On March 1, our home security structure began to take shape as Secretary Ridge incorporated nearly two-dozen agencies into the new Department. While this new framework will provide much needed focus in tackling the threat of a terrorist attack, we must also provide the resources to our communities and their police, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel, who are first on the scene when disaster strikes.
In my talks with Secretary Ridge, we have discussed the fact that if disaster strikes and we suffer another terrorist attack, it is our first responders, not officials from Washington, who will be on the front lines. For this reason, I plan on holding a series of hearings early next month to examine this issue and to introduce legislation aimed at streamlining and strengthening federal support for state and local homeland security efforts.
The war on terrorism has already yielded some very significant victories. The fall of the Taliban has denied al-Qaeda its most important sanctuary. The capture of several high-ranking al-Qaeda operatives has also advanced our quest to end terrorist attacks. Working with foreign governments, we have disrupted much of the al-Qaeda network. But we know that terrorist cells continue to operate around the world, and the threat in the United States remains high.
As we continue to attack the threats at their sources, we must also strengthen our ability to deter, detect, and respond to a terrorist attack. Recently, I met with some 40 officials from communities around the State of Maine. I have also spoken with police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel. They have all expressed concerns about navigating the maze of federal homeland security funding rules. Maine's Adjutant General, Joe Tinkham, talked to me about the tangled web of some 40 federal agencies and departments that have a role in combating terrorism and in funding local homeland security efforts. He told me that, while underfunded, the previous system worked better for Maine in some ways because it allowed much more flexibility. Now, for example, he finds that certain money is designated solely for equipment purchases, when what is needed is joint training to learn to use that equipment effectively in some communities.
The new Department of Homeland Security will address many of these concerns by helping to streamline and coordinate programs formerly administered by a number of different agencies. But we must help the new Department expand upon its efforts to fund first responders. The needs of first responders are as diverse as the states and the communities they protect, and our grant programs and other assistance must be flexible enough to reflect this diversity. Maine's first responders and local governments have told me their needs range from communications equipment to personnel to more effective training.
Mainers do not just have needs, however. The people of our state also have tremendously creative and effective ideas that can be channeled into the new coordinated community-based homeland security strategy. The hearings I will hold in the Committee on Governmental Affairs will begin building a consensus on legislation that will help improve our many homeland security initiatives. I plan to call on representatives of the states, communities, and, most important, our first responders who stand on the front lines to learn how we can better meet their needs.
Our first responders are working hard to ensure that Americans are as safe as we can be. Listening to their ideas will be the most effective way to develop legislation to make our homeland security dollars go as far as possible and to provide the best protection for our country.