Appropriations Bills

WASHINGTON – David R. Obey (D-WI), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement to explain why he will vote against the FY 2006 Homeland Security Appropriations bill expected to be considered on the House Floor late today.

“It is with regret that I intend to vote against the 2006 Homeland Security Appropriations conference report to be considered on the floor today.”

“Let me first point out that the conferees have made many improvements to the bill proposed by the President.

• “The conference agreement funds border enforcement and control at about $675 million above the President’s request. This is for 1,000 more border patrol agents, at least 1,800 additional detention beds, and 350 more immigration investigators and inspectors.
  
  
• “The conference agreement provides funding to beef up transit security and port security, at $150 million and $175 million respectively. The Bush budget requested no specific funding for these grant programs, even though the needs are great and the threat is real.
  
  
• “The conference agreement provides $655 million for fire grants, $155 million or 30% more than the Bush request. Fire fighters are some of the first to arrive at disasters, be they natural or man-made.
  
  
• “The conference agreement provides $30 million for three pilot projects to increase substantially the screening of cargo carried on passenger aircraft. This is a major terrorism vulnerability that remains unaddressed by the Bush Administration.
  
  
• “The conference agreement mandates strict oversight of the aviation passenger prescreening program and the Department’s marking of documents as security sensitive. The conference agreement contains a provision providing the Department’s Privacy Office the freedom to do its job, and prevents changes to its reports by others in DHS.

“BUT, there are three big problems with this conference report that should not be overlooked.

“First, funding is insufficient. The discretionary funding provided in this legislation is only $1.3 billion, or 4.5% more than was provided in 2005. This is only slightly more than inflation. Because of the need to add $675 million more for border programs, the conferees cut funding for other programs substantially below the President’s own request. These funding cuts include such programs as pre-disaster mitigation, terrorism grants to states and localities, Coast Guard operations, and aviation security screening. Ranking Member Sabo, Senator Byrd and I attempted to raise the funding level by $1.7 billion in conference and were rejected in a party line vote. This $1.7 billion would have gone to:

• “Beef up FEMA and disaster mitigation programs by $185 million or 39%. This funding would have gone to increase FEMA staffing, expand catastrophic planning, allow FEMA to conduct additional exercises like Hurricane Pam, and reinstate the successful Project Impact, which leveraged federal funding so local communities could construct hazard prevention measures.
  
  
• “Increase emergency management grants by $132 million, fire grants by $290 million and metropolitan medical response system grants by $20 million. This additional funding would strengthen the backbone of our nation’s all-hazards emergency management system. the capability of our firefighters, and the capacity of local medical response.
  
  
• “Substantially improve chemical, transit and port security. This legislation provides only a little more funding than what is being provided today, even after the London bombings. Our amendment would have resulted in providing $500 million, or one and two-thirds, more than the $325 million contained in this legislation.
  
  
• “Fund critical security operations, such as aviation security, Coast Guard and the entry-exit system known as US VISIT at the levels requested by the President.

“Second, a thoughtless reorganization (the sixth since DHS was created 2 ˝ years ago) is approved. Two weeks ago members of the majority party said that it was premature to return FEMA to its previous independent status with qualified people in charge. Instead this legislation embraces a reorganization proposed by Secretary Chertoff three months ago, before Hurricane Katrina. In fact, Hurricane Katrina is referenced only once in this legislation. This reorganization proposal was developed in the dark of night. The public does not know what options the Secretary considered or what the agencies within the Department of Homeland Security recommended to him.

“This legislation goes further in the wrong direction by moving the Fire Academy and other training programs out of FEMA. This legislation goes further in the wrong direction by separating FEMA from the Department’s preparedness programs. And it does this just because Secretary Chertoff wants it. This Republican Congress just can’t find it in its heart to ask hard questions about proposals from this Administration.

“Third, FEMA is not reformed in this legislation. Nothing in this legislation provides for qualified leadership at FEMA. Nothing in this legislation provides for FEMA to return to the robust staffing levels of the 1990s. Nothing in this legislation provides for FEMA to have a strong role in preparing local communities to respond to disasters. Nothing in this legislation provides for FEMA to be an independent entity reporting directly to the President. This legislation keeps FEMA buried in a dysfunctional bureaucracy.

“The issues that face the nation regarding our ability to be prepared for a terrorist attack or major disaster were all too chillingly revealed with Hurricane Katrina. They shouldn’t just be pushed off to another day.”

View the fiscal year 2006 Homeland Security Conference Report:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=162.140.64.21&filename;=hr241.pdf&directory;=/diskb/wais/data/109_cong_reports

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