March 4, 2003
Lieberman Identifies Homeland Security Needs in Speech
at GW
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D–CT) chose GW’s Foggy Bottom campus
and the Elliott School of International Affairs’ (ESIA) series,
“ESIA and the ANSER Institute for Homeland Security Project,”
to call for greater support for homeland security, challenging President
George W. Bush to “put our money where our needs are.”
In his keynote address of the first of a four-part series on homeland
security issues — “Gauging the Terrorists Threat” and
“Are We Prepared” — Lieberman, the ranking member of
the Senate’s Governmental Affairs Committee, identified three areas
of need to make the country less vulnerable: development of a front
line initiative to support first responders (See “Congressional
Appropriation,” above); shoring up the nation’s ports, borders,
and transportation systems; and refocusing US armed forces.
Lieberman noted that life in the United States has become especially
stressful since the terror alert reached orange, the second-highest
threat level.
“The [Bush] administration has been too slow, too protective of
the status quo, and too unwilling to back up tough talk with real resources
when it comes to improving homeland defenses,” Lieberman told the
crowd.
Sounding much like the 2004 presidential candidate that he is, Lieberman
placed the blame for the country’s weakened defenses squarely on
the shoulders of President Bush, contrasting the president’s proposed
$41.3 billion budget for homeland security with the estimated $102 billion
in tax cuts critics say are aimed at upper income brackets.
“Leadership is about choices as well as intentions,” said
Lieberman. “This administration is not putting its leadership and
our money where our needs are. Its choices favor the wallets of the
few over the safety of us all.”
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
