[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 28149]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 28149]]

 IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 3178, THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTI--TERRORISM TOOLS FOR 
                          WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. NICK SMITH

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 3, 2002

  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 
bill H.R. 3178, which I am proud to co-sponsor. This important 
legislation will address research gaps and support the development of 
new and improved technologies and practices that will improve the 
security of our water infrastructure.

  As we respond to the horrific attacks of September 11 militarily and 
diplomatically, we must be able to assess and reduce our 
vulnerabilities at home to make our nation more secure.

  The safety and availability of our water supply is something that we 
tend to take for granted. Across the U.S., over 27 billion gallons of 
water are pumped each day. Some of our water infrastructure is 
extremely old and is subject to natural threats, accidents, and 
terrorists.

  A major contamination of public water, either accidentally or 
deliberately, could cause widespread panic, disrupt the economy and 
lead to a loss of public confidence in water supply systems throughout 
the country. In 1996, the President's Commission on Critical 
Infrastructure Protection probed the security of the nation's critical 
infrastructures and determined that our water systems are highly 
vulnerable. In 1998, the President designated water systems as a 
critical infrastructure and assigned primary responsibility for this 
critical infrastructure.

  H.R. 3178 authorizes $12 million for each of fiscal years 2002 
through 2006 for the EPA to provide grants and other assistance for 
research, development, and demonstration of innovations to strengthen 
the security of water infrastructure systems. This includes processes 
and procedures that can be used to protect water systems and 
technologies for early warning systems, real-time monitoring sensors, 
water and wastewater treatment technologies, backup systems, and 
improved computer controls. Cyber security also is addressed.

  It is important that we not advertise our vulnerabilities and our 
response to them. I am pleased, therefore, that this legislation 
restricts access to the information developed under this program to 
those who need to know.

  Mr. Speaker, the critical importance of water to our nation would 
make H.R. 3178 necessary even without the current war on terrorism. In 
the wake of September 11, this legislation takes on renewed urgency, 
and I want to thank the Gentleman from New York and Chairman of the 
Science Committee, Mr. Boehlert, for his work in bringing this bill to 
the floor.

  I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

                          ____________________