being president the subcommittee will come to order today we're meeting to consider three bills h r forty one eighty three the national urban search and rescue response system act two thousand and seven h r fifty eight ninety a bill to amend the homeland security act of two thousand and two to establish a community preparedness division of the department of homeland security and the citizens corps program and for other purposes and h r thirteen thirty three the civil air patrol homeland security act i now recognize myself to make a opening statement today the subcommittee members will be considering three emails which are the results of hearings a series of hearings and briefings that this committee has held the outset i would like to thank ranking member of the septum of the gentleman from pennsylvania mr charlie dent for the bipartisan ship that he has shown since we have been working together since last january appreciate that i look forward to working with you in the coming months as we continue to address our nation's emergency preparedness needs also like to acknowledge a leader in the emergency preparedness issue the gentle lady from the district of columbia  that bill in a few minutes also have a without objection at this time i also would like to insert into the record letters of support for this legislation from the international association of firefighters  and the international association of fire fire chief fire chiefs and the orange county fire authority the second bill that will mark up today is h r fifty eight ninety the citizen community preparedness act of two thousand and eight  i was join in introducing this bill by a bipartisan group of committee members including our chairman of the full committee mr bennie thompson again i will describe this bill in a few minutes itself  that we've been working with mr denny and his staff in crafting this language and again mr dent will also go into into this particular description of the bill also before forget there was also without objection i would like to insert into the record letters of support for the legislation the community preparedness act from the national volunteer fire council the home safety council dr john cooper they coordinate of the emergency preparedness damage ration program also are three bills that will have an opportunity to discuss want to thank all of the members of the committee for participating for getting their input into this important three bills that we're working on and at this time the chair will now recognize the subcommittee has built a solid record of working together in a very bipartisan manner to ensure that apartment homeland security in our state local and tribal partners have the support they need to protect our nation today we're considering the three bills the chairman just mentioned all of which are programs at the h s as the chairman mentioned first on today's agenda is h r forty one eighty three to support the urban search and rescue response system that's a mystery to my family and agility on the sanchez induce that bill currently there are twenty eight urban search and rescue teams that can be called upon at a moments moment notice to perform critical lifesaving missions anywhere in this country these teams are deployed in response to terrorist attacks of september eleventh and katrina in addition to countless other preparedness act of two thousand and eight this legislation builds upon the testimony this subcommittee received last year regarding how the partner supports and encourages individuals to repair themselves and communities for an act of terrorism or natural disaster emergency responders make up less than one percent of the u s population making it critical that each and every one of us does it we can't be prepared to help ourselves and our neighbors in times of crisis and finally i'm especially pleased at the legislation nine or do since chairman again referred to h r thirteen brown waite carney mccall rogers tom davis miller perlmutter and reichard this legislation which strengthen homeland security by allowing greater use of civil air patrol personnel resources and assets to effectively cost effectively support border security and emergency response activities u s customs and border protection does not have sufficient aviation assets to counter the influx of illegal immigrants drug smugglers and others migrating across the borders at a time when we also face a threat from terrorists who wish to infiltrate our country this situation is completely unacceptable a civil air patrol force of fifty to seven thousand volunteers and five hundred planes across the country stands ready to support the nation's homeland security civil air patrol has a long history of this nation dating back to the outbreak of the second world war when they serve as a vital watchdog along our coast lines protecting us in the threat of german u boats the patrolled our shores since then the civil air patrol regularly assist states in search and rescue expansive review to determine how the civil air patrol may be used to support the homeland security missions or state local and tribal governments and part of homeland security specifically the g a o will review how the civil air patrol may provide aerial reconnaissance or communications capabilities for border to the system damage assessment and situational awareness search and rescue operations evacuations and transport of time sensitive medical and other materials or any other activities as determined by the g a o this review will provide greater information regarding the cost effectiveness of using civil air patrol assets homeland security purposes at all levels of government it will also help us understand whether the current process for states and the federal government to request civil air patrol assistance is over leader craddick limiting the effectiveness of this important resource in times of crisis my colleagues to support this amendment help ensure we are effectively utilizing all available resources for the response to catastrophic events again i look forward to working with chairman kwara move this legislation forward and  i thank the chairman for his bipartisan spirit and i yield back as for unanimous consent that a letter in support of fifty a night from the national council disability be inserted into the record i would also like to remind the committee that other members may submit opening statements for the record i now call h r forty one eighty three of the national urban search and rescue response system act as introduced a bill was circulated in advance without objection  to offer an amendment that is that is listed on the roster the chair will allow the member to offer the amendment when the member returns to the extent practical and not be