[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16188-16190]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I opposed the Ensign and McCain amendments 
Nos. 1219 and 1171 to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, H.R. 
2360.
  These amendments would have shifted $566 million from grants for 
first responders, including our State and local police officers, 
firefighters, and emergency health providers, to provide for an 
increase in detention beds and border security personnel. Those cuts in 
first responder funds would have been in addition to the $467 million 
in first responder cuts already included in the underlying bill, 
resulting in a cut of 43 percent below fiscal year 2005. Such a cut in 
funding for equipping and training our first responders at a time when 
the Nation is at risk of a terrorist attack would not be appropriate. 
In addition, the Ensign amendment would have provided new spending 
power to the Homeland Security Secretary, which is not necessary or 
appropriate.
  Having successfully sponsored an amendment to the fiscal year 2005 
Iraq supplemental that added 500 Border Patrol agents, 218 immigration 
investigators, and detention officers, and 1,950 detention beds, and 
having worked closely with Chairman Gregg to see that the underlying 
bill includes robust funding for our border security, I know that such 
efforts can be achieved without cutting vital funds for our first 
responders or providing new spending authority to the Secretary of 
Homeland Security. Indeed, if the amendments were adopted, the funds 
would likely have sat in the Treasury because the Department could not 
hire and train more personnel than the levels provided in the committee 
bill.
  That is why I, along with a bipartisan majority of the Senate, joined 
with the chairman to oppose these amendments.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I want to add my thoughts to the debate 
on the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill for fiscal 
year 2006.

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  First, I want to preface my remarks by applauding the chairman and 
ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee for 
their work on this important bill. They worked within very difficult 
constraints and had to make incredibly difficult tradeoffs in deciding 
where to place our homeland security spending priorities. The fight 
against terrorism is our number one priority and this appropriations 
bill is a key component in that fight.
  We have been debating this important bill in the aftermath of the 
recent terrorist attacks in London. Those horrible attacks served as 
yet another reminder of the importance of working with our allies to 
defeat terrorist networks. This tragic event also reminds us of how 
much we rely on our first responders and the employees of the 
Department of Homeland Security to keep us safe. I want to thank these 
brave men and women who work daily to protect this Nation. They are on 
the front lines of the fight against terrorism. They are the ones who 
are called on to stop and respond to any future attack upon our Nation. 
This bill includes important resources these brave men and women need 
to perform their critical tasks.
  I was pleased that the Senate adopted my amendment requiring the 
Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress on its use of 
data-mining in fiscal year 2006. This amendment will provide the 
American people with critical information about the use of and plans 
for data-mining technology and the way highly personal information, 
like credit reports, travel records and other personal information, may 
be obtained and used by our Government. This amendment will not stop 
any data-mining--it simply requires the Department of Homeland Security 
to report to Congress on any data-mining programs it is using or 
developing and how these programs implicate the civil liberties and 
privacy of all Americans. With complete information, the American 
people will be able to make considered judgments about which programs 
should and should not go forward.
  I was also pleased that the Senate adopted an amendment that I 
cosponsored that was offered by Senator Voinovich. This amendment 
increases funding for Emergency Management Performance Grants, EMPG, by 
$10 million to $190 million, which is $20 million more than requested 
by the President. The EMPG program is crucial in assisting State and 
local officials in preparing for all-hazards emergencies. The program 
provides emergency managers with the resources they need to increase 
coordination and planning so that if an emergency occurs, State and 
local officials will respond much more efficiently and effectively. 
Although this boost in funding does not fully address the $264 million 
shortfall identified last year by the National Emergency Management 
Association, it is an important step in the right direction.
  Unfortunately, not all of our first responder programs fared as well. 
Many, including firefighter grants and State homeland security grants, 
were significantly cut. This bill also has less funding for transit 
security than last year's Senate bill and bipartisan efforts to 
increase that funding to levels authorized by the Senate last year 
unfortunately failed. Although I am very disappointed with the major 
cuts to first responder programs and the failure to increase transit 
funding, I believe this bill accomplishes a lot within the budgetary 
constraints in which it operates. It goes a long way towards improving 
our border security and to combating the multitude of evolving threats 
faced by our Nation. However, I regret that it does not go far enough.
  Let me explain. I strongly agree with the distinguished chairman when 
he said that Congress must decide on the budget priorities within the 
context of a reasonable budget for national defense and homeland 
security. We must answer the question: Do our national security budget 
priorities most effectively address the threats we face? I believe that 
this homeland security bill does a reasonably good job within its 
limited budget allocation. However, within the broader context of our 
overall national security spending, our priorities are abysmally out of 
touch with reality. For example, we continue to spend $8 billion to $10 
billion a year on an unproven missile defense system. Those figures 
suggest that this troubled program is almost twice as important to our 
Nation's security as Customs and Border Protection, three times more 
important than the entire Transportation Security Administration, and 
three times more important than the combined funding for our first 
responders, ports, transit, and rail security. It is time to take a 
broader view when it comes to our national security budget priorities 
and make the tradeoffs that must be made.
  I supported several amendments that would have added funding for 
critical security needs not fully addressed in this bill. I must point 
out again this year that I do not take lightly my decision to vote in 
favor of spending more money. Fiscal responsibility is one of my 
highest priorities and I constantly look for ways to limit government 
spending. I am honored that the Concord Coalition and others have 
recognized me for my efforts in this regard. Although fiscal 
responsibility remains one of my top priorities, it is imperative that 
we provide the resources needed to combat terrorism.
  I voted for this bill because it provides funding for many important 
security needs. However, our Nation's vulnerabilities demand more and I 
will continue to work to ensure that our vital homeland security needs 
are met.


