Ny B14 Dhs Grant Issue Fdr- Press Reports- Press Release- 1st Pgs For Ref 529

18. Antiterror Budget Rises, but Critics Say City Is Shortchanged RAYMOND HERNANDEZ New York Times The budget President Bush proposed on Monday would nearly double the pool of money that the federal government would set aside for the 2005 fiscal year to help defend New York City and other localities considered vulnerable to terrorist attacks. President Bush proposed to increase federal antiterrorism funds for so-called high-risk cities by $721 million, to $1.44 billion, according to city lawmakers reviewing the budget. But his proposal did not include a major change that New York lawmakers had been demanding in the federal budget: a strict limit on the number of cities entitled to the money. That means that the best New York can expect to receive is $94 million, a figure that New York lawmakers say would be much higher if the president and Congress agreed to revise the formula and spread the money among fewer cities. For months, New York officials have been complaining that federal antiterrorism money specifically intended for the most vulnerable cities is being funneled to a growing list of cities that do not have urgent security needs. In April, for example, the first installment of money from a fund established by the president and Congress for high-risk areas was distributed among seven cities, including New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Chicago. But in recent months, the number of eligible cities has grown - first to 30 and then to 50 - thereby reducing the share of money available for New York and other major cities. The reaction to the president's budget proposal was strong and swift. Members of the city's Congressional delegation complained that Mr. Bush's plan would shortchange New York and other more obvious terrorist targets if Congress did not move to limit the number of cities eligible for the antiterrorism money. "They have taken a tightly targeted program and made it into a run-of-the-mill pork barrel program," said Representative Anthony D. Weiner, a Democrat who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, who proposed legislation that would limit the number of cities entitled to such money to no more than 15. Mr. Weiner continued: "If we are at the point where the terrorists are targeting the Charlotte Raptor Museum, or whatever it is they have down there, then we are in big trouble. That was not what this program was intended for." But Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said he was satisfied with the president's budget. "I am pleased that President Bush's budget has nearly doubled the amount of Homeland Security funding for high-threat localities," the mayor said. "Washington is listening to us, abandoning its populationbased funding schemes and moving more money toward New York City, where it is needed." The president's proposal is an opening bid in budget negotiations with Congress, where lawmakers will very likely make extensive election-year revisions before giving their approval. In his budget proposal, the president also called for spending cuts on a handful of programs important to New York City and State, with education and law enforcement hit the hardest, according to Congressional budget analysts. The budget would eliminate $120 million to hire police officers nationwide, including $10.4 million for New York City, where the money was to be used to hire as many as 139 officers, according to New York Congressional officials.

9. Costs Mounting From Terrorism Alert ROBERT TANNER Associated Press The sacrifice can be measured in dollars and cents - and surely it will run into the tens of millions. Sharpshooters deployed on Las Vegas Boulevard, extra patrols checking a North Dakota dam, helicopters circling Times Square. When the fifth orange-level terrorism alert took effect days before Christmas, local and state authorities put plans in action. Now, 2 1/2 weeks later, costs are mounting steadily. Some local officials, particularly in big cities, worry they will wind up shortchanged by federal officials promising reimbursement. But others say the alert doesn't mean higher spending - just smarter deployment - and that they've learned a great deal about effective homeland security since Sept. 11, 2001. "Frankly, it's maturity," said George Foresman, Virginia's special deputy for preparedness. "All of us - public sector, private sector - we're getting smarter and better about how we need to respond." Said Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: "At this point, it's the cost of doing business." He says the alert won't create financial hardship for his state. New Hampshire, Colorado, and many smaller or rural cities also reported no additional costs. California's Highway Patrol said they cut additional spending by 20 percent from the last alert. Others, especially in urban states, border states and those with facilities that federal authorities pinpointed for protection, are seeing significant new expenses. Los Angeles has spent $9.3 million so far; New Jersey $2.7 million and counting. New York state officials said they did not yet have a full accounting; the last alert cost New York City between $5 million and $7 million a week. New Year's Eve in New York City meant military helicopters overhead, mailboxes and trash cans removed, and a combination of heavily armed guards and plainclothes officers in the crowd. Counter-terror teams with equipment to detect chemical, biological or radiological contamination prowled the streets. The overtime bill for New Orleans police the week of the Sugar Bowl - where federal officials had specific worries - could reach $300,000. Protection for Las Vegas celebrations rang up more than $400,000 in bills. "We've always heard freedom isn't free. No kidding," said Jerry Bussell, Nevada's homeland security adviser. Some smaller cities, too, said stepped-up security would hit their bottom lines. Portland, Maine, spends $5,000 a week for each alert, said Police Chief Michael Chitwood. "Short term, it's fine. It's the long term issues we have to deal with," he said. But several state leaders and security officials said they've kept costs down or eliminated them entirely by planning ahead and adjusting. "It doesn't cost any extra money. It's basically a mind-set change," said Patti Micciche, a spokeswoman for Colorado's Public Safety Department. Neither the state nor Denver spent any additional money, while extra officers patrolling the city's New Year's Eve fireworks show were paid by a merchants group.

