[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 101 (Wednesday, June 18, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H5510-H5513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CIVIL AIR PATROL HOMELAND SECURITY SUPPORT ACT OF 2007
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1333) to amend the Homeland Security Act
of 2002 to direct the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the
Secretary of the Air Force to use Civil Air Patrol personnel and
resources to support homeland security missions, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1333
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CIVIL AIR PATROL STUDY.
(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study of the functions and capabilities of
the Civil Air Patrol to support the homeland security
missions of State, local, and tribal governments and the
Department of Homeland Security. In conducting the study, the
Comptroller General shall review the process by which the
Civil Air Patrol may provide assistance to the Secretary of
Homeland Security, other Federal agencies, and States to
support homeland security missions by--
(1) providing aerial reconnaissance or communications
capabilities for border security;
(2) providing capabilities for collective response to an
act of terrorism, natural disaster, or other man-made event,
by assisting in damage assessment and situational awareness,
conducting search and rescue operations, assisting in
evacuations, transporting time-sensitive medical or other
materials; or
(3) such other activities as may be determined appropriate
by the Comptroller General in the conduct of this review.
[[Page H5511]]
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to the Committees on Homeland Security and Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of
the Senate a report containing the findings of the review
conducted under subsection (a). The report shall include--
(1) an assessment of the feasibility and cost-effectiveness
of using Civil Air Patrol assets for the purposes described
in subsection (a); and
(2) an assessment as to whether the current mechanisms for
Federal agencies and States to request support from the Civil
Air Patrol are sufficient or whether new agreements between
relevant Federal agencies and the Civil Air Patrol are
necessary.
(c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after
completing the study under this section, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall review and analyze the study and
submit to the Committees on Homeland Security and
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on such review
and analysis, which shall include any recommendations of the
Secretary for further action that could affect the
organization and administration of the Department of Homeland
Security.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Dent) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi.
General Leave
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Mississippi?
There was no objection.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this
measure, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the Civil Air Patrol has been in existence for
decades, providing assistance to governments at the Federal, State and
local levels in times of need.
Civil Air Patrol was established in 1941, just days before the
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. From that moment on, Civil Air Patrol
has stood ready to supplement America's military operations. And over
the years, it has shown itself to be a faithful partner to the
Department of Defense. Therefore, it stands to reason that Civil Air
Patrol could also partner with the Department of Homeland Security.
That is the thinking behind H.R. 1333 introduced by Representative
Charlie Dent, a member of the Committee on Homeland Security. H.R. 1333
directs the Government Accountability Office to examine the
capabilities of the Civil Air Patrol to support DHS's activities across
the country.
The bill was unanimously adopted by the Subcommittee on Emergency
Communications, Preparedness and Response on April 30. Then on May 20,
the full committee approved H.R. 1333 unanimously.
Civil Air Patrol is a great example of how patriotic Americans can
contribute to the security of this Nation and their communities. As
someone who served as a volunteer firefighter, I appreciate that kind
of dedication. There is no doubt in my mind that the Civil Air Patrol
is a United States treasure. In fact, during any given year, the Civil
Air Patrol is responsible for nearly 95 percent of Air Force-directed
search and rescue missions.
This Government Accountability Office study, called for in this bill,
will improve Congress' and the administration's understanding of how
Civil Air Patrol can provide homeland security assistance. The GAO
study will also help Congress assess whether the operational structure
in place for coordination between the Civil Air Patrol and its
government and non-profit partners is sufficient and optimal for the
security of our Nation.
Additionally, the bill calls for GAO to report on the cost-
effectiveness of using Civil Air Patrol assets for homeland security
missions and help Congress understand whether the current mechanism for
Federal agencies and States to request Civil Air Patrol support are
adequate.
Finally, the bill directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to
review and analyze GAO's study and report to Congress as to which GAO
recommendations warrant further action.
I commend my colleague, Mr. Dent, and his partner in this endeavor,
the chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications,
Preparedness and Response, Mr. Cuellar, for developing this thoughtful
bill. I support H.R. 1333 and its underlying goals and urge passage.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DENT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I do rise today to support H.R. 1333, the Civil Air
Patrol Homeland Security Act of 2007. And this legislation, which I
introduced on March 6, 2007, has the bipartisan support of 56 Members
of Congress.
I would first like to thank our good friend and colleague, Chairman
Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, as well as Ranking Member Pete King of
the Homeland Security Committee, as well as Chairman Oberstar and
Ranking Member Mica of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
for their cooperation and support in bringing this legislation to the
floor today.
I also want to especially thank the subcommittee chairman, Henry
Cuellar, who chairs the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications,
Preparedness and Response on which I serve as the ranking member for
his support of this legislation throughout this process and throughout
this 110th Congress. I want to thank Chairman Cuellar especially.
H.R. 1333, as amended, would require the Government Accountability
Office, the GAO, to conduct an expansive review to determine how the
Civil Air Patrol may be used to support the homeland security missions
of State, local and tribal governments, and the Department of Homeland
Security.
