Conference Report on H.R. 2360, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006

CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2360, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - October 06, 2005)

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me time and for allowing me the opportunity to speak.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in reluctant support for the conference report on H.R. 2360. It has some good provisions. For example, I am pleased that the conference report funds transit and rail security grants at $150 million. However, I am concerned that less than 1 percent of the TSA's budget is dedicated to addressing the vulnerabilities in surface transportation. At this rate, maybe we should stop calling it the Transportation Security Administration and call it an ``aviation security administration.''

I am also troubled that the conference report gives blanket airport liability protection to airports that opt out of the Federal screeners program. One of the first things that Congress did after the 9/11 attacks to signal to the American people that it was safe to fly again was to federalize security.

I am pleased that the conferees adopted many of the changes which the Democrats on the Committee on Homeland Security advocated during the Department's authorization process. I commend the conferees for creating the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Intelligence Officer. We have been calling for such changes to give the Department focus on bio-preparedness and intelligence.

We have also been advocating a quadrennial Department of Homeland Security review and long-term policy planning at the highest levels of the Department. I am pleased that this legislation would also require the Department to do so.

At the same time, I am concerned that the conferees adopted many of the organizational changes that Secretary Chertoff proposed in July, as if Hurricane Katrina never happened. The establishment of a preparedness directorate will not make us any more prepared if we do not have competent people in place.

In response, Mr. Speaker, 13 members of the Committee on Homeland Security introduced legislation today to create a coherent organizational picture for the Department. The Department of Homeland Security Reform Act of 2005 would authorize many of the new offices the administration plans to create and this conference report funds. The logical step for Congress is to consider this bill as it provides direction for some of the new positions the administration planned to create on its own.

Much more needs to be done to make DHS the Federal agency that America deserves. I strongly urge my colleagues in the House to support the Homeland Security Reform Act, legislation that builds upon the conference report.

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