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The reality of this day and age is that there are many different threats to our country's safety and security. The alleged nuclear test by North Korea this past weekend is another testament to the dangerous world in which we live. Congress is working to ensure that every threat to our country is addressed and neutralized. Over the past month, we have passed several pieces of legislation, the Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Report, the SAFE Port Act and the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act, that beef up our security operations, strengthen port security and provide law enforcement and other security personnel the resources necessary to do their job.
The President signed the Homeland Security conference agreement into law at the beginning of this month after both the House and the Senate passed this bill in September.This legislation provides $34.8 billion for operations and activities of the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year 2007, an increase of $2.3 billion above fiscal year 2006. The agreement aggressively addresses our most critical homeland security needs, including: border and immigration security; nuclear detection; port, cargo and container security; transportation security; natural disaster preparedness and response; and support to state and local first responders.
The SAFE Port Act is a comprehensive proposal that will take steps to prevent threats from reaching the United States, track and protect containers en route, and harden security at U.S. ports. In the aftermath of 9/11, the United States must continue to increase domestic port security and harden our critical infrastructure defenses. Amongst other things, the SAFE Port Act requires the Department of Homeland Security to scan 98 percent of all inbound cargo containers for radiation. In an effort to protect containers en route to the United States, this bill improves the Automated Targeting System, which is designed to identify high risk containers before they reach American soil.
The Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act will help protect our country from future terrorist attacks by making it easier to monitor terrorist communications. Our nation’s foreign intelligence surveillance laws date from a pre-cell phone, pre-Internet era. Updating our laws is crucial if we hope to successfully combat 21st century threats. The Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act provides essential updates of the original Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which will make it easier to monitor terrorist communications and halt terrorist attacks before they happen. It also removes excessive bureaucracy and streamlines the process of applying for a FISA warrant. The act establishes specific rules to govern foreign intelligence surveillance in the wake of an attack on the United States to allow the government to respond swiftly to terrorist threats. The bill also increases congressional oversight of terrorist surveillance and installs other safeguards to ensure that Americans’ civil liberties are protected. This is a vital piece of legislation that will help our intelligence personnel protect our nation from future attacks.
These three bills will go a long way in making sure our country is as safe and secure as possible. As different needs are identified, we will continue to enact legislation to address the specific threat. The safety of our country is one of the most important jobs of our government--it is a job I take very seriously. |
