Hal Rogers

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, the conference report that is being filed is precisely as it was when we left conference.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the previous order of the House, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 4567) making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the conference report to accompany H.R. 4567, and that I may include tabular material.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time to consider a conference report to accompany H.R. 4567; that the conference report be considered as read; and that all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration be waived.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, my intention is to be brief, and I hope that the debate today is brief because of the hour and the day of the week and the day of the session. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to present to the body the second-ever conference report for the Department of Homeland Security. This agreement provides $32 billion for the Department. That is $1.1 billion above the current level and $496 million over the President's request. These amounts exclude the $2 billion supplemental provided in September for Hurricanes Charlie and Francis, as well as the $6.5 billion in supplemental funding formally included in as part of this bill for Ivan and Jeanne. Including these funds, the Department will receive $38.5 billion in fiscal year 2005. Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not mention my concerns over attempts to add extraneous matters to this bill. I appreciate the desire by some people to attach legislative riders to appropriations bills. After all, appropriations bills are must-do legislation. However, these attempts, and in particular the actions taken by the other body to add extraneous matter, have led to unnecessary delays in the consideration of this bill that funds important homeland security programs. My colleagues might be interested to know that FEMA is running out of money. Despite the $2 billion given to FEMA just 4 weeks ago, the pot is almost empty, practically drained dry. There is an unprecedented amount of work to be done in the country because of Hurricanes Charlie, Francis, Ivan and Jeanne, and, simply put, without some very creative accounting, FEMA would be out of money today. I am pleased that the Military Construction conference agreement includes emergency funds to help Florida, especially, recover from the devastation of the recent hurricanes, providing an additional $5.6 billion for those efforts. Mr. Speaker, in just one year, the Department of Homeland Security has made tremendous progress. More work obviously needs to be done, but the Department, I think, is clearly on the right track, identifying our vulnerabilities, matching them to threats and putting out guidance on ways to protect our homeland. The conference agreement builds upon the successes of the past year and includes initiatives to move us closer to our goals of prevention, preparedness and response. In the interests of time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight just a few of the items included in the proposed agreement, items I know are of interest to all of the Members. First, there is $4 billion in the bill for our first responders. The agreement strikes a balance between funding high-risk communities and providing support for States and localities to achieve and maintain minimum levels of preparedness. The bill includes $1.1 billion for the basic formula grants and $1.2 billion to improve security in our urban and most populated areas. There is $9.8 billion in the bill for border protection and related activities, including $145 million for new inspection and detection technologies. There is $340 million for the U.S. Visit Program, and there is $1.1 billion for detention and removal operations on our borders. The conferees provide $26.5 million in new funding to provide 750 additional beds for detainees, permit removal of 5,000 additional deportable aliens, and reduce the risk that such aliens will be released into our communities while they await deportation. This funding will also advance our efforts to create smart borders that keep terrorists out without stemming the flow of free commerce or legitimate travel into and from the country. Thirdly, the conference agreement supports security for all modes of transportation, including $5.1 billion for the Transportation Security Administration, with $673 million for our Federal air marshals program. There is $118 million in the bill for air cargo screening, which we hear so much about. This money will support the hiring of 100 new air cargo inspectors, the development of new cargo screening technology and the expansion of canine enforcement teams. The bill also requires TSA to triple the number of cargo inspections on passenger aircraft. Let me repeat that, Mr. Speaker, in case someone may have questioned what I said. This bill requires the Transportation Security Administration to triple the number of cargo inspections on passenger planes. The agreement also funds several initiatives for rail security, including $150 million for grants to high threat rail systems, hiring and deploying rail security inspectors and canine teams to screen for explosives and furthering intelligence-related activities. Also, Mr. Speaker, there is $1.1 billion for science and technology, targeting the research and development of technologies to detect biohazards and nuclear detection technology for cargo. We also continue to fully fund R&D for anti-missile devices aimed at commercial aircraft. Finally, there is $894 million for the information analysis and infrastructure protection. That is a mouthful, but it is to complete an inventory of critical infrastructure in the country, enhance current communications between Federal, State and local homeland security personnel, interoperability, if you will, and to assist local communities as they put protective measures in place to protect our hometowns. Mr. Speaker, the important work of the Department of Homeland Security cannot be emphasized enough. I believe this conference agreement builds on the progress of the past year and substantially furthers the protection of our homeland. I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee