Homeland Security Insider

Taking Control of Congress

• By Col. Timothy D. Ringgold
• Mar 05, 2007

A few hours after taking control of Congress and following 12 years of Republican dominance, House Democrats announced a plan they say will strengthen homeland security. Accusing Republicans of neglect, Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee say their plan will implement the unfinished 9/11 Commission recommendations; require private companies to prepare for terrorism; require the government to inspect cargo on passenger planes; and require all cargo containers carried on ships to be scanned and sealed before leaving for an American port. Large ports will be given three years and smaller ports five years to meet compliance standards. Noncompliance can result in barring a port from shipping cargo directly to the United States or other sanctions.

The commission released its report nearly three years ago, giving an "F" to the government for failing to improving airline passenger screening and failing to provide sufficient homeland security funding for communities considered most at risk of attack.

According to the Democrats’ proposal, airport screeners will be given whistleblower protection, federal funding will be made available to develop technology for detecting chemicals and explosives at checkpoints, and an appeals process will be established for airline passengers mistaken for terrorists on watch lists.

Homeland Security Committee Democrats argue that passage of this bill is necessary because the Republican-controlled Congress did not implement all of the 9/11 Commission's 41 recommendations aimed at improving safety after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The commission released its report nearly three years ago, giving an "F" to the government for failing to improving airline passenger screening and failing to provide sufficient homeland security funding for communities considered most at risk of attack.

Most Americans assume airline security problems have been fixed and terrorists will not target our aviation system again. In my opinion, both assumptions are wrong. The enemy will find and exploit any soft spots in security. Though commercial aircrafts have been hardened against hijacking, airplanes remain vulnerable to onboard explosions like the dual Chechen suicide bombings that brought down two Russian airliners in August 2004. To secure commercial aviation, the 9/11 Commission recommends screening airline passengers for explosives and inspecting checked baggage and cargo shipped on commercial flights before it is loaded onto airliners and stored beneath airline passengers' feet.

Homeland security analysts have said there are no remaining proposals that can easily be enacted into law because the proposals are politically difficult. Democrats may be in a position to change that. For example, the commission recommends that oversight of Homeland Security be given to a single Congressional committee. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the department reported to 86 Congressional committees and subcommittees and gave more than 4,000 briefings in 2005-2006. Soon after, House Democrats unveiled their 9/11 bill, announcing that the House Transportation Committee would share jurisdiction of two DHS agencies: the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In other words, both the Coast Guard and FEMA must serve two Congressional masters.

The Committee on Homeland Security was created by the House of Representatives in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The committee was first formed as a non-permanent committee to provide Congressional oversight during the development of DHS. The committee was made permanent two years ago.

The now Democrat-led committee will be made up of 19 Democrats, led by chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), and 15 Republicans, led by ranking member Peter T. King (R-N.Y.). The committee’s jurisdiction includes, but is not limited to, overall homeland security policy; the organization and administration of DHS; segments of the nation’s border and port security; domestic preparedness for and collective response to terrorism; and transportation security.

The Homeland Security Committee for the 110th Congress include subcommittees on border, maritime and global counterterrorism;
emergency communications, preparedness and response; transportation security and infrastructure protection; intelligence, information sharing and terrorism risk assessment; emerging threats, cybersecurity, and science and technology; and on management, investigations and oversight.

One of the faces missing from the new committee is “Mr. First Responder”—now former Pennsylvania Congressman Curt Weldon—a volunteer firefighter and small-town mayor before being elected to Congress. Weldon was defeated in his bid for an 11th term by a retired Navy vice admiral. Shortly after coming to Congress in 1987, Weldon founded the Congressional Fire Services Caucus. Throughout his 20 years in Congress, Weldon lead the fight for increased funding for firefighters. He authored the bill that resulted in the federal grant program for local fire departments and fought for mandatory safety sprinklers in college dormitories and for training of fire departments to deal with terrorism incidents involving chemical and biological weapons. Weldon served as the Homeland Security Committee’s vice chairman for the past two years and was widely expected to be the committee’s chairman this term had he been reelected and had Republicans remained in the majority. It was not meant to be.

The Democrats are now presented with an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to strengthening homeland security. Offering a proposal to fill remaining gaps is the first step, but the more important aspect is to follow through with the funding and leadership necessary to implement the commission’s recommendations.