Etheridge to negotiate Homeland Security bill

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives today appointed U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) to a committee to negotiate a major homeland security bill.

Etheridge will be the only N.C. Member of Congress on the Conference Committee for H.R. 1, which implements most of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

“Congress has no greater responsibility than protecting the American people. I look forward to working with my colleagues to craft a final bill that will provide greater security for North Carolinians,” said Etheridge. “Almost six years after 9/11, and three years after the 9/11 Commission released its recommendations, we cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Etheridge, the only N.C. member of the Homeland Security Committee, voted to pass the House version of H.R. 1 in January as part of the new Democratic Congress’ “First 100 Hours Agenda.” The Conference Committee will negotiate differences between H.R. 1 and a similar bill the Senate passed in March, S. 4.

The House version of the bill includes a number of steps to improve homeland security, including:

Providing interoperable communication devices for emergency response officials;

Requiring major improvements in aviation security, border security, and infrastructure security;

Enhancing the inspection of cargo at ports and on passenger aircraft;

Providing first responders the equipment and training they need;

Increasing efforts to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

The bipartisan 9/11 Commission was created by Congress to provide recommendations on preventing another terrorist attack. The recommendations were released in 2004. Congress implemented several of the recommendations in December 2004, however the Republican -controlled Congress did not implement many, and only partially implemented others.

The Conference Committee is expected to begin negotiations before Friday. When negotiations are finished, it is expected that the House and Senate will pass the legislation.