Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs
 As Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Lieberman pledges to continue to work in a bipartisan fashion with Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., to enact needed legislation and to oversee laws the two successfully enacted in previous years. Some of those achievements include restructuring the intelligence community, strengthening port security, strengthening chemical security, reforming lobbying and ethics rules, and reinventing FEMA after its disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina.
Chairman Lieberman is also exploring the ways in which young Muslims are radicalized to participate in terrorist attacks; he is considering legislation to overhaul the federal government's procurement policies; and he is continually working to obtain more resources for our first responders, the men and women who are on the frontlines of the war on terror at home.
During his previous tenure as Chairman of the Committee, then known simply as the Governmental Affairs Committee, in 2001 and 2002, Senator Lieberman was a leader in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and also focused on corporate accountability and on the Bush Administration's weakening of environmental regulations. He also drafted and won enactment of the E-Government Act of 2002, which required the federal government to improve access to information and services over the Internet, and which enhanced privacy protections.
For more information on Senator Lieberman's work on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, please visit their website.
Homeland Security
Homeland Security. Senator Lieberman has worked persistently to oversee the Department of Homeland Security since its creation in 2003, to ensure that first responders and preventers are provided with the resources they need to do their jobs and to instill an all-hazards approach that will enable the Department to respond to natural disasters as well as terrorist attacks. Also among his areas of focus have been the modernization of the Coast Guard's aging fleet and protecting national security employees from unfair abuse. In 2002, as Chairman of what was then known as the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Lieberman led the fight to create a new Department of Homeland Security. One month after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, he introduced legislation to reorganize the federal government to better protect the American people from terrorism and natural disasters and steered a bipartisan plan through his committee. After months of opposing the plan, the White House eventually endorsed the concept. Legislation that passed Congress in 2002 created a department incorporating key organizational elements Senator Lieberman advocated. Since then, Senator Lieberman has been a forceful advocate for additional funding above the President's annual budget requests for training of first responders, supplying additional equipment, protecting critical infrastructure, improving bioterrorism preparedness, and increasing port and transportation security.
Violent Islamist Extremism. In the 110th Congress, Senator Lieberman has been investigating the government's efforts to prevent the emergence of violent Islamist extremism inside the United States - otherwise known as homegrown terror. The Committee is holding a series of hearings exploring the capabilities of terrorist groups to grow and organize inside the U.S., including their use of the Internet to broadcast their hateful message and indoctrinate disaffected youth. The Committee has also examined the federal government's coordinated efforts to reach out to Muslim community leaders to help promote a peaceful message. The foiled terrorist plot to attack soldiers at Fort Dix, N.J., highlighted the ability of al-Qaeda-influenced cells to assemble and act within our country's borders. But the government's response and coordination between the FBI and local law enforcement officials in that case is a sign of progress in preventing attacks before they occur.
To learn more about the most recent HSGAC hearing on violent Islamist extremism, click here.
Nuclear Power Plant, Chemical Plant, and Wastewater Treatment Facility Security. Over the past three years, Senator Lieberman has worked to develop legislation in the Environment and Public Works Committee to require our nation's nuclear power plants, chemical plants, and wastewater treatment facilities to take appropriate measures to protect against the risk of terrorist attack. He strongly supports the nuclear security bill approved by the committee in the spring 2003. He wants to strengthen the chemical security and wastewater treatment facility bills approved by the committee in 2003 when they come before the full Senate. The chemical security bill, in particular, lacks fundamental accountability measures such as Department of Homeland Security review and approval of chemical plant security assessments and plans. The bill also fails to require chemical plants to make even simple product or process changes that would reduce their vulnerability to attack or the harm resulting from an attack. Lieberman backs changes to solve these problems.
For more information on Homeland Security, please visit the following web sites:
United States General Accounting Office
United States Department of Homeland Security (Grants and Training)
The White House Homeland Security State Contact List
The Connecticut Department of Public Safety
9/11 Commission and Improving America's Security Act of 2007
9/11 Commission. In 2001, with Senator John McCain, Senator Lieberman drafted the legislation that created the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission). After the Commission's recommendations were published in July 2004, Senators Lieberman and Collins spearheaded the effort to enact them into law. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Prevention Act of 2004 reorganized the nation's intelligence community for the first time in 50 years by creating a strong Director of National Intelligence and a National Counter Terrorism Center to improve information sharing among the federal government's 15 intelligence agencies so they would work together to avoid the kind of intelligence missteps that preceded the September 11th attacks. Congress passed the reorganization legislation in November 2004, and the President signed it into law the following month.
