July 21, 2004
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) today welcomed the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that American homeland security needed to be beefed up. The final Commission report claimed that the country’s infrastructure, including ports, rail, and airplanes, have been underfunded since 9/11. 90% of the $5 billion spent on transportation security since that day has gone to airport systems, but the commission rightly pointed out that “Opportunities to do harm are as great, or greater, in maritime or surface transportation.”
The report also indicated that first responders are not receiving the funding that they need to meet basic security for America’s towns and cities. The report also cites poor information-sharing between intelligence agencies under the Bush Administration in the months before the attacks, which they deemed “operational failures.”
“I think that the commission’s final report was constructive,” said Lee. “It pointed out missed opportunities in the days and weeks before the 9/11 hijackings, but it also pointed out that we need to do more to ensure that our homeland is safe. Congressional Democrats have repeatedly pushed for more funding for transportation infrastructure and for first responders, but the Republicans have repeatedly rebuffed these efforts to make our country safer in favor of providing more money for the war in Iraq and record military spending.”
“We need to move quickly to enact these recommendations on homeland security, and we need to rapidly increase our level of funding for Port and Rail security, so that we can remove these systems as a point of entry for attack. We do not need to wait until the next attack to wake up.”
###
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Applauds 9/11 Commission’s Recommendation for More Homeland Security
Bush Administration Has Repeatedly Underfunded Democrats’ Homeland Security Requests
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) today welcomed the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that American homeland security needed to be beefed up. The final Commission report claimed that the country’s infrastructure, including ports, rail, and airplanes, have been underfunded since 9/11. 90% of the $5 billion spent on transportation security since that day has gone to airport systems, but the commission rightly pointed out that “Opportunities to do harm are as great, or greater, in maritime or surface transportation.”
The report also indicated that first responders are not receiving the funding that they need to meet basic security for America’s towns and cities. The report also cites poor information-sharing between intelligence agencies under the Bush Administration in the months before the attacks, which they deemed “operational failures.”
“I think that the commission’s final report was constructive,” said Lee. “It pointed out missed opportunities in the days and weeks before the 9/11 hijackings, but it also pointed out that we need to do more to ensure that our homeland is safe. Congressional Democrats have repeatedly pushed for more funding for transportation infrastructure and for first responders, but the Republicans have repeatedly rebuffed these efforts to make our country safer in favor of providing more money for the war in Iraq and record military spending.”
“We need to move quickly to enact these recommendations on homeland security, and we need to rapidly increase our level of funding for Port and Rail security, so that we can remove these systems as a point of entry for attack. We do not need to wait until the next attack to wake up.”
###