[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2729-2730]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            FIRST RESPONDERS

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, my first statement refers to first 
responders and the tremendous progress made over the last several years 
in addressing responses to emergencies of all types. On Tuesday, the 
director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency came to 
Washington to brief me and the entire Tennessee delegation on our 
State's homeland security needs. It was fitting, I was thinking at the 
time, for him to be here on the day that we voted on the nomination of 
Judge Michael Chertoff.
  It has been 3\1/2\ years since we were attacked on September 11. 
Since then we have taken significant steps to strengthen and improve in 
so many ways our homeland security, from information and technology to 
training and to overall preparedness. The Department of Homeland 
Security was established in March of 2003 and has been central in 
overseeing and coordinating all of these efforts. It is a huge job. I 
applaud Secretary Tom Ridge for his skillful leadership during those 
very uncertain times.
  Since the September 11 tragedy, we have taken a number of steps. We 
hardened cockpit doors on 100 percent of large passenger aircraft; 100 
percent of all baggage is screened. We have deployed thousands of 
Federal air marshals and professionally trained screeners at our ports. 
We now screen 100 percent of high-risk cargo. We have also launched the 
US VISIT system which creates a database of pictures and finger scans 
of everyone entering the United States with a nonimmigrant visa. All of 
these preventive measures, along with many others, are indeed making 
America safer and more secure.
  September 11 taught us that the front lines of a catastrophic terror 
attack are not here or in policy but are local, in communities all 
across this country. It is the folks in our fire departments, in our 
police stations, in our emergency rooms, and in the volunteer corps. It 
is the brave men and women who rush to an attack site with almost 
superhuman stamina and compassion, working to save their fellow 
citizens.
  I am reminded of the Memphis and Shelby County Urban Search and 
Rescue Task Force that traveled to Washington to help at the Pentagon 
after September 11. All airplanes were shut down. The team loaded two 
tractor trailers, three buses, and a few cars, and drove all through 
the night from Tennessee until they arrived early in the morning of 
September 12th. It was a team of firefighters, doctors, nurses, 
computer technicians, and rescue dog handlers who worked 12-hour 
backbreaking shifts every day for days--believe it was a total of 8 
days--to help secure the Pentagon's structure and save lives.
  Two or three days after September 11, I had the opportunity to go and 
visit with this rescue task force and to

[[Page 2730]]

thank them. I remember vividly the day, with the large American flag 
still on the debris of the Pentagon behind the setup of the task force, 
and that large Tennessee flag. At that time, all I could say was: Thank 
you for being on the front line, for responding so immediately, for 
leaving the comfort of your own homes to volunteer to respond. Like so 
many brave and committed first responders from around the country, 
their assistance was invaluable.
  Tennessee received $32.4 million for fiscal year 2004 and $32.6 
million for fiscal year 2005 to continue training and strengthening our 
first responders and local capabilities.
  This month, fire departments across the State were awarded grants to 
promote fire safety and prevention. Meanwhile, Tennessee has 
established 26 Citizen Corps Councils to help coordinate emergency 
volunteers. As we learned on 9/11, we are all in this together.
  Another area that must be addressed is our biohazard preparedness. We 
know that at least 11, and as many as 17, nations already have 
offensive biological weapons programs--at least 11 nations. Experts 
believe these countries' arsenals are stocked with agents that could be 
devastating as weapons. The United States must be prepared for the 
eventuality of another bioterror attack. That is why in the last 
Congress we passed Project Bioshield, which authorizes $5.6 billion 
over 10 years for the development of vaccines and a whole range of 
other countermeasures against potential biological attacks. Such 
potential attacks could include those of smallpox, anthrax, and 
botulism toxin, as well as other dangerous pathogens such as Ebola and 
plague.
  This sort of legislation shows us leading on the challenges of 
tomorrow. These are proactive pieces of legislation that are 
preventive, that make us safer and more secure. This legislation will 
help ensure that our public health agencies focus, in a deliberate and 
comprehensive way, on developing drugs and countermeasures and vaccines 
and devices whether it is against a biological attack or chemical 
attack or radiological attack or an attack by nuclear agents or dirty 
bombs.
  This year, we hope to build on these measures with another bioshield 
act which is designed to better protect and strengthen our domestic 
public health infrastructure. Specifically, this legislation improves 
the availability and accessibility of vaccines. It strengthens our 
capacity to respond efficiently in the event of a public health 
emergency. And it gets more first responders into the field by offering 
loan repayments in return for service at the FDA, the Food and Drug 
Administration, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
CDC, or the National Institutes of Health, or other public health 
agencies.
  Well, there is much to do to make America safer and more secure, from 
the war on terror, to strengthening the homeland. Next week, I will be 
returning to my State, as most of our colleagues will be doing during 
this period of recess, and attending a conference in Tennessee on a 
study of what our current plans are and to also explore ways in which 
we can maximize our efforts. It is hard to plan when we do not know 
what might be next. That is why we must be ever vigilant and ever 
creative in securing ourselves from attack. From our Federal officials, 
to our local volunteers, protecting the homeland is everyone's duty.

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