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Anti-Terrorism Funding Likely To Be Cut In 2009

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By EILEEN SULLIVAN and DEVLIN BARRETT, The Associated Press

Published: December 1, 2007

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration intends to slash counterterrorism funding for police, firefighters and rescue departments across the country by more than half next year, according to budget documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The Homeland Security Department has given $23 billion to states and local communities to fight terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks, but one document says the administration is not convinced that the money has been well-spent and thinks the nation's highest-risk cities have largely satisfied their security needs.

The department wanted to provide $3.2 billion to help states and cities protect against terrorist attacks in 2009, but the White House said it would ask Congress for less than half - $1.4 billion, according to a Nov. 26 document. The plan calls for outright elimination of programs for port security, transit security, and local emergency management operations in the next budget year. This is President Bush's last budget, and the new administration would have to live with the funding decisions between Jan. 20 and Sept. 30, 2009.

The Homeland Security Department and the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is in charge of the administration's spending plans, would not provide details about the funding cuts because nothing is final.

"There's been staunch support of our department, and you'll see it again this February" when the budget emerges, Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke predicted.

Some Homeland Security grants have been criticized as wasteful or excessive:

•$345,000 for crashproof barriers and 60 closed-circuit cameras to monitor the University of Arkansas Razorback stadium, which local officials say could be a terrorist target.

•$5 million for the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology to buy a nearly deserted town to use for counterterrorism training.

•$70,000 for Huntsville, Ala. to create a fallout shelter in an abandoned mine where 20,000 people could take cover.

•Several South Florida fire departments have used Homeland Security grants to beef up their gyms. Pompano Beach spent $220,000 on fitness equipment for a wellness program, training and physical exams.

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