Pete King

Mr. KING of New York

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to control the time in opposition to the amendment even though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to thank my friend from Maryland for all his efforts in relation to this amendment and to his commitment to the establishment of maritime security command centers. These centers will be vital tools in the war on drugs, will assist in preventing illegal immigration, and will monitor possible terrorist activity in each region by tracking shipping movements. I agree that the close cooperation and coordination between the Federal, State, and local governments is an integral part of a successful command center structure, and I will be pleased to accept the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to control the time in opposition to the amendment even though I am not opposed.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland for proposing a study of an important Customs and Border Protection initiative. The study of the NTC will assist Congress in determining whether the NTC in its current form is accomplishing its mission of better coordinating CBP field operations and communications. Improving ATS is essential for a robust container security regime. As the home to ATS, the National Targeting Center must have appropriate resources and management to sufficiently operate the system. As stated, I thank the gentleman for offering his amendment, and I am willing to accept it. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to control the time in opposition to the amendment even though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, at the outset, let me thank the gentleman from Mississippi for his very kind and generous remarks, and I want to again return the compliment by saying it has been an outstanding privilege to work with him as the bill has worked its way to this present stage. I also want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for once again reaffirming his support of the Deepwater Program and pledging to work to get the necessary funding for the Coast Guard. All of us saw the outstanding job in Katrina, the outstanding job. They were the true heroes of Katrina, certainly from the Federal level. So I think we stand as one in urging full funding for the Coast Guard. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his support of the amendments. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time and urge adoption of the amendment.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, the manager's amendment makes technical changes, adds several new findings on the importance of maintaining vibrant international trade, clarifies that port security funds can be used to address vulnerabilities in vessel and facility plans in addition to maritime security plans, and clarifies that the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office is responsible for implementing Department of Homeland Security requirements under the Global Nuclear Architecture and that any private testing performed by DNDO will be confidential. Additionally, the manager's amendment includes two provisions at the request of Chairman LoBiondo to set deadlines for the enhanced crew member identification cards so that the rollout is on the same expedited schedule as the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, TWIC, in the base bill. The second provision is the establishment of a Center of Excellence for Maritime Domain Awareness. The base bill represents the work of the Homeland Security Committee and also input from several other committees: Science, Ways and Means, Transportation and Infrastructure, Government Reform and others. The manager's amendment also includes several changes to the base bill at the request of our colleagues from other committees. Specifically, given that H.R. 889, the Coast Guard Authorization Bill Conference Report, is complete and likely to be considered on the floor in the near future, the amendment removes two provisions accepted during full committee consideration that relate to the Coast Guard. The first establishes a pilot program for training Coast Guard reserve officers and, two, the funding for the acceleration of Deepwater. Finally, the manager's amendment establishes a Director of Trade Policy in the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Policy. The changes and additions made in the manager's amendment are consistent with the overall goals in the base bill and represent perfecting changes at the requests of several of our colleagues. I ask my colleagues for their support for the amendment and the underlying bill. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time is remaining?

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, we went through a very long and productive, bipartisan process in arriving at this point today. It trivializes the debate, it demeans the process, to be suggesting that anyone, anyone at all in this body, certainly anyone on this committee, is not absolutely committed to the protection of every American life. Those of us who came from districts who lost large numbers of people on September 11 perhaps have even a more acute interest in doing all we possibly can. But we also don't want to do the most cruel thing of all, and that is hold out a false hope. The worst thing of all is to adopt legislation which is symbolic rather than real. We want results. We are not looking for sound bites, we are not looking for headlines, we are not looking for the evening news, we are not looking for the tabloids. We are looking to get results to save American lives and to make America safer. That is exactly what this legislation does, through layers of defense, through layers of security, through well-thought-out processes and urging as quickly as possible the advancement and the use of technology that can be done. Not technology that might work or might not work, but technology that can work and will work and can be implemented in an effective way. That is what this is about. That is what the debate should be about. As the late morning and early afternoon goes forward, I am sure the American voters who are watching this will see that there are those of us who do want to maintain the level of debate on both sides of the aisle, and that level is going to bring about American security. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Castle, I share your concerns. The legislation under consideration today is only one part of an aggressive campaign to bring common sense to our homeland security efforts. Rail security has been one of my highest priorities, certainly coming from New York, which has one of the largest subway systems in the world. The terrorist attacks on the rail systems in London and Madrid were very grim reminders that our enemies are not above exploiting civilian targets. In the next few weeks, we will be moving TSA reform legislation that has provisions designed to enhance rail and transit security. This matter is a priority for the committee, and I thank the gentleman for his leadership in this area.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite), who, as has been noted by several of the speakers, has made an extraordinary contribution by her amendment at the full committee level.

Mr. KING of New York. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Reichert), the former sheriff of King County and chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness.

