Keeping
Massachusetts Safe - Homeland Security
It's been five years since the horrific terrorist attacks of September
11th, yet the federal government has still not done what's necessary
to keep America safe.
This year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decided to follow
the advice of the 9/11 Commission and distribute counter-terrorism
funding to cities based on risk. It's a good plan in theory - it
only makes sense that the cities most at risk for a terrorist attack
should be given the most DHS.
However, when Secretary Chertoff released the Fiscal Year 2006 homeland
security grant allocations, the cities most at risk of a major terrorist
attack received the biggest cuts. New York saw a 40% cut in funding,
which amounts to $80 million in lost funding to keep the target of
the 9/11 attacks safe from terrorism. Washington DC suffered a 40%
cut as well. And here in Boston, which has a strategically important
seaport and is one of the country's largest metropolitan areas, funding
decreased by 28%. Meanwhile, cities with little risk of a terrorist
attack such as Omaha and Louisville were given significant increases
in anti-terror funding.
Boston's status as a metropolitan port city in a populous region
of the country unfortunately increases its risk of being targeted
by terrorists. Due to the homeland security budget cuts, several
safety initiatives will be eliminated or drastically curtailed, which
will affect the entire region's security. These cuts undermine
the work of Boston's first responders - the policemen, firemen, and
paramedics whose job puts them on the front lines of a potential
terrorist attack. They are heroes who put their lives on the line
for our safety and they deserve better.
That's why I co-sponsored New York Senator Chuck Schumer's amendment
that attempts to undue the recent cuts and make funding truly risk-based
in the future.
It's time for the Department of Homeland Security to stop wasting
valuable resources and get serious about protecting the cities which
face a substantial risk of a terrorist attack. We can no longer
afford a "business as usual" approach in Washington D.C. That's why
I supported Senator Schumer's amendment to the DHS appropriations
bill which clarifies what constitutes "risk" and restores funding
to cities like Boston, New York, and Washington.
None of us will ever forget that awful day in September five years
ago, and it's up to us to ensure that we do everything in our power
to make sure that it never happens again. As your Senator, I will
fight to ensure that our first responders and security experts receive
the funding they need to keep Massachusetts safe.
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