Homeland Security


Despite the tough talk, six years after 9/11, our country is still not prepared for a terrorist attack. 9/11 has been used to justify countless infringements on our most precious civil liberties, while the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission have been ignored and underfunded. I believe we need more than rhetoric to secure America against terrorist attack – we need real leadership to achieve real results in Washington.

Preparing First Responders

I believe that we urgently need to prepare our National Guard, law enforcement agencies, and other first responders for 21st century threats. In Congress, I’ll work to ensure our home-front defenders are receiving the resources they need to adequately prepare for terrorist attacks, natural disasters and other emerging threats; and that Homeland Security funds are going to where they’re needed – not where the most well-connected politicians are able to direct them in order to buy votes and campaign contributions.

Protecting Chemical and Nuclear Plants

Many chemical and nuclear plants are attractive targets to terrorists because they are often located near population centers and contain large amounts of extremely hazardous material. Amazingly, more than six years after 9/11, the federal government has not established permanent, mandatory, comprehensive security standards for chemical plants. In Congress, I’ll introduce legislation that requires chemical and nuclear plants to improve security by requiring safety training, enhancing physical barriers, and using less hazardous material and technology where possible.

Defending Against Biological and Nuclear Terrorism

As horrific as conventional terrorist attacks are, the threat posed by nuclear- and bio-terrorism is far greater. We simply can’t afford to not adequately prepare against these threats. I believe we need to work to build stockpiles of vaccines and other medications to be prepared in the event of a bio-terror attack, and support the development of advanced detection technologies to avert such an attack. I’ll also work to equip our ports with sensors to detect contraband radioactive materials before they enter the U.S.

Help us change the Deptartment of Homeland Security. Make a contribution now!

Back to Issues