As a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, I am looking forward to making sure that the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have the resources they need to keep Americans safe, mitigate the risks of disasters, and ensure that recovery efforts can quickly help individuals, families, and communities get back on their feet.
Our nation faces many risks, both man-made and from Mother Nature. In Wyoming, we have experienced floods, fires, tornadoes and other natural disasters. I have always been proud of how Wyoming’s communities have come together to help each other in difficult times and work to rebuild after disasters. It is critical that the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA can play an effective role in working with local emergency coordinators to mitigate damage and assist with recovery. It is also important that our firefighters and local emergency personnel and first responders at the community and county level have the resources they need to respond to emergencies.
And important part of securing our nation is securing our borders. Strong border enforcement is critical for preventing criminals and terrorists from entering our country. Effective border security also needs to be one of the first considerations as we debate immigration reform. We need to authorize sufficient funding for hiring and training border patrol agents and increasing enforcement of current border security laws. We also need to make sure that we have effective security at our ports, airports, and land crossings.
