Homeland Security
As someone who was at Ground Zero on 9/11, Jim Himes knows that nothing is more important than keeping us safe.
Jim Himes was working on Wall Street on September 11, 2001, and when the towers went down, he went to help. He saw first hand the critical services that our emergency services personnel provide, and knows that the federal government must do more to assist municipalities in developing and deploying emergency response plans and supporting first-responders. Homeland security is a national concern, and the financial burden of securing our towns and cities must be shared fairly by the federal government.
We can and must improve our homeland security strategy and capability to increase our defenses and ensure our preparedness in the case of emergency. In Congress, Jim will work to strengthen our air cargo and port security systems, so that these vital entry points are carefully and effectively monitored. He will support comprehensive chemical security regulation so that biological agents, such as anthrax, do not leave the laboratories in which they belong.
On an issue as important as our safety, Jim recognizes that it’s critical that federal, state, and local governments work together at peak efficiency. That is why he supports improving our intelligence gathering capacity by encouraging information sharing between local and federal authorities. We can also improve local responses by increasing federal homeland security grants for medical readiness, public health surveillance, and law enforcement.
