Washington, DC – The House Select Committee on Homeland Security today heard testimony from Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on the recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland), a member of the committee, gave the following statement at the hearing:
“I want to welcome Secretary Ridge again to the Committee. As you know, we had the honor of hearing from September 11th Commission Chairman Kean and Vice Chairman Hamilton last month, and the entire Congress has been engaged in the process of deciding how best to implement the Commission’s recommendations. As you are one of the key leaders in this effort, I am glad to have the chance to hear your thoughts today.
“While some of the Commission’s recommendations require major structural changes to be made to the Executive and Legislative branches, there are many more that can, in my opinion, be implemented immediately – in some cases without enacting legislation. As the chief official responsible for many of the day-to-day efforts to secure our country, I hope you can speak to some of these this afternoon.
“For example: airport security. Since the summer of 2003, the Department of Homeland Security has cited intelligence reports that terrorists remain interested in using aircraft as weapons against the United States. A GAO report released in June concluded our airports and aircraft are still vulnerable – passengers are not checked adequately for explosives, and more than 1 million airport workers, many of whom have antiquated background checks, enter secured areas each day without being physically screened. The Commission recommended that we immediately improve screening of passengers and more closely oversee screener performance. In fact, during our hearing, Chairman Kean said “everybody should go through metal detectors, my belief, without exception.” Many of my colleagues and I have been recommending action on this for months, and we have been repeatedly told that it would be too inconvenient to implement. Well, Heathrow does it, and Charles DeGaulle in Paris is well on its way. The delay in our action is simply inexcusable.
“Another area in which we could be taking immediate action is interoperable communications. Our communication systems failed our first responders on September 11th, leading to many deaths that could have been prevented. In May, I introduced the CONNECT First Responders Act, a bill that would fund the creation of a nationwide interoperable communications infrastructure – a goal for which the Department of Homeland Security requested exactly nothing for Fiscal Year 2005.
“The Commission recommended that Congress support efforts to improve communications connectivity, and working together, Congress and the Department could make important strides in just a short amount of time. Meanwhile, our first responders remain unconnected in case of another major incident.
“A great deal of the focus surrounding the Commission’s report has centered on Congress, and I think that is appropriate. But the responsibility for implementing these common-sense measures does not rest on Capitol Hill alone. Mr. Secretary, we are looking to you for leadership in pushing through some of the most critical, and practical, reforms immediately. I hope you will work closely with us in this regard.”