             Stopping Gun Violence Through Public Awareness

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I would like to make my colleagues aware of 
one of the many organizations working to bring an end to the gun 
violence problem in this country, the PAX organization based in New 
York City. According to their Web site, PAX is ``the largest non-
political, nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the gun violence 
epidemic in America.'' As part of its public health campaigns, PAX 
promotes commonsense solutions to help protect families, teenagers, and 
children from the tragedy of gun violence.
  One national program run by PAX, known as the Asking Saves Kids or 
ASK Campaign, encourages parents to simply ask other parents if there 
are guns in the homes where their children play. According to 
statistics cited by the ASK Campaign, more than 40 percent of 
households with children have guns. In the overwhelming majority of 
these households, the child also knows where the gun is hidden. Using 
public service advertising and grassroots education, the ASK Campaign 
is working to prevent accidental shootings involving children by 
encouraging parents to take common sense steps to protect their 
children. The ASK Campaign is a partnership between PAX and the Academy 
of Pediatrics and is supported by more than 400 organizations 
nationwide including the American Medical Association, the American 
Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the 
Children's Defense Fund, and the Police Executive Research Forum.
  According to PAX, in 75 percent of the school shootings in our 
country, the attackers told other students of their plans prior to the 
attack. In addition, PAX states that students bring more than 100,000 
guns to school every day. To help address these issues, PAX has created 
the Speak Up Campaign. The centerpiece of the campaign is a national 
hotline, 1-866-SPEAK-UP, where children and teenagers can call to 
anonymously report threats involving weapons at their school. Since the 
creation of the hotline in 2002, the Speak Up Campaign has received 
more than 5,000 calls which were then passed along to appropriate law 
enforcement officials. To increase public awareness of school violence 
prevention and the Speak Up hotline, the campaign has created an 
outreach program for schools and other community organizations. PAX has 
also partnered with various cable networks including MTV, NBC, ABC, and 
CBS to help reach children, teens, and parents with its message.
  I thank the PAX organization and their partners for their work to end 
gun violence. Their commonsense approach provides families with 
practical

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solutions to help protect themselves from the tragedy of gun violence. 
I am hopeful that the 109th Congress will do more to support their 
efforts by taking up and passing sensible gun safety legislation.

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