In January of 2007, Senator Lieberman drafted a second 9-11 Commission bill - the Improving America's Security Act of 2007 - designed to enact Commission recommendations that had not been previously enacted and to improve implementation of recommendations that had already been approved. The Committee held a January 2007 hearing on the bill and reported it out of Committee on February 14, 2007. Among its provisions to better safeguard the nation from terrorist attacks are grants for interoperable communications and other support for first responders, ways to improve information-sharing among all levels of government, and restrictions to make it harder for terrorists to infiltrate and operate in the U.S.
Public Health Preparedness. Post-September 11th, Senator Lieberman has worked on a number of fronts to reduce the threat of bioterrorism and to ensure that states get the funding they need to adequately prepare for a bioterror attack. A 2005 Government Accountability Office report requested by Lieberman showed the extent to which states have spent and obligated bioterror preparedness funds, undermining the Department of Health and Human Services' claim that the money was unused and therefore could be redirected elsewhere. When he was Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, he convened a hearing to determine what should be done to ensure that our public health systems were adequately prepared to protect the public from chemical and biological attacks. He introduced legislation to stimulate the development of breakthrough bioterror drugs and vaccines. And he has spoken out on the need to adequately fund first responders and other health care professionals.
Hurricane Katrina Investigation: A Nation Still Unprepared
Hurricane Katrina Investigation: A Nation Still Unprepared. The response to Hurricane Katrina shook the public's confidence in the ability of government at all levels to protect its citizens in a crisis. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August of 2005, Senators Lieberman and Collins launched an investigation into government's response to the disaster.
By April 2006, the Committee held a total of 23 hearings, conducted formal interviews with more than 325 witnesses, and reviewed over 838,000 pages of documentation, all of which was reflected in the report "Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared." The 749-page report contained 88 recommendations for local, state, and federal governments to adopt in order to prevent a similar disastrous response to the next catastrophe. The report concluded that Katrina was the first catastrophe that tested all levels of government since 9/11, and all levels of government failed the test. Senator Lieberman also submitted additional views on the Administration's lack of cooperation with the Committee's investigation and the White House's leadership failures in Katrina. The report contained a series of recommendations, which Senators Lieberman and Collins set about to enact into law.
FEMA Reform. In 2006, Senators Lieberman and Collins drafted legislation to reshape the Federal Emergency Management Agency into an agency that would more effectively prepare for and respond to catastrophes, including natural disasters and terrorist attacks. The legislation elevated FEMA to special status within DHS, much like the Coast Guard and designated the head of FEMA to be the President's point person during an emergency. The bill also called for the reunification of the preparedness and response functions within FEMA, giving it responsibility for all phases of emergency management. And the measure strengthened FEMA's regional offices, creating dedicated interagency "strike teams" to provide the initial federal response to a disaster in the region. The legislation passed Congress in September 2006. As the 2007 hurricane season approached, Senator Lieberman held an oversight hearing on implementation of the FEMA reforms on May 22, 2007. He urged FEMA to implement the reforms at a quicker pace.
Environmental Oversight
Environmental Oversight. Senator Lieberman has used his position as Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee to monitor the Bush Administration's enforcement of environmental laws. In 2004, he questioned the science underlying Fish and Wildlife Service decisions on protecting the Florida panther, leading him to doubt the effectiveness of the actual preservation efforts. Subsequently, Fish and Wildlife conceded it used faulty science. In 2001, Senator Lieberman conducted an investigation and issued a report documenting the Administration's disregard for a fair and public rulemaking process in its efforts to do away with important environmental regulations. Since then, he has challenged similar efforts to undermine public health and environmental protections, such as preservation of public lands an d animal waste controls.
