Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that he is supporting a proposal put forth by Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) to establish a homeland security region for Hawaii and Alaska.

            “The Department of Homeland Security is in the process of establishing homeland security regions and, on June 18, 2004, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously passed a bill which directs the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of establishing a Pacific region,” the Congressman said. 

            “Senator Ted Stevens is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and Senator Inouye is the second most senior Democrat on the Committee.  Although one is a Democrat and the other a Republican, they work together on many issues because in Congress that’s how things get done.  In Congress, it’s seniority, not majority, that matters,” Faleomavaega said.

            “Like Senator Inouye and Senator Stevens, I also envision a Homeland Security Pacific Region as having its own administrative and training operations to address situations which are unique to Hawaii, Alaska and the insular areas.  If established, the Homeland Security Pacific Region will include Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI).”