Saxby Chambliss

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays), the chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans' Affairs and International Relations of the Committee on Government Reform, a gentleman who has been very actively involved in the issue of terrorism for a number of months, even before September 11.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Chairman, information sharing is the key to cooperation and coordination in homeland security, and better information sharing among government agencies and with State and local agencies needs to be a higher priority. The idea for this amendment was developed during a series of public hearings which my Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security held last fall. Witnesses ranging from former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani to Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating stressed the importance of increasing the level of information sharing between Federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies and local and State law enforcement personnel. We must make certain that relevant intelligence and sensitive information relating to our national security be in the hands of the right person at the right time to prevent future terrorist attacks. The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman) and I introduced the Homeland Security Information Sharing Act, which overwhelmingly passed this House in June. Our bill has strong support from groups such as the National Association of Police Organizations as well as the American Ambulance Association and the National Sheriffs Association. Our amendment is virtually the same as H.R. 4598. We believe that it is critical that we increase the level of cooperation between State, local, and Federal law enforcement officials. Only by communicating on a more regular basis and sharing more information can we effectively prepare for and defend against future attacks. In talking to community leaders and emergency responders all across Georgia, I am convinced that we must get this legislation signed into law. We know that gaps in information-sharing opened the door to the tragic events of September 11. Our amendment will go a long way toward filling those gaps and helping our law enforcement officials protect us by giving them the tools they need to do their jobs better. I appreciate the improvements to the amendment that were made by the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and others. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this very important amendment. Mr. Chairman, I submit for the Record letters of support from the groups I previously mentioned: American Ambulance Association, McLean, VA, June 26, 2002. Hon. Saxby Chambliss, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Saxby: It is with great honor that I send this letter of support to you for your introduction of the Homeland Security Information Sharing Act (H.R. 4598). As you and I have discussed, the American Ambulance Association (AAA) represents ambulance services across the United States that participate in serving more than 95% of the urban U.S. population with emergency and non-emergency care and medical transportation services. The AAA is composed of individual ambulance operations which serve patients in every state. Our membership is comprised of all types of ambulance service providers including for and not for profit, municipal and fire department and hospital based. Our members greatly appreciate the commonsense approach that you and the Subcommittee you chair used in drafting this legislation. Visiting with local ambulance providers about their real needs, and then formulating federal law that is consistent with these needs, is indeed refreshing to us out there on the frontline of providing health care to our communities. As you have identified in your bill, first responders at the state and local level need access to specific, credible threats in order to help prevent and better respond to a terrorist incident. H.R. 4598 would greatly improve the flow of this information and enhance the emergency response system. The focus on local providers and their needs will give first responders and medics the tools and capabilities to better ensure the safety of the American public. Again, thank you for your tireless efforts and tremendous work in drafting this piece of legislation. You are truly a representative of the people of this great nation. The AAA stands ready to help assist you in anyway to ensure passage of H.R. 4598. Sincerely, Ben Hinson, President.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent, that unless we have someone rising in opposition, that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman) be entitled to the 10 minutes that normally would be claimed by the opposition.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to modify the amendment with the modification that I have placed at the desk.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We are coming to a close of two long days of debate on what is the most major restructuring of the Federal Government that we have seen in 60 years. This is probably the most important piece of legislation that in, my 8 years, that I have served in this great institution that we will take up and pass. I am very pleased that this particular amendment is going to be included in the bill that is going to be finally passed in this House, because I am totally confident that because of this particular amendment, because we are going to be able to now get information in the hands of local and State officials, law enforcement officials, the folks who are on the front line, the folks like Sheriff Richie Chaifin, Sheriff Bunch Conway, those folks on the front lines are going to have information now to be able to disrupt and stop terrorist activities. I want to conclude by just commending our President under his leadership, his particular step to take this bold action of restructuring our Federal Government to ensure that our children and our grandchildren are able to live in the same safe and secure society that all of us have enjoyed is a major, major step in the right direction. This Department of Homeland Security is going to allow us to give our children and grandchildren that safe and secure America. I again thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman) for the gentlewoman's hard work on this. We have traveled a long trail with this, and it is good that we are coming to a conclusion with it.