Al Qaeda in America: The Enemy Within

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8. The Bull's-Eye Versus the Pork Barrel DAN BARRY New York Times LIFE in New York has its own math: a series of formulas to help inhabitants make sense of an urban environment that might lead to madness if dwelt upon too long. Rain + 4 p.m. = no taxis. Street corner + two blocks = Starbucks. Paris Hilton + nothing = Page Six. But what equation can address the fear of imminent terrorist attack in this city? How can New York's risk be quantified? And how can government possibly calculate the cost of securing everything from the subway system to that pizza place in the Port Authority? These disturbing questions may be exactly what compels one to find distraction in Ms. Hilton's latest reported antics. But they are not too daunting for the federal Department of Homeland Security, which actually has a formula for how to parcel out counter-terrorism funds to cities like New York. To determine how to split $675 million among cities that are presumably "at risk," the federal agency did not apply the formula that seems most logical to those who live here, that being: New York + 9/11 + security intelligence + common sense = lots of money — and keep it coming, because this is New York we're talking about. Instead, the agency used a formula that mixes facts and alchemy. It gave the most weight to a city's population density, lesser weight to critical infrastructure and, finally, the least weight to the gathered intelligence about credible threat. Agency officials explained that intelligence is mushier than the hard data of population figures. In the end, 50 cities were blessed last week with allocations from a program called the Urban Area Security Initiative. The New York region received the largest amount, $47 million, but city officials were not happy. Was New York only six times more likely to be attacked than Sacramento ($8 million)? Or just four times more likely than Pittsburgh ($11.9 million)? "The aid is not based on threat," one high-ranking city official said. "It's based on formulas that allow the government to spread it around the country. That's politics; that's not threat assessment." Yes, city officials say, New York has received $280 million since the program began, much more than what was given to the next largest recipient, Washington. But they argue that the city has the unwanted distinction of deserving it. It took the brunt of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it remains the financial center that Al Qaeda seems intent on bringing down and, for many in the world, it represents the United States. It also remains hot. JUST last month, a Pakistani immigrant from Columbus, Ohio ($8.7 million), was sentenced to 20 years in prison for plotting with Al Qaeda to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge. The story of the immigrant, lyman Paris, remains unsettling, no matter how grandiose his plot. He met with Osama bin Laden, came to New York after 9/11, ate at a Pakistani restaurant near City Hall and scoped out the bridge for possible destruction. Again, after 9/11.

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11/26/2003

• ul qfoeda in America: The Enemy Within

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8. Ridge stiffs New York RICHARD SCHWARTZ NY Daily News New York, long treated like an ugly stepchild by Washington, was assured after 9/11 that things would be different. This time, we'd get our fair share. But when it came to homeland security funding, New York State ended up 49th on the list. To its credit, Congress tried to address this inequity by creating a discretionary fund to provide extra money for big, vulnerable cities, New York City being the biggest and most vulnerable. But even that pot of money has been corrupted. The federal High Threat, High Density program allots $725 million in extra funds for cities, taking into consideration "credible threat, presence of critical infrastructure, population [and] vulnerability." By these criteria, New York City should be at the top. Fifty cities made the list. New York City, like the state, is No. 49. That's more than ludicrous. That's obscene. The allocation for the five boroughs is $5.87 per person. Compare that to $15.21 per person for Philadelphia and a whopping $35.80 for Pittsburgh. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge doles out the money, the same Tom Ridge who used to be governor of Pennsylvania. Florida, where the President's brother Jeb Bush is governor, is another big winner: Miami rakes in $52.82 per person; Orlando, $47.14, and Tampa, a not-too-shabby $30.57. And what's the No.l city on the list? New Haven, at $77.92 per. The Bush family alma mater, Yale, must be considered very vulnerable. New York City asked Homeland Security for $900 million to combat terror. It's getting $84million. Yes, New York gets the most in gross dollars, but its proportionate share of the federal pie is a pittance. "The formula is loopy," said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens), noting that Ridge's method for doling out the cash assigns little importance to what the Department of Homeland Security terms "credible threat." Meaning that New York's history as a terror target doesn't necessarily qualify it for additional counterterror aid in the future. Why let facts get in the way? Over the weekend, a suspected terrorist was arrested on charges of plotting to blow up a New York-bound jetliner. Two weeks earlier, two Iranians with diplomatic credentials were found allegedly conducting reconnaissance of the 52nd St. IRT station in Queens. No matter. Keep thumbing your nose at reality, Mr. Ridge. The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan would annually tabulate the imbalance of payments between New York and Washington. His last report, in 1999, showed New York sending $16.2billion more to the federal government than it got back. The Empire State, long the nation's cash cow, has financed everything from electrification of the Tennessee Valley to construction of the national highway system. But now, in its time of need, New York is being given short shrift by the federal government. This is intolerable when the issue is defending this city against the murderous designs of Osama Bin