will soon bid farewell to our Congressional Fellow, Lt. Ben Nicholson, who has served the Committee on Appropriations over the past three years in two different Subcommittees. Lt. Ben Nicholson has been detailed to the Committee from the United States Coast Guard since 2001. He served initially with the Transportation Subcommittee; spent a year helping establish the new Transportation-Treasury Subcommittee; and this year came to work with the Homeland Security Subcommittee. Mr. Speaker, the Appropriations Committee had never had a detailee from the Coast Guard. Lt. Ben Nicholson was a pathbreaker for the service in that role, and he performed admirably. He did everything we asked of him, with pinpoint accuracy and usually ahead of time. I would also add that he served the Committee during interesting times, perhaps more interesting than he imagined when he accepted the job. Eight months after he began, the 9/ 11 terrorist attacks occurred. Immediately after that, the anthrax attacks occurred. He assisted the Committee in overseeing the establishment of the Transportation Security Administration, including key analysis, which demonstrated the overstaffing of screening personnel in smaller airports. He made sure that shipbuilding loans for the Maritime Administration were contingent upon management improvements in the contracting and oversight process. And he properly evaluated, and helped us provide for, critical facility repairs at MARAD's James River Reserve Fleet, which was devastated by Hurricane Isabel last year. Ben's maritime experience and background were simply invaluable to our Committee. On the Homeland Subcommittee, we have benefited from the experience Lt. Nicholson gained as a Coast Guard Officer, in particular his insights into the operations of a complex military organization that is combined with a large domestic agency. He has superb analytical skills that have been critical in our review of a $32 billion budget request and in developing complex spreadsheets that synthesize funding issues into easily understood documents we have used in hearings, closed briefings, in Full Committee, and on the floor. His infectious energy, his focus, and superb analytic and technical skills have also helped keep the momentum for this bill moving forward. His high standards of professionalism and thoroughness are beyond reproach, and his contributions have been highly valued. Through all of this, Ben maintained the decorum and professionalism that we have all come to expect from our military officer corps, and he has represented the Coast Guard with the highest integrity and competence. Lt. Nicholson has served me, this Subcommittee, the Transportation-Treasury Subcommittee, and the House well. We are sorry to see him leave, and will miss him as our colleague--but are glad to count him as a friend. Each of us on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee wish Ben all the best as he moves forward in his career, where we anticipate seeing great things of him in the coming years. I am grateful for his contributions. Mr. Speaker, the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee will soon bid farewell to our Congressional Fellow, Brian Dunlop, who has served the Committee on Appropriations over the past 2 years in two different Subcommittees. Mr. Dunlop will soon be leaving to resume duties as a senior Special Agent for the U.S. Secret Service. Special Agent Dunlop came to the former Treasury-Postal Subcommittee during the summer of 2002, and has proven himself indispensable to the smooth functioning of the Committee during the intense period surrounding the planning for, and inauguration of, the new Homeland Security Department and the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. His strong understanding of organizational dynamics, of operational issues and real-world, real- time considerations for building a successful new Department contributed significantly to the success of this subcommittee. Brian brought to the appropriations process clear, thoughtful analysis and mature judgment developed in his successful career in criminal investigation and protective operations. He has clearly mastered the technical issues and folkways of the appropriations process and he undoubtedly has as good a working knowledge of the nooks and crannies of the Department of Homeland Security as anyone working there. Special Agent Dunlop has provided insight into sensitive law enforcement and security matters involved in setting up and overseeing DHS in its capacity as the newest member of the Intelligence Community. In this capacity, he facilitated the work of this Subcommittee by developing detailed analyses, preparing classified briefings, writing easy to understand factsheets and briefing packages on extremely technical issues; and developing and implementing complicated oversight travel for the Subcommittee. Brian has also been the ``go to'' man when the Subcommittee required answers on crosscutting law enforcement issues, such as coordinating the security efforts of multiple agencies during high threat periods; as well as developing consistency in professional standards, training, and gun use policies throughout DHS. Brian was instrumental in evaluating the need to deploy Infrastructure Protection personnel to states and localities, whose responsibility will be to work with the public and private sector to implement security measures to protect critical infrastructure. His analysis and recommendations will have lasting effects, as protective security advisors will now be on site in every state in order to better secure our nation's infrastructure. Throughout his service here, Brian has shown unqualified professionalism, perception, and the great combination of a keen sense of humor, a cool head, and a modesty rarely seen on Capitol Hill. Special Agent Dunlop has served me, this Subcommittee, and the House well. We are sorry to see him leave, and will miss him as our colleague--but are glad to count him as a friend. Each of us on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee wish Brian all the best as he moves forward in his career, where we anticipate seeing great things of him in the coming years. I am grateful for his contributions. Mr. Speaker, I include the following for the Record. [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH09OC04.039 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH09OC04.040 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH09OC04.041 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH09OC04.042 Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham), a very hard-working member of our subcommittee.