mr. speaker , for the purpose of debate only , i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from new york ( ms. slaughter ) xz4003780 , my friend , pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
during consideration of this resolution , all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only . 
mr. speaker , the rule before us today is a fair , structured rule that provides for 1 hour of general debate , equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on homeland security . 
it provides that in lieu of the amendments recommended by the committee on homeland security , the committee on energy and commerce , and the committee on the judiciary now printed in the bill , the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part a of the committee on rules report shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of amendment and shall be considered as read . 
it waives all points of order against the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part a of the committee on rules report and makes in order only those amendments printed in part b of the committee on rules report . 
these amendments may only be offered in the order printed in the report and only by the member designated in the report . 
they shall be considered as read , debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent , and shall not be subject to amendment or a demand for the division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole . 
finally , this rule waives all points of order against the amendments printed in part b of the committee on rules report and provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions . 
mr. speaker , i rise today in strong support of this rule and its underlying legislation , the first ever homeland security authorization legislation . 
the rule before us today is a fair rule that will allow for consideration of 25 amendments to the legislation , 13 of which are sponsored by a member of the minority party , 10 by members of the majority party , and two which enjoy bipartisan sponsorship . 
this bill , brought to the floor today by the leadership of my friend , the gentleman from california ( mr. cox ) xz4000830 , and the ranking member , the gentleman from mississippi ( mr. thompson ) xz4004021 , empowers the core mission of the department of homeland security , which is , first , to prevent terrorist attacks within the united states ; second , reducing america 's vulnerability to terrorism ; and , third , responding to and recovering from terrorist attacks if some tragedy does occur . 
it accomplishes this necessary and singularly important goal by ensuring that the department has the resources and the authority it needs to prevent and prepare for terrorist attack , and to respond to and recover from an attack if one does occur . 
through the authorization of over $ 34 billion in homeland security spending in 2006 , this legislation will ensure that our nation 's highest funding priorities are met . 
it also includes a number of other legislative and oversight measures to strengthen and improve the safety of americans here at home , including : deploying counterterrorism technologies within 90 days so that federal , state , local , and private sector officials can prevent domestic terror ; funding 2 , 000 additional border patrol agents ; assessing the effectiveness of operations at the departments of customs and border protection and immigration and customs enforcement so that spending on these programs is efficient and effective ; consolidating the current background check system , so that individuals can be prescreened by checking their names and biometric identifiers against terrorist watch lists and other criminal databases ; adopting risk-based cargo screening , and expanding the number of foreign ports where customs and border patrol agents screen incoming containers from 36 to approximately 50 ports ; improving information analysis and infrastructure protection recruiting ; improving nuclear and biological intelligence ; establishing a one-stop shop within the department of homeland security for reliable , comprehensive , and accessible open-source intelligence information and analysis ; providing better information to local leaders by requiring that any threats be communicated in a manner that limits confusion and operational conflicts ; clarifying the color-based threat system so that specific information is given directly to regions , states , localities , and private sector industries ; creating a national terrorism exercise program to coordinate and establish minimum standards for all federal , state , and local terrorism drills ; and providing for greater federal , state , and local homeland operations collaboration that needs to take place . 
by providing leadership and guidance on these issues and many others , chairman cox and his committee have provided this house with a product that i believe is effective in providing for the security of our homeland , which deserves the support of every single member of this body . 
i urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
