[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 7 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E100-E101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      IMPLEMENTING THE 9/11 COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 9, 2007

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1 
which will carry out the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
  In 2002, Congress passed and funded a distinguished bipartisan panel 
to investigate and report on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks 
on our country. In spite of the urgency and critical nature of the 
panel's report and recommendations, the Bush administration and the 
Republican-led Congress failed to implement key recommendations that 
would improve the defense of our Nation such as enhancing homeland 
security and developing strategies to prevent the spread of Islamic 
terrorism and the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by 
terrorists.
  Putting into action only a few of the Commission's carefully thought 
out recommendations did only half the job. And we all know that 
protecting America is a full-time job requiring full-time vigilance and 
full-time protection. This is especially true in today's 
post-9/11 world.
  For the past 4 years, I have had the privilege of serving on the 
Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. As a member of that 
subcommittee, I heard testimony and attended briefings from officials 
at the Department of Homeland Security that brought to light the 
shortcomings of this Department and its failure to meet its mandate to 
secure our borders and protect our country. The then Chairman of the 
committee even withheld funding due to the Department's 
unresponsiveness and apparent lack of urgency about its mission.
  Mr. Speaker, protecting our country must be our government's number 
one priority. If that mission lacks urgency by the very agency created 
to protect us, we will continue to remain dangerously vulnerable to 
those who would harm us.
  I believe that putting into action all of the Commission's 
recommendations is urgently needed to help protect our country against 
a terrorist attack. And under our new Democratic leadership, which will 
be vigilant in its oversight and in holding the administration 
accountable, I am confident Democrats will push this agency beyond its 
bureaucratic lethargy to take the steps necessary to secure our 
homeland and protect our fellow Americans.
  While I endorse the entire package of recommendations in the bill 
under consideration, I am particularly pleased to note that it includes 
several of the issues I addressed in hearings before the Homeland 
Security Appropriations Subcommittee. These issues are critically 
important to our Nation and the communities I represent in Los Angeles.
  First among them is interoperable communications. Our country lost 
many heroic first responders on that fateful September morning because 
they were unable to receive the message to evacuate the Twin Towers. 
Incredibly, 5 years after 9/11, this serious problem of interoperable 
communications continues to plague our emergency responders. This is 
particularly true for first responders in districts like mine, where 
various communities are covered by multiple jurisdictions of police, 
sheriff, and fire departments.
  I am very pleased that included in this bill is the 9/11 Commission's 
recommendation to create a grant program for interoperable 
communications with a dedicated stream of funding. This will greatly 
enhance the ability of our first responders to close this critically 
serious communications gap.
  Another issue of great concern to my constituents is currently being 
addressed at Los Angeles world airports. It is the installation of in-
line detection systems for checked baggage on commercial airliners. The 
Commission's recommendations in this bill call for accelerating the 
installation of in-line explosive detection systems at all major 
airports.
  The cargo hold of airplanes, filled with baggage, has often been 
called the ``soft underbelly'' of our aviation transportation system. 
By placing state of the art detection systems in our Nation's airport, 
we will harden that vulnerable soft spot and protect the flying public. 
And by consolidating the handling of baggage and screening equipment we 
will accelerate the movement of goods, passengers, and cargo.
  In committee I have also consistently raised my concerns about the 
security of cargo containers entering ports such as the Ports of Los 
Angeles-Long Beach. I am very pleased that this bill goes beyond the 
Commission's recommendations by requiring, within 5 years, 100 percent 
scanning of U.S.-bound shipping containers.
  We are very fortunate there has not been a port-centered attack on 
our Nation. As we saw during the 2002 labor dispute that closed the 
Ports of LA-Long Beach and cost the national economy $1 billion per 
day, any long term disruption of our national maritime trade would have 
a devastating effect on our Nation's economy as well as the rest of the 
world.

[[Page E101]]

  While some critics may complain about the cost involved in scanning 
these cargo containers, we cannot afford to be penny wise and pound 
foolish when it comes to our security. We must make the necessary 
investments. The added cost of security in our post 9/11 era is the 
price we must pay to protect American lives and our Nation. If we do 
not make this investment, the cost could be much higher not just in 
dollars but in lives.
  And finally, among other critical needs addressed by the 9/11 
Commission, is the need to significantly increase the number of state 
homeland security grants and award them on the basis of risk. While it 
is true we must make every effort to protect all parts of our country, 
given our limited funds, we must prioritize our security weaknesses and 
allocate these scarce funds first to the areas most at risk of an 
attack.
  It was therefore welcomed news that late last week the Department of 
Homeland Security has announced it will commit more than 55 percent of 
urban area grant funds to the six urban areas facing the highest threat 
of terrorist attacks.
  Mr. Speaker, as the former Homeland Appropriations Subcommittee 
Chairman Hal Rogers often stated, ``those who seek to harm us have to 
get it right only occasionally, while those of us working to protect 
America have to get it right 100 percent of the time. Fully 
implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission is a critical 
step toward ``getting it right'' and moving our Nation forward to our 
100 percent goal of protecting our United States of America.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for this important legislation.

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