[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 12 (Monday, January 22, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S834-S835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for Mr. Biden):
  S. 345. A bill to establish a Homeland Security and Neighborhood 
Safety Trust Fund and refocus Federal priorities toward securing the 
Homeland, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Homeland 
Security Trust Fund Act of 2007. I introduced this legislation in the 
last Congress, and I do so again because it is my sincere belief that 
in order to better prevent attacks here at home, we must dramatically 
reorder the priorities of the Federal Government.

[[Page S835]]

  This legislation says in basic terms that we value the security of 
all Americans over the tax cuts for our Nation's millionaires. Right 
now, we under fund homeland security and public safety, and at the same 
time, we have established extremely large tax cuts for the wealthiest 
among us. This legislation will re-set our priorities by creating a 
homeland security trust fund that will set aside $53.3 billion 
dollars--less than one year of the tax cut for millionaires--for the 
exclusive purpose of investing in our homeland security. Through this 
trust fund we will allocate an additional $10 billion per year over the 
next 5 years to enhance the safety and security of our communities.
  Everyone in this body knows that we are not yet safe enough. 
Independent experts, law enforcement personnel, and first responders 
have warned us that we have not done enough to prevent an attack and we 
are ill-equipped to respond to one. Hurricane Katrina showed us that 
little has been done to enhance our preparedness and the devastating 
consequences of our failure to act responsibly here in Washington. And, 
just over a year ago, the 9/11 Commission issued their report card on 
the Administration's and Congresses' progress in implementing their 
recommendations. The result was a report card riddled with D's and F's.
  Last November, the American people voted for a change and their 
decision ushered in a new Democratic Congress. Under new leadership, we 
have made a decision to implement the 9/11 Recommendations. I have long 
argued that we need to take these prudent steps, and I look forward to 
working with my colleagues to see that this is done, but under the 
proposals currently being circulated we do not put forward any 
dedicated funding to pay for these security upgrades.
  I believe that the most important responsibility of our Federal 
Government is to provide for the safety and security of the American 
people. And, I also believe that we need to do this in a fiscally 
responsible way. Secretary Chertoff has argued that one strategy of Al 
Qaeda is to bankrupt us by forcing us to invest too much in our 
domestic security.
  This is an outrageous claim. This is simply a matter of priorities.
  This year the tax cut for Americans that make over $1 million is 
nearly $60 billion. Let me repeat that, just one year of the Bush tax 
cut for Americans making over $1 million dollars is nearly $60 billion. 
In contrast, we dedicate roughly one-half of that--approximately $34 
billion--to fund the operations of the Department of Homeland Security. 
We have invested twice as much for a tax cut for millionaires--less 
than 1 percent of the population--than we do for the Department 
intended to help secure the entire Nation.

  For a Nation that is repeatedly warned about the grave threats we 
face, how can this be the right priority? The Homeland Security Trust 
Fund Act of 2007 would change this by taking less than 1 year of the 
tax cut for millionaires and invest it in homeland security over the 
next 5 years.
  By investing $10 billion per year over the next 5 years, we could 
implement all the 9/11 Commission recommendations. We could hire 50,000 
additional police officers and help local agencies create locally based 
counter-terrorism units. We could hire an additional 1,000 FBI agents 
to help ensure that FBI is able to implement critical reforms without 
abandoning its traditional crime fighting functions. We could also 
invest in security upgrades within our critical infrastructure, fund 
efforts to implement 100 percent scanning of cargo containers, fund a 
grant program to ensure that our first responders can talk in the event 
of an emergency, and nearly double the funding for state homeland 
security grants. And, the list goes on.
  To add to the concerns that we face with respect to homeland 
security, crime is unquestionably on the rise in the United States. The 
FBI reported earlier this past fall that violent crime and murders are 
on the rise after years of decreases. Given all of this, it is hard to 
argue that we are as safe as we should be.
  We know that the murder rate is up and that there is an officer 
shortage in communities throughout the nation. Yet, we provide $0 
funding for the COPS hiring program, and we've slashed funding for the 
Justice Assistance Grant.
  We know that our first responders can't talk because they don't have 
enough interoperable equipment and available spectrum. Yet, we have not 
forced the networks to turn over critical spectrum, and we vote down 
funding to help local agencies purchase equipment every year.
  We know that only 5 percent of cargo containers are scanned, yet we 
do not invest in the personnel and equipment to upgrade our systems.
  We know that our critical infrastructure is vulnerable. Yet, we allow 
industry to decide what is best and provide scant resources to harden 
soft targets.
  I am hopeful that this will change under the new Democratic Congress, 
and this legislation will help ensure that we do all this in a fiscally 
responsible manner.
  In addition, this legislation will also establish an independent 
agency whose sole purpose will be to make recommendations to the 
Department of Homeland Security with respect to distributing homeland 
security with respect to risk and vulnerabilities, to improve the grant 
making process to ensure that all spending is made towards the common 
goal of improving preparedness and response, and to eliminate any waste 
of our precious homeland security resources. This board will be 
comprised of experts at the Federal, State and local level, with law 
enforcement and first responder experience to ensure that all 
stakeholders' viewpoints are considered in the recommendation process.
  I will conclude where I started. This is all about setting the right 
priorities for America. Instead of giving a tax cut to the richest 
Americans who don't need it, we should take some of it and dedicate it 
towards the security of all Americans. Our Nations most fortunate are 
just as patriotic as the middle class. They are just as willing to 
sacrifice for the good of our Nation. The problem is that no one has 
asked them to sacrifice.
  The Homeland Security Trust Fund Act of 2007 will ask them to 
sacrifice, and I am convinced that they will gladly help us out. And to 
those who say this won't work, I would remind them that the 1994 Crime 
Bill established the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund, specifically 
designated for public safety that put more than 100,000 cops on the 
street, funded prevention programs, and more prison beds to lock up 
violent offenders. It worked; violent crime went down every year for 8 
years from the historic highs to the lowest levels in a generation.
  Our Nation is at its best when we all pull together and sacrifice. 
The bottom line is that with this legislation, we make clear what our 
national priorities should be, we set out how we will pay for them, and 
we ensure those who are asked to sacrifice that money the government 
raises for security actually gets spent on security.
  This legislation is about re-ordering our homeland security 
priorities. I will push for its prompt passage, and I hope to gain the 
support of my colleagues in this effort.
                                 ______