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Al Qaeda in America: The Enemy Within

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14. Anti-Terrorism Funds Buy Wide Array of Pet Projects JO BECKER, SARAH COHEN and SPENCER HSU Washington Post Two years after Congress approved a massive infusion of cash to help gird the Washington area against terrorism, much of the $324 million remains unspent or is funding projects with questionable connections to homeland security. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, lawmakers doled out the money quickly, with few restrictions and vague guidelines. Left to interpret needs on their own ~ and with little regional coordination — cash-strapped local and state officials plugged budget holes, spent millions on pet projects and steered contracts to political allies. The District funded a politically popular jobs program, outfitted police with leather jackets and assessed environmental problems on properly prime for redevelopment. In Maryland, the money is buying Prince George's County prosecutors an office security system. In Virginia, a small volunteer fire department spent $350,000 on a custom-made fire boat. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments used some of the money for janitorial services. The Washington Post traced the path of the region's first wave of homeland security aid from its distribution through its final use, a trail that has been largely unexamined by federal regulators. The analysis included a review of contracts, grant proposals and purchasing databases obtained through open records laws as well as more than 100 interviews. The findings represent the first detailed evidence of how jurisdictions are spending a major new stream of federal dollars. Since that first allotment, Congress has approved at least $180 million in additional grants to the region, and more is on the way. In many ways, the funds have helped the Washington area become better prepared than it was when terrorists struck. The region has earmarked at least $63 million — about one-fifth of the total — for compatible radio systems, long considered critical so rescuers from different jurisdictions can communicate with each other in an emergency. Police, firefighters and public health workers have undergone disaster training and are better equipped to handle conventional attacks and weapons of mass destruction. They have more gear to protect them, more ambulances and firetrucks and more heavy equipment to defuse bombs or locate victims buried beneath rubble. Local governments have at their disposal new blueprints on how to respond to a terrorist attack. But critical needs remain unaddressed, according to federal assessments and interviews. Many of the region's hospitals are already strained and, without adding beds and personnel, would be overwhelmed if thousands needed medical attention in an emergency. In the District, hospital officials estimate that just 400 beds could be freed in a disaster. Some police officers are still waiting for basic protective gear. Public health labs swamped by the anthrax attacks of 2001 have no additional capacity today. Most local governments have no efficient way to give instructions to residents shut off from radio and television, such as a "reverse 911" system that automatically telephones people at home. There is no comprehensive plan to unite families separated in a disaster. James S. Gilmore III, a former governor of Virginia who heads a congressionally mandated terrorism panel, said better priorities must be set for local jurisdictions.

