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Harman calls for better ‘Civil Defense’
Defense effort at home needs improvement
by Mark McDermott
In the course of this month, US Congresswoman Jane Harmon has introduced two major pieces of legislation, co-lead the main congressional investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks, and helped organize South Bay public safety efforts at responding to further terrorist attacks. She has also been sued for campaign finance violations and been forced to order her staff to stop opening mail until every piece is tested for anthrax.
Suffice it to say the congresswoman has been mightily busy. But a phone call from home was still able to stop her in her tracks earlier this week. The call came from her youngest daughter, who had just discovered a rash on her arm. "Mommy," she asked, "is it anthrax?"
"It’s a very anxious time," said Harman. "Honestly, I’m worried about staff opening mail. We don’t do it unless it has been thoroughly examined."
As the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, Harman has been immersed in the investigation of the events of Sept. 11. The task before the committee is to make recommendations to help ensure the country is protected from further acts of terrorism. Already the committee introduced the legislation that lead to the creation of the Office of Homeland Security, but Harman said this should only be the beginning. Last week, Harman sent a letter to President Bush requesting that $1.4 billion be set aside to help improve the ability of the nation’s health care system to respond to biological attacks.
Harman said our defense strategy at home needs to be as strong as our military strategy abroad. "I think we are doing an excellent job carrying out and communicating to the public a multi-layered strategy–military, financial, and diplomatic–against the Al Quada network," she said. "But we are doing a less good job of co-ordinating federal, state, and local agencies and telling people how to co-operate to make sure the public is protected against threats to our country."
Harman recalled the bomb scares of the 1950’s, when there was a more coherent notion of civil defense throughout the country. "Old bags like me who were alive in the ‘50s understood what to do in the event of an attack," she said. "We have a long ways to go in preparing for biological or chemical attacks. If people are prepared, they won’t panic. We need to do a much better job in communicating about the Homeland effort."
Harman held up South Bay public safety co-ordination as a model the rest of the country should emulate, but still warned the vulnerabilities in her home district give her great concern. "We have a district that has a major port, as well as an airport," she said. "One of the priorities must be making sure we have better interception capacity than we had before Sept. 11. The best way is to prevent attack, and focus so that our response capacity is as strong as it can be. We still have work to do there."
Congresswoman Harman’s office is asking that constituents take special care when addressing mail to her office. Operating under instructions from the Congressional Sergeant-at-arms, staff is not opening mail that either lacks a return address or whose postage stamp does not match the return address. They have also been instructed to be wary of packages that do not appear to have gone through normal postage channels; for example, any mail that has numerous stamps rather than a post office stamp. ER