[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 14, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1081-E1082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 1, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2017) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and for other 
     purposes:

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition of H.R. 2017, the FY 
2012 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. As a member of the House 
Homeland Security Committee, I cannot stress enough the importance of 
ensuring state and local officials have the resources they need in 
order for them to efficiently and effectively respond to national and 
local emergencies. This bill breaks faith with first responders, who 
are essential to our national security, by significantly underfunding 
them.
  In particular, this bill proposes to cut firefighter assistance 
grants by more than fifty percent. The Assistance to Firefighter Grant 
program (FIRE) focuses on equipping firefighters with the necessary 
resources they need to respond to any national or local emergency in a 
post 9/11 environment. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency 
Response Grant program is designed to allow fire departments to 
increase their training and hiring of more firefighters. By cutting 
FIRE grants by 51 percent, from $405 million in FY 2011 to $200 million 
in FY 2012 and SAFER grants by 63 percent, from $405 million in FY 2011 
to $150 million in FY 2012, we ultimately risk jeopardizing the safety 
of our communities. In addition, this bill takes away direct funding 
for nine key state and local security grants (including State Homeland 
Security Grants, Urban Area Security Initiative, Transit Security 
Grants, and Port Security Grants), combines them into a separate block 
grant, and slashes the funding of the block grant by 55 percent--from 
$2.2 billion in FY 2011 to $1 billion in FY 2012. By requiring all of 
these critical programs to compete against one another for essentially 
half the funding they each received the previous year, this bill will 
force many of these programs to be underfunded or zeroed out entirely.
  This bill also significantly cuts Homeland Security Research and 
Development projects by 42 percent--from $688 million in FY 2011 to 
$398 million in FY 2012. By implementing these cuts, this bill would 
force us to eliminate more than 144 research projects in areas such as 
biological and explosives detection, advanced cyber security, and 
interoperability. In a time when our nation remains highly vulnerable 
to terrorism, we cannot afford to lose these essential counterterrorism 
research projects.
  In response to our troubling debt, many cuts were already made to 
H.R. 1473, the FY 2011 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 
102-10) For example, State Homeland Security Grants were cut from $950 
million in FY 2010 to $725 million in FY 2011; the Urban Area Security 
Initiative was cut from $887 million in FY 2010 to $725 million in FY 
2011; Transit Security grants were cut from $300 million in FY 2010 to 
$250 million in FY 2011; Port Security Grants were cut from $300 
million in FY 2010 to $250 million in FY 2011; and SAFER grants were 
cut from $420 million in FY 2010 to $405 million in FY 2011. By 
continuing to make substantial cuts, this bill will undoubtedly hinder 
the capabilities of our nation's first responders.
  According to The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) 
these cuts would have disastrous effects on the safety of our 
communities. They have stated that ``[a]t a time when state and local 
public safety budgets are shrinking, it is unconscionable to implement 
cuts of this magnitude. Make no mistake, if this proposal is enacted, 
it would devastate local fire department budgets and threaten public 
safety nationwide.'' In addition to the cutting of research programs, 
this bill also makes a foolish mistake of preserving a cap on the total 
number of TSA screeners at 46,000--which will prevent the additional 
hiring of personnel needed to staff new security technology.
  There will be a number of other troubling consequences if this bill 
is to pass:

[[Page E1082]]

  Transit agencies would not have funding to hire additional law 
enforcement officers, acquire bomb sniffing dogs, or install explosive 
screening devices at a time when open source media reports indicate 
that Al Qaeda may be attempting a major attack on the U.S. rail system.
  States and localities would receive greatly reduced funding (or be 
denied funding entirely) to harden tunnels and bridges or install 
surveillance systems at high-risk areas.
  Ports would not have funds for vessels to protect harbor waterways 
from a terrorist threat or for maritime training of law enforcement 
personnel at the ports.
  According to the National Association of Counties, a reduction in 
grant programs and the combining of funding would result in communities 
of all sizes not being able to enhance their level of preparedness to 
deal with all hazards, including potential nuclear, chemical, and 
biological attacks.
  As a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, I refuse to 
stand by this bill. We as members of Congress have a responsibility to 
protect our communities from any possible danger. For this reason, 
there is no higher priority than to adequately fund our homeland 
security, particularly our first responders such as firefighters. It 
makes no sense to weaken our Homeland Security program by cutting their 
resources in a time when terrorist threats continue to put our nation 
at risk. We as members of Congress must unite and assist our brave 
first responders in their efforts to help contain any threats by 
providing them with all necessary resources, rather than turn our backs 
and leave them without sufficient funding. This bill not only 
undermines our nation's security, it also undermines our allegiance to 
the American people who look up to us in this particular time to 
protect them from any possible danger, whether it is an act of 
terrorism or a natural disaster. For this reason, I oppose H.R. 2017, 
the FY 2012 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill.

                          ____________________