[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 8759]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 REPUBLICAN BUDGET SHORTCHANGES AMERICA

  (Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, the budget shortchanges the security of 
cities and towns across America. The next terrorist we catch might be 
caught by the FBI, but it is more likely that they will be found by 
local law enforcement, like the routine traffic stop in April of 2001, 
where a police officer pulled over none other than the 9-11 ring leader 
Mohammed Atta.
  It is not clear that the 9-11 attacks could have been prevented by a 
traffic stop, but what should be clear is that even if our government 
has information on would-be terrorists, local law enforcement is still 
out of the loop.
  The President and the Republican leaders in Congress both ignore this 
issue in their budgets. While we spend billions to tear down and 
rebuild Iraq, the Republican budget shortchanges the local police 
officers, firefighters, and other first responders who are America's 
first defense against terror.
  In my own district, the community of Culver City, California, is 
right next to the Los Angeles International Airport. They need our 
support with first responders.

                          ____________________