Date: 2013-10-04
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his courtesies. I am sad that I have to rise to debate this conflicted position from my good friends on the other side of the aisle. Yes. they care about homeland security. Its a committee Ive served on since 9111. We have a great camaraderie. We work in a bipartisan manner. but today Im saddened by the approach thats been taken. particularly since they all know that this is a fools errand. USA Today said that this piecemeal process is like seizing a school bus full of kids and then offering to release the cutest ones. We dont have time to fool around with the cutest ones. FEMA works closely with States. cities. tribes. and territories. and communities large and small. Those of us who are now looking to the barreling down of Karen on the gulf region understand about hurricanes and tornados and other disasters. So I offer to my colleagues Allison. which killed 23 in 2001. with some $5 billion in damages. We need FEMA. Or Hurricane Ike. that cost some $29 billion in damage in Galveston. We need FEMA. Or the tornados in Oklahoma on May 31 that killed 23. We need FEMA. Or maybe talking about the issues of dealing with Hurricane Katrinathe largest and most devastating hurricane that we have seen. We need FEMA. But yet my friends are willing to piecemeal. And by doing so. Homeland Security is dashed. Border Patrol Agents are not funded. and the Secret Service protection activities are not funded. I am aghast at the fact that Federal air marshalsas we thank our Capitol Police. who yesterday showed themselves willing to sacrifice themselves. and other law enforcementFederal air marshals travel and training is shut down. And then ICE is shut down. Homeland Security is comprehensive. It deals with fighting al Qaeda and the terrorists who would do us harm. and it deals with being a helping hand. as FEMA is. as Ive worked alongside of FEMA in the gulf when people were devastated. Mr. Speaker. we cant do this. Put a clean bill on the floor. the CR. vote for it. and open the government now. And let Homeland Security and FEMA do their job as Hurricane Karen barrels toward us. Mr. Speaker. as a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee and the Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. I rise to speak on H.J. Res. 85. the "National Emergency and Disaster Recovery Act." which makes continuing appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for FY 2014. I note the Administration strongly opposes House passage of piecemeal fiscal year 2014 appropriations legislation that restores only very limited activities. I agree that consideration of appropriations bills in this fashion is not a serious or responsible way to run the United States Government. Instead of opening up a few Government functions. the House of Representatives should pass the clean CR passed by the Senate to end this Republican shutdown and reopen the Government and end the damage that the shutdown is causing to our economy and the lives of the American people. Mr. Speaker. FEMA works closely with states. cities. tribes. territories. and communities large and small to help prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies of all kinds. It provides funding through homeland security grants. support training and exercises. assess state and local response capabilities and recommend needed improvements. FEMA supports recovery and rebuilding efforts after a disaster. Cuts to FEMA would have significant. negative impacts on our nations disaster preparedness. response and recovery efforts. Weeks after Congress passed the recent FY 2013 Disaster Assistance Supplemental Act (P.L. 1132) to aid the victims of Hurricane Sandy. sequestration reduced the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) by over $1 billion. which adversely affected recovery efforts in the communities struck by Hurricane Sandy. the tornadoes in Tuscaloosa and Joplin. and other major disasters across the Nation. Sequestration cuts could also require FEMA to implement Immediate Needs Funding Restrictions late in the fiscal year during what is historically the season for tornados. wildfires. and hurricanes. which would limit funding for new projects in older disasters. Finally. state and local homeland security grants funding has been reduced to its lowest level in the past seven years. leading to potential layoffs of state and local emergency personnel across our country. Hurricane Sandy. recent threats surrounding aviation and the continued threat of homegrown terrorism demonstrate the continuing importance of vigilance and preparation to protect our nation and its people. Threats from terrorism and response and recovery efforts associated with natural disasters will not diminish because of the House Republicans desire to reduce funding for DHS and FEMA and continue their shutdown of the government. Even in this current fiscal climate. we do not have the luxury of making significant reductions to our capabilities without placing our Nation at risk. If we are to continue to prepare for. respond to. and recover from evolving threats and disasters. we will need sufficient resources to sustain and adapt our capabilities accordingly. While we will continue to preserve our frontline priorities as best we can. no amount of planning can mitigate the negative effects of sequestration. The bill before us today. is $40 billion less than what we have been working with as a result of the draconian sequestration. H.J. Res. 85 will significantly and negatively affect frontline operations and our Nations previous investments in homeland security. This bill. while providing minimal funding for FEMA. is wholly inadequate because it does not provide funding for: Army Corps of Engineers which supports emergency preparedness and response for critical infrastructure such as dams. flood control levees and navigation channels. Interior Department which performs firefighting and emergency response on Federal lands during and after a disaster. Currently. all damage repairs have stopped except for emergency repairs. While firefighting personnel are on call to deal with any fires. postfire work has stopped. including damage assessments of the recent large fires in California and Idaho. Hazardous fuel projects to prevent future fires have been put on hold during the shutdown. