Thank you Madam Chairman. I join my colleagues in welcoming Secretary Ridge this morning.

Secretary Ridge, I share my colleagues' concerns that since 9/11 local governments have not received adequate funding to help them prepare for the possibility of new terrorist attacks. Just last month, this Committee heard from first responders who testified that sufficient funding for homeland security is still not reaching the local level. They told us that even when federal assistance is received, restrictions prevent them from using grant funding for their specific needs. We need to address this challenge. First responder funding is most effective when it is utilized for the specific needs of a community. For that reason, I am a cosponsor of Senator Collins' legislation which provides states and localities with much-needed flexibility to use unspent grant funding.

For example, an estimated 1.4 million people including U.S. service members and tourists are in Hawaii on any given day. Formulas for first responder grants, however, are based on a state's permanent population. As a result, Hawaii is responsible for protecting a significantly higher population than is reflected in grant allocation formulas.

Like other states, in the event of a terrorist attack, Hawaii would rely on support from federal, state, and local officials. However, unlike most states, external assistance from the U.S. mainland is not immediately available. Hawaii's geographic location makes mutual aid from mainland states impractical. Hawaii's National Guard, state, and county response agencies require special consideration for additional homeland security funding to attain a comparable level of training and equipment to respond to a weapon of mass destruction attack.

We must also maximize existing state capabilities which are so important to our homeland security. As an example, the state of Hawaii has an advanced database called the Criminal Justice Information System or CJIS, which contains information which may be invaluable in preventing a terrorist attack.

Currently TSA is not accessing this information. This is a mistake.

We should promote better integration and sharing of possible terrorist information, which is the subject of a just-released GAO report.

Secretary Ridge, thank you for being here. As you and I have discussed, funding for first responders is crucial to Hawaii given its strategic and geographic location. I appreciate your willingness to work with me and our state officials.

Thank you Madam Chairman.