New York, D.C. decry cuts in security funds
By Eric Lipton
New York Times News Service
Published June 1, 2006
WASHINGTON -- After vowing to steer a greater share of anti-terrorism money to the highest-risk communities, Department of Homeland Security officials on Wednesday announced 2006 grants that slashed funding for New York City and Washington 40 percent, while other places, including Omaha and Louisville got a surge of new dollars.
The release of the 2006 urban area grants, which total $711 million, was immediately condemned by leaders of Washington and New York.
"When you stop a terrorist, they have a map of New York City in their pocket," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "They don't have a map of any of the other 46 or 45 places."
In Washington, Mayor Anthony Williams said: "It was very shortsighted for the federal government to gut our homeland security funding program. Even more so because so many dollars continue to be spent in rural areas that are far less likely to emerge as targets."
Homeland Security officials said the grants were a result of a more sophisticated evaluation process, :roll: combined with a smaller overall allocation of funds from Congress.
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Funding for Louisville, Omaha, and Charlotte jumped by about 40 percent, with grants to each of about $8.5 million. Funding for Newark and Jersey City, which received a combined grant, rose 44 percent to $34 million. Atlanta and the Los Angeles area each received smaller but still sizable increases.
"Finally, risk-based funding is kicking in," said Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.). "Los Angeles, the top terrorist target on the West Coast, is beginning to get the necessary funding to protect its people and critical infrastructure."
But Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the allocation formula was obviously flawed.
"This is indefensible," he said. "It's a knife in the back to New York, and I'm going to do everything I can to make them very sorry they made this decision."
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In the first three years that grants were made, New York and Washington received much more than any other urban areas. To date, New York has collected $404 million, while Washington has won a total of $167 million, compared with $71 million for Houston, $120 million for Chicago, $12.8 million for Charlotte, which all received increases this year.
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"It does not mean in any way that the risk in New York is any different or changed or any lower," she said.
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"Our security is much too important to be determined with funding decisions that are driven by arbitrary formulas, or political formulas, or a desire to give everybody a little bit of something," he said at the time.
