Poor marks on the nation’s ability to respond to a major terrorist attack bring questions about this state’s abilities as well. Lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Terrorism, Bioterrorism and Homeland Security heard from a long-list of law enforcement and public safety officials during a hearing at the Capitol. The group’s chairman, Representative Jack Jackson of Wildwood, questioned the state’s Public Safety Director Mark James to evaluate how prepared Missouri is for manmade or natural disasters, to which James gave a less-than-assuring answer that the state would be “very challenged.”