"[Holt] sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which deals with a variety of homeland security matters of local and national concern, including port security and the threat of nuclear terrorism.” - Asbury Park Press, October 21, 2008

Holt was endorsed by the National Association of Police Organizations, New Jersey State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police, and the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association.

Home to a dense concentration of people, industry, transportation, and economic infrastructure, New Jerseyans know the necessity of ensuring that our hometowns are as secure as possible.

Rush Holt has worked in Congress to ensure that the federal government is doing all it can to make our communities safe. At the start of the 110th Congress in January 2007, Holt helped pass legislation to fully implement the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, including 100 percent screening at our ports and airports, fully funding first responders, improving intelligence and law enforcement at our ports and borders, safeguarding chemical plants, and improving the security of our rail and transit systems.

One of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations was for Congress to improve its oversight of the intelligence community. The Speaker of the House selected Rep. Holt to chair the new House Committee on Appropriations Select Intelligence Oversight Panel. He has used that position to ensure that policymakers receive accurate assessments, civil liberties are safeguarded, and the intelligence community is protecting Americans. As a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Holt fought to pass legislation that would provide the intelligence community with the tools it needs to conduct surveillance of foreign targets outside the United States, while protecting Americans’ constitutional rights, threatened by the Bush Administration’s domestic spying program.

Rush has also worked to secure federal funding that invests in our homeland security and law enforcement efforts. He worked with Senator Frank Lautenberg to secure $800 million over two fiscal years for rail and transit security.  He also secured $40.2 million to bolster the Army’s intelligence, surveillance, and communications capabilities through programs conducted at Fort Monmouth. Additionally, In February 2007, Holt has hosted fire grant workshops to help local first responders obtain funding for their local departments. Beneficiaries of these workshops include Trenton, Marlboro, Frenchtown, Oceanport, Old Bridge, Helmetta, and Middletown. Rush Holt will continue to work to ensure that local law enforcement professionals and other first responders have the equipment and resources they need.
 
As part of that effort, he worked successfully with the New Jersey Congressional delegation to ensure that Department of Homeland Security funds are allocated based on risk and to ensure that New Jersey receives sufficient funding under the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant program.

In Congress, Holt will continue to raise questions about the federal investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, which evidently originated from a postal box in his Central New Jersey congressional district and disrupted the lives and livelihoods of many of his constituents. He recently introduced the Anthrax Attacks Investigation Act of 2008 to establish an independent commission to investigate the attacks and the federal government’s response.