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92_HR0556 LRB9211109RHrhA 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on 3 our nation, all Americans have been forced to reevaluate the 4 safety and security of our communities; and 5 WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has had strong 6 anti-terrorism initiatives in place for some time, but the 7 new era America has now entered requires that we do much 8 more; and 9 WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly applauds Congress 10 for acting on an expedited and bipartisan basis to pass the 11 $40 billion Emergency Supplemental Appropriation to speed our 12 nation's recovery; and 13 WHEREAS, While many proposals are being discussed in 14 Congress to provide additional resources to address terrorism 15 concerns, it is crucial that these resources are allocated 16 not just at the federal and state government level, but that 17 a fair portion also be allocated directly to the local 18 governments to provide relief from all types of catastrophic 19 events; and 20 WHEREAS, As "first responders" in the event of terrorist 21 attacks and other catastrophic events, local governments are, 22 in a very real sense, on the front lines of our nation's 23 defense and disaster readiness; and 24 WHEREAS, In case of a local catastrophe from numerous 25 tornado touchdowns that occur every year within the State of 26 Illinois or a major earthquake originating from the New 27 Madrid Fault in southern Illinois, the closest FEMA Urban 28 Search and Rescue Team is located outside of our state; and 29 WHEREAS, Congressional assistance to local governments 30 should be distributed in as direct, expedited and flexible a 31 manner as possible, either through existing distribution -2- LRB9211109RHrhA 1 systems, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency 2 (FEMA), or through the creation of a block grant program 3 directly for cities; and 4 WHEREAS, While the Illinois General Assembly is proud of 5 and has every confidence in its Police Departments, Fire 6 Departments and Department of Public Health, these 7 departments could benefit from enhanced resources to enable 8 them to better protect the citizens of the State; therefore, 9 be it 10 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 11 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 12 we urge the United States to pass important and much-needed 13 legislation allocating funding locally to help combat the 14 scourge of terrorism; and be it further 15 RESOLVED, That FEMA approve an Urban Search and Rescue 16 Team to be located within the State of Illinois; and be it 17 further 18 RESOLVED, That the United States Congress appropriate 19 funds by which a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team could be 20 located within the State of Illinois; and be it further 21 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 22 presented to the Illinois Delegation to the United States 23 Congress as a sign of our dedication to and support of this 24 important issue.