[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8147]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HOMELAND SECURITY PRIORITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise to address my colleagues on the 
immediate needs of protecting America, and especially protecting those 
who protect us.
  This week, Congress will vote on an almost $78 billion war 
supplemental budget, of which most of this funding will be delivered to 
ensure America's Armed Forces, those protecting our liberties abroad, 
to make sure that they have the tools that they need to end this 
conflict successfully and return home as soon as possible. I, like most 
of my colleagues, will support this legislation.
  While I am pleased that Congress is addressing those Americans who 
are protecting us from attack abroad, I am concerned about the lack of 
funding for those brave Americans who are protecting us right here at 
home; namely, our first responders.
  The term ``first responder'' is thrown around a lot here. But it does 
mean something. They are our local police, firefighters, and emergency 
medical workers. They are the ones who run towards crime scenes, not 
away. They are the ones who run into burning buildings and not away. 
And they run towards the injured and dying, remaining calm and 
administering treatment and care.
  Since the devastating day of September 11, these people have been 
hailed in every corner of our great country. But oftentimes, a lot of 
the rhetoric we hear is simply just that. It is rhetoric. We heard some 
absurd rhetoric today from a very prominent Republican Member of 
Congress, but the Rules of the House do not allow me to distinguish 
which body he serves in, who said that the New York City police and 
firefighters should work overtime without pay as a sacrifice to the war 
effort. I guess he does not think the loss of 414 first responders in 
our fair city have sacrificed enough. Of course, this same gentleman 
has continually supported the Bush administration in opposing 
additional funding for our first responders, like so many Republicans 
have, while supporting a tax cut for the wealthiest in this country. 
What about calling upon them to sacrifice? The call to ask our first 
responders to make a sacrifice while not simultaneously calling about 
the wealthiest 5 percent in this country to make a sacrifice is 
ludicrous.
  My district is home to many of these first responders. I am the son 
of a New York City police officer and a cousin to several police 
officers and New York City firefighters. My family knows and 
understands sacrifice. We also know lunacy when we hear it, and the 
comments made today are simply lunacy.
  On 9/11, of the 414 of these first responders who were killed, the 
number includes 23 New York City police officers, and 343 members of 
the New York City Fire Department, of whom I knew more than just a few. 
I remember people lining the streets of New York to thank them, and we 
all heard every Member of Congress praise New York City's first 
responders for their heroism, and mourn them for the high price that 
they paid.
  But now Congress has the opportunity to put these words of praise and 
gratitude into action. We have the opportunity to provide our first 
responders with the state-of-the-art tools that they need to perform 
their jobs, save others, and survive themselves.
  On September 11 there was a breakdown in the communications equipment 
of our fire department, communications equipment that, if working as it 
should have been, could have alerted many of these firefighters and 
police officers of the impending collapse of the towers, the World 
Trade Center. Would they have left their position and fled? I doubt it, 
knowing the firefighters as I do. But at least they would have had the 
tools at their disposal to best protect themselves and to save others 
that day.
  While every firefighter is now equipped with new digital radios, 
there is still not a system of ``repeaters'' in place throughout the 
city which help radio signals penetrate skyscraper walls. This means 
these radios really would not be any different than the ones that 
failed on September 11 of 2001.
  Additionally, there is still no shared radio frequency between the 
police department and the fire departments, thereby forcing them to 
rely upon commanders for communication and coordination, a system that 
has failed in the past with tragic consequences. Additionally, New York 
State troopers still cannot communicate with New York City officers or 
Federal agents, causing yet another communications breakdown of our 
first line of domestic defense.
  If we remember September 11, and we can never forget it, we should 
also never forget the sacrifices that these men and women made. We 
should take this opportunity in the supplemental budget to make sure 
they have everything they need to do their jobs properly in the way 
that they need to do it.

                          ____________________