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I cannot close this debate without thanking some people. My colleague on the other side of the aisle has been marvelous to work with. He is demanding about the facts, but he is agreeable in working with us on the bill. I want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo) especially for his great work on this subcommittee, as he does in other parts of the Congress. Mr. Speaker, the Speaker of this House was very, very instrumental as late as the early hours of this morning in trying to remove snags that might prevent this bill from being placed on the floor, and I have to publicly compliment the Speaker and thank him for taking the personal interest that he did in helping us to move the passage of the bill to the floor. I can say the same for the majority leader. We had a tough snag that the other body had placed in the way of this bill's coming to the floor, and as late as 2 o'clock this morning, the Speaker of the House and your majority leader, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) were up there working in their offices on the telephones to make this day possible. I have to publicly compliment them on doing a great job to help us. Mr. Speaker, finally, let me say thanks to this great staff. We would not be here without them. They do the hard work. They are up all night doing the tedious work. My chief of staff, Michelle Mrdeza, has just been terrific in making this day possible and making the subcommittee work. As did Stephanie Gupta and Jeff Ashford and Tom McLemore and Terry Tyborowski and Kelly Wade, and Brian Dunlop and Ben Nicholson. These last two, Brian from the Secret Service, a fellow with us, and Ben Nicholson, a fellow from the Coast Guard, have been with us all this year and they will be rotating off this assignment now. I want to publicly thank them especially for their service with us on this subcommittee. I want to thank my chief of staff, Will Smith, and Beverly Pheto of the minority staff, who has been especially helpful. We would not be here without them, Mr. Speaker, and I think we should publicly thank them for the great work they do. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Members for being understanding of the difficulties in putting this bill together. We are trying to fund some 53,000 units of local public safety, as well as all the other myriad of things that go into funding this 22-agency new department in its second year. I want to thank the Members for being understanding and supportive and helpful in making that possible.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney) who is a very valuable member of our subcommittee.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We would not be here at this point in time without the gentleman whom I yield to next. This full chairman of our committee has been marvelous in this bill in helping us through. I believe this is the last of the appropriations bills that this full committee chairman will, in effect, manage before this body; and I know that he is enormously pleased with the passage, or soon to be passed, I am sure, of the MILCON bill that includes aid for his home State. Mr. Speaker, we all owe a great debt of gratitude to this great public servant who has put up with all sorts of devilishness during the development of this bill, among others. So I yield such time as he may consume to the honorable gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time, and congratulate him on a wonderful performance on this bill, as well as the ranking member. I wanted to take just a few seconds here to praise the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the full committee chairman, for the grueling work that he has done to bring to this floor aid for Florida but also the other States who suffered damage from the recent hurricanes. As late as at least two o'clock this morning, the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) was on the telephone, in the office, with the staff, running from room to room, to make this happen. This was a grueling experience, and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) was a part of that effort, as well as many others, but I just wanted to say thank you to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) for caring for his people. Now, he legislates for the Nation, and he is the chairman for the full Committee on Appropriations for the whole Nation, but his State was ravaged by these four unprecedented hurricanes, with people living in tents, without electricity and in dire straits, and he cared for his people enough to work around the clock to make this happen. I just wanted to take a second to say thank you to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Reclaiming my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker. Suffice it to say on, for example container security, there is a lot more going on than the gentleman has described, or perhaps even knows about. And I would hope that we could keep this discussion based on facts, and based on the fact that we cannot talk about publicly a lot of the classified procedures and operations that are being done and easily demagogued by those who want to buy some political insurance in case we have an unfortunate incident in the future. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The gentleman from Wisconsin knows that our subcommittee does a lot of closed-door briefings. They are not hearings, they are briefings. They are behind closed doors because we are dealing with classified materials and procedures and practices. Therefore, there is a lot we cannot talk about here in these surroundings. There is a lot going on that we cannot describe. And I really resent those who would take advantage of the fact that we cannot describe all that we are doing to say we are not doing enough. I resent that. If the gentleman would attend some of those closed briefings, he would know better.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Well, if you would attend one closed Homeland Security briefing, I would appreciate it.