Senator Collins assured her colleagues that the Governmental Affairs Committee conducted a thorough hearing on Governor Ridge's nomination, with all members of the Committee attending and questioning Governor Ridge. "Subsequently, the Committee voted unanimously to report Governor Ridge's nomination to the full Senate," said Senator Collins.
In her speech to the full Senate, Senator Collins said the nation had made strong progress in securing our homeland since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
"The new Department of Homeland Security will provide the organizational framework to help our nation better cope with the threat of terrorist attack. The nature of the threat to our nation has changed since the end of the cold war and the change has brought with it the need to reorganize the government in a way that will enable us to better protect our citizens.
"We now understand it is a problem if our first responders do not have compatible communications systems. Interoperability has gone from being a buzzword to a matter of life and death. Now, we understand the vulnerability posed by 17 million shipping containers arriving in the United States from ports from all over the world with few of them ever being searched. Now, we understand that our nation's 20,000 miles of land and sea borders present countless opportunities for those who would do us harm."
Senator Collins explained that the homeland security effort will take a team effort: the Administration, the new Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Congress working together to ensure the success of this massive organization. "This effort will require the new Secretary to overcome unique challenges." Among them, ensuring that the non-homeland security functions moving to the Department are not neglected. Senator Collins cited the Coast Guard as an example.
"It's critically important to my home state of Maine and to coastal communities throughout the nation that the Coast Guard's new homeland security responsibilities not divert its attention from its traditional role, including search and rescue missions. In a given year, the Coast Guard performs more than 39,000 search and rescue missions. Recently, it was involved in yet another rescue of the coast of Maine. It inspects and repairs 135 buoys and helps more than 2,500 commercial ships navigate into and out of U.S. ports."
After concluding that should could not think of a better person to take the helm of the new Department than Tom Ridge, Senator Collins opened the floor for debate.
The Senate confirmed Governor Ridge by a vote of 94 to 0.
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