Specifically, the GAO will review how the Civil Air Patrol may
provide aerial reconnaissance or communications capabilities for border
security; assist in damage assessments and situational awareness;
search and rescue operations, evacuations and the transport of time-
sensitive medical or other materials; or perform any other activities
as determined by the GAO.
This review will provide greater information regarding the cost-
effectiveness of using Civil Air Patrol assets for homeland security
purposes at all levels of government. It will also help us understand
whether the current process for States and the Federal Government to
request Civil Air Patrol assistance is overly bureaucratic, limiting
the effectiveness of this important resource in times of crisis.
Aviation assets have traditionally played an important role in border
security, the interdiction of contraband, search and rescue operations,
evacuations, and after-action analyses that must be performed in the
wake of a catastrophic event.
A Civil Air Patrol force of 57,000 volunteers and 500 planes across
the country stands ready to assist in those important missions.
The Civil Air Patrol has a long history of service to this Nation.
The organization was founded at the outbreak of the Second World War,
during which it served as a vital watchdog along the coastlines of
America, protecting us from the threat of German U-boats that patrolled
our shores. They even engaged U-boats during that war as well, sinking
a few.
Since then, the Civil Air Patrol has regularly assisted States in
search and rescue operations and emergency response. The Civil Air
Patrol indicates that it would welcome the opportunity to play an
expanded role in homeland security operations, as that role would be
defined by the Comptroller General, the Department of Homeland
Security, and the United States Congress.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and help ensure that
we are effectively utilizing all available resources for responses to
catastrophic events.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar), the chairman of the Subcommittee on
Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response.
Mr. CUELLAR. Madam Speaker, I also want to thank Chairman Bennie
Thompson who has done a great job as the chairman. He has allowed what
I call the free market of ideas to work
[[Page H5512]]
well. That is if a Member comes up with an idea, we will go through the
process and after that if it is a good idea and will protect our
homeland, he has given us an opportunity to come up with and move those
ideas; so thank you, Mr. Chairman.
One of the ideas is of course H.R. 1333 which is the one that Ranking
Member Charlie Dent has brought forward. It is an idea that would allow
us to supplement the security of our country. So I certainly want to
thank Mr. Dent for the idea and of course for moving this great idea
forward.
I support this particular bill because it allows the GAO to conduct a
study to determine how the Civil Air Patrol can help support our
homeland security missions. The Civil Air Patrol has long served our
Nation. The Civil Air Patrol began at the onset of World War II,
patrolling the coastlines of America, protecting the shores of our
great Nation from foreign threats.
Since that time, the Civil Air Patrol has regularly assisted States,
and that includes also my State of Texas, with search and rescue
operations and emergency response. The Civil Air Patrol welcomes this
opportunity to play an expanded role in homeland security operations as
that role will be defined by the Comptroller General, the Department of
Homeland Security, and of course by the United States Congress.
This study will give the Secretary of Homeland Security the ability
to consider the use of the Civil Air Patrol to provide aerial
assistance to the Department of Homeland Security agencies that are
responsible for protecting America against illegal entry and
trafficking of people and contraband.
Being from Laredo, Texas, and representing Webb, Starr, Zapata and
Hidalgo counties on the border, I do understand why we need this
assistance. And I think the way it has been crafted by Mr. Dent, this
will allow Homeland Security to use these extra assets on the border to
give us the extra protection that we need to make sure that we protect
ourselves. So I certainly feel that the Civil Air Patrol can not only
provide protection on the border, but also respond to acts of
terrorism, natural disasters and other man-made events by assisting in
damage assessment, search and rescue operations, and evacuations.
I thank my colleague, Charlie Dent, and my chairman, Chairman Bennie
Thompson. I know Michael McCaul will also speak about how this will
help in Texas, and other efforts. Again, I urge my colleagues to
support H.R. 1333.
Mr. DENT. Madam Speaker, I would just like to confirm with the
majority whether they have any additional speakers at this time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I have no additional
speakers. If the gentleman from Pennsylvania has no speakers, I am
prepared to close.
Mr. DENT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, Chairman
Thompson and Chairman Oberstar and Chairman Cuellar, for their
bipartisan support and leadership on this important issue in helping us
move this legislation forward.
I also want to point out that I had a few interesting experiences on
the border with Chairman Cuellar. I visited Laredo, Texas, on two
separate occasions with him, and I looked at what our Border Patrol was
up to. I noticed there was a lack of aviation assets. In fact, Chairman
Cuellar and I had a rather exciting visit on a helicopter in Laredo,
Texas, and we got a good look at the border areas, and witnessed the
lack of aviation assets on that border.
{time} 1245
And so that certainly helped inspire this legislation.
Also, I'd like to point out too that there are a lot of good ideas
that come from places other than Washington, D.C. When I was back in my
district some time ago I remember a constituent of mine named David
Miller, who is an octogenarian; he served during the Second World War,
a pilot. He said to me, he talked about the use of the Civil Air Patrol
during the Second World War and suggested, why don't you get them more
engaged for various homeland security initiatives, particularly border
security? I thought it sounded like a reasonable idea, and I looked
into it and, of course, that's why we're here today dealing with
legislation to further examine this very important issue. I thank David
Miller for his foresight, just being a good citizen and making
recommendations to his elected representative.
