homeland Security, the Secretary is to provide to the Committee, no 
later than April 30, 2004, a report that updates the progress that is 
made to: clearly define standards and guidelines for Federal, State, 
and local government emergency preparedness and response in such areas 
as training, interoperable communications systems, and response 
equipment; an estimate of the costs of the unmet needs of State and 
local governments for fiscal years 2004--2008 in meeting those 
standards and guidelines.''
  This illustrates the fact that, first of all, we know you cannot 
transform our country's homeland security infrastructure overnight; it 
is going to take time. This bill marks the beginning of the effort and 
a response to the President's call for the strengthening of our 
homeland security capability through the establishment of a new 
Department, which was undertaken by Congress through its legislative 
committees that actually wrote the law that provided the legal 
authority for this new Department to begin its work. This bill provides 
the money the Department needs. It is not all the money that can be 
spent. It is not all the money that everybody suggests is needed. But 
it is a very important and generous investment in the effort to begin 
the work that has to be done to reach the goals we all share.
  As the Committee report suggests it is going to take a while, too, 
for local governments and local responders to upgrade their 
capabilities, through training, through exercises, through new state-
of-the-art equipment and communications equipment, and other assets 
that are necessary to fully reach our goals. Working together with a 
better sense of cooperation between State, local, and Federal 
Government agencies, I am confident that we are going to see a dramatic 
improvement made. This is another positive step forward.
  I am hopeful that Senators will appreciate the fact that we want to 
hear their advice. We had hearings where we not only heard other 
Senators' suggestions about steps that ought to be taken and the dollar 
amount of funds that ought to be appropriated, but we also heard from 
administration officials whose job it is to manage this new Department. 
We had a series of six hearings on these subjects. The Homeland 
Security Act established four new directorates under the auspices of 
the Department of Homeland Security and its Secretary. Agencies were 
reorganized, such as the Customs Service. Some disappeared, such as the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service. However, the components and 
activities of that previous agency are included under the control and 
authority of the new Department in a way that we hope will make it a 
more effective organization and those agencies better able to do their 
job.
  But the challenges are quite enormous, as we all recognize. There 
have been, in the course of our hearings, discoveries made of the 
challenges, in terms of how many people there are to keep up with who 
are undocumented aliens within the United States, for example. That 
number has increased from 3 million in 1990 to an estimated 9 million 
now. Forty percent of those people originally gained entry into the 
United States legally, but they never left when either the time expired 
for their visa or the end of the legal authority of their presence came 
about. Attempting to identify and track those people, some of whom may 
be threats to our security and many of whom may not be threats to our 
national security, illustrates the challenges we face.
  We are embracing in this bill the development of new technologies to 
help us identify, through automation and new technologies, friendly 
vessels that come close to our shores, that enter our ports, in a way 
that you can automatically know whether this ship is certified and 
licensed to enter that port or not.

  The Coast Guard is included as a complete entity within the new 
Department of Homeland Security and is taking on new roles. So we have 
our challenge from the President to support these efforts. I think 
Congress is responding, as it should, with a generous bill for 
appropriations of funds needed to start this Department off on its way.
  We will continue to monitor the use of these funds, as we suggested 
in the report. We are going to require to be kept advised of the 
progress made to achieve the goals. We will have oversight hearings. If 
we see there are needs that arise that have not been funded, we will 
bring those to the attention of the Senate. Working with our friends in 
the House, we will go to conference with the House upon the passage of 
this bill and work out the differences between our two bills and 
present the final result to the President for his signature.
  I am hopeful that the Senate will support this bill. I am confident 
it will help achieve our goal of a strengthened and much-improved 
homeland defense against terrorism and natural disasters, as well.
  Before I yield the floor, I would like to point out that I certainly 
appreciate and acknowledge the good assistance of the distinguished 
Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, who is the senior Democrat on the 
Appropriations Committee and who serves as the ranking Democrat of this 
subcommittee, for his cooperation and support during the committee's 
consideration and development of this bill.
  The following is a detailed summary of the bill's major funding 
recommendations.
  For security, enforcement, and investigations activities of the 
Department funded under Title III of the bill, $19.5 billion is 
recommended. Included in this amount is a total of $8.1 billion for the 
Department's two new bureaus--the Bureau of Customs and Border 
Protection, and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Also 
recommended is $5.4 billion for the Transportation Security 
Administration; $6.8 billion for the Coast Guard; and $1.1 billion for 
the United States Secret Service.
  For assessments, preparedness, and recovery activities of the 
Department funded under Title IV of the bill, $8.3 billion is 
recommended. This includes $3.6 billion for emergency preparedness and 
response activities; $823 million for the Department's new Information

[[Page S9625]]

Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate; $201 million for 
the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; and $3.6 billion for the 
Office for Domestic Preparedness.
  In addition, the bill recommends $494 million for Departmental 
operations and oversight; $229 million for the Bureau of Citizenship 
and Immigration Services; and $866 million for research and development 
activities of the Department's Science and Technology Directorate.
  The bill recommends $8.1 billion for the defense of the nation's 
borders and investigations and enforcement of our immigration and 
customs laws.
  Included in this amount is an increase to establish the first 
permanent northern border surveillance air wing.
  The bill also provides $380 million for the United States Visitor and 
Immigrant Status Indicator Technology project, known as US VISIT. This 
automated entry/exit system is one of the Department's top priorities. 
It will track the entry and exit of all non-immigrant travelers, making 
it easier for legitimate travelers while making it more difficult for 
those who may intend to do us harm.
  The bill recommends $4.9 billion for the Bureau of Customs and Border 
Protection, which supports inspection activities and patrolling of our 
borders.
  As I previously stated, the United States has 5,525 miles of border 
with Canada and 1,989 miles with Mexico. Our maritime border includes 
95,000 miles of shoreline. Each year, more than 500 million people 
cross the border into the United States, some 330 million who are non-
citizens. There are 118,129,875 vehicles that enter the United States 
annually and 16 million cargo containers.
  To assist the Bureau in its task to protect our border, the bill 
provides an increase of $74.3 million for additional personnel, $41 
million of which is for 570 additional border agents.
  In addition, the bill provides full funding of $12.1 million for the 
Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. A safe and secure supply 
chain is a critical part of the Bureau of Customs and Border 
Protection's work to keep our country safe. Through this initiative, 
the Bureau is committed to working closely with companies whose good 
business practices ensure supply chain security as well as compliance 
with trade laws.
  It also provides the requested increase of $61.7 million for the 
Container Security Initiative. This initiative seeks to enhance the 
security of an indispensable, but vulnerable, link in the chain of 
global trade: the oceangoing shipping container. Proactively screening 
containers before they reach the United States will significantly 
contribute to efforts to secure the borders against dangers that might 
be introduced through commercial traffic. A more secure maritime trade 
infrastructure will help ensure the continued smooth flow of 
merchandise through seaports.
  The bill recommends $2.8 billion for the Bureau of Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement, which supports investigations, intelligence, 
detention and removal activities, and provides a safe and secure work 
environment for Federal facilities. To assist the Bureau in carrying 
out these tasks, the bill provides an increase of $28.3 million for 
additional investigative and intelligence personnel.
  The bill provides an increase of $66.2 million for the establishment 
of the first permanent air surveillance wing on the northern border. 
The Nation is vulnerable to illegal incursions by terrorists, drug 
smugglers and other criminals. The establishment of this air wing will 
allow the Department to extend its reach to an at-risk area of the 
Nation's airspace.
  The bill also provides a transfer of $424 million from the General 
Services Administration, Federal Buildings Fund, for the Federal 
Protective Service, which is the same as the President's budget, to 
ensure a safe and secure workplace for Federal employees.
  For the Transportation Security Administration, responsible for 
ensuring security across the U.S. transportation system, including our 
Nation's airports, railways, highways, and waterways, the bill 
recommends total funding of $5.4 billion.
  For security enhancements to our Nation's aviation sector, an 
increase of $307 million over the President's budget request has been 
provided. A major component of this increase is $150.5 million for the 
purchase of baggage explosive detection systems and $309 million to 
make security improvements at our Nation's airports, including the 
permanent installation of these detection systems in the airport to 
move them out of airport lobbies. In addition, the bill provides 
funding at the President's requested level for passenger and baggage 
screeners at airports.
  Also provided for the security of aviation is $600 million for the 
Federal Air Marshals program, and $25 million for Federal flight deck 
officer training for commercial pilots who voluntarily apply to carry 
firearms in the cockpit.
  To further enhance TSA efforts to secure cargo placed on aircraft, 
$30 million is provided for the screening of air cargo.
  For maritime and surface transportation security activities, the bill 
provides $150 million for port security grants, $30 million for the 
continuation of operation safe commerce to better secure cargo entering 
the Nation's three largest ports, and $25 million for trucking industry 
grants to provide for safe travel on our Nation's highways.
  To further improve transportation security, $130.2 million is 
provided for research and development of the latest technologies to 
detect and deter terrorist attacks, including $45 million for research 
and development of next generation explosive detection systems and $30 
million for research and development of new technologies to screen air 
cargo.
  The bill recommends $6.88 billion in total funding for the United 
States Coast Guard, which supports the President's request for search 
and rescue activities, fisheries enforcement, drug interdiction, and 
defense-related activities. Included in this amount are increases for 
the Integrated Deepwater Systems, ``Deepwater'', Maritime Safety and 
Security Teams, and the Automatic Identification System.
  The bill provides $702 million for the Deepwater program, which is 
$202 million above the President's budget. Deepwater missions cover the 
spectrum of the Coast Guard's responsibilities, including: homeland 
security, search and rescue, alien migrant interdiction, drug 
interdiction, fisheries protection, and marine environmental 
protection.
  Deepwater was conceptualized as a 20-year program at a cost of $500 
million a year, to recapitalize the Coast Guard's aging assets and 
fully integrate the communications capability of all ships and 
aircraft. In order for Deepwater to be completed in 20 years, the 
annual funding would have to include inflation, which has not been the 
case. If the recent pattern of under-funding continues, the projected 
time-frame for completion could increase to 30 years, thereby 
increasing the total cost to the government. Fiscal year 2004 funding 
of $702 million will go a long way toward getting Deepwater back on 
schedule for completion in 20 years.
  The bill provides $134 million for the Rescue 21 program, which is 
the same as the President's budget. Rescue 21 is effectively the 
maritime 9-1-1 system for mariners in distress, designed to monitor 
distress calls, alert response assets, and coordinate search and rescue 
responses. This funding will improve the Coast Guard's effectiveness 
and enhance mission delivery of marine safety, law enforcement, 
environmental protection, and homeland security.
  The bill provides an increase of $40 million for the Automatic 
Identification System, which is similar to an air traffic control 
system that transmits important safety and security information 
concerning vessels back to a shore-based receiver. This provides the 
Coast Guard with the capability to track vessels throughout the coastal 
zone and provide greater security to the Nation's ports.
  To further strengthen the capacity of the Nation's first responders 
to prepare for and respond to possible terrorist threats, the bill 
provides $3.638 billion for the Office for Domestic Preparedness.
  Included in this amount is $1.2 billion for State and local basic 
formula grants; $500 million for State and local law enforcement 
terrorism prevention grants; and $750 million for high-threat urban 
area discretionary grants.
  The bill also provides $750 million for firefighter assistance 
grants, to remain as a stand-alone program.

