Congressman Cleaver strongly opposed the final FY11 budget package, which cut UASI by $162 million (from $887 million to $725 million). 

“As a former member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and as a long-standing supporter of the Fifth District’s efforts to address homeland security risks and preparedness, I must say I am extremely disappointed with and concerned with the decision to remove Kansas City from the UASI program. The budget compromise, which I did not support, cut $162 million from the Department of Homeland Security, and now we are feeling the effects. The timing could not be worse. Not only are we in the midst of the 2011 FEMA National Level Exercise (NLE), which is based on a major earthquake in Missouri, along the New Madrid fault, this is National Police Week, during which many communities will honor officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

 

“This is a terrible time to withdraw support for our ability to train and equip police, firefighters, and other first responders and otherwise maintain the highest level of security. As I have said time and time again, the budget is a moral document, a testament to our priorities. If the safety of our communities is not a priority, I don’t know what is.” 

The Kansas City Metropolitan area stands to lose over $7 million in security funding. In a call to DHS officials, Congressman Cleaver urged his opposition to the cuts, and asked that Kansas City, Missouri, be included in UASI eligibility. 

In addition to the FY11 cuts most recently announced, the FY12 appropriations bill for homeland security eliminates important funding for state and local efforts, including Kansas City as part of the UASI program. The legislation proposes only $1 billion dollars for DHS Grants, Exercises, and Technical Assistance important to States, local governments and public safety agencies. This is a decrease of $1.2 billion compared to the current year, and the legislation also proposes major reductions in DHS’ Fire Grants ($350 million), FEMA Flood Mapping ($120 million), and PreDisaster Mitigation Grants ($40 million). Additionally, the legislation proposes a major consolidation of programs important to States, local governments and public safety agencies.

“I congratulate  Mayor Sly James, the city government, and Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) – the first investor-owned utility take on this kind of effort – on this incredibly impressive initiative, which will allow new technology, innovation, and economic development to flourish in Kansas City, Missouri.  Mayor James and the new council, in less than a month, have been able to bring Google to Kansas City.  So we are expecting an NBA team next week.”

This project attracted the attention of nearly 1,100 communities across the country.  The city’s application was a collaborative effort, involving a variety of community stakeholders including the City of Kansas City, KCP&L, KCADC, KCNext, the Kauffman Foundation, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Kansas City Missouri School District, Brush Creek Community Partners, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Black Economic Union and the Mid-America Regional Council.  In the end, Google selected Kansas City, on both sides of the river, as a place where they could build efficiently, make an impact on the community, and develop working partnerships with the local government, utility and community organizations.

For more information about the Google Fiber for Communities initiative in Kansas City, please visit www.google.com/fiber/kansascity.

Quite fittingly, this week the House passed H.R. 754, the Intelligence Authorization Act. I was proud to vote for this bipartisan legislation, which passed by a vote of 392 to 15. H.R. 754 provides policy guidance and authorizes classified funding levels for 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, and for other intelligence-related activities of the federal government. 

Here are some key points on the legislation:

• The Intelligence Authorization Act Sets Policies and Priorities for the Intelligence Community for FY 2011.  The bill provides policy guidance and authorizes classified funding levels for 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, and for other intelligence-related activities of the federal government. The men and women in the military and intelligence community who helped locate Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden exemplify the extraordinary courage and skills of those who work tirelessly to keep our country safe.   

• Ensures An Increase in the Number of Counterterrorism Positions at the CIA.  Democrats on the Select Committee on Intelligence dropped their concerns regarding the bill when an agreement was reached with the Republicans to increase the number of counterterrorism positions at the CIA, a change from the committee’s markup version of the bill’s classified annex.  (The details regarding this agreement cannot be disclosed because they are in the classified portion of the bill.)  

• Strengthens Our Intelligence Efforts.  The bill adds several thousand civilian positions in intelligence above the level enacted in FY 2010 and above the level of people currently on board, including those additional counterterrorism positions at the CIA mentioned above.  This includes also a large increase in personnel at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) among others.  The bill also adds hundreds of millions of dollars for intelligence above current levels.  Among the funding priorities, it authorizes hundreds of millions of dollars for a technical collection system supported by the Administration – a 340 percent increase over last year’s funding.

