Homeland Security

Nothing is more important domestically than ensuring the safety and security of our nation and its citizens. The Department of Homeland Security and its programs are crucial to our success in this area. During the 110^th Congress there will be a number of measures intended to further protect the nation from further attack.

Among my priorities:

I believe that we must take further steps to secure our ports so that they cannot be used as an entry point for terrorists or their weapons.

I have been and continue to be strongly supportive of current fire grant programs which provide funding to local communities for necessary equipment and training of fire departments and rescue squads. These programs are funded by the Department of Homeland Security and are always subject to a reduction in the amount of funding available.

Alabama is a leader in homeland security, providing crucial training for law enforcement personnel from across the country as well as cutting-edge technology that has applications for Homeland Security, as well as NASA and Defense. I'm committed to seeing that continue.

Current Legislation (Updated September 24, 2007)

H.R. 1684, Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008: Authorizes appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for FY 2008. It passed the House on May 9, 2007 by a vote of 296-126. The bill has moved to the Senate for consideration and has been referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

I voted against this bill due to my concerns that the bill repeals the President’s and the Department of Homeland Security Secretary’s personnel authority for DHS employees. I believe that it reduces their flexibility to make the Department operate as well as it should. This bill also created a number of new programs and offices without corresponding reductions in other programs or offices. My fear is that the more bloated the Department of Homeland Security becomes the less effective it will be.