HOW EFFECTIVELY IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ASSISTING STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN PREPARING FOR A BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL OR NUCLEAR ATTACK TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2002 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY, FINANCIAL Chicago, IL. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m., in room 2525, Dirksen Federal Building, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL, Hon. Steve Horn (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Horn, Schakowsky, Biggert and Kirk. Staff present: J. Russell George, staff director and chief counsel; Bonnie Heald, deputy staff director; Justin Paulhamus, clerk; Chris Barkley, staff assistant; Michael Sazonov, Sterling Bentley, Joe DiSilvio, and Yigal Kerszenbaum, interns. Mr. HORN. A quorum being present, this hearing of the Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations will come to order. On September 11, 2001, the world witnessed the most devastating attacks ever committed on U.S. soil. Despite the damage and enormous loss of life, the attacks failed to cripple this Nation. To the contrary, Americans have never been more united in their fundamental belief in freedom and their willingness to protect that freedom. The diabolical nature of those attacks and then the deadly release of Anthrax sent a loud and clear message to all Americans: We must be prepared for the unexpected. We must have the mechanisms in place to protect this Nation and this people from further attempts to cause massive destruction. The aftermath of September 11th clearly demonstrated the need for adequate communications systems and rapid deployment of well-trained emergency personnel. Yet, despite billions of dollars which Congress has produced in spending on Federal emergency programs, there remains serious doubts as to whether the Nation is equipped to handle a massive chemical, biological or nuclear attack. Today, the subcommittee will examine how effectively Federal, State and local agencies are working together to prepare for such emergencies. We want those who live in the great State of Illinois (1) and the good people of Chicago to know that they can rely on these systems, should that need arise. And we hope it does not happen. We are fortunate to have witnesses today whose valuable experience and insight will help the subcommittee better understand the needs of these on the front lines. We want to hear about their capabilities and their challenges. And we want to know what the Federal Government can do to help. We welcome all of our witnesses and look forward to their testimony. We have with us today the ranking member for the minority, Ms. Schakowsky. This is her turf and I yield to her for an opening statement. Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and let me express my appreciation to you for scheduling this hearing in Chicago so that we could get the local input that we so desperately need in order to craft a plan that will help all of our cities. Homeland security really is dependent on hometown security and that is what we want to focus on today. My blackberry has been going off to announce that is my email-an evacuation that is a drill in Washington right now of the Rayburn Building, to make sure that everyone can get out there. And there has been a lot of changes that we see every day in Washington, DC. But today, we want to know how are we doing here at home. The title of this hearing is "How effectively is the Federal Government Assisting State and Local Governments in Preparing for a Biological, Chemical or Nuclear Attack." Without adequate and appropriate information, direction and resources flowing from the Federal Government to the local and State authorities, Illinois, Chicago and other cities across the State cannot be expected to contribute the resources necessary to prevent and respond to a terrorist attack. Today's hearing is extremely timely. The FBI's latest warning of possible attacks over the Fourth of July holiday begs the question "Are we prepared?" Have Chicagoland authorities received the necessary information, cooperation and direction from the Federal Government to guarantee public safety or, at the very least, to minimize public risk? Has the State of Illinois been provided with what it needs from the Federal Government to develop and implement a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan? And in turn, are those resources making it to the local law enforcement and emergency responders who are on the front lines in the effort to prevent and respond to terrorist threats? We are here to find out the answers to those important questions. We are in Chicago today to hear the voices of local officials and to make sure their message is heard in Washington, DC. A successful blueprint for homeland security must begin with input from those on the front line. They are the ones who will assure that our 4th of July celebrations are safe and secure. They are the ones who will respond first to any incident. We cannot secure our Nation without their input and expertise. Since September 11th, the way we conduct the business of national security in this country has changed. Today, our Federal, State and local authorities are even more aware of potential threats. Additional steps are being taken to protect a more alert and concerned public. For most Americans, the thought of biological, chemical or nuclear terrorism is, for the first time, a real possibility. This is our new normal. In Washington, we are deliberating over the President's plan to create a massive new Government agency, the Department of Homeland Security. The full Government Reform Committee has primary jurisdiction over the creation of that department and hearings are scheduled next week on Capitol Hill. At each step of the way, we will continue to ask important questions, including whether this plan will make us safer. We must also determine whether critical non-security functions of agencies like the Coast Guard and FEMA and the INS will be compromised under that plan. We need input from the local level to make sure that all of this is done right. Today, we are focusing on the possibility of chemical, biological or nuclear terrorist attacks. Illinois has more nuclear power facilities than any other State. We need to be sure that adequate security and contingency plans are in place to deal with possible attacks on those facilities. The Federal Government has offered considerable resources and information to help with that effort and we will need an assessment as to how the coordination process on that front is progressing. Biological terrorism has already occurred. The Anthrax attacks that were delivered through the mail were a wake-up call for us to check the state of our public health infrastructure. As many of our witnesses today will explain, our public health system would be challenged in responding to a large-scale disaster, either natural or man-made. The capacity of our public and private hospitals is strained each year during the flu season. A disaster with 10,000 injuries that required hospitalization would be very difficult for that system to handle. The front line of response in most disasters is local government. We see this again and again as hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves strike the cities. Local firefighters, police officers and emergency medical personnel are the first there to tend to those in need. Any response we make now must keep in mind that fact. Training, resources, and communications are key to disaster response and should be the centerpiece of our investment. The majority of that investment should be made at the local level. Past experiences have shown that our public health system is also on the front line. Once the disaster scene is surveyed, the injured are moved to hospitals. It is often the case that the hospital capacity is reduced by the same disaster. We have taken our public health system for granted for some time now and it has suffered as a result. We must invest in personnel, planning and reserve capacity. Again, I want to thank each of our witnesses for taking time from their busy schedules to be with us today. I look forward to all of your testimony. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. HORN. Thank you. And now I yield time for Ms. Biggert, a neighbor in Naperville in Illinois and a very hard-working Member of Congress. We thank you for being here. Ms. BIGGERT. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to start by welcoming you back to the "second city." I also want to thank you for inviting me to participate in this important hearing on Federal, State and local efforts to prepare for a biological, chemical or nuclear attack. I am especially pleased to be here with my Illinois delegation colleagues to get the local perspective on our Federal counter-terrorism efforts and to find out how the Federal Government can better serve our first responders. I also want to take this opportunity to welcome a constituent of mine, Captain Ray Seebald of the U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port of Chicago. Believe it or not, the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office, Chicago, is not located in Chicago at all, it is headquartered in Burr Ridge, in my landlocked district. Regardless of the location of the offices, the Coast Guard has always played an important role along Illinois' waterways and in Lake Michigan, but since September 11th, the importance of that role has become even more obvious. I was happy to work with Captain Seebald long before September 11th to help secure money for the Coast Guard to construct a new Marine Safety station near Navy Pier. With the announcement of funds for the new station, Chicago's lakefront will become even safer for recreation and commercial traffic, but first, we have to get it built. Is that not right, Captain Seebald? So I am looking forward also to the testimony of many local public health officials and the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction requires our hospitals and clinics to plan for the unthinkable, which can be a daunting task. I hope our local public health officials will share with us today what the Federal Government is doing right and what it is not doing right to help them with this task. As a former member of this subcommittee, I remember when Chairman Horn last visited Naperville back in 1999, to discuss the ways the Federal Government could help States, municipalities and even private industry prepare for the Y2K bug. As we all know, Y2K came and went without incident. I believe catastrophe was avoided because we spent so much time and energy planning and preparing for it, and worrying always helps a little bit too. I can only hope the more time and energy we put into planning and preparing for future terrorist attacks, the more likely we are to avoid another catastrophe like that of September 11th. Unfortunately, we will never know if our efforts have been truly successful like we did on January 2000. We will not be able to breathe a sigh of relief like we did on that New Year's Day. The threat of terrorism is permanent and it is constant. But the memory of that fateful September day seared in our minds and hearts will always motivate us to try any and everything possible to see that it never happens again. In this process of planning, preparation and prevention, congressional hearings like this one in places other than Washington, DC, are extremely helpful. This is especially true as the House prepares to consider the President's plan to establish a new Department of Homeland Security to protect and defend our land and our way of life. It is our responsibility as Members of Congress, to ensure that the Federal agencies continue to develop a national approach to homeland security and that they have the resources to do so. That is why we are going to provide funds in fiscal year 2003 to identify and confront terrorist threats before they can get off the ground. In many ways, September 11th was a wake-up call for our Nation and we have taken several steps to answer that call. At the end of the day, we must take action to preserve the values that make the United States the greatest and the most powerful country in history and I think that we are. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. HORN. Thank you. And we now are delighted to have Mr. Kirk, a very hard-working member and he has given us a lot of legislation which we will be acting on in a few weeks on accounting and fiscal problems to increase better things for the taxpayers, and we are glad to have him here. Mr. KIRK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Congresswoman Schakowsky for having us. I also am very pleased that this is the room that I was sworn into the Illinois Bar in, and it is good to be back here. Mr. Chairman, I believe that September 11th gave us fair warning that Chicagoland could be the next ground zero of a terrorist attack. We are home to America's tallest building, there are more nuclear reactors in Illinois than any other State, we are home to the busiest airport in the world and we are headquarters to most Federal offices controlling affairs in the midwest. We need to do a better job on homeland defense. Just a few weeks ago, we gathered 27 police and fire departments in northeast Illinois with the White House Office of Home Defense and I can say that first-responders there are looking forward to the $3.5 billion White House first responder initiative when it kicks off next month. The report will be received by the Congress later this month detailing how local police and fire can apply for these funding streams. The key, I believe, is communication. In the District of Columbia, as September 11th unfolded, cell phones collapsed first, followed by landlines. Some first responders were forced to use only four available frequencies in responding to the Pentagon fire. One system survived, which is wireless e-mail, it handled the whole load, even after a 100fold increase. I believe the Federal Government should help upgrade first responder communications. I am very happy that we are joined here by Chief Jay Reardon of the Northbrook Fire Department, but he is also President of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, which is northeastern Illinois' mutual aid society between fire departments. It is this organization which can help us respond anywhere from a 1 alarm to a 25 alarm fire, which a weapon of mass destruction would certainly result in. So I applaud you for holding this hearing and look forward to the results. And thank you for coming to Chicago. Mr. HORN. I thank the gentleman. We, as you know, are an investigating committee and, therefore, we do put witnesses under oath. And so if all the witnesses this morning and the people that will support them would please stand and raise your right hand. |