...snip...
1. Homeland Security Oversight: The first thing the Senate should do is give the oversight job to one committee. Today, Customs, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard continue to report to the committees they reported to when they were parts of different departments. That's a recipe for disaster.
2. Chemical Plants: Legislation passed by Congress last fall gives the Homeland Security Department a paltry $10 million to oversee security at the nation's 15,000 chemical plants. By comparison, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission budgets more than $50 million to ensure the safety of the nation's 140 nuclear power reactors. Congress should pass new legislation that gives the Homeland Security Department real resources to police industry adoption.
3. Interoperable Communications: It is beyond outrageous that first responders still lack reliable communications for managing large disasters and terrorist attacks - and that TV stations are a big part of the reason why. In the last Congress, broadcasters got the date for their switch from analog to digital signals pushed back to 2009, delaying the liberation of critical radio spectrum for emergencies. Broadcasters, who have had since 1996 to make the transition, say they need the additional time. That's not true - and we don't have two more years to wait. Congress should set a new deadline of the end of 2007 and ensure adequate funding for first responders to get the equipment they need.
4. Homeland Security Funding: Quit the bickering over "risk-based formulas" and distribute funds at the state and metropolitan level based on population. Under this scheme, each state would get $5.30 per resident with California getting $180 million, New York $100 million and Wyoming $2.6 million. Under the current formula, California and New York each receive about $2.50 per resident, with Wyoming raking in $15 per resident.
5. Securing Nuclear Materials: Nearly two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, efforts to secure Soviet nuclear facilities and materials are only halfway complete. The new Congress must make funding available to clean out the most vulnerable sites, secure the remainder and speed the conversion of nuclear research reactors to nonweapons-grade fuel.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/479552p-403480c.html
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