[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 17, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H3339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATION FALLS SHORT

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, this Homeland Security appropriation 
falls short in many areas: port security, first responders, 
interoperable communications, and aviation.
  In aviation, recent tests by the Inspector General and the GAO show 
that there are unacceptable, continuing vulnerabilities to our system 
of aviation, and their conclusion is simple: the performance of finding 
explosives and other threat objects will not improve until we give the 
screeners 21st-century technology to fight 21st-century threats. The 
junk they are working with was thrown out a decade ago because it was 
inadequate for the United States Capitol before 9/11, but we are still 
using it in our airports and demanding they find threat objects that 
the machines simply cannot find. The Subcommittee on Homeland Security 
of the Committee on Appropriations is failing the test too. They are 
failing to protect the American traveling public.

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