[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16906]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004

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                               speech of

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 24, 2003

  The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of-the Union 
had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2555) making appropriations for 
the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2004, and for other purposes:
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the 
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill. This is the first 
appropriations bill for the new Department and there are few 
legislative issues that will have as great an impact on our nation.
  As many of my colleagues are aware, I have continually expressed 
concern over inadequate funding available for first responders. I 
introduced legislation in both this, and the 107th Congress to remedy 
this funding shortfall. So, when I first reviewed this legislation, I 
was pleased to note that it provides $888 million more to first 
responders than the President requested. However, the CBO estimates 
that with price increases in the current fiscal year, this legislation, 
in real dollar terms, is about $150 million below current levels. The 
proposed legislation is clearly inadequate to provide the homeland 
security we need.
  This is especially alarming given the fact that the states are 
suffering their worst fiscal crisis since World War II. The National 
Governors' Association reports that 46 states have significant revenue 
shortfalls, and that several have shortfalls in excess of $1 billion. 
Homeland Security is one of our most critical national priorities, and 
yet this Administration is determined to offer $350 billion in new tax 
breaks.
  A number of critical security shortfalls are not addressed in this 
legislation. For instance, the U.S. Coast Guard estimates that to 
adequately secure our ports with cameras and other security measures 
will cost approximately $4.4 billion, yet this bill provides only $100 
million for this initiative. In addition, there are no funds in this 
bill to improve methods of inspecting people and cargo entering this 
country through our ports. Nor are their any funds to increase the 
number of containers inspected. According to nearly every expert in the 
field of security, these areas have been severely neglected since 9/11.
  With the budget deficit projected at more than $400 billion this 
year, a few billion more for homeland security won't matter very much. 
I urge my colleagues to carefully consider what a ``yes'' vote will 
mean for a number of Amendments that will be introduced later today. 
True, they will increase the cost of this legislation, but more 
importantly, they will increase our national security, which is what 
this bill is fundamentally supposed to accomplish.

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