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) would normally activate additional stream gages and storm surge measurements but instead will have to rely on existing monitoring stations for any hurricanes that happen during the shutdown. 99 percent of USGS employees are furloughed. Small Business Administration. Office of Disaster Assistance provides affordable. timely and accessible financial assistance to homeowners. renters and businesses following a disaster. Employees in the Office of Disaster Assistance continue to work without being paid. USDA. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides assistance to communities to address watershed impairments that pose imminent threats to lives and property. 99 percent of NRCS employees are furloughed. USDA. Farm Services Agency (FSA) provides funding and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to restore farmland and forestland damaged by natural disasters. 99 percent of FSA employees are furloughed and therefore cant begin to survey the damage and preparing estimates of the need. Mr. Speaker. so far this past year our nation has experienced several major floods. record snowfalls. catastrophic disasters and terrorist attacks. In fact. many communities throughout our great nation and country are continuing to recover from previous disasters and terrorist attacks. We must provide aid for our constituents and not allow politics to get in the way of protecting our homeland. A fully functioning FEMA is needed to continue the work of helping communities recover from recent disasters and terrorist attacks. It is Congresss responsibility to ensure that FEMA has the needed resources to respond to future disasters and terrorist attacks. I assure you that I am aware of the challenges our communities face once we are confronted with a catastrophic event or a domestic terrorist attack. My constituents in Houston understand that our capacity to deal with hurricanes directly reflects our ability to respond to a terrorist attack in Texas or New York. an earthquake in California. or a nationwide pandemic flu outbreak. I would like to say a few words about the devastating hurricane that struck Texas several years ago because the response to those events demonstrated the need for significant improvement. During Hurricane Ike. there were insufficient quantities of generators forced hospitals to evacuate patients. Local governments waited days for commodities like ice. water. MREs. and blue tarps. Evacuees from Texas arrived in Shreveport and Bastrop shelters that were grossly unfit for occupancy. and 2.500 people were forced to use the same shower facility. Emergency preparedness is not the exclusive responsibility of the Federal Government or individual agencies within it. State and local officials. nonprofit organizations. private sector businesses. and individual citizens must all contribute to the mission in order for our nation to succeed at protecting life and property from disasters. Recovery and mitigation are critical to protecting communities from future threats. and our ability to respond will suffer if we do not focus attention and resources on those missions. My fervent prayer is that Texas and the nation will be spared the wrath of another devastating storm this hurricane season. but we cannot avert disaster indefinitely. By continually testing. evaluating. and improving our emergency response capabilities. we increase the possibility that we as a nation may one day answer the question "Are we ready?" with a resounding "Yes." That is the purpose to which we will dedicate our efforts here today and for the foreseeable future. Since the terrorist attack in Boston. Massachusetts. this Nation has recognized how remote threats and distant trouble can pose near and present dangers to our shores. We have learned as a nation that we must maintain a constant. capable. and vigilant posture to protect ourselves against new threats and evolving hazards. But we have also learned that vigilance and protection are not ends in and of themselves. but rather necessary tools in the service of our national purpose. Just as todays threats to our national security and strategic interests are evolving and interdependent. so too must our efforts to ensure the security of our homeland reflect these same characteristics. As we develop new capabilities and technologies. our adversaries will seek to evade them. as was shown by the attempted terrorist attack on Flight 253 on December 25. 2009. We must constantly work to stay ahead of our adversaries. Among the forces that threaten the United States and its interests are those that blend the lethality and hightech capabilities of modern weaponry with the power and opportunity of asymmetric tactics such as terrorism and cyber warfare. We are challenged not only by novel employment of conventional weaponry. but also by the hybrid nature of these threats. Countering such threats requires us to adapt traditional roles and responsibilities across the national security spectrum and craft solutions that leverage the capabilities that exists both inside and outside of government. The attempted terrorist attack on Flight 253 on December 25. 