Chertoff defends remarks on security for ground transit: Says infrastructure to protect systems is at state, local level

By Kaitlin Bell, Globe Correspondent, July 15, 2005, Boston Globe

WASHINGTON -- Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, facing sharp questioning from members of Congress yesterday, defended remarks he made earlier in the day implying that securing ground transit from terrorist attacks is the primary responsibility of state and local authorities, rather than the federal government.
The House and Senate Homeland Security committees had originally called hearings so that Chertoff could outline a massive restructuring plan of his department that he announced yesterday, but the secretary ended up devoting a large portion of his testimony trying to placate Congress members regarding remarks he had made to the Associated Press.
In an interview with the AP, Chertoff said: ''The truth of the matter is, a fully loaded airplane with jet fuel, a commercial airliner, has the capacity to kill 3,000 people. A bomb in a subway car may kill 30 people. When you start to think about your priorities, you're going to think about making sure you don't have a catastrophic thing first."