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, the events of September 11 changed the way Americans view the safety of air travel by exposing loopholes in security procedures at our nation's airports. Aviation security is now more than ever a top priority for all Americans, and it is the responsibility of the federal government to provide for the security and safety of every passenger on a commercial flight originating in this country. In my home state of Georgia is Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport the world's busiest airport. Hartsfield's Aviation General Manager, Ben DeCosta, has implored Secretary Norman Mineta to assist in moving the arbitrary December 31, 2002 deadline to screen 100% of checked baggage. I agree with Mr. DeCosta, if this artificial deadline is maintained and we do not allow for a more measured approach, we will compromise the very security that we are trying to restore. Waiting until later in the year to extend the deadline is a tragic public policy failure. I have submitted for the record Mr. DeCosta's letter urging support for legislative relief from this deadline for my colleagues to view. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, GA, June 12, 2002. Rep. Saxby Chambliss, U.S. House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Representative Chambliss: I thought you would be interested in hearing from me directly regarding a letter that I, along with 38 other airport directors, wrote to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to stress our concerns about the December 31, 2002 congressional deadline to screen 100% of checked baggage. I also have enclosed a copy of the letter for your review. We fully support the Transportation Security Administration's efforts to fulfill the nation's goal of strengthening the security of aviation in this nation. Tight deadlines have focused the attention of everyone to get things done expeditiously. But, in the case of the 100% baggage screening deadline, it will drive the TSA to implement a program at Hartsfield that will not give us the best security or an acceptable level of customer service. We believe that an integrated and automated Explosive Detection System is a must for many airports. But, the TSA will not implement such a system because it cannot be completed by December 31, 2002. We fear that harried efforts to meet an artificial deadline will compromise efforts to enhance security, frustrate our aims to increase capacity and slow the return of the industry to financial health. We should do the bag screening right the first time. We may not be able to afford to do it over again. We urge you to support our request for legislative relief from the December 31, 2002 deadline. A more measured approach can lead to successful results in both enhanced security and good customer service. I will provide you with additional information and analysis when TSA finalizes its approach for Hartsfield. Sincerely, Benjamin R. DeCosta, Aviation General Manager.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his kind comments. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), the vice chairman of my Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, and also the chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence within the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I have heard some concerns about the Strategic National Stockpile. One of today's most serious potential threats to our national security is bioterrorism. The CDC is an integral part of the homeland defense, because of its ability to identify, classify, and recommend courses of action in dealing with biological and chemical threats. The Strategic National Stockpile Program demonstrated its excellence and reliability through its on time delivery of the Stockpile's 50 ton ``push packs'' on September 11, 2001 and in the numerous smaller deployments after that date. The push packs are delivered through the nation's public health system and deployment requires continuous medical supervision in order to assure that the medical supplies and pharmaceuticals are provided to the right people and used correctly as medically recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. Being on the front lines of the war on bio-terrorism, the CDC is prepared to respond to emergencies such as a terrorist attack using smallpox virus, anthrax, a worldwide flu pandemic, or a large-scale exposure to deadly toxic chemicals. It is my hope that the transfer of the stockpile to the Department of Homeland Security will occur with minimum disturbance to the current program. The stockpile should remain an integral part of responding to disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies. CDC has been very successful in their response to all types of public health emergencies and we need to ensure the proposed changes do not negatively impact our ability to make our country safer.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, I rise tonight to support this very important bill to establish a Department of Homeland Security. I applaud the work of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), the majority leader, and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the minority whip, who I work with on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the members of the Select Committee on Homeland Security who have worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to ensure the successful implementation of the President's plan to improve the security of our Nation, and to our President. What a great job he has done and what great vision he has for where this country ought to be from a homeland security standpoint, and he is providing strong leadership in moving us in the direction of that vision. The world has changed dramatically since September 11 of last year. Winning the war on terror means changing the mindset of our entire government top to bottom and drastically changing the way we do business. The new Department of Homeland Security will centralize and coordinate our efforts to better protect our citizens. Let me point out that one of the most important aspects of this plan is the effort to improve the sharing of information among our Federal agencies, as well as between Federal, State and local officials. Last week, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman) and I released a summary of our classified report on why our intelligence agencies failed to prevent the terrorist attacks of September 11. Not only did we find that the information technology and agencies such as the FBI could not communicate with itself because they have a completely outdated information infrastructure, but the right people were not getting the right information at the right time. We must streamline and better coordinate the sharing of information so that our local officials like Wayne Bennett, the sheriff of Glynn County, Georgia, or Bud Watson of the Atlanta Police Department, the people who are on the front lines protecting our communities every day, have the most accurate information so that they can do the best job they can to disrupt terrorist activity and better protect our citizens. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this landmark legislation.

