Appropriations Bills

(WASHINGTON, DC) – House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee today rejected a move by Ranking Member Dave Obey to make $3 billion in urgent investments in homeland security. The Obey investments would have made America’s airports and seaports more secure from terrorist attack, strengthened the nation’s border security, helped the federal government better prepare for bioterrorism attack, and provided funds for local police, fire and EMS communications and emergency equipment.

“We are still far from providing the American people with the levels of security specified by the Administration and this Congress,” Obey told the House Appropriations Committee hearing. “We have too few air marshals to keep the flying public safe, huge gaps in the security along the U.S.-Canadian boarder, a small fraction of the critical inspections of containerized cargo in our seaports, and most of our local police, fire and EMS personnel are still without the disaster equipment they need,”

“President Bush has said it was all but certain that terrorists could attempt a major attack on the United States before the end of the year. If the President determines that additional resources are necessary to thwart such an attack, this $3 billion contingency reserve must be ready.”

Under the Obey plan, the funds would have been available for the President to:

• Put more air marshals on flights;
• Put more radiation and surveillance monitors at our borders and ports;
• Increase surveillance on our transit systems;
• Increase surveillance by local police of critical infrastructure facilities;
• Improve the ability of our police and firefighters to communicate with each other and be suited properly;
• Inspect additional containers coming into the United States;
• Increase our stockpile of antibiotics;
• Increase air patrols of our borders; and
• Improve the current aviation security screening system.

Obey’s homeland security improvement plan was rejected on a straight party vote, with all Republicans on the Committee opposing it.