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Homeland Security Act Of 2002 Amendment

Floor Speech

By: Al Green
By: Al Green
Date: Jan. 20, 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security Criminal Justice

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Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I would like to express my strong support of H.R. 2611, a bipartisan measure authorizing the Department of Homeland Security's Securing the Cities initiative.

I would like to recognize my colleague, Chairman BENNIE THOMPSON, for his leadership on the House Homeland Security Committee and his commitment to protecting the citizens and homeland of our great nation.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Ranking Member PETER KING for introducing this important legislation which includes an amendment I offered that would expand the scope of the Securing the Cities program to include at least two additional high-risk urban areas, making it a national program.

Launched in 2006, Securing the Cities is a unified effort among Federal, state and local law enforcement officials in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to defend against the threat of a radiological or nuclear attack. Presently, Securing the Cities operates only in New York City and its surrounding areas.

While it appears that New York City remains the prime target for terrorist activity, it is important to ensure that other densely populated areas and those housing critical infrastructure are equally protected from dirty bombs. My amendment would benefit even more high-risk urban areas by providing the necessary resources to detect and intercept illicit radiological material before it is used in a weapon by would-be terrorists.

Through a ring of detectors on highways, bridges, tunnels and on mobile units around the city, Securing the Cities provides a layered defense against the smuggling of a nuclear weapon. The idea behind Securing the Cities is that the more law enforcement officials are on the lookout for nuclear material outside New York City, the better chance law enforcement has to prevent a successful nuclear attack.

Like New York City, Houston is among the highest threat cities in the nation. Our region is extremely dense with critical infrastructure assets, which includes our large energy and petrochemical sectors. By replicating the success of Securing the Cities in more places like Houston, we can bolster law enforcement capabilities to combat potential terrorist activity and protect our communities.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2611.

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