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Homeland Security
in Texas: Ongoing
By Senator Florence Shapiro
Like other notable dates in our nation�s history � such as December 7, 1941 or November 22, 1963 � although you may not remember your day prior to the disaster, you certainly remember that day and how you spent it following the tragedy. For you see, September 11, 2001, or 9-11 in our common nomenclature, was a day that forever changed our lives, individually and collectively. No longer were the American people protected by geography. No longer were the causes of unrest in far away places solely the concern of those living in far away places.
While these past three years have brought sorrow and pain that will never fade, they have also brought a renewed sense of vulnerability and with that sense of vulnerability, these tragic events brought a renewed resolve to protect all Americans, abroad and at home. This, in my opinion, has become one of the most important roles of government.
From the federal level to the state, county and city governments, the roles of different governments, while all for a common purpose, are inherently different. The federal government must take every step necessary to stop those wishing to harm Americans within our borders, while providing for our national defense outside this country. Our local governments on the other hand, must remain responsible for providing an efficient and capable response should terrorist acts again be carried out within the United States. The state�s responsibility is to ensure that our federal counterparts and local leaders coordinate training and response initiatives so that no sector of our state, no vital infrastructures, and no persons are left vulnerable to the affects of terrorism.
It was with this specific role in mind that Governor Perry created the
Texas Homeland Security Task Force (Task Force), in October of 2001, just three weeks after the events of 9-11. I proudly served as a member of this Task Force, and continue my dedication to protecting Texas and Texans as a member of the Senate Committee on Infrastructure Development and Security.
As my fellow Task Force members and I learned, prior to 9-11 no state in the union was as prepared to respond to attacks on our homeland as Texas. And due to the efforts of the
Task Force and legislative action from the 78th Legislature, Texas is even better prepared today. During the 78th session, I sponsored House Bill 9 in the Texas Senate, which provided a comprehensive homeland security package adding into the Government Code an establishment of the governance of Homeland Security � a title and area never before defined in law � but a term that will be with us from this day forward. Further, House Bill 9 directed the Governor to establish a statewide homeland security strategy and to create a Critical Infrastructure Protection Council to complement the federal government in coordinating, anticipating and responding to an emergency. These initiatives are under way and progressing today.
All local governments in Texas, working in consultation with the Governor�s Division of Homeland Security, are eligible for federal training and equipment grants. Almost 100 per cent of our local health departments are able to communicate in real time with one another through the Health Alert Network, in order to ensure that any public health threat, whether naturally occurring or man-made, can be detected and responded to immediately.
While Texas is and will remain on the cutting edge of homeland security efforts, as long as we continue to have readily identifiable terrorist targets such as nuclear power plants, the nation�s busiest international port (Port of Houston), numerous military installations and NASA headquarters, not to mention being the home state of the current President of the United States, Texas� state and local governments can not rest on past achievements. We must as individuals remain vigilant, and as governments, we must ensure that our first responders remain as prepared, well equipped and trained as fully as possible. While this responsibility is enormous, the cost of doing nothing is much greater.
I believe President Ronald Reagan, upon his visit to Normandy, France to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, said it best when he stated:
We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.
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