2009. powerfully illustrates that terrorists will go to great lengths to try to defeat the security measures that have been put in place since 9/11. More specifically. the threats and hazards that challenge U.S. interests from a homeland security perspective include: Highconsequence weapons of mass destruction (WMD). in particular. improvised nuclear devices and highconsequence biological weapons. which would have the greatest potential effects if used against the United States. We know that nonstate actors actively seek to acquire. build. and use such weapons and technologies. and that foreign states continue to develop highconsequence weaponry with the intent to intimidate or blackmail the international community and proliferate to other potentially hostile state or nonstate acto rs. Dangerous materials. technology. and knowhow circulate with ease in our globalized economy and are controlled unevenly around the world. raising the possibility of theft or accidental use and making it difficult to track and prevent proliferation. AIQaeda and global violent extremism. which directly threaten the United States and its allies. Terrorist networks exploit gaps in governance and security within both weak and advanced states. Some terrorist organizations benefit from active statesponsorship and from the failure of other states to counter known terrorist organizations or sources of support within their borders. Terrorist organizations have expressed the intent to employ masscasualty WMD as well as smaller scale attacks against prominent political. economic. and infrastructure targets in the United States and around the world. Highconsequence and/or widescale cyber attacks. intrusions. disruptions. and exploitations. which. when used by hostile state or nonstate actors. could massively disable or impair critical international financial. commercial. physical. and other infrastructure. This in turn could cripple the global movement of people and goods worldwide and bringing legitimate and vital social and economic processes to a standstill. These cyber attacks involve individuals and groups who conduct intrusions in search of information to use against the United States. and those who spread malicious code in an attempt to disrupt the national information infrastructure. Pandemics. major accidents. and natural hazards. which can result in massive loss of life and livelihood equal to or greater than many deliberate malicious attacks. Certain public health threats. such as disease outbreaks and natural hazards (e.g.. hurricanes and floods). occur organically. Others can be introduced into the United States through the movement of people and goods across our borders. Illicit trafficking and related transnational crime. which can undermine effective governance and security. corrupt strategically vital markets. slow economic growth. and destabilize weaker states. Transnational crime and trafficking facilitate the movement of narcotics. people. funds. arms. and other support to hostile actors. including terrorist networks. Importantly for the American homeland. the dramatic detrimental effect of illegal trafficking and transnational criminal organizations is apparent in societies within the Western Hemisphere. Smaller scale terrorism. which may include violent extremists and other state or nonstate actors conducting smallscale explosive and cyber attacks and intrusions against population centers. important symbolic targets. or critical infrastructure. In addition to these specific threats and hazards. Americas national interests are also threatened by global challenges and longterm trends. These include: Economic and financial instability that can undermine confidence in the international order. fuel global political turbulence. and induce social and political instability in weak states abroad. Dependence on fossil fuels and the threat of global climate change that can open the United States to disruptions and manipulations in energy supplies and to changes in our natural environment on an unprecedented scale. Climate change is expected to increase the severity and frequency of weatherrelated hazards. which could. in turn. result in social and political destabilization. international conflict. or mass migrations. Mr. Speaker. on any given day the City of Houston faces a widespread and everchanging array of threats. including terrorism. organized crime. natural disasters and industrial accidents. With an increasingly vast array of enforcement issues at hand. including "arms trafficking. identity theft. environmental crime. money laundering. theft of cultural property. drug trafficking. crimes against women and children. organ trafficking" and cybercrime. it is increasingly clear that coordinated. strategic criminal intelligence must be employed. bringing together diverse agencies and employees in the fight against serious and organized crime. Cybercrime. especially. will only continue to increase as globalization fosters higher levels of digital interconnectivity. Every day. ensuring the security of the homeland requires the interaction of multiple Federal departments and agencies. as well as operational collaboration across Federal. State. local. tribal. and territorial governments. nongovernmental organizations. and the private sector. This collaboration and cooperation undergirds our security posture at our borders and ports. our preparedness in our communities. and our ability to effectively react to crises. I believe it is important to acknowledge the efforts and commitment of the men and women who are our law enforcement personnel. first responders. emergency managers. and other homeland security professionals not only in our home State. but also across the country who have worked tirelessly to make this Nation secure. Finally. Mr. Speaker. I note the Administration strongly opposes House passage of piecemeal fiscal year 2014 appropriations legislation that restores only very limited activities. I agree that consideration of appropriations bills in this fashion is not a serious or responsible way to run the United States Government. Instead of opening up a few Government functions. the House of Representatives should reopen all of the Government. The harmful impacts of a shutdown extend across Government. affecting services that are critical to small businesses. women. children. seniors. and others across the Nation. The Senate acted in a responsible manner on a shortterm funding measure to maintain Government functions and avoid a damaging Government shutdown. We should settle our differences and allow a straight up or down vote on the Senatepassed H.J. Res. 59.