Washington, DC: Congressman Ron Paul today welcomed the announcement of two port security grants from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The grants, totaling more than two million dollars, will help strengthen security at Port Freeport and surrounding areas.

“I’m glad DHS has finally recognized the importance of our nation’s ports,” Paul stated. “The federal government has spent billions federalizing airport security and issuing useless color-coded warnings, but virtually ignored our ports and borders. The recent tragedy in Victoria show just how porous our borders really are; we should not allow our ports to stand equally unprotected. National defense- especially defense of our borders- is one of the federal government’s most basic duties, yet for too long administrations have ignored the need to secure our ports and waterways. Ports are at least equal in importance to border crossings as points of entry not only for goods, but people as well.”

“Port security must be maintained in a way that allows business to run smoothly,” Paul added. “I believe the management of the port, like the management of the large refineries in the area, can guard against terrorism without hampering business. With an emphasis on local control, Port Freeport can be secure without imposing undue delays and costs on businesses that use the port.”

“Texas sends far more money to Washington in federal taxes than it receives in services,” Paul concluded. “I fight against wasteful government spending, but I do believe in directing as many federal dollars back to Texas as possible. I’m glad these dollars are being returned to the Freeport area.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2003 at 3:14 am and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.