Representing North Carolina’s Ninth District                                                                        

Now that Congress has approved President Bush’s Department of Homeland Security, it is time to get the resources of the Department to where they are most needed –at home in our local communities.

I have talked repeatedly about the importance of emergency preparedness at the local level.  After all, terrorist attacks are local. To prepare ourselves and our communities for the possibility of a future attack or moment of crisis, we must be vigilant and we must not rely upon the federal government as our sole source of protection.

More communities need to do as Charlotte has done -structure systems for local and regional reaction to disasters.  In addition to Charlotte creating an Advanced Local Emergency Response Team, also known as ALERT, I have organized a Homeland Security Task Force to make sure that we are prepared to address the specific threat of terrorism as well.

To adequately prepare both Charlotte and local communities across the nation, money that was reserved by Congress for local preparedness needs to find its way out of Washington, D.C. and into the communities that need it.  The fact of the matter is that over the past year the United States Congress appropriated $7 billion for grants for local communities.  However, most of this money remains tied up in bureaucratic uncertainty at the federal level.  This is totally unacceptable!

I have talked repeatedly with the Department of Homeland Security and the White House to express my concerns.  I met recently, in fact, with Gordon England, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, to talk about the importance of the immediate distribution of federal funds to local communities and for the need for a clearinghouse for grant applications so that people know where to go to apply for funds.

I will continue to press the Administration on this point.  If the events of September 11, 2001 taught us anything, it is to be prepared.  Those that serve as the first responders in the event of a catastrophe are in our local communities.  Congress recognized the need to provide financial resources for first responders.  It is past time for the money to get to them. 

###