Collins: Bill improves technology

A bill introduced in Congress would provide state and local law enforcement agencies with counterterrorism technology.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced the Homeland Security Technology Improvement Act, which she said would help prevent another terrorist attack like those on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York and Washington. Collins is chairwoman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees the Department of Homeland Security.

The legislation would create a program within the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Domestic Preparedness to identify and transfer advanced counterterrorism technologies to state and local law enforcement agencies.

The program would provide equipment and technologies to law enforcement that would expand their investigative capabilities and help prevent future attacks. The bill would authorize $30 million annually for ODP to establish and run the program.