A Week Before the 5th Anniversary of 9-11: Schumer Releases New Comprehensive Homeland Security Report Card Revealing Massive Security Holes

Press Release

A Week before the 5th Anniversary of 9-11: Schumer Releases New Comprehensive Homeland Security Report Card Revealing Massive Security Holes - Federal Gov't Gets Overall Grade Of "C-"

Annual Report Thoroughly Analyzes a Dozen Areas; Failing Grades for Mass Transit Security, First Responder Grants and Detection Devices

Far too Little Accomplished on Protecting Highly Vulnerable Mass Transit, Port and Trucking Systems

Schumer Proposes Five Steps the President Can Take Today to Make America More Secure

Five years after the 9/11 attacks, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today released a new comprehensive homeland security study revealing that despite a national focus on homeland security in the wake of the attacks, the Bush Administration and the Department of Homeland Security have left America dangerously vulnerable. Schumer's report evaluated and gave grades for 12 different critical security areas, including port, rail, truck, cyber security and intelligence gathering, rating the government's overall effort a "C-" and issuing failing grades for progress made in detection devices, mass transit security and distributing first responder funding. In a personal letter to President George W. Bush, Schumer also proposed five immediate steps the President can take today that would make America more secure.

"Are we safer now than we were five years ago? Absolutely. But, are we as safe as we should be? The answer is no," Schumer said. "This Administration made us a promise five years ago, that they would do everything they could to make our homeland safer. These efforts have been hampered by rampant under-funding and budget cuts, poor management of political programs, bureaucratic tangles and political deal making. Needless to say, that promise remains unfulfilled."

Since 9/11, there has been a dramatic spike in terrorist activity and though the U.S. has not been attacked since 9/11, recent revelations of threats of a cyanide gas attack on the New York City subway system and a plot to smuggle liquid explosives on multiple flights bound for the U.S., show the threats facing New York City and the entire country are as real and diverse than ever.

In his report, one of Schumer's highest grades of B- was given for aviation security to acknowledge the progress the government has made securing airports and domestic flights. The installation of hardened cockpit doors on all domestic flights and positioning federal air marshals on more flights have made the possibility of terrorists pulling off a 9/11-style attack again unlikely. However, failing and near failing grades for port, mass transit, and biosecurity show that the Administration has focused primarily on responding the previous attack at the expense of preventing the next one.

Schumer said one area where DHS and the Administration had been particularly deficient was in developing new explosive, chemical, biological, and radiological detection and screening equipment. In all areas of security, development of new detection technology has been dangerously slow, with advanced bomb detectors for mass transit systems still on the drawing board and nuclear container scanners at ports more likely to pick up kitty litter and lemons than a nuclear device.

To close these gaping security holes, Schumer has led the fight to reform the first responder and high threat grant process to ensure funding is given out based only on risk and threat, increase funding for research and development, institute a revolutionary and comprehensive screening system at ports in the U.S. and around the world, and beef up air cargo security and chemical security.

In addition to these and other on-going efforts, Schumer today sent a letter to President George W. Bush recommending five steps the President can take today to make America more secure. These steps are immediate directives the President can give to various agencies within the federal government.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source