To express the sense of the Senate that Congress should provide dedicated funding for port security enhancements.

SA 223. Mr. VITTER proposed an amendment to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 18, setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2006 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2005 and 2007 through 2010; as follows:

On page 63, strike line 24, after the second period insert the following: “In dealing with homeland security assistance grants that relate to port security, Congress should (1) allocate port security grants under a separate, dedicated program intended specifically for port security enhancements, rather than as part of a combined program for many different infrastructure programs that could lead to reduced funding for port security, (2) devise a method to enable the Secretary of Homeland Security to both distribute port security grants to the Nation's port facilities more quickly and efficiently and give ports the financial resources needed to comply with congressional mandates, and (3) allocate sufficient funding for port security to enable port authorities to comply with mandated security improvements, ensure the protection of our Nation's maritime transportation, commerce system, and cruise passengers, strive to achieve funds consistent with the needs estimated by the United States Coast Guard, and recognize the unique threats for which port authorities must prepare.”.