Strengthening Our Homeland Security
Martin O’Malley believes our local communities are the frontline for America’s homeland security. As Mayor of Baltimore, a city whose industries, port and location are vital components to the country’s security, Martin O’Malley has become a national leader in homeland security and has worked hard to protect both the people of Baltimore and its critical infrastructure. As Martin O’Malley often says, “When citizens dial 911, it’s a local call. The phone call doesn’t go to Congress or the White House.”
That’s why Martin O’Malley believes we must do everything we can to allow our first responders – our police officers, firefighters and health care workers – to prepare and respond when called upon. When the federal government was slow to deliver homeland security funding, Martin O’Malley took charge and invested millions of the City of Baltimore’s own funds in homeland defense. Martin O’Malley will not stop working until our communities have the assets they need to protect their citizens.
- In August 2005, Martin O’Malley delivered an address on homeland security to a sell-out crowd at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. O’Malley is a national leader on this issue, and the speech gave him the opportunity to lay out a detailed plan and discuss his success in Greater Baltimore on this critical issue. O’Malley’s speech is available both in text form and as a streaming video.
- Martin O’Malley’s national leadership on Homeland Security was recognized in 2003 when he was asked to give the Democratic Response to the President’s weekly radio address.
- Martin O’Malley delivered a primetime address to the nation on Homeland Security as part of the Democratic National Convention. In his speech, O’Malley warned: “Sadly and unforgivably almost three years after that fateful day when thousands of moms and dads, sons and daughters didn’t come from work on September 11th, America’s cities and towns, America’s ports and borders and America’s heartland remain needlessly vulnerable.”
- Martin O’Malley invested $14.5 million of the City of Baltimore’s own funds in homeland defense after 9/11 and before the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – compared to just $2.5 million that the federal government spent in Baltimore.
- Martin O’Malley quickly realized the importance of protecting our first responders and that’s why he secured chemical and biological protection for all 1,700 of the City’s firefighters and paramedics and why he purchased identical equipment for all of its 3,300 police officers. As of January 1, 2005 Baltimore had spent $23 million in local resources and $18 million in local federal grant funds on critical equipment to detect, prevent, and effectively respond to terrorist attacks.
- Martin O’Malley’s leadership helped make the Baltimore metro region one of the few areas in the country where firefighters and police first responders can fully operate and communicate across jurisdictional lines in the event of a large scale disaster or attack. O’Malley helped forge the regional agreement to create backup 911 call centers and power capabilities; to share communications, decontamination, and law enforcement equipment; and to provide fully integrated communication for all first responders throughout a seven-jurisdiction area.
