[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23686]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. ALBERT RUSSELL WYNN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 28, 2001

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3338) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes:

  Mr. WYNN. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to the rule to 
H.R. 3338, the Defense Appropriations bill. The rule precludes the 
House from considering the Obey amendment, which would provide needed 
increased funding for homeland security. While the underlying bill does 
increase funding for homeland security, it simply does not go far 
enough. It is homeland security on the cheap.
  The rule precludes the Obey amendment, which, among other things, 
would provide $150 million in grants for local firefighting units. In 
addition, the bill does not provide adequate funding to help local 
governments meet their increased police and emergency personnel needs 
since September 11th. This rule does not allow for increased funding 
for local law enforcement that is critical for the protection of 
Americans across the country.
  Since September 11th, local governments have been carrying most of 
the burden of responding to the increased security and emergency needs 
of our citizens that include: periodic lengthened shifts, additional 
patrols at sensitive facilities and structures, and responding to the 
growing number of false alarms and hoaxes. This results in a higher 
rate of overtime for governments in order to pay for security and 
emergency personnel. These important responsibilities fall on local 
governments who had tight budgets prior to September 11th. Now they are 
even tighter. The federal government must provide aid to local 
governments to insure that our first responders remain one of our 
strongest links.
  Moreover, the bill does not provide any additional funds to increase 
port security. The Obey amendment would have provided an additional 
$200 million in grants for port security upgrades. We must provide 
security measures at seaports to prevent the shipment of bombs and 
weapons of mass destruction through our seaports.
  The bill does not provide increased funding to secure our vitally 
important Strategic Petroleum Reserves. The Obey Amendment would have 
provided $5 million to secure our petroleum reserves. Several weeks 
ago, with the Administration's support, Congress passed a resolution 
urging the Secretary of Energy to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve 
to its full capacity. It defies logic for us to spend the money filling 
this vital reserve without securing the facilities that store the 
petroleum.
  As we address threats on our homefront, we should also be fully 
prepared to fight an asymmetric war abroad. We must, therefore, take 
all steps necessary to reduce U.S. casualties, which requires 
minimizing incidents of friendly fire. The Automatic Acoustic Target 
Recognition programs, not fully funded in the bill, involves the 
identification of aircraft and vehicles by the background acoustic 
signature obtained from intercepted radio transmissions or proximate 
ground sensors. The program contributes to the detection of troop and 
vehicle movements, the proper identification of aircraft and vehicles 
to prioritize fire control and to prevent friendly fire casualties. 
When this bill goes to conference, I urge the conferees to do 
everything they can to save the lives of U.S. military troops and fully 
fund this program.
  I urge my colleagues to reject the rule. We must not fund the war 
against terrorism on the cheap. We must recognize our needs at home and 
abroad and that means adequately assisting local first responders, 
securing our vital resources, securing our ports, and minimizing the 
loss of U.S. military personnel.

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