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11/24/2003

Al Qaeda in America: The Enemy Within

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5. Homeland security money doesn't match terror threat MIMI HALL USA Today The hazardous-materials trailer in this small city's fire department, once outfitted with just the barebones equipment needed for everyday emergencies, now brims with the latest high-tech gadgetry. There's a $13,500 thermal imager to help find victims in heavy smoke. An $800 thermal heat gun to test the temperature of gases that might ignite. A $1,250 test kit for deadly nerve agents such as VX and mustard gas. A $1,300 monitor to gauge oxygen and carbon monoxide levels in the air. Four air packs at $3,800 each, with masks and extra bottles. Four chemical suits at $875 apiece. And much more. Cities and towns across the country are buying that kind of equipment with federal money from the Department of Homeland Security. Billions of dollars are flowing on the theory that the entire country needs to be prepared for terrorism. "We were poor as church mice," says Gene Harming, hazardous materials coordinator for southeastern Ohio's Muskingum County (pop. 85,000), where Zanesville is located. "This has been better than any Christmas." But officials in cities such as New York City and Los Angeles, considered to be more likely terrorist targets, complain that they are getting only a fraction of what they need. As a result, some members of Congress are beginning to question whether the federal government should be paying to outfit remote firehouses and police stations. "America cannot afford to provide every firehouse, every police department and every hospital emergency room with every piece of equipment and every training program on their wish lists," says Randall Larsen, CEO of the consulting firm Homeland Security Associates. Even Tom Ridge, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, agrees. He has urged Congress to direct more money to highthreat areas. At issue is how to divide the biggest grant for homeland security: $2 billion a year to help equip and train firefighters, police officers and other emergency workers. In keeping with how Washington often spreads the wealth — whether for highways, education or emergency preparedness — Congress last year instructed Ridge's department to guarantee every state a share. That allows members of Congress to boast about bringing home the bacon. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt, who insisted on the formula, touts his small state's haul: more than $20 million for emergency workers, rising to $37 million by the end of 2004. But does a small city like Zanesville really need a radiation detector and nerve agent test kit? Does Appleton, Wis., need a fully outfitted bomb squad? Does Grand Forks, N.D., need a semi-armored van and decontamination tents? A new USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll reveals that while 68% of Americans think a terrorist attack is likely in the USA during the next year, only 17% think it's likely in their community. The theory that terrorists could strike anywhere doesn't match the history of al-Qaeda, which carried out the Sept. 11 attacks and seems to prefer repeated assaults on high-profile targets. When they fail, as they did during the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, they often return to the same site. Of course, no one knows for sure where terrorists might strike next. "If you do all the preparation in the big cities, the terrorists will come here," says Bob Heinzman, Zanesville's assistant fire chief. Protecting the 'Pottery Capital'

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10/30/2003

9. Congress will shake up homeland grants SHAUN WATERMAN UPI

Lawmakers from both parties and homeland security officials agree that the current way federal money gets to local first responders does not work. Unfortunately, that seems to be about all they do agree on, which is going to make fixing the system a difficult and politically tortuous process. "This is a problem that needs addressing immediately," House homeland security committee Chairman Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., told reporters Thursday, "First responders are begging for this system to be fixed." Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y, put it more pungently. The grant process administered by the Department for Homeland Security is "fundamentally... flawed, counterintuitive (and) counterproductive." "We treated it like Congress kinda treats everything," he told a House panel this week, "and that's, 'I gotta make sure I bring something home."' A passel of bills to consolidate and reform the various grant systems for firefighters, police and emergency medical service departments administered by the Department of Homeland Security are now jostling elbows in both chambers. But changing the way the financial cake is cut is never a simple matter in Congress. The other problem concerns the national threat and vulnerability assessments that most agree are an essential prerequisite of a rational grant system. The assessments are basically a list of the targets terrorists are thought most likely to try to strike, and a list of the places where the consequences would be most drastic if they succeeded. By comparing the two, officials will - in theory - be able to work out where the risk is greatest, and allocate tax dollars where they will do the most good. The problem? The assessments may not be ready for three to five years, DHS Chief Financial Officer Bruce Marshall Carnes told lawmakers this week. "We do have to have a threat picture. Is IAIP (the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection division of the department, which is responsible for conducting the assessments) at the stage that it wants to be? I don't think it is. It is still evolving, but that doesn't mean it's not doing anything," Carnes testified to Cox's committee. The department's press office did not return calls. Thursday, Cox unveiled his own proposal for reform, bringing the total to at least nine. Two of those are from other members of his committee: Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas. Cox said he was "encouraged" that the other bills were out there and promised to work closely with his colleagues, including those in the senate and across the aisle. "We don't anticipate there's going to be a lot of disagreement (among those pushing for reform)," said committee spokeswoman Liz Tobias. She points out that several of the bills contain very similar proposals. "A lot of this is just common sense and there are large areas of agreement." The current funding system is a ragbag of different grant programs that has grown up willy-nilly over the years, plus three new programs instituted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and now administered by the DHS. The total is some $4.4 billion dollars for the current fiscal year, according to the Congressional Research Service. Of this, about $2.9 billion is doled out by the DHS' Office of Domestic Preparedness.

Posner, always the measured skeptic, draws no conclusions but says he believes his sources. In any event, he is certainly saying something new.

