Republican and Democratic reps answer the question: Are we safer now as a nation than we were 13 years ago on Sept. 11?
1. New York Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel said he can’t know the answer to the question, but is confident Americans remain united in the face of any threat and ready to defend the homeland.
“I remember 9/11 so vividly,” he said. “I couldn’t think that anybody, that anybody, could penetrate the safety that we’ve had in the United States of America. … when I saw the other [plane], then I said this is the end of the world. This is the end of my country.
“But I tell you, rather than answer your question, I’ve never seen the United States of America, through New Yorkers, rise up, set aside their differences, to protect what is now commonly referred to as the homeland,” he continued. “I’m not prepared to say let them come, but I am confident that America loves this country no matter whether they’re getting a good break or a bad break. It’s the only country that they know they can get a break, and they’re prepared to defend this whenever, whenever that security is being attacked by a foreign force, or even within.”
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2. Tennessee Republican Rep. Martha Blackburn said she is concerned about terrorists crossing our southern border.
“So many people feel as if we’re more vulnerable today than we were,” she said. “Part of this is the known knowns that exist as you discuss the issue of national security, and of border security.
“The vulnerability of that southern border — the nationalities that have been caught coming across there. What are they bringing? … What kind of attack are they trying to carry out and harm us from within, as well as those organizations that would harm us from without.”
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3. Maryland Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen said we are safer today, but not necessarily safe, and we must remain vigilant.
“A lot of the measures we have taken as a country since 9/11 have improved our safety … but you can never let down your guard, and ISIS is a good example of a really awful group that could pose a danger to the United States.”
“I say could, because it’s possible they could now, if you have people returning from the ISIS battlefield as lone wolfs in the United States, as has been reported,” he said. “There’s no actionable intelligence — nothing suggests that they’re plotting or planning an attack on the United States right now — but that could change. That could change immediately.”
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4. California Democratic Rep. John Garamendi said we can never be totally safe, but we are definitely more aware and vigilant.
“When 9/11 occurred the intelligence agencies were asleep,” he said. “They’re not asleep now. They’re watching very intently.”
“Are we totally safe? Never totally safe,” he added, “but we’re in a good situation to understand what’s going on not only here in our country but around the world.”
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5. Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said we are safer, because we have better tools and improved airport security — plus the government’s Transportation Security Administration agents are a big improvement.
“We have an infrastructure of the Department of Homeland Security,” she said. “We have homeland security committees focused specifically on the security of this nation domestically.”
“Our airports are much more watched, if you will, than they previously were, she continued. “The Transportation Security Administration [officials] are much more professional than the privatized security that we had before, and Americans have come to accept with a little humor the kind of scrutiny that they get going through airports.”
“However,” she added, “the landscape of the world has changed. … There has been a franchising of terrorist groups and they are all over … so america has to be additionally diligent and vigilant on protecting the homeland in 2014.
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