Politicians Fuming: N.Y. Anti-Terrorist Budget Cut

May 31, 2006 5:38 pm US/Eastern

Politicians Fuming: N.Y. Anti-Terrorist Budget Cut

Bloomberg & Co. Sound Off On Homeland Security Dept.

John Slattery
Reporting

(CBS) NEW YORK Long Island Congressman Peter King said the Department of Homeland Security has -- in his words -- "declared war on New York," by slashing its anti-terrorist grants by 40 percent.

"It's a knife in the back to New York," said King, a Republican and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. "These cuts are inexcusable, indefencible. I blame the administration and Homeland Security, and I'll do everything I can to stop it."

New York will receive $124 million in anti-terrorism grants for cities at high risk of attacks. The Department of Homeland Security announced grant amounts for 46 cities, divvying up a $740-million pool of funds.


Homeland Security 2006 AllocationTable

A worksheet made by the federal government to explain the decision, obtained by The Associated Press, said New York City has just four major financial assets at risk -- and no national monuments or icons.

Senator Charles Schumer displayed the worksheet.

"When they filled out money for the New York City area, (they said) that we have no vulerable, high-risk targets," Schumer said, "Anyone who can't see New York monuments at risk is blind as a bat when it comes to homeland security."

Schumer said Florida got a 22 percent increase, and Georgia got a 40 percent bump. He wondered if Georgia peanut farmers are a greater target than the Empire State Building.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was just as perplexed.

"When you stop a terrorist, they have a map of New York City in their pocket. They don't have a map of any of the other ... 45 places," Bloomberg said. "Do I think they should have given us more? I don't think there's any question they should have given us a lot more."

Governor George Pataki said you can just look at the places that have been hit before.

"New York and Washington D.C. certainly are the two that are most symbolic of our country, and both of us have been attacked in the past," he said.

Homeland Security Undersecretary George Foresman told reporters in Washington that his agency has to spread resources across the nation.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_151172533.html

But Bush insists on more and more tax cuts. He's americas worst enemy!!!

Morons..all of you....

New York got a 40% cut in their money coming in for Terrorism..BUT

New York is still by far receiving the most money of all the states for terrorism

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Myth1184

Morons..all of you....

New York got a 40% cut in their money coming in for Terrorism..BUT

New York is still by far receiving the most money of all the states for terrorism

---

The "morons" are in charge of Homeland Security.

New York is not getting "the most money of all the states for terrorism".
According to the table, CA is getting more than New York:
NY 183, 673, 552
CA 231,50, 605

California needs money, but it was a HUGE mistake to cut NY by 40 percent.
http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlib...local_fy06.pdf
Georgia, and other places, got increases.

New York and Washington are the places that need MORE money, not less. Some of the money that's being wasted on places like Omaha should go there. New Jersey should get more, also.

It's incredibly stupid of Homeland Security to do this They said that they "don't know" how the report came to say that New York has "no national monuments". This is unbelievable.

Both the Republicans and Democrats in NY are united on the importance of the funding, and are outraged. Pork barrell allocation is not good, when it comes to national security.




http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlib...local_fy06.pdf

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Myth1184

Morons..all of you....

New York got a 40% cut in their money coming in for Terrorism..BUT

New York is still by far receiving the most money of all the states for terrorism

---

According to 90% of the world the United States is run by morons. Where does that leave your assertion?:D

Every State blows money for security. The crybabies just want their cut and if you don't agree, you must be a terrorist.

Homeland Security chief no longer apple of New York's eye

By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer

June 2, 2006, 2:37 PM EDT

WASHINGTON -- When Michael Chertoff was tapped to lead the nation's anti-terrorism apparatus, New Yorkers hailed him as a champion for their tense city. Now, he's about as popular there as a slow-walking tourist in a Red Sox cap.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, New York officials have charged the government spreads far too much security grant money to rural places at low risk. They viewed Chertoff's nomination in early 2005 to lead the Department of Homeland Security as a victory in that fight.

Instead, on Wednesday his agency announced it would cut New York's anti-terrorism dollars by 40 percent, or about $83 million. New Yorkers howled that it was the third time in less than a year that Chertoff's agency whacked New York.

"He assured us before we supported him that he would fully support New York. Now that seems to have gone completely down the drain," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "I want to meet with him to hear his explanation, but this sure looks like betrayal to me."

New York lawmakers were flabbergasted to see Chertoff defend his agency's ruling that New York City has no national monuments or icons, and only four major financial institutions.

"He has been blinded by pride here, and he's now defending incompetency," said Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-Queens. "When he got the job, we thought, here's a guy from the region, and he's gonna understand what we face. Quite frankly it's the exact opposite. It's a slap in the face."

The nation's anti-terrorism leader insisted Thursday he is unfazed by the criticism.

"Attacking the secretary personally or threatening the secretary is not a way to drive funding decisions," Chertoff said.

Chertoff was born in New Jersey and hired as a federal prosecutor in the 1980s by Rudolph Giuliani, who was then a U.S. attorney. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he led the Department of Justice effort to track down terrorism suspects.

With that kind of background, New Yorkers were sure they had their man when he was nominated by President Bush.

What a difference a year makes.

The first blow came last July, after the bombing of the London train system.

Chertoff told The Associated Press soon after that city subway systems in the U.S. would be largely on their own when it came to security upgrades, saying the government was more concerned about protecting airliners.

Several months later, Chertoff's department got into a very public feud with New York City officials over a tip that terrorists might try to detonate bombs in the city's subway system using baby strollers.

Officers with the New York Police Department flooded into the tunnels, even as DHS officials publicly cast doubt on the credibility of the information. The fight grew even more heated after two anti-terrorism officials under DHS sent out private e-mails warning their own friends and family about a possible subway attack.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested Friday that lingering ill will from that episode may have played a role in this week's funding cut.

"Whether this is a little bit of getting even with us for embarrassing them, I don't know," Bloomberg said on his weekly radio program on WABC.

The mayor said he spoke Thursday night with Chertoff, but said he will not personally attack the secretary for the decision.

"I listened to his explanations as to how the decisions were made. I told him, for sure, I disagreed," the mayor said, adding he wanted to preserve a working relationship with the department.

"Calling Chertoff names isn't probably the greatest idea to get him to be cooperative a year from now," said Bloomberg, adding that he would review whether city officials submitted a lackluster application that caused them to lose grant money.

The DHS criticism of New York's application is fueling a new fight over the arcane bureaucratic process that created the cut.

Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, on Friday demanded reams of technical data from the agency detailing exactly how it came up with just four large financial institutions in New York City and no monuments or icons.

King, R-Long Island, has called the funding cut "a knife in the back," and ridiculed the government's argument that New York failed to properly file its paperwork.

Others, including Rep. Vito Fossella, R-Staten Island, say Washington-New York relations were deteriorating steadily well before the funding cut, particularly after the disagreement about the seriousness of the stroller bomb warning.

"Chertoff has done a lot of damage when you think about the fact that his job exists because of Sept. 11 and a giant hole in Manhattan," said Fossella. "They need to immediately transform their responsibilities or pack up and go home."

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Associated Press Writer Sara Kugler in New York contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

Department of Homeland Security: www.dhs.gov

Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.

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