[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 24003]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               HOMELAND SECURITY NEEDS TO BE STRENGTHENED

  (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, the war that our country is waging in 
response to the attacks of September 11 and to eliminate the terrorists 
who are responsible for it is, without question, necessary and 
important. But so are our homeland security needs.
  The U.S. Customs Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service, the 
Coast Guard and regional defense forces need more staff, assets and 
funding. Our public health infrastructure, which will be our frontline 
biological and chemical defense, is full of holes and needs to be 
strengthened, especially in poor communities.
  Our children, who must be prepared to carry out the long-term 
security mission, are being undereducated in rundown schools and need a 
major investment of our time and capital.
  The biggest obstacles to meeting our obligations for security for our 
communities, including access to quality health care and a sound 
education for our children, is the tax cut. The insistence that we move 
forward and, worse, move it up at this time is putting our country and 
every citizen at risk.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to roll back the tax cut so that we can properly 
prepare this country to meet our critical health, education and 
security needs.

                          ____________________