First Responders and Information Sharing
First Responders and Information Sharing.Senator Lieberman has been a forceful advocate since 9-11 for adequate funding for the training and equipping of first responders. For the past three years, the Administration has eroded this funding by 50 percent. Senators Lieberman and Collins successfully amended the FY2008 budget resolution to add $731 million more for first responders.
The Improving America's Security Act also would create a dedicated grants program for interoperable communications for first responders. The program would be authorized at $3.3 billion over five years.
That legislation also provides common-sense solutions to the ongoing challenge of information sharing across the federal government and with state and local governments. It would strengthen the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) by expanding the authority of the Program Manager for the ISE and create government-wide incentive programs to share terrorism information.
Rail, Transit and Port Security
Rail, Transit and Port SecuritySenator Lieberman is particularly concerned about the need for improved port, rail and transit security, both on a national level and for the citizens of Connecticut. The Long Island Sound is a vital seaway, and the Metro North/New Haven rail line alone carries more than 110,000 riders each day.
To that end, Senators Lieberman and Collins (along with Senators Stevens and Inouye) co-authored the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006, which authorizes $400 million in port security grants. This legislation, approved by Congress and signed into law by the President in October 2006, takes great strides toward securing one of the nation's remaining homeland security vulnerabilities.
Senator Lieberman praised the Department of Homeland Security on December 6, 2006, for its announcement of the Secure Freight Initiative, a key component of the SAFE Port Act of 2006. The first phase of the Secure Freight Initiative calls for a program that will inspect all cargo bound to the U.S. from three foreign ports, a critical step toward meeting the goal of 100 percent inspection of containers entering the U.S. Senator Lieberman also successfully co-sponsored an amendment to the SAFE Port Act authorizing $3.5 billion for mass transit security grants and $1.2 billion for freight and passenger rail security. In addition to this legislation, Connecticut received transit grants in 2006 for New Haven as part of a $53.8 million grant for Tri-State cities. In 2007, Connecticut will share in a $61 million transit security grant for the New York City metropolitan area disbursed by the Infrastructure Protection Grant Program within the Department of Homeland Security.
Border Security/Immigration
Border Security/Immigration. When comprehensive immigration reform - approved by the Senate 62-36 on May 25, 2006 - was thwarted by House Republicans, Senator Lieberman criticized Congressional leadership for passing up an "historic opportunity" to solve a long standing and complicated national social and economic problem. Unfortunately, instead of considering the comprehensive bill passed by the Senate, the House passed the Secure Fence Act, H.R. 6061 on September 14, 2006, which called for billions of dollars to extend a fence along America's southern border with Mexico. Comprehensive immigration reform resurfaced in the 110th Congress. Senator Lieberman expressed guarded support for a bipartisan compromise plan announced in May 2007 and continued to push for improvements in the rights and conditions of political detainees.
DC Voting Rights
DC Voting Rights. Every Congress since 2002, Sen. Lieberman has teamed up with Washington D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes-Norton to push for full voting rights for citizens of the District of Columbia. In 2007, their joint effort focused on providing the D.C. House Delegate with full voting privileges on the floor of the House of Representatives.
In April 2007, the House passed a bill that would give D.C. voting representation in the House of Representatives and add a fourth congressional seat for the State of Utah. Shortly thereafter, Senator Lieberman introduced a similar bill in the Senate with the support of Utah's two Republican Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett. A hearing was held on the proposal on May 15, 2007.
Postal Reform
Postal Reform. Senator Lieberman supported and actively worked for passage of comprehensive postal reform legislation, which, after many years of effort, finally passed the House on December 8, 2006, and the Senate on December 9, 2006. This first modernization of the Postal Service in more than 30 years will simplify and stabilize the process for setting postal rates and will put the Postal Service on stronger financial footing.
Electronic Government
Electronic Government. Senator Lieberman authored and gained passage of the E-Government Act in 2002, which aims to harness information technology to more effectively deliver government information and services, enhance public access, and increase citizen participation in government.
Campaign Finance Reform
Campaign Finance Reform. Senator Lieberman was a leading cosponsor of the landmark McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform legislation. He also was the author of earlier legislation that forced Section 527 organizations-so-called Stealth PACS-to disclose basic information about themselves and their income and expenditures, and he continues to work with Senators McCain and Feingold to seek greater accountability from these groups. Senator Lieberman also played a crucial role during the Governmental Affairs Committee's investigation of campaign finance abuses during the 1996 campaign.
