RAHALL REPORT: As We Mark Fifth Anniversary of 9/11, Are We Safer Now?
From the desk of U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV)Representing West Virginia's 3rd District
Washington, D.C. (HNN) -- This week, as we come together to remember the honor the thousands of Americans who lost their lives five years ago on 9/11, many West Virginians will find themselves asking: has enough progress been made since that tragic day?
So are we safer today than we were five years ago?
More than two years ago, I joined a bipartisan delegation in co-sponsoring legislation that would implement in their entirety the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission. This bill was also endorsed by the 9/11 Commission and 9/11 Family Steering Committee. Unfortunately, petty politics kept this comprehensive bill from seeing the light of day, and many of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations still have not been fully implemented- so many, in fact, that the Commission has given the Republican Leadership in Washington Ds and Fs for failing to implement recommended homeland security safeguards. (View full report card online at www.9-11pdp.org/.)
Among the Republican Administration's failing grades is an F in the allocation of homeland security funds based on risk, an F in the providing of adequate radio spectrum for first responders, and, perhaps most disturbing, an F in improvements to airline passenger screenings.
According to the report, few improvements have been made to the existing passenger screening system since right after 9/11. The completion of the testing phase of the TSA's pre-screening program for airline passengers has been delayed. And a new system, utilizing all names on the consolidated terror watch list, is not yet in operation.
A grade of D was given in checked bag and cargo screening, with the report stating that improvements in this area have not been made a priority by Republican leadership in Congress. Progress on implementation of in-line screening has been slow due to inadequate funding. Republicans in Congress have also neglected to take a leadership role in passport security, receiving a D in this area as well. A D was also given in the area of infrastructure assessments, with the report claiming that no risk or vulnerability assessments have actually been made, no national priorities have been established and no recommendations have been made on the allocation of scarce resources.
None of us want our children bringing home Ds and Fs on their report cards, and we certainly don't want our government bringing home Ds and Fs when it comes to protecting lives.
In addition to dragging their heels on implementing the recommendations of the Commission, this Republican Administration has also cut funding to programs that support our first line of defense here at home. We ask far too much of our first responders, who risk their lives in our defense every day, too often with insufficient staffing, inadequate training and obsolete equipment, and we have an obligation to provide them the necessary resources to perform their jobs as safely as possible. Which is why I continue to fight for restoration of firefighter and police grant programs that were eliminated by the Republican Administration in their budget proposal.
There are many links in our homeland security chain and we have a responsibility to make sure that each and every link is secured with equal resources. Two years ago, I supported a bill that would have done this. Two years later we are still waiting. As the Commission report states, it's time to stop talking about priorities and actually set some. It's past time. We owe it to the victims of that tragic day and to their families. And we owe it to ourselves.