We find yet again that John Kerry is shirking his responsibilities. What's more, not only is he bragging about it, he is shifting the blame for it to boot! (Leave it to the neo-JFK to be able to accomplish both!)
So we read:
Democrat John Kerry on Wednesday called on the Bush administration to do more than just warn about the threat of terrorist attacks and provide communities with enough money to protect potential targets.
It is Congress's responsibility to fund Homeland Security, not the President's responsibility. As a matter of fact, if Kerry was so damn concerned about Homeland Security being underfunded, he should be criticizing his own co-workers, and himself, not the President. He could be offering Amendments on the Senate floor to increase funding. But he hasn't.
This is not the first time we have seen Kerry shirk his Senatorial responsibilities on an issue he claimed to care about. I reported about another instance here.
In 2003, President Bush signed an appropriation bill funding homeland security
Overall, the Department’s FY 2004 budget authority totals $37.4 billion. This consists of $31.3 billion of discretionary funding provided by Congress and an additional $6.1 billion in mandatory spending, mostly funded from fees.
If this was not enough, why didn't Kerry submit an amendment to increase the appropriation?
That's his job.
But he didn't and now he complains to everyone who will listen.
For 2005...
...the President’s Budget builds on the significant investments to date to enhance homeland security while sustaining the Department’s many important activities unrelated to terrorism. The 2005 Budget provides a $3.6 billion increase for the Department over the 2004 enacted level—including Project BioShield. Further, the Budget substantially increases funding for DHS over 2003—the year that the Department was created—and continues the dramatic growth for agencies that are now part of DHS. The President’s 2005 request is $9.0 billion (29 percent) over the 2003 level and $20.4 billion (103 percent) over the 2001 level.Highlights for 2005 include:
Over $890 million, a 20-percent increase, to support aviation security and other transportation security activities, including funds to improve integration of explosive detection system equipment into individual airports’ baggage processing to increase security effectiveness and promote greater efficiency;
Nearly $450 million in new funding to maintain and enhance border security activities, including the expansion of the Container Security Initiative to pre-screen cargo containers in high-risk areas and improvements in DHS’ Detention and Removal Program;
Is this enough? Congress gets to decide. Sen Kerry gets to vote. Sen Kerry gets to propose amendments to increase funding. Has he?
Can we really trust someone who is unaware of how the government actually works to become the Chief Executive of the most powerful nation on earth?
Or, if we allow that he does in fact know that it is Congress not the President who appropriates funds, the a vote for Kerry is a vote for someone who intentionally misrepresents the truth for political gain.
Either way, I can not consider him good Presidential material.
Can you?
