SCHAKOWSKY: BUSH ADMINISTRATION MISSTATEMENT OF THE DAY HOMELAND SECURITY

JUNE 10, 2004

SCHAKOWSKY: BUSH ADMINISTRATION MISSTATEMENT OF THE DAY -
HOMELAND SECURITY

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) issued "The Bush Administration Misstatement of the Day" on homeland security.

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge blamed Congress "for not providing enough homeland security money to cities at a high risk of being attacked by terrorists." (AP, Congress, Ridge trade blame on security funding program, June 10, 2004)

President Bush, however, in his FY'05 budget:

• Guts the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program by 87 percent, to $97 million, from $756 million. (New York Times, 5/19/04)

• Cuts FIRE Act firefighter preparedness grants by $246 million. (CQ, 2/2/04)

• Cuts $800 million from the Office of Domestic Preparedness, which supplies a variety of first responder grants to state and local governments. (CQ, 2/2/04)

• Refuses to provide $779 million to fund biodetection technology that protect against "anthrax-like" attacks (CQ, 2/2/04)

And, according to the Washington Post:

"The White House put government agencies on notice this month that if President Bush is reelected, his budget for 2006 may include spending cuts for virtually all agencies in charge of domestic programs, including education, homeland security and others that the president backed in this campaign year." As a result, homeland security funding "would slip in 2006 by $1 billion, to $29.6 billion." (Washington Post, "2006 Cuts In Domestic Spending On Table," May 27, 2004)