[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17830]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       MAKING OUR HOMELAND SECURE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 7, 2003, the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. 
Christensen) is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, we know that September 11 was now 
almost 2 years ago, and that my country has a limited attention span. 
Even so, I cannot believe that 2 weeks after a bipartisan report told 
us that we are terribly unprepared for a bioterrorism attack, there 
have been no hearings.
  Specifically, the report, compiled after interviews and assessments 
around this country, said that our first responders, the first line of 
defense and response in any kind of terrorist attack, is not even close 
to being prepared. Yet we have hardly heard a whimper up here, which 
makes me wonder if we have heard what the report said. So I want to use 
this time to just highlight a few things, that hopefully will finally 
get everyone's attention.
  First, while there may be a few places that are ahead, on the average 
fire departments cannot communicate or protect their staff in the case 
of a WMD attack. Only 10 percent have the capability to respond to a 
building collapse. Neither are police departments prepared, and most 
cities do not have the means to identify a hazardous agent.
  They are underfunded by almost $100 million. But even if the money 
was there, it is not likely it would improve the situation, because the 
task force found that underlying all this, there is no preparedness, 
coordination or standards. Local jurisdictions have had to develop them 
on their own, so we probably have a zillion plans, uncoordinated and 
with no clear guidance and direction from the Department of Homeland 
Security. This has been a stated concern of many of us on the 
committee.
  Also cited as a major obstacle is the finding that the appropriations 
process, and, I would add, the whole process, is too politicized. Then, 
when the money gets appropriated, the conflicting bureaucracies and the 
red tape, as well as probably some politics at other levels too, keep 
it from getting to the first responders where it is needed.
  But I want to spend my remaining time on one of my greatest concerns, 
the lack of readiness of our public health system, also cited in the 
report, as well by many on the committee, time and time again.
  Labs are not equipped and hospitals are not prepared to respond to 
the need for increased capacity, despite the fancy center at the 
Department of Health and Human Services. There is a severe shortage of 
trained personnel, a fact that is continuously being made worse by the 
deployment of many first responders to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo 
Bay.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an important report. If the people on the 
ground, the ones all of us will depend on in those critical first hours 
of an attack, do not have the tools, the training or the manpower 
required, we can all forget it.
  There are some simple, but very well-researched and important 
recommendations, that need to be implemented. Just because they are 
what Democrats have been calling for from the outset should never get 
in the way of our protecting our American family from a future 
terrorist attack which everyone agrees will likely come.
  All of us have the responsibility to make sure that every corner of 
this great country and all of the wonderful people who live here have a 
chance of making it through. Let the committee do its work, and let us 
all work together to make our homeland secure.

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