Providing For Consideration Of H.R. 1684, Department Of Homeland Security Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2008
Floor Speech
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1684, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 -- (House of Representatives - May 09, 2007)
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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for her gracious 5 minutes to talk on this rule.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule. The Committee on Homeland Security is the only committee explicitly charged with overseeing the Department's organization and administration.
We don't take this responsibility lightly. This Congress, we have held dozens of oversight hearings. The topics of each hearing may have been different, but the basic message from the Department was pretty much the same:
Don't blame us for not having our House in order. We have high turnover. We don't have a headquarters. We don't have the authorities we need to be a leader on issues such as bio-preparedness and cybersecurity. We don't have the authorities we need to integrate 22 agencies into one competent unit.
H.R. 1684 takes away all the excuses. Under this bill, the Department is provided the resources, accountability and authority needed to finally become the Federal agency that Congress envisioned and the American people deserve.
Every day, we get another reminder of the urgent nature of the homeland security mission. Just yesterday, we learned that six individuals are in custody on charges of plotting to attack the U.S. Army base at Fort Dix. We don't need to have the luxury of giving DHS time to step up to the challenges of becoming a functional organization.
I introduced, Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan bill with Ranking Member King. The full committee, by recorded vote of 26-0, voted to order it favorably to the House.
I am pleased that the Rules Committee is allowing so many amendments to be considered today. I look forward to an active debate and the opportunity to present my manager's amendment. The manager's amendment is a product of discussion with other Members of the House and other House committees who have jurisdictional interest in aspects of this legislation.
I'm very pleased to bring this bill to the floor for consideration by the full House. Today, Members of the House of Representatives will have an opportunity to do something they have not been able to do in 2 years. They will get to cast a vote in favor of authorizing the Department of Homeland Security.
What's more, Mr. Speaker, they will get to vote to restore funding to critical first-responder programs that the President's budget would eliminate or severely cut.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and on the underlying bill.
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