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3763, the Corporate Accountability Act of 2002. I congratulate my good friends Congressman Oxley and Congressman Baker not only for their leadership on this legislation but for the leadership they have provided to this body in passing real reforms for corporate accountability. Whether it is Global Crossing, Arthur Anderson, WorldCom, Enron, Tyco or Adelphia the story is the same. Some executives are cooking the books and employees and public stock holders are left holding the bag. Mr. Speaker, a crook is a crook, and it doesn't matter if you use a 38 special or a golden pen if you steal you should go to jail. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, so when I go home to Georgia next week I will be able to look folks in the eye knowing that we passed legislation today which will, provide stiffer penalties and greater oversight, so corporate crooks will no longer be able to prey on hardworking Georgians who play by the rules.

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize and congratulate Augustus `Gus' Parker for his recent election as president of the National Exchange Club. Gus' outstanding contribution and leadership in the Exchange Club over the years has been an extraordinary service to his community and the nation. Gus has been a member of the Exchange Club for over thirty years. Throughout those years, he has served as president of the Macon Exchange Club, treasurer of the National Exchange, and on the national board of directors as a regional vice president. Gus' services to the community go well beyond his work with the Exchange Club. Gus is a former math teacher in Macon, Georgia at Lanier High School. Because of his time and dedication to his students, Gus was unable to attend Exchange Club meetings while he taught school. It was only after Gus started work with the finance department at the Bibb County Board of Education that he was able to attend weekly Exchange Club meetings. Gus soon became a regular at the meetings and became involved weekly. After being sworn in on August 3, Gus will be the head of 30,000 members in more than 900 clubs. He will be the oldest national Exchange Club president in the history of the organization and the national president from Macon. His theme, ``Believing and Achieving: It Can Be Done,'' reflects his positive attitude and dedication to the Exchange Club. Community involvement is the key to a strong society. The Exchange Club's national project, Prevention of Child Abuse, is one endeavor that has made an incredible impact on the children of our nation. President Bush has stated that Americans should volunteer and help those in need. Gus is a man who has risen to the call of the President and volunteered for America. America needs more hard working volunteers like Gus to promote united communities. I am extremely pleased to represent Gus in the 8th District of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I hope you will join me in recognizing and congratulating Gus Parker on his outstanding achievements and service to our nation.

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize and congratulate Armond Morris, of Ocilla, for his recent selection as Georgia's Lancaster Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year. Armond has farmed in South Georgia for the past 38 years. Throughout those years, his operation has grown to over 2,000 acres and includes several different crops, such as cotton, peanuts, corn, watermelons, and cantaloupes. Armond's service and contribution to the agriculture community go well beyond the fields and dirt roads of South Georgia. Armond is the current chairman of the Georgia Peanut Commission, which represents over 7,000 peanut farmers in Georgia. Conducting programs that deal with the research and promotion of Georgia peanuts. Armond is also a board member of the American Peanut Council, which is responsible for peanut farmers across the country. Armond is not alone with his service to the agriculture community. He and his wife, Brenda, manage Morris Agricultural Services. Morris Agricultural Services is a USDA-approved peanut buying point and it also provides South Georgia farmers with chemicals and fertilizer. Armond will join seven other state winners at the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo, which is held in my hometown of Moultrie, Georgia, in October. Armond and the other state winners will be recognized at the Expo, and one of them will be named the Lancaster Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year. Agriculture is very important to South Georgia and Armond represents the type of farmer the agriculture community needs in the future. He has helped out his fellow farmers and his community throughout his 38 years of farming, and I know that this help will continue. Mr. Speaker, I hope you will join me in recognizing and congratulating Armond Morris on his outstanding achievements and service to our nation.

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity today in the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 4965, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2002. This legislation will outlaw the deplorable procedure known as partial-birth abortion. This issue is important to my state of Georgia, where in 1997, then Governor Zell Miller signed the ban on partial birth abortion into state law. This body has garnered nearly 300 supporters for each of the four separate times we have had the opportunity to cast votes on this important matter. The American Medical Association concludes that partial-birth abortion is ``not an accepted medical practice,'' while a wealth of other medical research shows this procedure is never medically necessary. This is not a partisan issue, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan the retired Democratic Senator from the State of New York, known for giving voice to the public conscience, compared the procedure to murder by stating, ``It is as close to infanticide as anything I have come upon in our judiciary.'' I agree with Senator Moynihan, partial-birth abortion is brutal and ruthless and must be banned. It is a disgrace that this reckless disregard for innocent young life is permitted here in United States of America. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 4965 and I remain hopeful that we will be able to outlaw this despicable procedure once and for all.

