[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 160 (Monday, October 22, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S13200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Sununu, Mr. Johnson, 
        Mr. Coleman, Mr. Biden, Mr. Thune, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Carper):
  S. 2215. A bill to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 
establish the Protective Security Advisor Program Office; to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President. I rise to introduce a bill that would 
formally establish and enhance the Protective Security Advisor Program 
Office within the Department of Homeland Security.
  The PSA program, which operates under the DHS Office of 
Infrastructure Protection, has proven its worth on many occasions. For 
example, when the Interstate 35-W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed in 
August of this year, PSAs provided valuable support to the Minnesota 
Department of Public Safety, providing assessments of infrastructure 
impacts relating to emergency services, postal and shipping operations, 
public transit, fuel deliveries, public utilities, and rail operations.
  DHS has deployed more than 70 PSAs in major metropolitan areas around 
the country. These are skilled and savvy people, averaging more than 20 
years of law-enforcement, military, or counter-terror experience. They 
regularly interact and develop working relationships with Government 
agencies at all levels and with private-sector entities, and they can 
be among the first on the scene when disaster strikes.
  Critical infrastructure is not, however, confined to large urban 
areas. Yet, 10 States--Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, 
North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming--do not 
have a resident PSA dedicated to serving the interests and protecting 
the citizens of those States.
  The bill I introduce today will enhance our national preparedness, 
response capability, and security by providing a minimum Protective 
Security Advisor presence in every State, while preserving the risk-
based principle that provides extra coverage in areas of dense 
population or concentrated critical infrastructure.

  The bill will also enhance the PSA program by providing for 10 
supervisory PSAs for regional coordination and management, and by 
authorizing additional PSAs at DHS headquarters. These headquarters 
PSAs will help manage participation in training and exercises, PSA 
training and certification programs, and day-to-day operations that 
help our Nation prevent, respond to, and limit the consequences of 
terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
  This bill also will advance the goals of the National Infrastructure 
Protection Plan. It will promote governmental and private-sector 
efforts to assess risks to and vulnerabilities of critical 
infrastructure, help stakeholders share information and coordinate 
activities, assist with multi-jurisdictional planning, and provide 
counsel to any designated Principal Federal Official when a joint field 
office must be established.
  State emergency managers recognize the importance of this 
legislation. The Maine Emergency Management Agency has already provided 
a letter of support. Its bipartisan list of cosponsors--Senators Pryor, 
Sununu, Johnson, Coleman, Biden, Thune, Enzi, and Carper--includes 
three other members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. These 
facts attest to the bill's merit.
  Mr. President, 300 million Americans live in a society that depends 
on a complex and tightly interrelated network of critical 
infrastructure and services including food supply, finance, energy, 
sanitation, transport, and communications.
  The DHS Protective Security Advisors have demonstrated that they are 
a critical element of our homeland-security defenses. This bill will 
expand their numbers, extend their coverage, strengthen their 
organization, and make all of us safer.
  I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
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