[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 4, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                NATIONAL BOMBING PREVENTION ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 2009

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H.R. 549, the National Bombing Prevention Act, introduced by my 
distinguished colleague from New York, Representative King. This 
important legislation establishes the Office of Bombing Prevention 
within the Protective Security Coordination Division of the Office of 
Infrastructure Protection of the Department.
  This legislation is a bi-partisan bill, whose lead sponsor is the 
Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, Representative 
King and is also cosponsored by Chairman Thompson. The function of the 
Office of Bombing Prevention already exists in the Department, and this 
bill establishes it in statute. The Office is responsible for 
coordinating the Government efforts to deter, detect, prevent, protect 
against, and respond to terrorist explosive attacks in the United 
States. As we all know, the most likely terrorist threat to our 
nation's critical infrastructure and transportation modes is from 
explosives. Moreover, although our nation's security experts have been 
working assiduously on preventing large-scale terror attacks since the 
terror attacks that hurt our nation, we must also be vigilant when it 
comes to improvised and smaller attacks.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to ensure that the Office of Bombing Prevention 
has the protection of being established by the force of law, so the 
Department can more readily meet the threats to our nation. This 
legislation requires the Secretary to develop and periodically update a 
national strategy to prevent and prepare for terrorist explosive 
attacks in the United States which is due 90 days after the date of 
enactment. The Secretary is further required to report to Congress 
regarding the national strategy. This strategy is also called for by 
Homeland Security Presidential Directive-19, Combating Terrorist Use of 
Explosives in the United States, issued by President Bush in February 
of 2007. This legislation also authorizes the Office to support 
technology transfer efforts as well as research into explosives 
detection and mitigation.
  I did, however, have one reservation with regards to this 
legislation, regarding canine procurement, which is why I introduced an 
amendment, which was addressed by the bill in Sections 4 and 5. Dogs 
are used to detect illicit and illegal substances every day. They are 
used to: detect illegal narcotics; find money that is being smuggled 
out of the country; and locate explosives that may be concealed in 
cargo, within vehicles, on aircraft, in luggage and on passengers.
  There is no doubt that every day, the actions of these dogs and their 
handlers significantly contribute toward deterring threats and 
protecting our nation from terrorists. While the contributions of our 
canine forces are priceless, they are not without cost. We must place a 
price on what we are willing to pay for untrained dogs.
  The Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General has found 
that from April 2006 through June 2007, Customs and Border Protection 
spent $1.46 million on purchasing 322 untrained dogs--that is about 
$4500 per dog. Most of these dogs are purchased in Europe and brought 
to America. These are not fully trained animals. They are puppies that 
will be trained to provide valuable service. I think most people would 
find $4500 for an untrained dog an exorbitant amount.
  However, I cannot deem this amount out of bounds because the 
Department of Defense pays $3500 for each untrained dog. The Secret 
Service pays an average of $4500 for each untrained dog. Therefore, the 
price paid by CBP is within the acceptable range of current practice. 
However, I think that if we are to be good stewards of the American tax 
dollar, we must change the current practice. When one considers that 
domestic breeders offer the same kinds of dogs for $500-$2000, we 
cannot justify what I can only call a puppy tariff.
  I am proud to support this legislation, which bring our great nation 
closer to its goal of securing the homeland, and I encourage my 
colleagues to support this important legislation.

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