Mr. KING of New York. Madam Chairman, I am privileged to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren), the former attorney general of California and the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. KING of New York. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations.

Mr. KING of New York. Madam Chairman, I join the lady in the commemoration of the greatness of this day. And with that, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Management Integration Oversight.

Mr. KING of New York. Madam Chairman, I continue to reserve.

Mr. KING of New York. Madam Chairman, I include for the Record letters of jurisdiction. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Washington, DC, May 3, 2006. Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter regarding the Judiciary Committee's jurisdictional interest in H.R. 4954, the SAFE Port Act. The bill was introduced on March 14, 2006, and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security. The Committee on Homeland Security marked up the bill and reported it on April 28, 2006. I appreciate your willingness to waive further consideration of H.R. 4954 in order to expedite proceedings on this legislation. I agree that by not exercising your right to request a referral, the Judiciary Committee does not waive any jurisdiction it may have over H.R. 4954. As you have requested, I will support your request for an appropriate appointment of outside conferees from your Committee in the event of a House-Senate conference on this or similar legislation should such a conference be convened. I will include a copy of your letter and this response as part of the Congressional Record during consideration of the legislation on the House floor. Thank you for your cooperation as we work towards the enactment of H.R. 4954. Sincerely, Peter T. King, Chairman.

Mr. KING of New York. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. At the outset before we begin this debate, which will be a very positive debate, let me express my thanks to the ranking member, Mr. Thompson, for the tremendous cooperation he has given throughout deliberations on this bill, and also to the ranking member, Ms. Loretta Sanchez, and to Ms. Harman for working so closely with all the Members, especially Chairman Dan Lungren who is the prime sponsor of this legislation. I also want to mention other Members such as Chairman Reichert and the ranking member, Mr. Pascrell, for the important amendments that they introduced during the committee markup which have made this a very significant bill. Madam Chairman, on September 11 all of us pledged that we would do all we could to prevent another terrorist attack from occurring in this country. One of the areas where we are most vulnerable is our ports. There are 11 million containers that come into our ports every year from foreign countries. Much progress has been made since September 11 in protecting our ports and improving the inspection process, the screening process, the scanning process; but the reality is that more has to be done. I strongly believe that the SAFE Ports Act is a major step in the direction of giving us that level of protection that we need. For instance, it provides $400 million a year in risk-based funding for a dedicated port security grant program. It mandates the deployment of radiation portal monitors which will cover 98 percent of the containers entering our country and then going out into the country. It mandates implementation of the TWIC identity cards, and it sets up port training between the employees at the ports and first responders. It also requires more cargo data to be given to improve our automated targeting system. And as far as the Container Security Initiative, CSI, it mandates that the Secretary of Homeland Security will not allow any container to be loaded onto a ship overseas unless that container is inspected at our request. In the past, we have had a number of countries that refused to make these inspections. There have been 1,000 containers that have entered this country unexamined, uninspected because the overseas ports would not carry out the inspection. In the future, that will not be allowed to happen. Also, we require DHS to continually evaluate emerging radioactive detection and imaging technology. We also increase the number of inspectors by 1,200. All of these are part of the layered response and the layered system of defense that we need to significantly and dramatically upgrade the level of protection in our ports. This is a bill which I believe warrants the support of the entire House. It passed out of the subcommittee unanimously, and it passed out of the full committee by a vote of 29-0, and I will be urging its adoption today. Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KING of New York

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of the rule providing for House consideration of the SAFE Port Act. Mr. Speaker, none of us will ever forget what happened on September 11, 2001. Certainly in my district, there were well over 100 people were killed. My district is very close to the Port of New York and New Jersey, and many Members of this House suffered similarly on September 11. When I was seeking the position of Homeland Security chairman last year, I made it a point to emphasize how important it was that we address the issue of port security. I am proud to say that prior to the whole Dubai Ports controversy, Chairman Dan Lungren, Congresswoman Jane Harman, Ranking Member Sanchez began work on this port security bill. So we were ready to move, and the Dubai Ports controversy gave us the window of opportunity to move forward. As a result of that, with very close consultation and cooperation throughout this process, both at the subcommittee level and the full committee level, we have legislation which passed unanimously out of the subcommittee and then passed unanimously by a 29-0 vote last week out of the full committee. In saying that, let me pay special thanks to the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Thompson, who, again, both he and his staff were exceptionally cooperative as this process went forward. Now, we operated on the presumption that significant progress has been made in port security since September 11. However, we need to finish the job, to ensure that these programs and others provide a robust, risk-based system for securing our vital international supply chain through point of origin of goods until arrival here in U.S. seaports. The SAFE Port Act addresses port security enhancements in three main areas: strengthening security measures at foreign ports and improving risk-based targeting of suspicious cargo; improving security of cargo in transit; and making much needed security upgrades at U.S. ports. I must point out also, Mr. Speaker, the underlying bill includes an amendment offered in committee by the gentlewoman from Florida, Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite, which requires aggressive evaluation and deployment of the best available technology to screen incoming cargo. This amendment, offered by Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite, passed by a vote of 33-0. Mr. Speaker, since 9/11, the House has repeatedly voted to support risk-based funding decisions with respect to Homeland Security. This legislation enhances this risk-based strategy that ensures our dollars are spent in areas that provide maximum security benefits. I want to emphasize also how there was the spirit of cooperation at the subcommittee level, the committee level, and I think it is safe to say, in fact I would emphasize the fact that everyone on the Homeland Security Committee feels very, very strongly about protecting every American life by doing all we can to protect America's ports and indeed all of America from any future possible terrorist attack. There can be differences about means. There can be differences about exactly how we achieve that. I feel very secure, very confident, very proud of the legislation that we passed. But it serves no purpose for anyone to be suggesting that there is anyone in the committee or House who is not absolutely dedicated to preserving every American life and doing all we can to enhance American security. So I urge my colleagues to adopt this rule, reject any attempt to politicize the debate and move forward with this bipartisan bill.

