Clinton Calls on Secretary Michael Chertoff to Explain Inadequate Homeland Security Funding for New York City and Long Island

Senator will Raise Concerns about Homeland Security Funding at a Neeting with Chertoff this Week; Recent Figures Show Department of Homeland Security Still Does Not Take Threats Against New York Seriously

July 10, 2007 -- Washington, DC – In anticipation of a meeting with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff this Thursday, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on the Secretary to explain the Department’s reasoning behind the continual short-changing of the New York metropolitan area when it comes to national homeland security funding. This year, New York will receive $134 million, which represents a 7.7% increase from last year’s funding but is far short of the $207 million it received in 2005. Senator Clinton emphasized that New York continues to be a top terrorist target and this repeated under-funding threatens New York's ability to maintain its necessary high-level of vigilance.

“I am shocked at the Department of Homeland Security’s continual disregard for the level of threat that New York is under and very disappointed that the Department still has not learned from its past mistakes on this critical issue. I am meeting with the Secretary on Thursday in the hopes that he will be forthcoming about why his department appears to be so blind to the threats facing the area and to express my very serious hopes that these reported figures do not reflect the actual amounts that New York will receive from the federal government,” said Senator Clinton.

Recent reports indicate that the New York metropolitan area, which includes New York City as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties, will receive $134 million from the Department of Homeland Security under its Urban Area Security Initiative grant program for 2007, which represents a 7.7% increase over the $124 million awarded in 2006, but is still nowhere near the $207 million received in 2005. An announcement on the final amount is expected from the Department of Homeland Security shortly.

Last year, Senator Clinton, along with Congressman Peter King, forced that Department of Homeland Security to reverse their massive cuts to homeland security funding for New York despite the fact that no state has been more affected by terrorism or is a greater target of a potential terrorist attack. Clinton and King questioned how the Department of Homeland Security could possibly claim that New York has only four places of national financial significance and no national monuments and icons and launched a postcard program urging New Yorkers to send Secretary Chertoff postcards of New York landmarks to remind the Secretary of the state's highly visible and recognizable icons and landmarks, and encouraged New Yorkers to follow suit. (See - http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=256448&&)

A copy of Senator Clinton’s letter is below -

July 10, 2007

The Honorable Michael Chertoff
Secretary
United States Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528

Dear Mr. Secretary:

In advance of our meeting this week to discuss the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), I am writing to alert you that I intend to raise with you my concerns related to the disturbing reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in its latest round of homeland security grants plans to only minimally increase the New York City Region’s Homeland Security Grant funding for Fiscal Year 2007. Of particular concern is news that DHS will allocate only $134 million in Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) funding to New York City, a mere 7.7 percent increase from last year’s inadequate and dramatically reduced funding level.

Last year the New York City region received $124.5 million under the UASI program, a 40 percent reduction from the allocation the region received in FY 2005. At the time, the Department stated that the region’s application contained numerous flaws and as a result, poor grades were given to the application. The notion that the quality of a grant application somehow lessens the threat that the New York City Region faces is absurd. More disturbing was the Department’s explanation that the New York City region lacked significant “national monuments or icons.”

In the Conference Report that accompanied the FY2007 Homeland Security Appropriations Act (P.L. 109.295), it states that the Department should continue its efforts to evaluate UASI grant applications on the basis of risk and on how effectively these grants will address identified homeland security needs. The report goes on to state that in those areas where the risk is very high, the Department shall work aggressively to ensure these applications are produced in a manner in which appropriate levels of funding reflect the level of threat. Working under the assumption that the Department followed the instructions outlined in the FY2007 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, what is the explanation for the modest increase in homeland security funds for the New York City area? The Act also required the Department to announce these grants allocations by May 16, 2007. If the recently reported figures, which are nearly two months after the deadline, are inaccurate, I hope that the Department corrects this error and allocates the funding needed by New York City and the surrounding region.

You have repeatedly stated that homeland security funding should be targeted to the most at-risk areas of the country. This was one of chief recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. As you well know, New York City is an area where the risk is particularly high. The recent threats and attacks in London and Glasgow indicate that the threat of attack is still ever present and that large urban areas continue to be most at risk. However, the Department’s allocation to the New York City region last year and the proposed allocation for FY 2007, are wholly inconsistent with the threats the New York City region continues to face, as well as the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

I look forward to our meeting this week and to your response to the questions and concerns that I have raised.

Sincerely yours,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Source: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton