Secretary Ridge talked about the first year of the Homeland Security Department and credited the cooperation of local authorities for the department’s success. Secretary Ridge unveiled a new plan to ease and integrate communications between all levels of government. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is the nation’s first standardized management plan that creates a unified chain of command for federal, state and local lines of government for incident response. The plan includes standards for compatibility of communications and equipment. Other initiatives included combining all watch lists, an information network for situational awareness at all levels of government, a critical infrastructure database, and simplifying the grant process.

Senator Alexander spoke about the similarity between unfunded mandates from the federal government and the federal government eliminating a local tax. He protested Congress subsidizing industries by increasing the financial burdens on local governments. He focused on the question of taxation of high-speed Internet access and telephone service.

The National Association of Counties gave him the 2003 Legislator of the Year award for protecting the interests of state and local governments.