Mr. KING of New York

Mr. KING of New York. Madam Speaker, today I rise in strong support of H. Res. 744, a resolution that expresses support for the Good Friday Agreement as the blueprint for lasting peace in the North of Ireland. H. Res. 744 is an expanded version of a resolution written by my colleagues Jim Walsh, Richard Neal, Joe Crowley, and I last November. I appreciate Chairman Hyde sponsoring this new bill with its additional language which I believe strengthens our initial endeavor and moving it to the House floor promptly. I am also grateful for the opportunity to work with the Chairman and his staff on the drafting of this resolution. H. Res. 744 expresses our strong commitment to the ideals of the Good Friday Agreement, a referendum that was endorsed by an overwhelmingly majority of the people living both in the North and the Republic of Ireland on April 10, 1998. As we approach the 8th anniversary of this date, I think it is important to recognize those groups and individuals who have committed themselves to peace, justice, and equality and worked to fully implement this agreement. Much progress has been made since 1998 but much still more needs to be done. First, I'd like to commend (UK) Prime Minister Tony Blair and the (Irish) Taoiseach Bertie Ahem for their leadership in securing a peaceful resolution in the North of Ireland. We would certainly not be where we are today if it were not for these two great statesmen. I'd also like to thank our own government, including both the Clinton and Bush Administrations, for their dedication and efforts to move this process forward. We have been lucky to have fine diplomats such as George Mitchell, Tony Lake, Richard Haass, and Mitchell Reiss play vital roles during the past decade. One of the most significant changes in the North recently related to the changes in policing. The new Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has adopted many of the Patten recommendations to become a much more integrated, professional, and impartial police force. Under the leadership of its chief constable, Sir Hugh Orde, and its ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, the PSNI is a much more effective and accountable law enforcement agency that promotes human rights and fosters community confidence. Finally, I'd like to commend the leadership of Sinn Fein, specifically Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, for successfully urging the Irish Republican Army to end its armed campaign and verifiably put all of its weapons beyond use. This was a crucial step in the peace process to demonstrate the Republicans' commitment to an exclusively democratic and peaceful process. There is no place for any paramilitaries in the North of Ireland and it is my hope that the remaining private armies will follow the IRA's lead by destroying their weapons and signing up to the peace process. Now is a critical time for the people and the political parties in the North of Ireland. This Thursday the British and Irish governments intend to publish their plans for a resumption of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive. It is long past due for this government to be back up and running. But for this to happen, all parties must agree to share power and commit themselves to the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr. KING of New York

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 3934, legislation that would designate the United States Postal Service facility located at 80 Killian Road in Massapequa, New York, as the ``Gerard A. Fiorenza Post Office Building.'' I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to Jerry Fiorenza than to name the post office in Massapequa where he worked in honor of him. I am proud to have introduced this legislation and to have the support of the entire New York delegation. Jerry, a native of Brooklyn, worked for the Postal Service for nearly 30 years starting as a postal assistant and rising to serve as postmaster in Hewlett, Massapequa Park, and Massapequa. He also served as president of the National Association of Post Masters, NAPUS, and was deeply involved in his community serving as a member of the Massapequa Chamber of Commerce, the Sons of Italy, the Columbia Association, and American Legion Post 1066. In 2001 Jerry was selected as Massapequa's Man of the Year. Jerry was also a devoted husband to his wife, Carol, and loving father to his two children, Michael and Jessica. He is truly missed by so many on Long Island. I urge the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 3934 to honor Jerry Fiorenza, a public servant and community leader.