LIEBERMAN REBUKES BUSH ON LOCAL
HOMELAND SECURITY MONEY
December 10, 2002
WASHINGTON - Senator
Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Tuesday rebuked the Bush Administration
for its failure to fund adequately those on the front lines of
the war on terrorism -- the local fire, police, and emergency
medical personnel who are the first to the scene of a disaster.
Lieberman, who led the battle to consolidate scores of
existing government agencies and programs into a new Department
of Homeland Security, said supporting hometown efforts must be a
top federal priority if the nation is serious about protecting
Americans on their home turf.
"Reorganization can't work if we have an
administration that's going to refuse to provide the resources
we need to succeed at every layer and level of government,"
Lieberman said. "President Bush isn't meeting his
responsibilities to our state and local front line troops in the
war against terrorism."
Lieberman authored legislation to create a Department of
Homeland Security in October 2001.
As Chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee,
he held 19 hearings on the issue -- including one on the role of
state and local governments -- and played a central role in
Senate debate of the bill. President Bush opposed creation of a
new department until June 2002, when he abruptly reversed
course.
Last
February, however, in his Fiscal Year 2003 budget proposal, Bush
promised $3.5 billion in federal aid to state and local first
responders that would have helped them buy equipment, train
staff, and plan to prevent terrorist attacks.
That money is still tied up in Washington, which means
thousands of communities across the country have been unable to
press ahead to meet this national challenge.
"Our firefighters are left holding the ladder,"
Lieberman said. "Our
police departments are put in fiscal handcuffs...Tax revenues
are down and Washington is demanding expensive new programs
without offering financial support. Those unfunded mandates --
mainly in homeland security, education, and healthcare -- have
put too many communities in dire straits."
Lieberman noted that states have cut budgets, drawn down
rainy day funds, and now may be forced to raise taxes or watch
their fiscal futures evaporate.
In fact, late last month, the National Governors
Association and the National Association of State Budget
Officers reported that state budgets are in their worst shape
since World War II.
Lieberman said this means local fire departments might
not get federal training grants for rescue workers.
Governors will have a harder time developing and
implementing emergency preparedness plans.
And local communities may not even be able to pay for
critical security projects and programs that are already
underway.
"The
President could have used his political capital to get that
money to move swiftly from the Capitol all across the country.
But he didn't," Lieberman said.
"He sat on the sidelines.
That was a grave mistake."
"Federal agencies doing domestic defense work are
being under-funded by the Administration as well -- with the
Customs Service, the Coast Guard, and others coming up hundreds
of millions of dollars short of what they need to protect us.
That is just plain wrong."
"It's time to fund our homeland security as well as
we do our international security," Lieberman said.
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