Menendez Blasts Decision by Congress to Cut Funding for Chemical Plant Security
Conference Committee Deletes Menendez Amendment to Increase Security Funding by $50 Million

As the House of Representatives moved to consider a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security today, U.S. Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ) blasted the decision by a Republican-controlled conference committee to delete his amendment increasing funding for chemical plant security by $50 million. The same committee also cut overall funding levels for chemical security. For Immediate Release
October 6, 2005
Contact:  Matthew Miller, 202-226-3210; Desiree Ramos, 201-222-2828

Menendez Blasts Decision by Congress to Cut Funding for Chemical Plant Security
Conference Committee Deletes Menendez Amendment to Increase Security Funding by $50 Million

Washington, DC – As the House of Representatives moved to consider a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security today, U.S. Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ) blasted the decision by a Republican-controlled conference committee to delete his amendment increasing funding for chemical plant security by $50 million. The same committee also cut overall funding levels for chemical security.

“Katrina should have taught us the importance of addressing the problems we know we face before disaster strikes,� Menendez said. “The chemical plants that dot Northern New Jersey are the Lake Pontchartrain of our region, and this Congress just decided to cut funding for the levees that protect our people.�

Northern New Jersey is home to the area commonly referred to as “the most dangerous two miles in America,� the area between Newark Liberty Airport and Port Elizabeth that is home to a number of chemical plants. The Menendez amendment sought to improve the security of that area and of chemical plants across the country by providing $50 million to state and local governments to enhance the security of those plants. This money could have been used to equip and train first responders, provide assistance and guidance to chemical plant officials to implement best management practices to improve security, or to increase law enforcement presence and patrols around chemical plants.

According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are seven plants in New Jersey where a worst case release of chemicals could threaten more than a million people.  The New York Times recently reported that one plant in northern New Jersey that processes chlorine gas “poses a potentially lethal threat to 12 million people who live within a 14-mile radius.� 

“The attacks of September 11th made each of us realize that terrorism had entered a whole new realm, one in which our nation’s assets, infrastructure, and people could be used against us,� Menendez said.

Not only did the conference committee on Homeland Security Appropriations delete the Menendez amendment increasing funding for chemical security, it also cut state and local preparedness grants by $585 million, a full 19% lower than the level in the last fiscal year. The conference committee even cut state and local preparedness funding to lower levels than were in the bills passed by the House and Senate.

“This Congress had a chance to address a looming problem before it was too late. The decision to cut funding for chemical security is an astonishing abdication of Congress’s responsibility to keep our families safe,� Menendez concluded.

The Menendez amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill passed the House with bipartisan support by a vote of 225 to 198 on May 17.

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