http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5907584/
Your terror dollars: Are they working for you? Some first responders say money allocation is a big problem Since 9/11, America's first responders - local police and fire fighters - have struggled to maintain stricter security in a time of tighter budgets. But many of them complain that the way the government gives out the money is a big part of the problem. NBC News correspondent Pete Williams reports. With the nation's busiest seaport, an airport already targeted once by terrorists, and a high-profile hometown industry Los Angeles has scrambled since 9/11 to strengthen security and better equip first responders to save lives. The cost so far has been $130 million. But L.A. has received just $80 million in federal Homeland Security money. "Big cities like his, with so many priorities to address, aren't getting money quickly enough or in the amounts needed to do everything that's demanded of the nation's largest metropolitan areas," says Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn. City officials showed NBC News what they need - from bomb handling robots to bioweapon detectors. Some city officials say they were under equipped even before 9/11. And now with all the new demands, and local budget cuts, they're further in the hole. After 9/11, Congress declared that nearly half the security money should be spread among states equally. But Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, says that formula put too much money in the wrong places - leaving big cities vulnerable. "It has a lot more in common with the formulas that we use for paving roads than it does with national security," he says. While New York used its share to respond to repeated terror warnings, a rural Washington state county bought a decontamination unit and put it in a warehouse - no HAZMAT team to use it. Wyoming's share, tiny compared to big states, turned out to be highest per capita. The Homeland Security Department is now channeling more money directly to big cities. But the 9/11 Commission says Congress must do more and base federal aid strictly on an assessment of risks and vulnerabilities. Even so, sparsely populated areas say every state has its own vulnerabilities: "If you take the protection and put it only in 100 areas in the United States, I think you leave the rest of the country vulnerable," says Larry Naake of The National Association of Counties. So far, Congress is resisting a change that some states say would be unwise but that big cities insist would make America safer. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