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the conference report for the fiscal year 2005 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, which we will be considering on the House floor soon, will provide $32 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. This funding level is consistent with the subcommittee's spending allocation, and it is $496 million above the amounts proposed by the President and $1.1 billion above fiscal year 2004 enacted levels. The conference allocation will allow us to aggressively support critical homeland security missions identified in the gentleman's motion, including first responder, domestic preparedness, emergency management, firefighter assistance and disaster mitigation and relief programs. The motion offered by the gentleman from Minnesota is consistent with my intentions to secure our Nation's homeland by providing the most robust funding possible for all aspects of homeland security: Protection, preparedness and response. But we must do this within our spending allocation. For the 22 agencies that now make up the new department, Congress has provided more than $73 billion through fiscal 2004. With the additional $32 billion in this bill, the totals provided to the Department is more than $105 billion in fiscal years 2002 through 2005. Tremendous progress has been made in making our Nation more secure using the right mixture of people and technology to strengthen our borders and close security gaps. Let me give some success stories: Since its creation, the Department has inventoried the Nation's critical infrastructure to include more than 33,000 facilities and begun identifying and reducing vulnerabilities at chemical plants and facilities, nuclear power plants, national monuments, subway and light rail systems, and commercial sites, among others. Two, the Department has streamlined the process used to get money out to first responders by setting up a new one-stop shop and eliminating choke points so that money can flow where it is needed more rapidly. Three, we have enhanced aviation security by searching all checked bags for explosives, modifying airports to install explosive detection machines in-line, improving air cargo security through increased screening and enhancements of the known shipper program, and developing antimissile devices for commercial aircraft. Four, we have increased the presence of the container security initiative to more than 38 foreign ports which ship us over 80 percent of our container freight, meaning that we are prescreening most high- threat cargo before it ever reaches our shore. The next point. We have made capital improvements, investments in innovative technologies, including radiation detection for our ports and nonintrusive inspection technologies for cargo screening which are deployed at our busiest land and seaports. And we have created standards for first responder equipment, established three Homeland Security Centers of Excellence and expanded the presence of sensors in high-risk cities for detailing biohazards. Those are just some of the accomplishments that we can count on and be thankful for since 9/11. Mr. Speaker, I support the highest possible funding levels for the critical functions of the Department of Homeland Security. I also believe in the responsible use of taxpayer money. As we move towards conference, my goal is to do all we can to ensure both our Homeland Security operators as well as our first responders get the tools they need to keep our hometowns safe and secure. I certainly believe in doing all we can to make this country safe, and in that spirit, I accept the gentleman's motion as a good one. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Reclaiming my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 4567) making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dallas Chaffins, an upstanding resident of the Fifth Congressional District of Kentucky. Chaffins, a 73-year-old coal miner in Eastern Kentucky, has been working underground for 56 years without ever having a lost-time injury. This remarkable accomplishment has earned him numerous awards and commendations, and I believe he deserves our recognition as well. Born in Big Rock, Virginia, Dallas Chaffins started working in the coal mines on April 5, 1948, at the Buchanan Coal Company. Although he was only 17-years-old then, he had already been working for 6 years with his father in the timber industry. It's obvious that Dallas had a strong work ethic instilled in him from the time he was a little boy. Throughout the next 6 decades, Dallas worked determinedly in the mines. During his career, he only took 2 years off, from October 1951 to October 1953, so he could serve his country in the United States Marine Corps. And he's not quite ready to throw in his helmet yet. He still rises each morning long before the sun does and heads to the mines to greet his coworkers with a handshake and a smile. You see, Dallas is known as much for his friendly disposition as he is his impeccable safety record. He attributes this characteristic to his devout faith in God. ``I believe if a person keeps his own conscience clean that he will shine on the outside,'' he recently told a reporter for a Kentucky newspaper. ``I think the Lord has blessed me with this. Yes, I give him all the credit.'' In addition to being a friend and mentor, and source of joy to countless miners throughout the years, Chaffins has reared 12 children and now enjoys spending time with 26 grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues and myself, I want to congratulate Dallas Chaffins on 56 years of tireless, careful service in the mines. His hard work and integrity is an inspiration to others, both young and old, and Eastern Kentucky is a better place because of him.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the motion to instruct on the conference on H.R. 4567, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, September 28, I had prior commitments and was not present for rollcall votes Nos. 473, 474 and 475. The votes were on a Pelosi motion to instruct conferees on H.R. 4200, a motion to close portions of the conference on H.R. 4200, and S. 2363. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 473, and ``yea'' on rollcall Nos. 474 and 475.