Issues & Legislation |
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The tragic events of September 11, 2001 forced everyone to take a hard look at what the government does to keep America's communities safe. As a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Claire McCaskill has been working to enact polices and programs that strengthen national security and give public safety agencies the resources they need. Implementing the 9-11 Commission RecommendationsClaire was a strong supporter of legislation passed and signed into law in 2007 that would implement most of the recommendations of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission. The Improving America's Security Act (S.4) gives first responders the tools they need to keep their cities and towns safe; make it more difficult for potential terrorists to travel in our country; advance efforts to secure our rail, air and mass transit systems and improve intelligence and information sharing at all levels of state, local and federal government.Improving Technology for First RespondersOne of the reasons why 366 firefighters and police officers died in New York's Twin Towers on September 11th is because the various agencies did not have the capability to talk to each other and warn each other about the buildings. This tragedy exposed a real technology gap in the law enforcement community. S.4 takes significant steps to address this critical shortcoming in our nation's security by authorizing $3.3 billion in grants to improve interoperable communications between local, regional, state and federal agencies.However, Claire believes more should be done to give law enforcement the right resources to fight terrorism and other daily crime. She is a cosponsor of legislation to reauthorize the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program that has provided grants to cities and towns to hire needed police officers and modernize their equipment. The $1 billion COPS grant program began in 1994, and although it has been an effective tool to reduce crime, the program has been repeatedly cut in recent years. Claire also supports the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant program which provides grants to target the supply and demand of illegal drugs. Byrne plays a major role in Missouri's regional drug task forces, but unfortunately, this program has also been repeatedly cut over the years. Claire will continue to fight for full funding of this important grant program. Air Safety:Claire has raised concerns about the security of airplane foreign repair stations. Most major commercial airlines use foreign facilities for major repairs of their planes, even those that fly only in the United States. A recent Inspector General report found that many of these repair stations fail to provide adequate security or provide proper background checks on employees. Claire believes this is a potentially serious security gap that could make commercial airplanes more vulnerable to terrorist activity. In her first year in office, she chaired an Aviation Subcommittee hearing on the topic. She introduced legislation on the issue and plans to offer it as an amendment to the FAA bill when it is debated by the full Senate. In part because of her work, the 9-11 Act contained a requirement that the TSA finish a foreign repair station security rule.To learn more about or to track the progress of legislation described above, please visit THOMAS.gov
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