Conference Report on H.R. 1, Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007

CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1, IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - July 27, 2007)

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate both Mr. King of New York and the chairman of the committee, who I know worked very hard together in a bipartisan fashion to get us to a place where we all want to be. Where we all want to be is a safer America, a safer homeland, and safer Americans living here at home.

Mr. Speaker, this is a critically important day for this Congress and indeed for our Nation. We have no higher duty than to protect the American people, defend our homeland and to strengthen our national security. We know, nearly 6 years after the horrific attacks on September 11, 2001, that Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorist network continue to present a real, serious threat to the American homeland.

In fact, the most recent National Intelligence Estimate released just this month states: ``The group, al Qaeda, has been able to restore key capabilities it would need to launch an attack on U.S. soil: a safe haven in Pakistan tribal areas, operational lieutenants, and senior leaders.'' That is cause for concern for every one of us that represents the 300 million Americans in this country.

Thus, today, with this conference report implementing the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, we will be taking an enormous step forward in hardening our Nation's defense and combating and eliminating the terrorists who seek to harm us.

Let me say my friend, the gentleman from California, the former Attorney General of California, is correct. Steps have been taken, and these are taking additional steps. Unfortunately, as the gentleman knows, when we were assessed by the 9/11 Commission itself, it gave five Fs and 12 Ds to our performance up until last year. That does not mean we didn't do some things. We did some very good things, and we did them in a bipartisan fashion. He is right, we got 9 Cs and two incompletes for failing to implement fully the 9/11 Commission.

Today, we make this top national security priority, the first major bill that we considered in this Congress, H.R. 1, a reality, and I believe we will adopt the conference report which passed the Senate 85-8 with strong bipartisan support, as has been expressed on this floor.

This legislation, among other things, will substantially improve our homeland security by doing the following. I know it has been referenced, but we ought to repeat it, so the American public and all of our colleagues know what we are doing:

Significantly increasing the share of State homeland security grants provided on the basis of risk. Where are we most vulnerable? The gentleman, of course, from the New York area knows that very well. I know it as well, representing the Washington metropolitan area.

Requiring scanning of 100 percent of maritime cargo containers by 2012. The gentleman from New York, Mr. Nadler, has been working on this issue every day since 9/11, and I congratulate him for the efforts he has put in and the efforts that others have put in on this issue.

Requiring screening 100 percent of air cargo within 3 years. If the Transportation Security Administration cannot meet this goal, it must provide classified briefings to Congress on its process.

Withholding assistance to Pakistan for fiscal year 2008 until the President certifies that the Pakistani Government is cracking down on the Taliban. We still have a sanctuary for the Taliban. We still have a sanctuary for al Qaeda. We still have a staging area for al Qaeda. That is not acceptable because it continues to cause us great risk and danger.

Significantly strengthening the Cooperative Threat Reduction, Nunn-Lugar Program, and creating a new National Bio-Surveillance Integration Center which would support Federal efforts to rapidly identify and track biological threats.

Additionally, Mr. Thompson and Mr. King have included in this conference report, it seeks to reduce extremism by enhancing the International Arab and Muslim Youth Opportunity Fund and establishing a Middle East Foundation that will promote economic opportunities, education reform, human rights and democracy in the Middle East.

Let no one, however, be mistaken: this legislation alone cannot immunize our Nation from attack. However, it does represent a very important step forward for our national security.

As former Congressman Lee Hamilton, the cochair of the 9/11 Commission, has noted, and again I quote: ``The bottom line is that when this legislation is enacted and implemented, the American people will be safer.''

That is their expectation of us; that is our duty to them and to the Constitution we have sworn an oath to defend. That must be our objective every day, and it is surely our responsibility.

I congratulate, again, Mr. Thompson, who has led this committee; Mr. King, who has fought so ably over the years to make our country safer; and I urge the support on both sides of the aisle for this very critically important legislation.

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