Bush Signs Homeland Security Bill

By David McGlinchey
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday signed a $30 billion appropriations bill for the Homeland Security Department and said the spending will spur “unprecedented measures to prevent terrorist attacks, reduce our vulnerability and provide for any emergency” (see GSN, Sept. 25).

The president has come under recent fire, however, after asking for $87 billion to pay for fiscal 2004 operations and rebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Democrats have called for more spending on homeland security efforts.  In a September editorial, the Los Angeles Times pointed out that the fiscal 2004 budget for the Homeland Security Department and the State Department, combined, will be $68.7 billion.

Yesterday’s homeland security bill allocates about $4 billion to local first responders and $41 million to hire up to 570 additional border patrol officers.  The bill provides $62 million for the Container Security Initiative, which stations U.S. customs officials abroad to screen shipments before they reach the United States (see GSN, Aug. 6).  The bill also funds a Secret Service initiative to improve mail screening procedures at the White House.

In a speech at the Homeland Security Department in Washington yesterday, Bush made note of the $918 million that will be spent to develop new security technologies.  Included in that funding is $88 million to build the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, which will serve as a hub for Washington’s biological defense efforts.

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