[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12120]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TEXAS DEMOCRATS TAKE A STAND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Eddie Bernice Johnson) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I stand here to 
praise the actions last week of 50-plus Texas House Democrats, 
including the representatives from my county, Representative Roberto 
Alonzo, Yvonne Davis, Terri Hodge, Jesse Jones, Steve Wollens, and from 
the adjoining county of Tarrant, Lon Burnan, and my classmates of the 
class of 1972, Senfronia Thompson and Pete Laney.
  While I have not named the other courageous Democrats, I thank them 
all for their commitment to justice and integrity. No game playing, no 
playing both sides, the Texans took a stand. They stood against an 
unnecessary and unprecedented procedure which was an insult to Texas 
voters. They stood against the destruction of our current process which 
protects the voting rights of Texas citizens, and they stood against a 
special interest legislative agenda which placed politics before issues 
that are critical to Texas families such as school finance and the 
State budget and insurance crisis.
  As I reflect upon the actions of the Texas House Democrats, I am 
disturbed by the reaction of their Republican counterparts in securing 
involvement in the Department of Homeland Security and its resources in 
this political matter.
  The mission of the Department of Homeland Security is to prevent 
terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America's 
vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from 
attacks that do occur.
  Further, the Department's mandate is to mobilize and focus the 
resources of the Federal Government to accomplish this mission. For 
2003, the Homeland Security budget is $33.5 billion and the 
administration's fiscal year 2004 request is $36.2 billion at a 7.4 
percent increase.
  The budgetary line items for the agency include improving information 
analyses and infrastructure protection, preparing for and responding to 
national emergencies, securing the Nation's borders and transportation 
systems, improving immigration services, and advancing science and 
technology. There is no budgetary line item slated for tracking down 
State legislators who are not terrorists and not a threat to homeland 
security.
  Consequently, the Texas Republicans and this administration must 
answer the following question: Were the citizens of this Nation served 
well in the use of resources by the Department of Homeland Security in 
a Texas political matter? I submit that the answer is no.
  Again, I salute the Texas House Democrats for their courageous and 
principled action and urge the administration to guarantee that the 
Department of Homeland Security follows its mandate: namely, securing 
our homeland from terrorism, not State legislators.

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