Lawmaker vows 'extensive' homeland security oversight
Likely chair of appropriations subcommittee says one of his "signature issues" has been ensuring emergency responders have the necessary equipment and funding.
Rep. David Price on Thursday said he expects to be named the next chairman of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee and will hold "extensive hearings" on the Homeland Security Department's operations and ability to address all forms of disasters.
Price, an 11-term North Carolina Democrat representing a suburban and growing district, said he plans to continue a bipartisan and cooperative approach to overseeing Homeland Security that was set by outgoing subcommittee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., who is expected to become the ranking minority member.
"However, the transition does give us a chance to take a fresh look at the department," Price told CongressDaily. "We plan to have extensive hearings, probably more hearings than in the past year." The full Appropriations Committee is expected to formally name subcommittee chairmen Thursday afternoon, a committee aide said.
Price said his "signature issues" have been disaster preparedness and ensuring that emergency responders have the equipment and funding to respond to all emergencies, not just terrorism-related events. "In other words, making sure the department isn't focused exclusively on terrorism but taking an all-hazards approach," he said.
He said the first hearings under his leadership might be held before President Bush submits his fiscal 2008 budget request to Congress and "will no doubt" focus on department-wide operations.
But Price also anticipates needing to address funding issues in implementing recommendations from the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. House Democrats plan to vote Tuesday on a package to implement unfulfilled recommendations.
"This clearly has funding implications," Price said. "We have to see what the funding implications are." In particular, the package is expected to require Homeland Security to scan all cargo being put on ships headed for the United States and all air cargo being put on commercial aircraft within the country.
Price, a former Duke University political science professor, was a relatively quiet member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee in the 109th Congress but was not hesitant to challenge the Bush administration. In a September speech on the House floor, he argued that administration policies are "detrimental to our progress in the war on terrorism."
He said Bush diverted resources from the hunt for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to wage a war of choice in Iraq that has made the threat of terrorism worse. He also has spoken out on the issue of immigration reform, calling for tougher border controls along with the creation of a temporary worker program that would allow millions of migrants already in the country to legally work and earn their citizenship.