Congressman Lamar Smith 21st district of Texas

Contact: Blair Jones 202 225 4236

Washington, May 12, 2005 - Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 1544, the Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2005.

In its report, The 9/11 Commission stated that “Homeland Security assistance should be based strictly on an assessment of risks and vulnerabilities.”

This bill overhauls the current system for first responder grants and follows the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission to allow for greater allocation on the basis of a state’s or region’s vulnerability to terrorist attack.

The current broken formula has adversely affected my state. In federal funding per capita for first responders, Texas ranks fiftieth of the fifty states despite the fact that Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio are three of the nation’s ten largest cities. Also, Texas has a 1,200 mile porous border with Mexico, 14 maritime ports, and an airport – Dallas Fort Worth – that is bigger than New York City’s Manhattan Island. Clearly Texas faces a more grave threat than some other parts of the country.

The bill we are considering today provides assistance to first responders serving where the risk is greatest, determines the essential capabilities of communities, and encourages regional cooperation and mutual aid agreements through regional grant applications.

These changes to the current grant allocation procedure are essential if we are to be ready for another attack. We hope all of this preparation will be for nothing, but we must be prepared. H.R. 1544 ensures that we are as prepared as possible.