"It's a knife in the back to New York "

N.Y., D.C. to get less anti-terror funds

By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer Wed May 31, 5:28 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The two cities targeted in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks will receive far less counterterrorism money this year in what the
Homeland Security Department described Wednesday as an effort to spread funding to other communities facing threats.

Officials noted a $119 million cut in the total funds available for the 2006 fiscal year from last year. In all, 46 cities will share $710 million in Homeland Security grants to prevent and respond to terror attacks and, to a lesser extent, other catastrophic disasters like hurricanes. The department said the total does not reflect an additional $25 million for nonprofit groups, and other minor costs.

"At the end of the day our job is to make sure that we apply resources in an appropriate manner across the full breadth of this nation so that we get the maximum benefit out of those dollars," Homeland Security Undersecretary George Foresman told reporters in Washington.
State and local officials also need to budget for disaster preparations, Foresman said, calling the federal grants "designed to help us address the extraordinary, not the ordinary."

The money generally pays for training and equipment for emergency first responders.
But the cut was attacked by the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, who represents the New York suburbs and vowed to hit back at the department.

"It's absolutely indefensible, it's disgraceful. As far as I'm concerned the Department of Homeland Security and the administration have declared war on New York," Republican Rep. Peter King told the Associated Press.

"It's a knife in the back to New York and I'm going to do everything I can to make them very sorry they made this decision," King said.

Homeland Security assistant secretary Tracy A. Henke said the biggest share of the dollars still would go to the nation's largest cities, with New York City winning the largest share — $124 million, down from $207 million in 2005. The national capital region, which encompasses Washington and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs, will receive $46 million, compared to $77.5 last year.

Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans will receive half of what it got last year — $4.6 million, down from $9.3 million — although Homeland Security said the money was to help cities grapple with catastrophic disasters from Mother Nature and terrorists alike.

But several cities saw boosted bottom lines, including three that didn't get any money last year. Fort Lauderdale, Fla., won $9.9 million for 2006 after receiving what Rep. Rep. Clay Shaw Jr., R-Fla., called a paltry share last year compared with Miami.

"I'd been telling Homeland Security, 'We want a divorce,'" said Shaw, who represents the Fort Lauderdale area. "And we got it. ... As far as grants go, I think this is a very good result."
The funding is part of an overall $1.7 billion Homeland Security grant program. Under the program, each state and U.S. territory gets some funding, this year totaling $550 million. Another $450 million will go to state public safety projects, medical responders and to help citizens prepare for disasters.

Until now, the grants largely have been awarded based on cities' populations. Homeland Security still is weighing population as a factor in the grants, but it is mostly awarding the money based on a city's threat risk and how effectively the city will use the funds.
The grants for cities make up the largest chunk of the funding, and has always been the subject of fierce lobbying by local leaders and members of Congress. The final awards often anger many officials who feel residents of their cities are slighted by not getting enough money — or none whatsoever.