[[Page S9626]]

  The bill does not recommend the consolidation of funding for 
emergency management performance grants into the Office for Domestic 
Preparedness grant programs, as proposed in the budget. An 
appropriation of $165 million for this grant program is provided 
through the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate.

  The bill recommends $3.6 billion in total funding for the operations 
of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate, fully 
supporting the fiscal year 2004 budget for preparedness, mitigation, 
response, and recovery activities; public health programs, to include 
the Strategic National Stockpile; and information technology services 
and regional operations.
  The bill provides $1.9 billion for disaster relief as proposed in the 
President's budget. The disaster relief fund through the Department of 
Homeland Security will continue to operate the programs formerly run by 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist victims in 
presidentially-declared major disasters and emergencies.
  The bill provides $200 million for flood map modernization activities 
to modernize and digitize the Nation's flood maps. These maps are 
outdated and in some cases not permanently documented, as the 
digitization process would provide. Fiscal year 2004 funding will 
ensure that the Department stays on track to provide up-to-date flood 
maps for the Nation within 5 years.
  The bill continues the Emergency Management Performance Grants, 
``EMPG'', at $165 million, and does not recommend shifting this program 
to the Office for Domestic Preparedness. EMPG is a State matching grant 
program designed to assist States and local communities in all-hazards 
planning and response, and is therefore more appropriately administered 
through the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. In 
Mississippi, the number of counties with emergency management programs 
has increased from 43 to 65 in the last three years because of funds 
made available through EMPG. The same is true for numerous other 
States, indicating the importance of this program to provide 
communities with the capability to develop localized emergency 
management programs.
  The bill recommends $823.7 million for activities of the Information 
Analysis and Infrastructure Protection directorate to identify and 
assess threats to the homeland, map threat information against current 
vulnerabilities, issue warnings, and take preventive and protective 
action.
  A critical component of this directorate is the ability to provide 
the resources to secure our Nation's critical infrastructures from 
catastrophic events. In order to achieve this, $293.9 million is 
provided for critical infrastructure and key asset identification, 
field assessments of critical infrastructures, and key asset protection 
implementation to help guide development of protective measures to 
harden facilities and assets.
  For the intelligence and warning functions of the Department of 
Homeland Security, $101.7 million is provided to guide collection, 
assessment, evaluation, and prioritization of all intelligence 
information.
  As part of the effort by IAIP to better secure not only physical 
assets but also cyber assets, the bill includes $98.5 million for the 
integration of physical and cyber infrastructure monitoring and 
coordination for cyber security.
  A total of $866 million is recommended for the research and 
development activities of the Department's Science and Technology 
Directorate.
  This directorate is tasked with the centralization of research and 
development department-wide and is provided $64 million in support of 
conventional missions of the Department's agencies and bureaus.
  The bill also provides $55 million for the establishment of a 
university-based system to enhance and strengthen the efforts of 
homeland security on our Nation's campuses.
  As the Department works to monitor and detect cyber attacks by 
terrorist organizations within the auspices of the Information Analysis 
and Infrastructure Protection directorate, Science and Technology is 
responsible for the research and development of the most appropriate 
technologies for next generation cyber threat characterization, 
detection, and origination. For these activities, the bill provides $18 
million.
  A total of $70 million is made available for the technical support 
working group responsible for the rapid development and prototyping of 
new technologies in support of homeland security.
  For research and development of critical infrastructure security 
assurance, $72 million is provided, of which up to $60 million is made 
available for research, development, testing, and evaluation of an 
anti-missile system for commercial aircraft. There also is a great need 
for the development of standards and protocols for equipment that is 
used in the field for detecting, mitigating, and recovering from 
terrorist attacks and funds are available for this purpose.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed 
to proceed as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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