Also I would like to point out another former member, Lester Wolf of
New York, had also been a strong advocate of greater utilization of the
Civil Air Patrol. He served in, I think, the Long Island area of New
York and was quite strong on this need for this type of legislation.
As well as a man named Bob Minert who is the executive director of
the Pennsylvania wing of the Civil Air Patrol. Again, I want to thank
all of them for their interest and leadership and helping get us to
where we are today.
I would just like to say that the GAO study that this legislation
requires will help Congress assess the current capabilities of the
Civil Air Patrol to assist the Federal Government and our State and
local partners in conducting homeland security missions. The review
will help us determine whether the current mechanisms to utilize the
Civil Air Patrol as a force multiplier in various missions, including
search and rescue and border security, are sufficient to meet today's
needs.
As we saw after September 11 and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, in a
catastrophic event, this country must be able to dramatically increase
the number of response assets, while ensuring that Federal, State and
local resources are well coordinated. By examining how various
resources like the Civil Air Patrol may contribute to a mission prior
to an event, we will help strengthen our Nation's security and
resiliency.
I would like to thank everybody involved with this legislation, all
my colleagues, and the 56 co-sponsors of this legislation. I urge my
colleagues to support this bill and help to strengthen the performance
of Homeland Security missions in the Department of Homeland Security.
Madam Speaker, at this time I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much
time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 1333. I strongly believe that
the GAO report required under H.R. 1333 will provide us with the
information needed to reach the right decision on the question of
whether a formal relationship between DHS and CAP will serve our
Nation's homeland security interests.
Certainly, over the past 60 years, Civil Air Patrol has shown itself
to be a faithful partner to the Department of Defense. It is
conceivable that the Civil Air Patrol could contribute to border
security, search and rescue and responsive activities at DHS.
Additionally, it would be interesting to know whether the Civil Air
Patrol can provide emergency transport for sensitive medical materials.
I would also be interested to know whether the Civil Air Patrol area
reconnaissance and communications capability can enhance our border
security and DHS's ability to have situational awareness of natural
disasters and other manmade events. The GAO study called for in this
bill will answer these core capability questions.
For this reason, I support H.R. 1333, and urge its passage.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong
support of H.R. 1333, Civil Air Patrol Homeland Security Support Act of
2007, introduced by my distinguished colleague from Pennsylvania,
Representative Dent. This important legislation is a first step for the
Committee on Homeland Security to understand how the Civil Air Patrol
can provide necessary Homeland Security assistance.
The Civil Air Patrol is a prime example of how Americans can get
involved to support our Nation's preparedness and response to
emergencies as well as our Nation's great history of civil aviation and
aerospace education. The Civil Air Patrol is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization and also serves as the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, when
given an Air Force assignment for a Federal support mission. The Civil
Air Patrol flies missions in one of two ways: they are either assigned
an Air Force mission, wherein they fly on behalf of the Federal
Government as the Air Force Auxiliary, or they fly in their non-profit
status based on requests from State and local governments or other
organizations, many of which have MOU's with the Civil Air Patrol that
govern their partnerships. As such, the Civil Air Patrol
[[Page H5513]]
performs a vital service for this Nation, one which must be further
examines and utilized.
Over the course of any given year, the Civil Air Patrol is
responsible for conducting over 90 percent of the Nation's inland
search and rescue operations on behalf of the Air Force. In fiscal year
2007 alone, the Civil Air Patrol helped save 103 lives. Beyond that
capacity to execute search and rescue missions, the. Civil Air Patrol
can also provide emergency transport for sensitive medical materials
and conducts low-altitude reconnaissance surveys for the Government.
Even with the Civil Air Patrol is not in the air but working on the
ground, their volunteers have pitched in to assist with disaster
response.
This important legislation will require that the GAG examine how the
Civil Air Patrol's proficiency in aerial reconnaissance and
communications can enhance our border security. It furthermore will
assess the Civil Air Patrol's experience in conducting damage
assessment and enhancing situational awareness and how that might be
utilized to improve our Nation's collective response to an act of
terrorism, natural disaster, or other man-made event. The GAG report
produced by this legislation will be utilized to paint a clear picture
of the cost-effectiveness of using Civil Air Patrol assets for homeland
security missions and help this committee to understand whether the
current mechanisms for Federal agencies and States to request CAP
support are adequate.
In this age of a global war on terror, it is imperative that we
utilize aIl the assets available to us to secure our homeland. The
Civil Air Patrol has been an invaluable resource for this Nation and
embodies the volunteer service that makes our Nation great. I commend
the Civil Air Patrol for their commitment to service and protecting
this country, and I support this legislation that seeks to further
examine how we might use them for their homeland security capacity.
I wholeheartedly support this legislation and strongly urge all of my
colleagues to join me in doing so.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance
of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1333, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to direct the
Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on the use
of Civil Air Patrol personnel and resources to support homeland
security missions, and for other purposes.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________