"Our city streets have become the front lines in this war," U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said Wednesday in a news release. "What happened in Chattanooga can unfortunately happen anytime, anyplace."
Incidents in Paris and in San Bernardino, Calif., since that sunny July 16 in Chattanooga, have proven that.
"I have not seen such a time in my lifetime where people have told me how concerned and scared they are," U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Chattanooga, said Wednesday.
Not coincidentally, on the same day FBI Director James Comey made his announcement, the secretary of the Navy announced that the slain quintet - Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist and Lance Cpl. Squire "Skip" Wells, all Marines, and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith - along with Sgt. DeMonte Cheeley, who was injured, would receive Purple Hearts.
"Today," Fleischmann said, "they are receiving the Purple Heart in recognition of their bravery and service. These young men exemplify the best of our nation, and their service will always be remembered."
For the third-term congressman, the FBI's designation of Chattanoogan Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez being inspired by a foreign terrorist organization was personal because he had introduced a bill in Congress to award the medals. Their families also are eligible for payments and other benefits.
Fleischmann said he had called the killings "terrorism" since they occurred, had written the White House to urge the FBI's designation as such and had asked McCaul to write on his behalf.
"That was my analysis and conclusion," he said. But "they (the FBI) needed to conduct a thorough investigation, and we wanted to give them time to complete the investigation. We didn't want to impede them; we actually assisted them. We gave them time to come to the right conclusion."
Although then-U.S. Attorney Bill Killian called the slayings on the day they occurred an act of terrorism and Vice President Joe Biden made a similar statement when he was here, the FBI hesitated to do so. But it took only two days to announce the Dec. 2 San Bernardino killings of 14 and injuring of 22 at a holiday party as an act of terror.
President Obama then mentioned Chattanooga in the same vein as San Bernardino in a speech earlier this month.
"We are at risk, and we have been at risk," Fleischmann said. "The situation in San Bernardino highlights the fact we have major problems dealing with homeland security. Are we as a nation more safe? No. The margin for error is zero."
Although clearly Republicans have been ahead of Obama on securing the country, the president has signaled support for the omnibus spending bill likely to be passed by the U.S. House on Friday.
The bill, according to Fleischmann, "greatly increases defense spending" both for conflicts abroad and for homeland security.
Among other things, it restricts the transfer of Guantanamo detainees, strengthens the intelligence community and enhances cybersecurity.
Folded into that bill, Fleischmann said, is legislation about the visa waiver program, which had allowed people to come into the U.S. from 38 countries virtually unexamined.
"That continues to be the clearest threat," he said. "The screening process is nil."
"I voted to close the loopholes," Fleischmann said. "We must continue to finance the fight against [the Islamic State] and to assist local and national law enforcement to keep us safe."
And, he said, "we want to continue to fund things to help the situation."
The idea, of course, is to prevent any more Chattanooga and San Bernardino incidents. That should be job one for both the president and Congress.