   

• Creates an Insider Threat Detection Program.  Under the bill, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) would be required to establish an “insider threat detection program,” which is an automated system that utilizes the intelligence community’s networks, computer servers, routers, databases, websites and other methods of communications to detect unauthorized access to or transmission of classified intelligence.  An initial operating capability must be established by October 1, 2012 and a fully operational program by October 1, 2013.  Also, by December 1, 2011, the DNI is required to report to Congress on the program’s progress.  This provision helps address concerns after the Wikileaks incident.  

• Democratic-Led 111th Congress Broke The Multi-Year Logjam on Intelligence Authorizations. After months and months of work, a Democratic-led 111th Congress was successful in enacting the FY 2010 Intelligence Authorization – the first intelligence authorization enacted since the FY 2005 bill.  President Obama signed the bill into law on October 7, 2010.  This major intelligence authorization bill included numerous key reforms – including key notification and accountability reforms, measures to improve oversight and reduce wasteful spending, and key acquisition reforms.  Over the previous several years, both Republican-controlled and Democratic-controlled Congresses had failed to enact the annual intelligence authorization bill due to a series of contentious and divisive issues.   

Some of the bill’s most important provisions are described in detail under key points above.  These provisions:

• Ensure an increase in the number of counterterrorism positions at the CIA;
• Strengthen our intelligence efforts in additional ways; and
• Create an Insider Threat Detection Program.

Three other noteworthy provisions in the bill include:

• Includes DIA Counterintelligence and Expenditure Provisions.  The bill clarifies that the responsibilities of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) include counterintelligence as well as human intelligence activities and also provides the Director of DIA with the authority to expend funds for objects of a confidential, extraordinary, or emergency nature.  This authority is limited to no more than five percent of the amounts available to the Director for human intelligence and counterintelligence activities unless the Director notifies the congressional intelligence committees thirty days in advance.  The bill also requires an annual report on expenditures made under this authority.  

• National Counterintelligence Strategy.  The bill includes provisions to require that the National Counterintelligence Strategy be aligned with the policies and strategy of the Director of National Intelligence.  The bill also requires the Strategy to be revised or updated once every three years instead of annually.

• Changes to Non-Reimbursable Details of Personnel.  The bill clarifies a change made in the FY 2010 Intelligence Authorization Act (PL 111-259) that was intended to extend the period of time an employee could be detailed on a non-reimbursable detail from one year to two years.  This change prevents last year’s law from being interpreted to constrain other statutory provisions that would have an impact on personnel policies.

The Administration has a number of concernsd with the legislation, which are highlighted here.  I look forward to continuing to work on this critical issue.  

"Since my election to Congress, I have represented a district that simultaneously includes Missouri's largest city and over 100 family farms. I represent all constituents to the best of my ability regardless of their political party, life experiences or color of skin. Doing anything less would ensure any public servant a very short tenure in office. Over the course of the over thirty years I have held elected office, I have attempted to encourage bipartisan consensus and discourse. In keeping with that commitment, I have tirelessly worked across the aisle, both here in the Fifth District and in our nation's capital, on issues vital to our community and nation.

"I respect and value each member of the General Assembly and appreciate their thoughtful and often selfless votes on this difficult issue."

-Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II

I cannot, in good conscience, support these measures. Recklessly cutting vital programs like job training, education, and health care to millions of hardworking American families is not a roadmap to balancing the budget. It is a road to nowhere.

This morning, my colleagues voted against a Democratic proposal to keep the government open while negotiations continue. I believe we need to balance the budget, cut the deficit, and invest in our future responsibly--not on the backs of the least of these. We are running out of small or terminated programs to cut, but we are not having the discussions we should be having. Where are the hard cuts going to come from?

A month ago, the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), said that any more appropriations will contain a full-year appropriation for the Department of Defense. This week my colleagues brought to the floor a full Defense appropriations bill, which provides $515.8 billion, 2% more than in FY 2010. Apparently there is no waste to be found in the Department of Defense.

I think Harry Truman, who famously rooted out waste in the War Department as part of his Truman Committee, would disagree. In fact, General Marshall claimed that then Senator Truman's Committee had been “worth two divisions” to the war effort. 

While there will be plenty of blame to go around if our nation's government shuts down, the pain will not be borne by those who caused the meltdown. American citizens seeking assistance, our nation's public workers, our seniors, our troops, our veterans and the poor will bear the brunt of this act of folly. There are the votes, right now, to pass a bi-partisan budget for the rest of FY 2011. But there is no willingness to meet in the middle to pass a bill.

