Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) issued the following statement on May 9:

Today, I successfully secured two amendments to bills before the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Bioterrorism and nuclear threats are a concern for national security, public health and emergency management.  To ensure we are prepared for threats that may arise from an uncertain world, we need to bring homeland and national security, public health and emergency management professionals together to make sure that the nation is prepared to prevent, dete, and respond to attacks.  H.R. 2356, the WMD Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2012, would help keep our country safe and prepared for biological attacks by establishing a new White House position to coordinate federal biodefense policy.  My amendment would direct the Department of Homeland Security to provide information to participating state, local and tribal jurisdictions as well as the private sector about lessons learned following national exercises.  This feedback will give Americans in the private sector and at all levels of the public sector the tools they need to protect themselves against and prepare themselves for the possibility of a biological attack. 

I also introduced an amendment to H.R. 3857, the Public Transit Security and Local Law Enforcement Support Act.  This amendment would require grant recipients to start planning ahead for how they will maintain programs after their grant funding ends, encouraging them to leverage each federal dollar by working to establish a foundation for self-sustained capabilities in the future.  Requiring grant recipients to begin planning ahead for ways they can maintain these programs on their own will save millions of dollars down the line and ensure that the federal government is making a long term investment our safety.  

As the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, I am committed to playing an integral role in keeping our country and its people safe, and I will continue to work to ensure our legislation is working toward those crucial goals.