Objects to Funding Drop
Clinton: 'Homeland' Shorts New York

By ARI PAUL

Before the two met in Washington July 12, Sen. Hillary Clinton wrote U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asking why the department showed "continual disregard" for New York by allocating $134 million in funding, down from $207 million in 2005.

HILLARY CLINTON: 'Absurd' reasoning on funds.

The grant money comes from the Urban Areas Security Initiative, which according to the Web site of Argonne National Laboratories, is meant "to enhance the ability of urban areas to prevent, deter, respond to and recover from threats and incidents of terrorism."

More But Not Enough

A spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which handles UASI grants for DHS, said that it has not publicized the final figures for this year's UASI funding but will do so this month. Though Senator Clinton's office said the region is to receive a 7.7-percent increase in UASI funding from last year. The increase was based on flaws it found in the region's grant application, according to Senator Clinton's office. Calling it far too small an increase, she also indicated that DHS designated four cities in the region that were financially significant.

PETER KING: New York shortchanged.

"The notion that the quality of a grant application somehow lessens the threat that the New York City Region faces is absurd," Senator Clinton wrote. "More disturbing was the Department's explanation that the New York City region lacked significant 'national monuments or icons.'''

Last Thursday, Senator Clinton's plea to Secretary Chertoff for more funding was in vain.

"I am profoundly disappointed that the Secretary continues to ignore the homeland security needs of New York," she said in a statement following their meeting. "I will continue to press this issue until the Secretary and the Administration finally recognize that our limited Homeland Security funds must go to the regions facing the greatest risk."

U.S. Rep. Peter King has worked with Senator Clinton to restore UASI funding to the region to the 2005 level.

'New York's Prime Target'

"I think they too often try to split the difference," the Long Island Republican said of DHS. "The fact is New York is clearly the number one target. No one else is even close."

Even though the region gets more funding from DHS than other metropolitan areas, he said New York spends more of its own money on counter-terrorism than any other locality. For example, he said, the Police Department had about 1,000 members working on counter-terrorism, whereas the Chicago P.D. has just four officers assigned.

Congressman King added that the region was receiving more DHS money in other forms this year, such as a $20-million increase for port security, a $13-million increase for transit security and an undetermined increase for enhancing radio communication.

"It's a small step in the right direction, but it's clearly not enough," he said. "We're not going to make up for what it lost."