Washington, DC – Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today commended the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for producing its first report of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). The report establishes the homeland security priorities that are shared by the United States, Canada, and Mexico and identifies common initiatives for the countries to accomplish together. U.S. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Michael Gutierrez put together the SPP report with their counterparts from the Canadian and Mexican governments. Senator Collins is the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees DHS.
The following is Senator Collins’ statement:
“The United States shares 6,000 miles of land border with Canada and Mexico and, with them, security concerns that we must work together to address. Since September 11th, our nations have made progress together on information sharing, aviation security standards, and in conducting vulnerability assessments. The Partnership is a renewed effort to broaden our cooperation and coordination, so that those who wish to do us harm cannot exploit the open and friendly relationships we hold. This report sets the path for the coming years, addressing challenging areas such as enhancing cross-border law enforcement cooperation and coordinating on public health and incident response capabilities, as well as developing investment plans for border infrastructure. It is imperative that our nations work jointly to meet homeland security goals that both enhance our collective security and advance legitimate trade and travel across our shared borders.”
More information about the SPP is available at the DHS web site at: http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0695.xml.