Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I thank the gentleman for his excellent work on this legislation. We are not talking here about an environmental bill. We are talking about a security bill. We are talking about the targets which we know al Qaeda has on their target list. That's what this whole debate is about. It's to protect the American people from the attempts by al Qaeda to come back to our country and to strike us once again, and we must protect against that attack. That's all this debate is about.

It's not any attempt to have an environmental agenda here at all. It is solely to ensure that al Qaeda cannot attack us in our country and to put in place the same protections at chemical facilities that we now have at airports, that we now have at nuclear power plants. That is all that this debate is about, and I urge support for the manager's amendment propounded by Mr. Thompson of Mississippi.

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Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I yield myself 2 minutes.

This is a very simple principle that the gentleman from New Jersey has been making reference to. Al Qaeda was in Newark, New Jersey, on September 11. Al Qaeda was in Boston on September 11. Al Qaeda attacked New York City on September 11. If the Governor of New York, if the Governor of Massachusetts, if the Governor of New Jersey wishes to promulgate stronger regulations to protect the chemical facilities in their States, that should be their right.

They should be making the public safety determination.

These people who rushed into the World Trade Center, these first responders, they're firemen, they're policemen from the local community. They're health care workers from the local community. They're heroes. But while waiting for the Federal Government to come, it is the local public safety people who have to respond. If they want to put stronger protections

around these facilities, knowing that al Qaeda was there on September 11th already, that that is where the attack emanated from, they should have their right. That is why the National Governors Association opposes this amendment. They should have, as the highest public safety official in their States, the right to determine how much protection they give to their citizens, how much extra measure of safety they give for their policemen, for their firemen, for their public health officials who will have to rush in in the aftermath of a successful attack.

I urge a ``no'' vote on the Barton amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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