7) Intelligence for first responders By Christopher Cox THE WASHINGTON TIMES The September 11, 2001, attacks drew immediate attention to the key role of our "first responders" — the police, firefighters and emergency medical teams who are the first on any crisis scene. Subsequently, the nation's attention has also focused on the deficiencies in information sharing within our federal government, notably the FBI, CIA and other intelligence community agencies. These two crucial elements of homeland security are inextricably linked, because information about an attack that reaches the front lines of local authorities could potentially reduce its impact if not stop it entirely. In the two years since the September 11 attacks, the focus on first responders has increased awareness that federal money isn't reaching them where it is needed. But while much of the discussion has focused simplistically on calls for ever-higher spending, an even greater problem is that information gathered by counterterrorism experts at significant taxpayer expense is ignored in the disbursement process. The present grant system for first responders is similar to the one the federal government uses for paving roads and responding to mudslides. Political formulas based on parity and population, rather than intelligence on terrorist plans and intentions, determines where the billions go. Such an archaic approach to the challenges of international terrorism courts disaster. In Washington, once it became clear important first responder needs were going begging, the usual political blame game soon commenced. The politically expedient course was to demand that the Department of Homeland Security use the dozens of existing funding formulas it had inherited from the 22 agencies that were folded into DHS. Complicated and eccentric as these formulas might be, they were built by the political class to meet political needs: Thus the grant formula for fighting fires now serves double duty for homeland security. But this and other such formulas have nothing to do with objective measurements of the relative risks of attack. Inserting intelligence into the equation for our emergency responders is an area where Congress — and the Select Committee on Homeland Security, which I chair — can and should exert its influence. If you are to be protected against the next terrorist attack, local police, firefighters and emergency technicians must be prepared as never before. They must have equipment and training to respond to a variety of new threats, as well as to more traditional emergencies. All sides agree this takes money. And Congress has responded. Since that terrible day in September two years ago, Congress has spent more than $20 billion on first responders — an increase of more than 1,000 percent. Even for Washington, this is an incredible amount of money. But the involvement of such large sums only accentuates the importance of spending wisely. That means all funds should be disbursed on the basis of hard-nosed threat assessment. However, current federal funding for first responders is parceled out among the states with a guaranteed minimum for every state (presumably, because every state has two senators). One obvious distortion is that California receives less than $5 per person in first responder grants, while

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Highlighting Coordination in the National Capital Region For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary August 5, 2003 In recognition of the importance of securing our nation's urban areas, the Bush Administration has partnered with Congress to provide substantial federal resources to selected urban areas across the country including the National Capital Region (NCR). The Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Program is designed to enhance the ability of first responders and public safety officials to secure the area's critical infrastructure and respond to potential acts of terrorism. This mission requires coordination, cooperation and focused effort from the entire region - citizens, all levels of government, as well as the private and non-profit sectors. This program includes a jurisdictional assessment and calls for the development of an Urban Area Security strategy development component to ensure that the funds are being used to fund the region's priorities. Urban Area Security Initiative: The NCR received a total $60,490,851 from the UASI. In addition communities throughout the NCR have benefited from other funding sources including the State Homeland Security Grant Program. In the few months since the announcement of the grants, the NCR has accomplished many of the grant requirements and is leading the country in demonstrating the coordinated planning effort necessary to maximize the regional impact of these resources. Below are some of the highlights from the UASI Program within the National Capital Region. • NCR Assessment - The NCR recently became the first urban area to complete a comprehensive risk, capabilities, and need assessment of state and local capabilities. The results from the assessment, which included twelve jurisdictions and ten disciplines, provide a clear picture of the preparedness and security requirements for the region. The jurisdictions of the NCR deserve tremendous credit for both piloting the process for the nation as well as reducing by half the time to complete the assignment. • Urban Area Security Strategy for the NCR - The information obtained from the assessment was the foundation for the first Urban Area Security Strategy for the National Capital Region. The Strategy provides a strategic direction for enhancing regional capability and capacity to prevent and reduce vulnerability of the NCR from terrorist attacks. • Strategy and Resources - The Strategy focuses on four key areas of preparedness: planning, training, equipment and exercise. For each area specific goals, objectives, implementation steps and metrics are described and each item was validated against four foundation documents: the NCR Assessment; the 8 Commitments to Action; the Statewide Template and the National Strategy for Homeland Security. It is important to note that the focus of the Strategy and the resources available through the UASI program is developing regional capability - capability that benefits across the NCR, not simply a particular jurisdiction.

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