Congressional Accountability
Congressional Accountability. Senator Lieberman co-authored and helped win passage of the Congressional Accountability Act in 1995, which applies the same basic federal civil rights, employee protection, labor, and public access laws to Congress that apply to other sectors.
Lobbying Reform. In January 2006, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing to review various lobbying reform proposals. Senators Lieberman and Collins worked to draft a bill and S. 2128, the Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act of 2005, was reported out of committee favorably in March 2006. In January 2007, the measure became part of S. 1, the lobbying disclosure and ethics reform bill, which Senate leaders had designated as their number one priority for the 110th Congress. Thanks in part to Senator Lieberman's leadership in managing the bill, it cleared the Senate by a vote of 96-2 on January 19, 2007.
The measure bans gifts to Members of Congress from lobbyists; forbids lobbyists from paying for or arranging Congressional travel; requires quarterly, electronic disclosure reports from lobbyists; slows the revolving door between Congress and the lobbying firms of K Street; and requires disclosure of the legislative sponsors of earmarks.
Regulatory Reform
Regulatory Reform. Senator Lieberman has used his position on the Governmental Affairs Committee over the years to combat ongoing Majority efforts to impair government agencies' ability to act in a timely manner to protect health, safety, consumers, and environment.
Do Not Call Registry. For those who have previously registered on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) national do-not-call lists, enforcement of the ban on telemarketing calls, which Senator Lieberman supports, went into effect on October 17, 2003. The do-not-call list prohibits all telemarketing telephone calls with exceptions for non-profit charitable organizations, political solicitations, and companies with a preexisting business relationship, who would be permitted to call for 18 months after a transaction. If you would like to have your name added to the do-not-call list, you may do so online or you may call the FTC at 1-888-382-1222 (touch tone: 1-866-290-4236).
Corporate Accountability
Corporate Accountability. When the financial markets were rocked by corporate scandals in 2001 and 2002, stripping many investors of their life savings, Senator Lieberman, then Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, launched a wide-ranging inquiry into the independence and effectiveness of those responsible for overseeing the nation's financial markets. The goal was to determine where the watchdogs went wrong in the Enron debacle so that we might prevent a similar disaster from recurring.
The full Committee held a series of five hearings on a range of topics, including 401(k) retirement account security, the role of the Wall Street analysts and the credit rating agencies in Enron's collapse, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's oversight of Enron's energy deals. The Committee exposed patterns of lax oversight - either the result of outright negligence or entrenched conflicts of interest - and recommended immediate reforms to restore investor confidence.
Complementing these public inquiries, the Committee issued three reports: one detailing failures at the Securities and Exchange Commission and among private sector analysts and credit raters; a second summarizing Enron bankers' contacts with credit rating agencies and government officials; and a third probing oversight failures at the FERC. The reports offered concrete recommendations that government watchdogs should take to restore fairness, transparency, and integrity to the markets.
In the wake of the mutual fund scandals in the fall of 2003, Senator Lieberman has also addressed the lapses of market gatekeepers in protecting mutual fund investors. In November of 2003, he wrote Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson about the SEC's failure to detect and prevent widespread malfeasance in the industry and he cosponsored legislation to bring comprehensive reform to the industry by making it more open and accountable to the average investor. Senator Lieberman also introduced the Small Investor Protection Act of 2004, which sought to reorient the regulation of the country's financial markets to better serve the interests of small individual investors, for whom investments in the market have become an increasingly large part of their economic security. This bill would have a created a division within the SEC to provide for a permanent and institutionalized advocate for the interests of ordinary investors; required that mutual funds provide investors with a brief, easy-to-understand summary of the characteristics of the fund; granted formal legislative recognition to the SEC Office of Risk Assessment and institutionalized its proactive mission of gathering and analyzing data on new trends and risks and identifying areas of potential concern; and required that the SEC, whenever it considers requiring significant disclosures to investors, consider empirical evidence (from surveys, focus groups, etc.) in determining whether the proposed disclosure is likely to improve the understanding of ordinary investors.
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