Dept of Homeland Security to Slash Funds for N.Y., Washington

[kpete]

DHS to Slash Funds for N.Y., Washington
Smaller Cities to Receive Larger Antiterror Grants

By Dan Eggen and Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 31, 2006; 3:56 PM

The two cities attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, will receive far less antiterrorism money under plans unveiled today by the Department of Homeland Security, which has designated more money for many smaller cities throughout the country.

Washington and New York will receive 40 percent less in urban grant money compared to last year, with Washington dropping from $77 million to $46 million and New York falling from $207 million to $124 million, DHS officials said. The combined total means that the two areas bear almost the entire brunt of a $120 million cut in the overall budget for the program, the statistics show.

The announcement sparked another round of heated complaints from many lawmakers and local officials about the DHS grant process, which has weathered criticism from cities large and small for an allegedly haphazard and unfair distribution plan.

more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/31/AR2006053101364.html

D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) said he was "disappointed" by the decision

[gratuitous]

1. Well, it's not like NYC or DC have anything to worry about

We all know that the terrorists are heavily invested in striking in Wyoming or Texas. For no particular reason. That's why all those federal tax dollars have to be spent there instead of checking cargo containers coming in through Los Angeles or Seattle or Charleston SC or Baltimore. Because those are just tooooooo obvious as targets.

[MamaBear]

2. I Guess This Could mean one of two things:

It could mean:
1) NY and DC have been again selected as targets, so why waste the money?

On the other hand,it could mean:
2) NY and DC have not been selected as targets this time, so why waste the money?

Either way, I still gotta ride public transportation every day, go to work in the financial district (unless I flee for a "safer" job), and try to live my life as normally as possible.

Stressed-out local police, however, overextended with anti-terrorism duties (and maybe now having to fight a big contract battle for a raise), that worries me more. That and the inevitable robbery and thievery that goes along with hard times (economically).

Oh well. Courage, mes amis.

[987654321]

3. And in other Homeland Security news...

DHS awarded Halliburton a no-bid contract for a million dollars to replace three leaky faucets and a toilet seat at the New Orleans Convention Center.

[derby378]

4. Our first order of business after taking over Congress...

...dismantle the Department of Homeland Security. Raze it to the ground. Then we rebuild FEMA from the ground up.