posted on July 27, 2007 07:04:14 AM new
House May Pass Security Bill Today
Updated 8:17 AM ET July 27, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House is expected to pass a homeland security bill and send it to President Bush as early as today. Last night, the Senate approved the package of security measures recommended by the 9/11 Commission, shifting more federal money to high-risk states and cities and requiring more stringent screening of air and sea cargo.
The measure passed by a 85-8 vote.
House passage would give Democrats a much-needed legislative victory just a week before Congress adjourns for its August recess.
Along with a boost in the minimum wage, which went into effect on Tuesday, the 9/11 Commission bill would be at the top of the Democratic majority's achievement list if President Bush signs it into law.
The White House has expressed opposition to several provisions in the bill, particularly a requirement that within five years all ship containers be scanned for nuclear devices before they leave foreign ports for the United States, but it has not issued a veto threat.
(So the bushits DON'T CARE if SECRET NUCLEAR devices are pumped into the U.S. !!!!!!!!
WHOSE side are THEY ON??????)))
The administration has questioned the feasibility of installing radiation monitoring equipment in more than 600 foreign ports. To soften opposition, the bill's authors gave the Homeland Security secretary authority to delay implementation in two-year increments if needed.
The bill also requires the screening of all cargo on passenger aircraft within three years.
The independent 9/11 Commission in 2004 came out with 41 recommendations to prevent another terrorist attack, covering tighter domestic security, reform of intelligence gathering and new foreign policy directions.
Congress and the White House followed through on several of those recommendations, including creating the new position of director of national intelligence and tightening screening procedures on land borders.
But Democrats, in taking over Congress, charged that the GOP response to the recommendations had been insufficient. The House passed its version of the 9/11 bill on the first day of Democratic control last January, and the Senate approved its bill in March.
Efforts to reach a House-Senate compromise on the issue gained momentum only after Democrats agreed to drop language, which had prompted a veto threat, that would have given airport screeners collective bargaining rights.
(ANOTHER example of the Republicans hatred of average Americans trying to earn a living!!!!!!)
Other Democratic priorities have met with less success: Immigration reform couldn't get through the Senate, the president vetoed stem cell research legislation, and the House and Senate were still trying to work out a deal on lobbying reform.
The 9/11 bill would change the formula for distributing federal security grants to ensure that high-risk states and urban areas get a greater share. High-risk cities such as New York and Washington have complained that the current formula, which divides money more evenly around the country, does not reflect the realities of the terrorist threat.
( WHY wasn't this addressed LONG AGO ???)
The bill also establishes a new interoperability grant program to assure that local, state and federal officials can communicate with each other and approves $4 billion over four years for rail, transit and bus security.
(ABOUT TIME! Where has the bushit administration been on this issue????)
It strengthens security measures for the Visa Waiver Program, which allows travelers from select countries to visit the United States without a visa and, in another provision opposed by the White House, requires that the total amount appropriated for the intelligence community be made public.
Final House-Senate agreement this week came only after Democrats agreed to a Republican demand that gives protection from lawsuits to people who in good faith report what they believe is terrorist activity around airplanes, trains and buses. The issue grew out of an incident last fall when six Muslim scholars were removed from a Minneapolis flight after other passengers said they were acting strangely. The scholars have filed suit, saying their civil rights were violated.
posted on July 27, 2007 07:34:55 AM new
Lawmakers reach deal on security bill
By Jim Abrams, Associated Press Writer | July 24, 2007
WASHINGTON --Congressional negotiators reached tentative agreement Tuesday on steps to strengthen air and sea defenses against terrorists in legislation aimed at fulfilling recommendations made three years ago by the 9/11 Commission.
The bill outlines plans to inspect all cargo on passenger planes within three years and screen, within five years, all U.S.-bound cargo ships for nuclear weapons before they leave foreign ports.
It also realigns the formulas for distributing federal security funds so that states and cities most at risk of terrorist attack receive a larger share.
Rep. Benny Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he had closed out final issues after a meeting with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
"This bill, when signed by the president, will be another step toward securing all Americans from terrorist attack," Lieberman said in a statement. "It will make it more difficult for terrorists to enter and operate in the United States, while securing vulnerable targets from attack, and training and equipping first responders and preventers so they can do they job we need them to do."
The final language was still being circulated among the negotiators and no formal announcement of a deal was expected Tuesday evening.
The compromise bill gives a much needed victory to Democrats who go into the August recess with few concrete achievements to show for their first six months in control of Congress.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the House could vote on the bill Friday, and the Senate is expected to act before leaving for the recess. The White has expressed opposition to parts of the bill, particularly the provision to screen 100 percent of cargo in foreign ports, but has stopped short of issuing a veto threat.
The nonpartisan 9/11 Commission, formed after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 came out with 41 recommendations to make the nation safer from terrorist threats, covering transportation security, emergency preparedness and reforms to U.S. intelligence and diplomatic policies.
Congress and the White House have already moved to carry out some of those proposals, including creating the new position of director of national intelligence, tightening screening procedures on land borders, moving toward standardized and secure IDs, and taking countermeasures against terrorist financing.
But Democrats, in taking control of Congress, made it a top priority to act on unfulfilled recommendations."""
Gee, doesn't sound like they're "on the side of the terrorist"....sounds like they're getting things done that SHOULD HAVE been done awhile ago!
Oh, so you really WANT "stalkers", "baiters", and "trolls" to respond to your frenzied threads....just can't make up your VULGAR mind , can ya?
LOLOLOL!!!
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If you dont want to hear the truth....dont ask the question.
