| Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz, a member of the House Budget Committee, spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives today to denounce the deep cuts proposed by the Bush Administration in homeland security for the Fiscal Year 2007 federal budget.
Rep. Schwartz’s statement follows below.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the President’s proposals to cut funding for Homeland Security.
“I represent a part of the Port of Philadelphia – the world's largest freshwater port and one of the nation's Strategic Military Seaports. Over 3,000 ships load and offload at the Port of Philadelphia each year – making it one of the busiest ports on the Atlantic coast and the fourth largest port in the U.S. for the handling of imported goods.
“In addition to the port, the greater Philadelphia region is home to other critical transportation and economic infrastructure, such as a large portion of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, SEPTA, PATCO and major highway infrastructure. Situated around this transportation hub are also almost 5.7 million people – making Philadelphia the fourth largest city in the United States. These factors led the Insurance Services Office, which assesses risk for the insurance industry, to conclude that Philadelphia is among the ten cities most vulnerable to a terrorist attack.
“Mr. Speaker, the President’s cuts to port security and first responder funding will adversely affect the ability of Philadelphia – and cities across the nation – to protect those who live, work and visit the city from traditional and emerging threats. Specifically, the President’s proposed budget slashes funding by 25 percent for first responders. These are the very dollars that allow American cities to equip and hire police officers and fire fighters;
“The President eliminates funding for law enforcement terrorism prevention; and the President eliminates funding for the Port Security Grants, which were created by Congress in 2002 as a means of directly funding the installation of fence, surveillance technology, and other counterterrorism measures at our ports.
“These cuts come at the same time the Administration is allowing our ports to be managed by Dubai Ports World, a UAE-owned company. A country whose key agencies, including security and monetary agencies, al-Qaeda has claimed to have infiltrated in 2002. While the President justifies this decision by saying that the federal government – not Dubai Ports World – would be responsible for security, he has proposed to eliminate funding for port security by the federal government. Neither this justification nor the President’s proposals will make Americans safer.”
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