U.S. Response I:  White House Allocates $100 Million, Wants New System

The White House announced a plan yesterday to distribute $100 million for domestic security measures in seven major U.S. cities and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said that the traditional formula for distributing financial security aid to states and cities is no longer applicable, the Baltimore Sun reported (see GSN, April 4).

Seeking to alleviate the financial burden of providing extra security, the Bush administration plans to send $25 million to New York, $18 million to Washington, $12.5 million to Los Angeles, more than $11 million to Seattle, $11 million to Chicago, more than $10 million to San Francisco and almost $9 million to Houston.

Ridge said that a new system of distribution is needed, which takes into account population density, national landmarks and the threat of terrorist attacks (Associated Press/Baltimore Sun, April 9).

Congress last year approved a formula to send 0.75 percent of available homeland security funding to each state, with the rest going to states on the basis of population.  Under that formula, New York received $1.38 per person and California was given $1.33 per person while Wyoming received $9.78 for every resident, the Washington Post reported.

“The traditional formula is inappropriate today,” Ridge said.  Under the old plan “everybody got a little bit and none of it would make a difference … A catastrophic event is more likely in a densely populated area,” he added.

“New York and Washington by formula represented only 3 percent of the entire pot of money” in the old formula, said Margret Nedelkoff Kellems, Washington’s deputy mayor for public safety.  “Clearly, New York City and Washington represent more than 3 percent of the risk,” she added (John Mintz, Washington Post, April 9).

Avoiding Congressional Pork

Concerned that homeland security funding will become overly politicized, experts agreed Congress must focus on identifying security needs, Newhouse News Service reported.

“We’ve got to think long and hard and prioritize,” said Phil Anderson, a domestic security specialist for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“The greatest threat to American security is uncontrolled spending,” said Randy Larsen, director of the ANSER Institute for Homeland Security.

Security officials also need to work on coordinating local responses, he said.

“After Sept. 11, I didn’t see any strategic plan at the national level, and I’ve been concerned about it ever since,” according to Larsen. 

Some lawmakers and officials said that smaller states should not be overlooked for federal funding.

“Any terrorist that sees there’s appropriate protection in large cities will look for secondary targets,” said George Burke, assistant to the president of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) said that smaller border states, such as hers, need adequate security as well (Chuck McCutcheon, Newhouse News Service, April 9).

Threat Level Might Drop

Ridge, meanwhile, said that the successful conflict in Iraq could spur U.S. officials to lower the national terrorist attack threat level, the Post reported.

“We certainly do have a plan to start reducing, over time, the additional security measures,” he said.

The White House might also “reduce or finally eliminate” Operation Liberty Shield, which provides another layer of security in the United States.

He said, however, that the threat of terrorist attack would most likely not diminish immediately.

“The al-Qaeda network will strike when they’re ready, regardless of whether we’re engaged with the military in Iraq,” Ridge said (Mintz, Washington Post).

Back to top

U.S. Response II:  Senate Republicans Considering Making Patriot Act Permanent

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has prepared a proposal that would repeal the “sunset” provisions of the U.S. Patriot Act, which expanded Washington’s power to conduct surveillance on suspected terrorists, and make the legislation permanent, officials said yesterday (see GSN, July 9, 2002).

The Patriot Act allows the United States to use eavesdropping, surveillance, access to personal records and other measures to track suspected terrorists, according to the New York Times.  When the act was passed by Congress in late 2001, many agreed to support it only if the provisions were made temporary.  The act’s provisions are to expire in 2005 unless Congress reauthorizes them, the Times reported.

Senate Republicans, however, have recently discussed repealing the sunset provisions and making the law permanent, officials said.  Republicans could attempt to act on the proposal this week by attaching it to another antiterrorism measure, sponsored by Senators Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), that would eliminate the need for U.S. agents seeking secret surveillance warrants to show that a suspect is linked to a foreign country or agent.

Justice Department officials have praised the Patriot Act for helping the FBI to move quickly to disrupt terrorist activities and have said they want to see the law made permanent.

“The Patriot Act has been an extremely useful tool, a demonstrated success, and we don’t want that to expire on us,” a senior Justice official said.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said that, without extensive review, he “would be very strongly opposed to any repeal” of the 2005 limit.  Daschle added that he believed there would not be enough votes for the proposal to pass (Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, April 9).

Back to top

U.S. Response III:  NRC to Address Nuclear Plant Guard Training, Fatigue Concerns

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to issue orders soon to improve the training of security forces at U.S. nuclear power plants, commission Chairman Nils Diaz said Monday (see GSN, March 31).

The new orders will be designed to improve plant security force training and to address force fatigue, Diaz said in a statement.  The commission also plans to revise the design basis threats for nuclear power plans and category 1 fuel cycle facilities later this month, he said.  The design basis threat is the type of terrorist attack a nuclear power plant must be able to defend against.

Diaz has also reorganized his office to add an executive assistant for materials and security, according to the NRC statement.  This official will be responsible for creating “cradle-to-grave” controls on high-risk radiation sources and for material safety issues (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission release, April 7).

Back to top

About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines

HOME  |  CONTACT US  |  GET INVOLVED  |  SITE MAP