Issues: National Security and Homeland Defense

I was three-hundred yards away from the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 and saw the destruction and loss of life first hand. I will never forget the acts of terrorism committed on our soil, against our fellow citizens.

The primary Constitutional responsibility of the United States Congress is to provide for the defense of our nation. If we are to have a secure homeland, we must ensure that the men and women of our armed forces have all the resources they need to address the threats that arise from within and from outside our borders.

Therefore, I will work diligently to see that we respect and care for our active duty personnel and our veterans. I will work to increase the pay levels for members of our armed forces and give our soldiers the operational resources required and the best technology and equipment we can make available.

This includes an increased investment in human intelligence. We need to rely more on human intelligence rather than technology so that the intelligence community will have better tools with which to analyze information and disseminate to the appropriate officials. Having worked in the intelligence field, I know first hand that we must continue to rebuild our intelligence community to guarantee better communication among the various intelligence agencies.

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