Mr. President, as the Republican leadership gavels this session to a close, I am disappointed by the inaction and missed opportunities on America's most crucial priorities. First, although we did…
Mr. President, as the Republican leadership gavels this session to a close, I am disappointed by the inaction and missed opportunities on America's most crucial priorities.
First, although we did finally pass a long overdue port security bill, we still have a long way to go to protect our infrastructure. We knew before 9/11 that our ports are soft targets, and since that terrible day, many experts have continued to warn us that they are vulnerable to attack.
Since the 9/11 attacks, we have spent only $984 million on port security grants, despite Coast Guard estimates that $5.4 billion is needed over 10 years. That total includes the grants that were released this week.
To make matters worse, port security funds aren't reaching the ports that need them the most. In California, port security grants awarded by the Bush administration have fallen from $33.3 million in fiscal year 2005 to $13.3 million in fiscal year 2006, a staggering 60 percent reduction. Despite the fact that California's ports carry over 47 percent of all goods imported into the United States, we are receiving only eight percent of the total port security grants funding.
In addition, the final port security bill lacks the Senate-passed transit and rail security provisions. The last three major attacks have been on transit systems in Madrid, London, and in July, Mumbai. According to APTA, there are $6 billion in transit security needs across the country. But last year, Congress appropriated only $150 million for transit and rail security. That is barely a drop in the bucket. Americans take 33 million trips on transit each day. We must do more to protect them.
The Senate bill also does not consider aviation security. Yes, aviation security has improved greatly in the last five years. But five years after 9/11, we are still not screening cargo loaded on board passenger planes. I am pleased that DHS will launch a pilot program at San Francisco Airport, SFO, this October to check all commercial cargo for explosives on passenger flights, but we should be doing this at every airport in America to ensure the safety of passengers and the solvency of the airline industry.
But until that time, at the very least, we need to use at least one blast resistant cargo container on passenger planes that carry cargo. This was one of the major recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. When I tried to offer an amendment to do just that, the Republican managers of the bill blocked my amendment.
Cost is not the problem here. The price to place one blast-resistant container on planes is about $75 million or a little more than the price of 5 hours in Iraq. The American people deserve to know that we are doing everything we can to keep them safe. We cannot allow terrorists to exploit holes in our aviation security system.
Second, although we passed border fence legislation, we failed to act on the AgJOBS bill, which would provide a much-needed solution to the farm labor shortage crisis that is threatening our nation's farm economy. In California and across America, fruit and vegetables are dying on the vine and rotting in the fields because there are no workers to harvest the crops.
Earlier today, my friend from Georgia, Senator Chambliss, came to the floor to speak against the AgJOBS bill. He said that as he has traveled the country this year holding farm bill hearings, every farmer he met told him to oppose AgJOBS.
Yet, if the Senator from Georgia had come to California, our Nation's largest agricultural State, he would have heard from farmers who desperately need and want the AgJobs bill passed now. And they are not alone. Farmers in States experiencing labor shortages in Idaho, Washington, New York and Florida, among others, want this bill, as do a broad coalition of pro-agriculture groups.
The H-2A program is badly in need of reform, and the AgJOBS bill, which the Senate has already passed with more than 60 votes, enacts those meaningful reforms. These AgJobs will save users money, simplify the program, streamline the litigation process, and bring stability to our nation's agricultural work force.
And third, we also failed to stand up for fair and smooth elections. On Tuesday, Senators Dodd, Feingold and I introduced the Confidence in Voting Act of 2006, S. 3943, a simple bill that would reimburse electoral jurisdictions for the cost of contingency paper ballots for the General Election. Under the bill, the jurisdictions would be reimbursed for their documented costs up to $0.75 per contingency paper ballot printed.
This bill is timely in light of the recent problems with voting machines in Maryland, Illinois, Ohio and other states. It is clear that many jurisdictions that use electronic voting machines and other voting systems will need to have a backup plan for the upcoming November 7, 2006, general election.
The Confidence in Voting Act of 2006 would work within the existing structure of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to provide reimbursement funding for jurisdictions that provide a contingency paper ballot in addition to their existing voting system. The estimated maximum cost of this measure is approximately $15 million a small price to pay to ensure that every American's vote is counted.
The American people deserve better. We face great challenges that will determine our safety and prosperity for years to come. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting long overdue legislation for the security of our infrastructure, to aid our farmers, and to ensure our right to fair and accountable elections.
