http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2003_0716b.htmlJohn Kerry Calls on Bush Administartion to Address the Preparedness Gap
Urges President to Tell the Truth about September 11th Intelligence
July 16, 2003
(I) STOP SLOW ROLLING THE 9/11 COMMISSION AND TELL AMERICANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED ON SEPTEMBER 11th.
The only winners from President Bush stonewalling the bipartisan 9/11 Commission are the terrorists. Until we know what went wrong, we can’t fix it. President Bush needs to show some leadership and tell John Ashcroft and Tom Ridge to quit stalling and provide the Commission with the information they need. This is about people, not politics --- policy, not partisanship.
Until we know what went wrong before and on September 11, 2001, we won’t be able to fix it. That is why John Kerry and others in Congress listened to the 9/11 victims and survivors and forced President Bush to accept the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.
The bipartisan leadership of the 9/11 Commission has recently reported that President Bush, his Attorney General and other senior officials are slow rolling requests for information required by the law. Without adequate information, the 9/11 Commission can’t do its job.
Every day that goes by without the 9/11 Commission completing its investigation, is another day that all Americans are at increased risk.
President Bush should immediately direct every member of his Administration to make it a priority to comply with every lawful request made by the 9/11 Commission and he should fire any member of his Administration who endangers America by not complying.
(II) THE BUSH PREPAREDNESS GAP
The Bipartisan Council on Foreign Relations Report Led by Republican Senator Rudman Concludes Nation is Woefully Unprepared. The United States has not reached a sufficient national level of emergency preparedness and remains dangerously unprepared to handle a catastrophic attack on American soil, particularly one involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear agent, or coordinated high-impact conventional means.
The major findings of the report include:
1) Fire Departments Don’t Have Enough Equipment or Firefighters. On average, fire departments across the country only have enough radios to equip half the firefighters on a shift, and the necessary breathing equipment for one third. Only 10 percent of fire departments in the United States have the personnel and equipment to respond to a building collapse.
2) Police Don’t Have the Gear They Need. Police departments in cities across the country do not have the protective gear to safely secure a site following an attack using weapons of mass destruction. We saw in the World Trade Center attacks that local emergency responders will rush to the scene of an incident even if they do not have the tools they need to do their jobs safely. It is unconscionable to ask policemen and firemen across the country to potentially respond to a terrorist attack without working radios, sufficient breathing apparatuses, enough protective suits, and other life-saving equipment.
3) Our Hospitals and Public Health Labs Aren’t Fully Equipped to Respond to an Attack. Public health labs in most states still lack basic equipment and expertise to adequately respond to a chemical or biological attack, and 75 percent of state laboratories report being overwhelmed by too many testing requests. We must strengthen our laboratories, disease tracking, information sharing, and training for terrorism-related public health emergencies. We must also strengthen the very heart of our public health system: our nation’s hospitals to expand and enhance their capacity to respond to events.
4) Our Nation’s Ports Aren’t Protected. More than 6 million marine containers enter U.S. ports each year. The Customs Service physically inspects only about 2% of the containers. Many port areas have vulnerabilities to terrorist attack because of their size, easy accessibility by water and land, proximity to urban areas, and the tremendous amount of cargo they handle.
(III) BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAS FAILED TO MAKE AMERICA SAFER SINCE 9/11.
673 days have now passed since 9/11, and we are just now learning how unprepared we are to prevent future acts of terrorism, how much rhetoric President Bush has devoted to combating terrorism and just how little President Bush has really done to prevent it.
President Bush has failed to seek proper funding for virtually every aspect of terrorism preparedness. President Bush has neglected America’s First Responders (police, firefighters and paramedics). Bush has cut COPS and firefighters at the same time many of them are off to serve in Iraq in the Reserves.
The Bush Administration has been slow to get money out the door into the communities that need it.
Starving the state government causing states to cut back on first responders. Because of large tax cuts and Bush neglect of the economy - the states are in the worst fiscal condition and are being forced to cut back on funding.
(IV) KERRY PLAN TO CLOSE ‘THE PREPAREDNESS GAP’.
Making sure our frontline troops have the protection and training the need to do the job right. Today, John Kerry makes the following pledge to the Nation and its first responders: We don’t send soldiers to war without the training and equipment they need to fight John Kerry won’t send the foot soldiers in the war on terrorism here in America: police, fire fighters and paramedics without the training and equipment they need.
KERRY PLAN TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE ON THE FRONT LINE ON THE WAR ON TERRORISM. John Kerry has proposed reinvigorating the successful COPS program which funded over 100,000 new community police officers ahead of schedule and under budget and a new Father Judge Fund which will pay for 100,000 new professional firefighters and the training and equipment which they need. That means:
Giving those on the front lines the tools they need to get the job done. First responders will be provided the equipment and training they need to get the job done. This is the least we can do for the women and men who put their lives on the line for us every day. We do it for our uniformed services we can do it for our first responders.
o Stop trickling resources through bureaucracies and get to those on the front lines. Federal money will rapidly move from Washington to the agencies which need it no stops in state capitals or with any politicians. NYFD money will go directly to the NYFD.
o National standards to assure that every American receives a basic level of security. Every American is entitled to a basic level of security, and national standards will allow us to define how to prepared and every jurisdiction should develop a road map for getting us there without unfocused and inefficient spending.
o A targeted alert system. An alert system that works and is applied in a sensible and localized manner. When there is intelligence that there is a terrorist threat in one place, that is the only place we will raise the alert level. No more national Orange Alerts unless there truly is a threat across the Nation.
o No more unfunded mandates. When Washington raises the threat level and requires a greater law enforcement response, it cannot just leave states to foot the bill again and again
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