Homeland Security
Homeland Security issues impact all of us and are important to my work in Congress.As you know, the threats we face continue to grow in number and complexity. Our law enforcement officers and first responders are doing all they can to be prepared, and we must do all we can to fight for them.
Securing Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funds along with other federal funding to keep the metropolitan area at the forefront of emergency preparedness is critical. We need to make sure we are equipped with the best talent, training, and techniques, if disaster should strike.
I will continue to work to make sure we get what we need to help, not hamstring, our police officers, firefighters, first responders, and all others dedicating themselves to these unbelievably challenging jobs. They must be armed with the best to help get us through the worst.
More on Homeland Security
On Wednesday of this week, I, along with 171 of my colleagues, signed a discharge petition to force a vote on commonsense, life-saving legislation to keep guns and explosives out of the hands of terrorists. Last week, House Republicans voted three times to block the House from debating H.R. 1076, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act. We need to bring this critical legislation immediately up for a vote. The bill would close the dangerous loophole that allows suspected terrorists on the FBI’s Terrorist Watchlist to legally buy deadly weapons.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Cleaver took action to force a vote on commonsense, life-saving legislation to keep guns and explosives out of the hands of terrorists. After House Republicans voted three times last week to block the House from debating H.R.
Last week marked the 14th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on our nation. We will always remember the sacrifices of those who died innocently that day, as well as the valiant acts of heroism of rescue workers, intelligence professionals, and service members in the days, months, and years following.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-05) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, stressing the need for more anti-terror funding for the Kansas City area. Last week, a Florida man was arrested after allegedly plotting an attack in Kansas City, Missouri, for the 14th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. This arrest highlights the ongoing threats facing communities outside the naturally perceived targeted major cities.
Like everything else in contemporary Washington, discussion of the Iran nuclear agreement has not been a noteworthy debate about policy, but rather a worthless exercise in Lilliputian politics.
Déjà vu All Over Again
Last week, former Republican DHS Secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff urged the GOP to pass a clean measure to fund DHS and then debate immigration policy separately.
Today, U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-05) and Al Green (TX-09) announced that President Obama has included funding for body cameras in his FY2016 budget.
It has slipped from the headlines.
It is a political hot potato.
But it is something I simply could not get out of my mind.
Children, some as young as my own grandchildren, enduring what I call the “Trail of Fears”, as they cross the border from Mexico into the United States.