Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 -- (House of Representatives - May 09, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. NORTON. I thank the chairman for yielding. I could take a minute to thank him for his masterful handling of this bill in a bipartisan fashion before this committee.

I want to strongly thank the chairman for the way in which the committee has insisted on endorsing a headquarters for this department, because one of the continuing and most sustained criticisms of the department has been its management. But how can we expect the department to be managed when they are in 60 different places, 80 different leases?

The inefficiencies, Mr. Chairman, associated with the dispersal of this largest department are incalculable. The great cuts and deficiencies we have seen in the Homeland budget pale beside what we see in the way in which it is positioned: multiple and redundant mailrooms and screening facilities and parking and child care facilities and fitness centers; and, above all, shuttles just so that one part of the department can get to meet face to face with another part. Worst of all, one part that I know will be vacated is the Massachusetts Avenue headquarters, and yet they're having to spend $18 million just to make that livable. They are forced to live by short-term leases, rollover leases, wasting money.

We have an opportunity, because to the President's credit, he has put money in the appropriation to begin to build a headquarters for this department. It was in there last session. It did not get passed. It's up to the appropriators, the new appropriators, to make sure we have a real department and real headquarters.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source