prohibited by the house or the committee rules finally amendments that are not  r forty one eighty three judge woman from california is recognized for five minutes thank you mr chairman and thank you for yelling me the time for opening statement on this and for hold holding today's mark including my bill h r forty one eighty three the national urban search and rescue response system act and i'm very pleased that we're marking up this legislation which has been working on for the last year and a half i'd like to thank both you and ranking member dan for the input that you and your staff have given to us as we finalize the language and for supporting and be original co sponsors authorizing the national urban search and rescue responses to ms long overdue fema first established it in  ninety as a way for local first responders to act in integrated disaster response task forces and today there are twenty eight urban search and rescue task forces around the country sponsored by states counties cities and many local first responder agencies such as the orange county fire authority in my district each task force consists of highly trained personnel and specialized equipment that are ready to be deployed by fema at any time to officially and effectively respond to emergencies involving structural collapses these task forces have made a difference in responding to many mergence these including nine eleven katrina and of course the earthquakes in california the task forces are extremely valuable resource and exact well an example of how local state and federal governments can cooperate to effectively prepare and respond to all has of emergencies and despite this effectiveness there has been no formal authorization by the congress and funding for the system has been inconsistent and frequently insufficient which means that the sponsoring agencies and putting a lot of the bill in addition urban search and rescue task force members have not been eligible for federal benefits and protections related to these federal deployments so h r forty one eighty three would address these issues by authorizing sufficient funding for the task force and providing task force members with the appropriate federal benefits related to their deployments including disability and death benefits and protections from employment discrimination and retaliation i'm proud that the subcommittees taking up this important issue and  making making the urban search and rescue system even stronger and marking up h r forty one eighty three today and i urge my colleagues to support the legislation thank you and i votes mr dent mr dent votes i mr souder mr davis of tennessee mr davis of virginia mrs miller be forwarded to the full committee with the fable recommendation the staff it's authorized to make any technical and conforming changes call up h r fifty eight eddie a bill to amend the homeland security act of two thousand and two to establish the community preparedness division of the department of homeland security and the citizens corps program and for other purposes introduced the bill was circulating bans without objection the first read of the bill is dispense with i would like to remind members of the subcommittee that per my agreement with the ranking member the subcommittee will use a roster for amendments to the consideration of each of the bills being considered by the subcommittee i have an amendment in the nature of a substitute it was circulated in advance the clerk will designate section one section one short title i offer the amendment the nature of the substitute a clear report the amendment in the nature of the substitute section one short title this act may be cited as the citizen in communication fairness act of two thousand and eight section two community preparedness division a establishment of community preparedness division the homeland security act that objection the reason is expense within the amendment in the nature of a substitute is considered as a base thanks for the purposes of the amendment and i recognize myself for five minutes to explain the amendment in the nature of the substitute members this amendment in the nature of a substitute makes some small changes to the bill specifically the amendment adds the language to drag the government accounting office to submit a report to congress and examining the effectiveness of the city's core program and its affiliate program in addition the amendment directs the secretary to utilize small in this event as businesses and carrying out their public affairs campaign to educate citizens on the sastre disasters i appreciate the ranking members willingness to work work with me on this amendment my time has expired at this time no further roster amendments being percent on this day are there any amendments to the amendments in the nature of a substitute adoption of the bill as amended is agreed to without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table and i move that the bill as amended be forwarded to the full committee with the fable recommendation all those in favor say  conforming changes now move to the third and final bill the subsidy will take up the third and final bill in order to be considered today's meeting i now call up h r thirteen thirty three the civil air patrol homeland security act as introduce the bill was circulated in advance without objection the first read of the bill is that spence with will like to remind members of the subcommittee that per my agreement with the ranking member the subcommittee will use a roster of four amendments in the consideration of each of the bills being considered by the the nature of such to the club were put the amendment in the nature of a substitute section one civil air patrol study a study the country of abjection the regions dispense with in the amendment the nature of a substitute is considered as homeland security by by assessing how the civil air patrol may be more effectively utilized to support the homeland security missions and not only the department homeland security but also state local tribal governments want to thank chairman for sport co sponsorship with us and the germans time as expires is there any discussion on the amendment and no no further there's no further roster amendments being percent that are there any amendments to the amendment the nature of a substitute course it is now agreeing on the amendment the nature of a substitute all those in favor say aye aye others opposed say no the opinion of the chair the eyes have it in the amendments or the nature of a substitute full committee with a favorable recommendation without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table without objection the title is amended and again the staff is authorized to make any technical and conforming changes