[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18444]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


INTRODUCTION OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS IMPLEMENTATION ACT 
                          OF 2004 (H.R. 5024)

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 14, 2004

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, recently the nation marked the third 
anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
  In addition to mourning the loss of so many lives, it is appropriate 
to ask: ``Are we as safe as we should be?'' Sadly, two high level 
inquiries, including the independent 9/11 Commission, have said: 
``no.''
  Our rail lines, ports, commercial aircraft, power plants, chemical 
facilities, and other critical infrastructure components are not as 
secure as they should be.
  Our first responders are not able to communicate with one another in 
real time, as they should be.
  Much of the world's supply of the materials used to build weapons of 
mass destruction is not secured, as it should be.
  Initiatives in the Department of Homeland Security are not funded 
adequately by the President and the Republican Congress, as they should 
be.
  The nation's unmet security needs involve more than insufficient 
resources. The systemic governmental failures that opened the door for 
the terrorists to strike on 9/11 have been repeatedly identified. But 
there has been no concerted effort to fix them.
  Eighteen months ago, a Joint Inquiry by the congressional 
intelligence committees produced a bipartisan call for change in the 
structure of the intelligence community. Nothing came of it.
  Eight weeks ago, the 9/11 Commission issued a unanimous, bipartisan 
report recommending change--in the intelligence community and 
elsewhere--to deal with the terrorist threat. The Commission coupled 
its recommendations with a call for urgent action.
  What was the response? The congressional recess went on, largely 
undisturbed, even after the threat level for New York and Washington 
was raised.
  There has been too much delay. Congress must commit itself today to 
using the time left in this session to enact legislation to address the 
problems identified so clearly by the Commission and others.
  To focus our efforts, many of my Democratic colleagues have joined me 
in introducing a bill that translates the Commission's recommendations 
into legislative language.
  This bill will give the committees of jurisdiction a framework for 
considering the proposals on their merits, and reporting them to the 
House quickly for debate and votes.
  United together, with an unwavering bipartisan commitment to the 
security of our country, let us make as much progress as we can so that 
our words of comfort to the victims' families on September 11 are not 
diminished by their knowledge of how much critical work remains 
unfinished.

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