Supplimental Appropriations Act to Support Department of Defense Operations in Iraq for Fiscal Year 2003

Mr. SCHUMER. I commend my colleague from California. We all know she is a fighter. She finds issues, focuses on them with passion, is able to persuade so many others. The American people are lucky that Senator Boxer has taken such a leadership role in defending the homeland. I know the citizens of California thank her, but so do the Senators of New York. This is a real danger.
    
If we had to make a list of how terrorists would go after us, unfortunately, shoulder-held missiles would be at the top of the list. As my colleague from California has demonstrated, we know they have them. We know al-Qaida, the most sinister right now of the terrorist organizations, has tried to use them. And there is an FBI statement that says just that.
    
God forbid this should happen. God forbid the loss of life, the anguished families. Would anyone fly for 3 months, 6 months, 9 months? The economy is squishy now. If one of these shoulder-held missiles were used by terrorists to bring down one of our commercial airliners, it would send the economy due south; we would have huge problems.
    
The good news is we can stop this. Yes, it will cost some dollars. But I cannot understand the attitude that we should not spend dollars to deal with something such as this. The Senator from California is not asking for much. I, for one, would like to see more money. I know if we do this, it will eventually cost more money, but she is being extremely modest in the amendment.
    
To say, against one of the greatest dangers held for our wonderful people in America, that we should not do anything defies imagination, defies belief. We have the technology on our military planes, on Air Force One, El Al Airlines. I have dealt with the former top of security of El Al Airlines. They have them. They unfortunately know what terrorists can do. Yet we are saying we should fiddle while terrorism burns. I don't get it.
    
The Senator from California and I carefully crafted this amendment, along with Congressman Mica from Florida, a Republican Member, to make it as modest as possible. I hope we accept this amendment. No one wants this to be a partisan amendment. Obviously, it is not. However, one of our jobs is to defend the troops. We are doing that by supporting the President's request. One of our jobs is to protect this homeland from the new scourge of terrorism.
    
I mourn every day for the families lost on September 11. I wear this flag on my lapel every day in their memory; God willing, I will wear it every day for the rest of my life. I don't want it to happen again in any way. Spend a few dollars to make sure that does not happen.
    
If we ask the American people to line up the priorities of all Federal spending, does anyone think this is at the bottom?
    
They say there is no more money or maybe it will come out of some existing funds. We know what that means around here. That means forget it. If you cannot earmark it, it does not happen. I cannot believe we are not going to do this. I can't believe there is opposition to this. I can't believe, on something so vital to our security, where we have spent billions of dollars to protect our military planes, that we would not apply it to commercial airliners because in the post-September 11 world, those commercial airliners are just as much targets as our F-18s and F-16s and B-1s and B-2s.
    
Please, colleagues, let's not be in the "what if" situation.
    
Let's not wake up one morning after this has occurred and say, What if we had done this? I would plead with my colleagues to support this very important amendment.
    
I yield the floor.