[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17123]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT


                                 grants

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, last week, Senator Lieberman and I 
offered, and the Senate adopted, Amendment #1142 to H.R. 2360, the 
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act. The amendment, 
which seeks to improve the process for providing homeland security 
grants to State and local governments, is nearly identical to S. 21, 
the Homeland Security Grant Enhancement Act of 2005, a bill which was 
reported out of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs. S. 21 was placed on the Senate's legislative calendar on May 
4, 2005, and a detailed and comprehensive report from the Committee, 
Senate Report 109-71, accompanied S. 21 at that time. Because of the 
near identity of S. 21 and the amendment, this report pertains to 
Amendment #1142 as well.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I agree with the Senator from Maine 
that the Committee report pertains to the amendment as well as to S. 
21, on which the amendment is almost wholly based. The report provides 
a useful explanation of, and a broader context to, the amendment, and I 
recommend that those participating in the conference of the Homeland 
Security Appropriations bill look to it to elucidate the amendment. 
Also, to the extent that the language of Amendment #1142 will be 
enacted, I urge the Department of Homeland Security and others who may 
be called upon to implement or interpret these provisions to look to 
the text of the committee report for guidance in that implementation or 
interpretation.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I join with the Senator from Connecticut 
in encouraging those who are conferees on this bill and those who will 
be implementing the amendment if it is enacted to read and rely on the 
text of Senate Report 109-71.

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