When it comes to our security, we don’t have time to waste. We don’t have money to waste either. Sadly, this administration is wasting both. Last week, a bipartisan congressional report was released that showed a glut of wasteful spending and gross mismanagement as a result of no-bid contracts with the Department of Homeland Security. In addition to wasting billions of dollars, these contracts also showed that several homeland security programs are inadequate. This points to a two-fold failure in DHS, characteristic of how this administration and Republican-led Congress have handled homeland security: wasted money and inadequate security measures.

The report noted that 32 DHS contracts worth $34 billion have “experienced significant overcharges, wasteful spending, or mismanagement.� The funds were supposed to be spent on services like airport screeners, border security, and radiation detection at our nation’s ports. This kind of lax oversight both wastes valuable dollars and undermines our ability to make our nation as safe as it should be.

That’s why I was recently joined by 9/11 Commissioner, Hon. Tim Roemer, when I released my plan for improving our homeland security. He noted the fact that two years after the release of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission report, and nearly five years after 9/11, this administration and Congress have simply dragged its feet in implementing crucial improvements. This recent report is just another example of this failure. We need new voices in Congress to hold the administration accountable, and a new method of making sure that contracts are awarded based on our real security priorities. Homeland security cannot be compromised because this administration likes to help its friends. We deserve better, and its time for a change.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 3rd, 2006 at 8:36 am and is filed under Campaign, Economy/Budget, Homeland Security, Politics .