[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14583]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           UNFAIR URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE ALLOCATIONS

  (Mr. SHAW asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise in protest once again in regard to the 
unfair allocation of Urban Area Security Initiative grants from the 
Department of Homeland Security by the city of Miami. Broward County in 
my district has not received nearly enough, not nearly enough, for the 
funding it needs to keep our critical infrastructure safe from 
terrorist attacks.
  On Sunday, a man crashed his SUV into a crowded terminal building at 
the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Broward County. 
He drove it all the way through two walls to the ticket counter. 
Airport officials were very quick to say, and correctly so, that the 
crash was not a terrorist act. But it could have been.
  Let us not forget that this area was home to the al Qaeda operatives 
prior to 9/11. Airport security was tight for the holiday weekend, but 
there were no security measures in place and no physical structures 
that could have stopped this man from killing or injuring hundreds of 
travelers in the terminal. Having metal posts along the sidewalks would 
have made it impossible for this man to drive his SUV into the 
terminal. Instead, the crash caused $100,000 worth of damage and 
threatened the safety of hundreds of holiday travelers.
  Mr. Speaker, both Broward and Palm Beach Counties are vulnerable 
targets. This is just one more reason why my district should be 
designated as its own urban area so that we can improve security 
measures that will protect our communities.

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