U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Tx) Holds a Hearing On the Fiscal Year 2007 Defense Budget for Homeland Defense and Support to Civil Authorities

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U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Tx) Holds a Hearing On the Fiscal Year 2007 Defense Budget for Homeland Defense and Support to Civil Authorities

U.S. SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGING THREATS AND CAPABILITIES HOLDS A HEARING ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2007 DEFENSE BUDGET FOR HOMELAND DEFENSE AND SUPPORT TO CIVIL AUTHORITIES

MARCH 10, 2006

SPEAKERS: U.S. SENATOR JOHN CORNYN (R-TX) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR PAT ROBERTS (R-KS) U.S. SENATOR SUSAN M. COLLINS (R-ME) U.S. SENATOR JOHN ENSIGN (R-NV) U.S. SENATOR JIM TALENT (R-MO) U.S. SENATOR LINDSEY O. GRAHAM (R-SC) U.S. SENATOR ELIZABETH DOLE (R-NC) U.S. SENATOR JOHN THUNE (R-ND) U.S. SENATOR JOHN W. WARNER (R-VA) EX OFFICIO

U.S. SENATOR JACK REED (D-RI) RANKING MEMBER U.S. SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY (D-MA) U.S. SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD (D-WV) U.S. SENATOR BILL NELSON (D-FL) U.S. SENATOR BEN NELSON (D-NE) U.S. SENATOR EVAN BAYH (D-IN) U.S. SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY) U.S. SENATOR CARL LEVIN (D-MI) EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES: PAUL MCHALE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HOMELAND DEFENSE, U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

LIEUTENANT GENERAL STEVEN BLUM (USA), CHIEF OF THE NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU

LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOSEPH R. INGE, DEPUTY COMMANDER, U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND

CHARLES G. RODRIGUEZ, ADJUTANT GENERAL, TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

[*] CORNYN: Good morning. The subcommittee will come to order.

The subcommittee meets today to receive testimony on the Department of Defense's role in homeland defense and support the civil authorities. We welcome our distinguished witnesses today, including the Honorable Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense; Lieutenant General Joseph R. Inge, deputy commander of NORTHCOM; and Lieutenant General Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau.

I'd also like to recognize someone from my home state, Major General Charles Rodriguez, whose attending the hearing today. General Rodriguez is the adjutant general for the state of Texas and has done a superb job. I saw him in action during the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And we're grateful to have his service, not only to our state, but our nation.

I commend each of our witnesses for the leadership you provide. I've had a chance to review your written statements, and they're all outstanding and quite comprehensive. We will, of course, invite you to make an opening statement, and then we'll have some questions.

I also hope that you will convey to the fine men and women under your charge, both military and civilian, the nation's gratitude for their selfless service and commitment to our nation's defense. We recognize that we must view homeland defense in a post-9/11 environment perhaps even in a different way.

Moreover, recent events along the U.S.-Mexican border, coupled with the discovery of the Otay Mesa Tunnel, highlight the need for our continued vigilance and the close cooperation between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense in protecting our nation's borders and keeping us safe.

As public servants our most solemn obligation is to protect the American people. Simply stated, the security of the United States and defense of the homeland is job number one.

While our forward deployed forces are our first line of defense in the global war on terrorism, the readiness of our armed forces to defend the homeland and to assist civilian authorities in identifying threats, gathering and analyzing intelligence, preventing or responding to an attack or other national emergency are of paramount importance to the subcommittee.

We welcome your insights on developments on your respective organizations, as well as your personal assessments of the fiscal year 2007 defense budget request.

Lieutenant General Inge and Lieutenant General Blum, the subcommittee also looks forward to hearing your assessment with regard to how you integrate the total force into the execution of your mission. We're specifically interested in how you coordinate and synchronize the elements of your mission that are in support of the Department of Homeland Security.

We're also interested in your views regarding the establishment of unity of effort as well as unity of command when the active duty, the Reserve component and the National Guard forces are employed in response to a catastrophic national disaster, pandemic or attack on the homeland.

Secretary McHale and Lieutenant General Inge, we likewise seek your comments and insight on the recommendations outlined in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, lessons learned. We're particularly interested in the recommendations that outlines that the Departm...

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