Mark Pryor Quotes

In a brave new world, a post-September 11 world, anyone is going to make certain mistakes. The mistakes that have been made on homeland security, on protecting our Nation from another terrorist attack, are mistakes of omission. We are simply not doing enough.

I am committed to protecting our country against the threat of terrorism.

Michael Chertoff and the Department of Homeland Security, they have the primary responsibility of ensuring that our ports are secure.

The nature of Homeland Security is that no news is good news. And no news sometimes means somebody got interdicted at the border, somebody got interdicted before they could get on an airplane, somebody was arrested providing material support to terrorism. Homeland Security means very often something you never hear about.

Once the attacks occur, as we learned on Sept. 11, it is too late. It makes little sense to deprive ourselves of an important, and legal, means to detect and prevent terrorist attacks while we are still in the middle of a fight to the death with al Qaeda.

There are over 100 entities in the federal government that have something to do with homeland security.

More needs to be done to take the fight to the enemy and secure our borders against the terrorist threat. We need more protection on land, sea and air.

I would say national security is work in progress.

Since September 11th Congress has created the Department of Homeland Security, more than doubled the homeland security budget and implemented a bipartisan overhaul of our intelligence systems.

The security of our country is not just a top priority, it's the top priority.

Our budget works to reduce and eliminate the risk of attacks at our ports, rails, in the skies, our food supply and roads by allowing for increases in many of the programs and agencies to help protect these important areas of commerce and travel.

In the aftermath of September 11th, it is critical to secure our borders.

My colleagues, while it is good that the Nation is finally focused on the critical issue of securing our ports, our rhetoric and our passion about Dubai must be matched by the funding necessary to keep our ports and our citizens safe.

Mr. Chairman, on September 11, we were attacked by terrorists who took advantage of weaknesses in our border security. After infiltrating our country, the terrorists were able to conceal their real identities, and thereby plot their attacks without fear of being apprehended.

Look, we constantly live looking at the issue of the threat of terrorism.

The FBI's principal priority right now is protecting the United States against another terrorist attack.

We are keeping New Jersey one step, several steps, ahead of terrorism.

It is no coincidence that our country has not been attacked since 9-11. Our initiatives to protect the homeland and aggressively take the fight to the terrorists have been factors in that success.

Why has an administration that talks so much about terrorism and homeland security demonstrated so little competence when it comes to securing the homeland?

Border security and homeland security are one and the same.

Many threats to the homeland begin overseas, and that's where we need to be.

When I was involved in the initial creation of the Department of Homeland Security, we were given a clear twofold mission. The first part of the mission was to secure our borders. The second was to maintain the free and efficient flow of commerce and people.

The European Union needs to reinvent its security system. It needs to break the stovepipes that prevent sharing information, enforcing borders and protecting citizens.

Without - you know, good intelligence stops plots against the homeland. Without that intelligence, we cannot effectively stop it.

Security has to be, and has long been, our government's top priority. It is imperative that we continue to diligently watch for potential threats by all appropriate means.