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time, and I say to my chairman and our ranking member what a great job they have done in leading our committee; and to the staff, I do not think I have ever worked with a greater staff on both sides of the aisle than what we have in the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and I thank both for that. To my ranking member on my subcommittee, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman), who has been such a great partner in this effort to fight this war on counterterrorism, what a great partner she has been in this. I rise today in support of H.R. 4628, the Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 2003. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, I have spent considerable time these past months reviewing the capabilities, gaps, and needs of the intelligence community. In fact, last Wednesday we released the unclassified summary of our report to the Speaker on gaps in counterterrorism capabilities at CIA, FBI, and the National Security Agency. It is true that the community was not adequately prepared for the events of September 11, 2001, and the report was very critical in some areas. By and large we found that in spite of the best efforts of this body and the many hard-working rank-and-file on the front lines in the intelligence community, not enough resources and effort were dedicated to key mission areas, such as HUMINT and SIGINT over a protracted period of time. Available resources, moreover, were sometimes redirected by senior community managers away from core collection and analytic activities to feed a growing bureaucracy at headquarters. There were not and still are not enough CIA agents on the streets of the world collecting against our enemies. NSA's signals intercept and exploitation capabilities, once second to none, are now badly in need of retooling. There are insufficient foreign language capabilities, both to conduct effective intelligence operations against terrorists and to exploit material acquired in such operations. The FBI lacked analytic capability to enable it to pursue preventive measures rather than simply to respond to crimes that have already been committed. And no one was sharing information in such a way that all the consumers with a need-to-know actually got everything relevant to their responsibilities. While no single authorization bill can hope to fix all of these problems, H.R. 4628 will give the community the means to get its collective house in order by addressing the most pressing of these shortcomings. The intelligence community will be in a position to hire more collectors, analysts, linguists, and technicians. It will be able to make long-needed investments in infrastructure, systems integration, and training that will pay significant dividends over the long-term and will, perhaps, make it possible to penetrate the hitherto impenetrable terrorist organization at a level sufficient to get at plans and intentions. Resources alone, however, will not be enough. Community managers will have to get moving on reform before new intelligence dollars will have full effect. The community must accept this criticism in the right way; and upon that being done, I am confident that long-needed reforms of the community will be hastened by this bill. As one notable example, DCI George Tenet, in response to our report, repealed the human rights guidelines that have had a chilling effect on counterterrorist recruitment operations since 1995. Will H.R. 4628 stop all future 9-11-type attacks? No one can make such a guarantee, but this bill will make it much more likely we will have the intelligence capabilities to identify and thwart such hostile actions in the future. We are going to be facing potentially catastrophic threats from terrorists and other adversaries over the long haul. This is not something we are going to be able to stop on a global basis all at once. Therefore, it is critically important that we move swiftly to make the necessary investments in our intelligence capabilities that H.R. 4628 provides. Mr. Chairman, I urge passage of this bill. The neglect of the 1990s in the form of decreasing resources and political support for intelligence can never be allowed to be repeated in this country. And it will necessarily require considerable time and effort on all our parts to correct. America needs and deserves an intelligence capability that is second-to-none, and as 9-11 proved, we do not yet have that capability. Rather than the Cold War threats of old, today's threats are likely to be aircraft hijackings, suicide bombings, cyber attacks, the poisoning of agriculture or our water supply, the use of biological or chemical agents, or the use of radioactive materials to devastate cities. Such threats require a much more innovative and robust Intelligence Community than we have ever had before. I urge all of my colleagues to vote for H.R. 4628. This bill will move us towards the kind of Intelligence Community all Americans need and deserve. We simply cannot afford to wait any longer to make the necessary investments. H.R. 4628 will make America safer.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. There has been some comparison with what happened at Pearl Harbor and what happened in another number of incidents around the world in recent decades, comparing that to September 11. September 11 was not a military failure. September 11 was a massive intelligence failure. There is a marked difference. There is a difference because our intelligence community operates behind closed doors. It operates in a fashion where it needs to operate in order to gather information on terrorist groups and criminal organizations around the world. The terrorist groups around the world would love for us to open up our intelligence community to their eyes. I think that is a terrible mistake that we would be making and a bad precedent that we would be setting. Our subcommittee has been working for the last 8 months on a report. We have a 142-page classified report on record in the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. We issued a nine-page summary of that report. That is the difference. There are nine pages out of 142 pages that we can talk to the American public about. In our report, we did not pat the intelligence community on the back. We criticized the intelligence community where they needed to be criticized and we pointed out where their shortfalls existed leading up to September 11. The current bicameral committee, the joint inquiry committee, is focusing now on the plot. Our committee was a broader investigation, but the joint committee is focusing on the plot of September 11. The 19 hijackers involved, we are looking into exactly where they came from, how they got here, what their mindset was and what they did leading up to September 11. I assure you at the end of the day when that inquiry is completed, there will be another classified report that will be a massive document. But there will also be a summary report that the American people will have that will focus on the plot and the American people will have a very good idea of what happened leading up to September 11 in the minds of those 19 hijackers. There has been conversation, also, publicly and it has been stated over and over here tonight that we may be subject to another attack. God forbid that we are, and our intelligence community is working better than ever today to ensure that we are not. But what if we are? Are we going to have another commission? Where is this going to lead? How many commissions are we going to wind up having for any number of particular incidents? Suppose we have successes. Are we going to have a commission to look into what we did right to disrupt a terrorist act that might have been prevented? I think we are asking ourselves tonight for the setting of a bad precedent if we do have this commission established and this commission moves towards looking at what the joint inquiry is looking at today. I think at the end of the day when the joint inquiry is completed, every single family is going to get satisfaction out of that report in knowing what did happen leading up to September 11 and why we were unable to prevent it more so than what we were able to see in the report that was issued last week. I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment, even though my friend the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) is very passionate and I respect his opinion on this, but I think it is the wrong way to go.

