Providing for Consideration of H.R. 1544, Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2005
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1544, FASTER AND SMARTER FUNDING FOR FIRST RESPONDERS ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - May 12, 2005)
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 269 and ask for its immediate consideration.
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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this rule and the underlying legislation, H.R. 1544, the Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2005. This bill sponsored by my good friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), has the support of 40 bipartisan co-sponsors and was accepted at both its subcommittee and full committee markups with unanimous consent of the majority and minority membership of the new Select Committee on Homeland Security.
The goal of this bipartisan legislation is simple: to reform the way the Department of Homeland Security issues terrorism preparedness grants to States and local governments so they can prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism. It also expedites the delivery of Federal assistance to first responders, those brave men and women who are our first line of defense against terrorism, where it is needed most while also endorsing undisciplined spending on the homeland security front.
This legislation also reflects an agreement among policymakers here in the House: first of all, on the need to award Federal terrorism preparedness grants on the basis of risk; on the importance of ensuring that such grants are spent in a timely manner; and on the necessity of ensuring collaboration between neighboring jurisdictions.
As Members of Congress, we have seen all too clearly the problems associated with coordinating the effective and efficient allocation of these new funds to fight and defend against acts of terrorism on our shores. Since 2001, the Federal Government has made roughly $30 billion available in grant funding for this purpose, but approximately $4.1 billion awarded by the Department of Homeland Security still remains in the pipeline, unspent, along with another $2.4 billion recently added from 2005.
This bottleneck in getting our first responders the funds that they need to protect our safety is unacceptable, and this legislation will get these terrorism preparedness funds into the hands of those who need it most, by ensuring that guarantee that no State or territory falls below a certain base level of funding while also ensuring that States prioritize their own anti-terrorism spending on the basis of risk and need.
By providing financial encouragements to States that pass through their awarded funds to localities within tight timeframes, this legislation makes our funding for such programs faster. And by allocating grant awards to States and regions based on an assessment of risk and need to achieve clear and measurable preparedness goals, this legislation also makes our funding for such programs smarter.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1544 fulfills the recommendations included in the 9/11 Commission report, and recognizes the fundamental reality that terrorists are not arbitrary in selecting their targets, so we cannot be arbitrary in our efforts to protect our Nation. By streamlining the grant process and giving States and regions the tools that they need to develop specific flexible and measurable goals, this bill will make sure that every Federal dollar allocated for the purpose of defending our security is used effectively and efficiently.
I encourage all my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation which brings a risk-based approach to addressing our country's most pressing homeland security needs.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to thank the gentlewoman from California for her work on this bill today. I would also like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), from the Committee on Homeland Security; as well as the gentleman from New York (Mr. King), chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology; and the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for all of their hard work and determination in bringing this bill forward. They worked well together. This is a bipartisan bill.
The Rules Committee met just several days ago and heard how the ranking member and Chairman Cox put a great work package together. The Rules Committee decided to help out a little bit. We have made in order with this rule three Democrat amendments and two Republican amendments that will be part of this wonderful bill that will be debated in just a few minutes here in this House. I am very proud of the work that we have accomplished together. I am very proud of the legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.
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