Congressmen Mike McCaul, Vern Buchanan talk tough about terrorism at Sarasota-Bradenton airport, Port Manatee
MANATEE -- Rep. Mike McCaul said Friday the nation is vulnerable to terrorist attacks in a way it never has been before.
Fueled by radical Islam, he said terrorism is coming to the United States on boats and planes and dark passages on the Internet where even the nation's best investigators can't see it coming.
In Manatee County to talk about port and airport security, the chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security committee said the killing Thursday of four U.S. Marines in Chattanooga, Tenn., is a symptom of a simmering war with religious extremists.
The attack came as the United States wrapped international nuclear anti-proliferation negotiations with Iran and the nation draws down its military presence in the Middle East.
The actions, McCaul said, leave the United States open to danger.
"It's a reminder that terrorism is on our shores," he told a crowd of law enforcement and emergency services professionals at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. "To have four Marines killed on American soil is unacceptable and we intend to fight back."
Invited to visit the 16th District by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, McCaul took a rapid-fire tour of SRQ, Port Manatee and MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. At the Manatee County stops, the Texas Republican talked security measures with port and airport officials who are looking for funding to better screen passengers and cargo.
Buchanan said he supports funding to ward off terror
ism. It touched his district in 2001 after 9-11 hijackers took flight training in Sarasota County. Former President George W. Bush was notified of the attacks while he was reading a book to children at a Sarasota elementary school.
"This is about keeping people safe," Buchanan said.
One outgrowth of 9-11 was increased airport security. SRQ CEO Fredrick "Rick" Piccolo said the airport has invested heavily recently in its screening facilities but better technology is always welcome.
"The machinery is getting older," he said. "Airports in general need to see recapitalization."
McCaul and Buchanan spent most of the time at SRQ describing a new terrorism threat rooted in what they call lax immigration enforcement and the ongoing military campaign by ISIS in the Middle East. They also criticized the President Barack Obama's proposed Iran nuclear deal, saying relaxing economic sanctions under the agreement could funnel more money to clandestine nuclear weapons program.
Later at Port Manatee to tour security, warehouse, docking and other facilities, port Executive Director Carlos Buqueras told MCCaul $6 million would improve access control at its two gates.
McCaul said he found the tour reassuring, particularly the port's advanced transportation workers identification credential system. He also said he is committed to supporting future port security grants.
"The tour I received, I think it's very secure," he said of the port. "But the threats are out there. Being a gateway to South America and the world brings in those potential threats."
Buchanan and McCaul traveled together earlier this year on a national security mission to the Middle East. Buchanan does not serve on the Homeland Security Committee. He is a member of the House's Ways and Means and Budget committees.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027, or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.
This story was originally published July 18, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Congressmen Mike McCaul, Vern Buchanan talk tough about terrorism at Sarasota-Bradenton airport, Port Manatee."