In the last Congress, Congressman Cleaver was able to achieve passage of the bill to designate the Liberty Memorial the national memorial by the House of Representatives. All but one Member voted for the bill. The Senate was unable to achieve passage of the measure before adjourning last year.

H.R. 938 is a bipartisan measure, and a fitting tribute to the men and women who gave their lives in defense of liberty in the war to end all wars.

“For more than eighty years, hundreds of thousands of veterans of World War I, and their families, have come to the Liberty Memorial to remember lost friends and loved ones. As we remember the life and passing of Frank Buckles, the last of the World War I veterans, we will gather and bow our heads, like generations before, at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. Dedicated by the Supreme Allied Generals and consecrated by the President of the United States, the citizens of Missouri have long kept the sacred memory of those who sacrificed in the Great War," said Congressman Cleaver. “The bill I have introduced with Congressman Poe reflects the Liberty Memorial’s place as the nation's monument to the honored dead of World War I. It has memorialized their sacrifice since 1926, a time when the wounds were still fresh from the battlefield. Thousands have cried and prayed for their loved ones in the shadow of the Liberty Memorial. Designating the Liberty Memorial as the nation’s memorial to the veterans of The Great War recognizes that with the passing of Mr. Buckles, ours is the only memorial that those who served ever saw. H.R. 938 will confirm the nation’s commitment to the Liberty Memorial, and the men and women it memorializes.”

As America approaches the 100th anniversary of World War I, the bipartisan sponsors emphasized that it is important to establish a commission that will properly honor the Americans who sacrificed and risked their lives in the war. In response to this need, H.R. 938 also creates a centennial commission based in Kansas City comprised of twenty-four members appointed from across the country. The commission will help organize businesses, and state and local governments to develop and execute centennial programs.

In honor of Mr. Frank Buckles and the 4.8 million Americans served in the Armed Forces during World War I, the nation will once again gather at the Liberty Memorial tomorrow, Saturday, March 12, 2011, at 10 a.m.  

This free, public event will include an address by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard B. Myers, United States Air Force.

The outdoor ceremony will last approximately one hour and will take place regardless of weather conditions. Seating is limited. From 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., free shuttles to the Museum will run from the parking lots at the southwest and northwest corners of 27th & Warwick. The U-shaped driveway leading to the Museum will be reserved for handicapped parking only. All other attendees are encouraged to use the shuttle service provided or to park on legally designated streets or parking lots near the Museum.

Further, it is shameful for elected officials to dance around questions when asked about inappropriate or revolting political commentary, or protest signs that attack the humanity of those with whom they have a sociopolitical disagreement. Look, neither Governor Walker nor President Obama was born outside the United States and neither is Hitler incarnate. Hopefully, more leaders will suppress ideology and say so. There are legitimate arguments and disagreements happening in Wisconsin and state capitals across the country. These last few weeks, I have laid out many points in support of the protesters’ position in this newsletter. We can have those discussions, even passionately, without resorting to name calling. I have tried to be out front to call for civility on both sides, and I was very glad Mr. Gregory gave me an opportunity to direct criticism at a group I am sympathetic towards. I am just sorry I had to do it.

If you missed Meet the Press last week, the full discussion can be found here.

“I am pleased to nominate these outstanding public servants to serve as U.S. Marshals,” said President Obama. “Throughout their careers, these individuals have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to justice, and I am grateful for their continued willingness to serve and protect the American people.”

Chief Lomax has been the head of Airport Police at Kansas City International Airport since 1992. He assumed his position at the airport after retiring as the Deputy Chief of the Investigation Bureau of the Kansas City Police Department. Chief Lomax joined the Kansas City Police Department in 1963.

The U.S. Marshals Service is the nation’s oldest and most versatile federal law enforcement agency. Federal Marshals have served the country since 1789, oftentimes in unseen but critical ways. To this day, the Marshals Service occupies a uniquely central position in the federal justice system. It is the enforcement arm of the federal courts, and as such, it is involved in virtually every federal law enforcement initiative.

Presidentially appointed, U.S. Marshals direct the activities of 94 districts — one for each federal judicial district including Missouri’s Western District. More than 3,340 Deputy U.S. Marshals and Criminal Investigators form the backbone of the agency. Among their many duties, they apprehend federal fugitives, protect the federal judiciary, operate the Witness Security Program, transport federal prisoners and seize property acquired by criminals through illegal activities.