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is a very simple amendment. It is an amendment that was debated very thoroughly on the House floor some 3 weeks ago. It is an information sharing bill coauthored by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman), myself and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays), who has now joined us in offering this amendment. Basically what this amendment does, it is in response to some information that we discovered as the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security during our hearing process about the lack of information sharing that exists between the intelligence gatherers at the Federal level and State and local officials, who are the first responders on the site of any terrorist attack that may be perpetrated against the United States. This bill basically requires the administration to develop an information sharing plan such that they take the individual intelligence gatherers, whether it is NSA, FBI, CIA or whoever, put it into a common funnel, and that information be redacted and declassified and disseminated out to State and local officials in real time so that those first responders on the ground can have the information necessary to be on the lookout to hopefully disrupt any terrorist activity that may be forthcoming.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I would first of all like to also congratulate Chairman Istook on a fine bill that he and my friend, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), have brought forth today. I would like to speak with him about an issue that is of particular importance to me, Mr. Chairman. Last year as a part of the Floyd Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002, I reinstated the Monroney amendment for Federal DOD employees. As the gentleman knows, the Monroney amendment provides that whenever there is a shortage of comparable occupations in private industry in a given wage area, the wage survey must use comparable pay data from the nearest wage area that is determined to be similar in nature of its population, employment, manpower and industry. Previously this amendment was not available to Federal DOD employees. I would also like to stress the importance of this because of the problems we are having in recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce in our public military depots. I would particularly like to discuss the pay limit that is unfairly limited on blue collar Federal DOD employees during the transition to one wage scale. These blue collar employees are a key component to our national security and to our warfighting capability. Recruitment and retention of these highly skilled workers is imperative. However, during this transition to a fair and equitable pay adjustment, a pay cap in the Treasury-Postal bill hinders that progress. I ask the chairman that we discuss ways to overcome and work out the hurdles that stand in the way of eliminating this pay disparity.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for his cooperation and understanding of this matter, and I appreciate the beginning of a dialogue on this issue.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma.

