[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 72 (Thursday, June 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1066-E1067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007

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                               speech of

                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 6, 2006

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5441) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise to support passage of this bill.
  While I am upset that the Democratic Motion offered by my colleague 
Nita Lowey, which would have increased the first responder grants for 
urban areas by $750 million, was defeated on a party line basis, she 
raises important issues that must be addressed.
  Where have foreign terrorists struck when they attack our country?
  They attack major urban areas, as they look to create spectacular 
havoc while maximizing the killing of civilians--that is the calling 
card of Osama bin Laden. Remember him? Sometimes we forget him in the 
discussion of tax cuts and gay marriage and all the other issues--but 
he is still out there and still threatening our country, and especially 
New York and Washington, almost everyday.
  Al-Qaeda is not human--but we need to be ready for other attacks. 
That means proactive preparedness, as well as improving our reactive 
response as well.
  Proactively, we need to better protect our urban areas--the terrorist 
targeted areas--like New York.
  New York was the target in 1993 when terrorists bombed the World 
Trade Center, and again on September 11, 2001, when they completed the 
job they started 8 years earlier. New York City is the most targeted 
city in the country and likely on Earth by terrorists.
  This is a reality Congress and the White House need to face. And if 
we are serious about protecting America--all Americans--regardless of 
their voting patterns, then we must go about protecting these most 
targeted and most vulnerable areas.
  And I don't just say New York City is targeted to get my hometown 
more money. We know we are targeted due to information our U.S. 
intelligence services provide to us.
  Being on al-Qaeda's hit list is one of the few distinctions New York 
City has that I am not proud of, and not happy to talk about.
  But we must talk about it--because it is, again, reality.
  I salute the Appropriations Committee for working with me and 
agreeing to the amendment I offered with my colleague from New York, 
Vito Fossella, to increase the current urban area security initiative 
by $20 million--a $12.7 million increase over last year. But more 
funding is needed.
  But this issue of homeland security and ensuring the resources are 
there for our first responders--both for proactive and reactive 
preparedness--is more then an issue of funding in total dollar amounts. 
It comes down to the flawed funding formulas developed by Congress and 
the Bush White House to distribute homeland security dollars.
  These flawed formulas were crystallized last week when President Bush 
announced a 40 percent cut in urban security aid to New York City, 
saying the funds weren't needed for us.
  Instead, these urban security dollars went to places like Louisville, 
Kentucky, while certainly at risk, cannot claim to have the critical 
infrastructure of New York City under the terrorist microscope.
  This is a reality too--a sad and pathetic reality that our homeland 
security dollars have become the latest pot of federal funding to be

[[Page E1067]]

politicized by this White House instead of being used to protect 
Americans at greatest risk of terror attack.
  Other realities:
  Our country takes urban security funds created for places like New 
York and diverts them to Louisville;
  Our Nation provides more homeland security dollars per capita to 
Wyoming than to New York;
  And sadly, protecting our homeland security is more about politics 
than security.
  We haven't caught Osama bin Laden, the Taliban is returning to 
Afghanistan, and Congress is not providing the funds to our first 
responders to protect our targeted cities--our Nation's homeland 
security is a sad reflection of our great country.

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