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time and again congratulate him and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) on a very fine bill coming forward today. Mr. Chairman, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, or what is commonly known as FLETC, in Glynco, Georgia, provides critical training for a range of Federal law enforcement personnel as well as State, local, foreign, and private sector security personnel. My Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence just completed a study of the intelligence deficiencies that left our Nation vulnerable to attack. We know that our intelligence agencies must do a better job of collecting and analyzing producing intelligence information, but that is only part of the solution. We need to ensure that we have a robust law enforcement and security force that can take that intelligence and use it to stop future attacks. The critical security training by FLETC is an integral part of protecting our Nation. I strongly support allowing our pilots to be armed as an additional layer of aviation security. Since FLETC will train our air marshals, FLETC is an appropriate place to train our pilots with the same standards. I applaud the efforts of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), who has done an outstanding job of working with FLETC to address their needs. I am pleased that under the gentleman from Oklahoma's (Mr. Istook) leadership this bill increases funding for this important facility. I thank the chairman for his support and for his commitment to ensuring that significant resources have been provided to fully train Federal law enforcement and security personnel at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to say thank you to Susan Hirschmann for her tremendous leadership and her service to their institution. She has been an asset to this House and to the Majority Whip's Office now for 10 years. As a freshman member in 1994 Susan was a guide to this member who was still learning the rules! Susan has continued to provide counsel and guidance on the many occasions that I have gone to her in my 8 years in the House. Susan, you will be missed by the institution and by me, personally. Best wishes to you and David in all future endeavors.

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 292, I was unexpectedly detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, we need to strengthen, simplify, and improve Medicare and provide prescription drug coverage for all seniors and disabled Americans. It has been entirely too long that seniors have done without substantial help in affording their prescription drugs. I am committed to working hard to pass prescription drug relief for America's seniors. Tonight we will pass a fiscally responsible bill that allows seniors and disabled Americans to purchase quality and affordable prescription drugs, offers seniors third party buying power, and provides the security of knowing they are protected from catastrophic pharmaceutical bills. We desperately need this prescription drug plan. Seniors need this plan to finally receive prescription drug coverage they deserve along with greater choice and flexibility. Further, this plan will substantially help nursing facilities, home health agencies, rural hospitals and local doctors provide better health services and ensure quality health care for folks throughout Georgia. This bill will not force folks into a Federal Government-run, one- size-fits-all prescription drug plan that has too many rules, regulations, and restrictions and that allows Washington bureaucrats to decide what medicines can and can't be prescribed. This plan is voluntary, and protects those seniors who are already satisfied with their current prescription drug benefit by allowing them to stay in the existing program. With all these benefits, we need to make sure this legislation is friendly to small businesses and our local pharmacies. I have heard from a number of constituents and share their serious concerns that pharmacists may lose access to networks and our seniors will not gain access to benefits at their local pharmacy. Our hometown pharmacies play a critical role in providing health care in our local communities. We need to ensure that they are not put out of business by this legislation and that pharmacists will have the same opportunity to negotiate price reductions and provide discounted drugs to their customers. It is important that pharmacists be involved in the decision making process for these plans and have the same opportunities to deliver lower costs to the consumer. I want our pharmacists to be able to continue giving customers top-notch care, and I hope that as the process moves forward on this important bill, these critical issues will be adequately addressed. It is no secret that prescription drug costs are an overwhelming burden on the health and financial security of seniors and disabled Americans. Too many senior citizens and disabled Americans face decisions between putting food on their table and being able to afford the prescription drugs they need. In the wealthiest country in the world, our seniors should not be forced to make these decisions or do without medication that would allow them to live longer healthier more enjoyable lives, and I look forward to passing a responsible prescription drug plan that helps America's seniors.

Mr. CHAMBLISS

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 459, Expressing the Sense of the House of Representatives that Newdow v. U.S. Congress was Erroneously Decided. I do this on behalf of all Georgians who share my outrage with the Ninth Circuit ruling that our ``Pledge of Allegiance'' is unconstitutional. For many years, liberals have been unsuccessful in achieving their objectives through the consent of the governed and have turned to activist judges who are willing to distort the Constitution and erase from all public forums any mention of religion and our country's rich religious heritage. Mr. Speaker, the First Amendment guarantees us freedom of religion. Is it any wonder that this year alone, the Ninth Circuit Court has been overruled 12 times by the Supreme Court. But in a larger sense, this ruling is further evidence that our nation is facing a judicial crisis. Liberal special interests are working tirelessly to prohibit the confirmation of President Bush's judicial nominees in order to further pack the courts with liberal judges who will promote their liberal agenda thus guaranteeing that ruling such as this will become the norm. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this resolution, I urge the Department of Justice to immediately appeal this decision and work to have it overturned. I urge confirmation of the President's judicial nominees. To date, only 28% of the President's circuit court nominees have been confirmed. The ruling yesterday in San Francisco demonstrates that the time has run out for holding up the President's nominees. We need the President's judges. We need them now.