Security At Any Price?
Homeland protection isn't just Job 1 in Washington; it's more like a big old government ATM
The department appears to be closing ranks behind him. On April 1, DHS released a document that promised to clarify once and for all priorities in its funding of first responders. Among them: improving information sharing among different branches of government and expanding regional collaboration among first responders. "I think this will transform things tremendously," says Matt Mayer, the director of the office making the grants. Others say the new list of priorities lacks specifics. "I told my students," says Clarke, the former antiterrorism czar, who now teaches at Harvard University, "that if any of them had turned in such an anemic little list of goals for our first responders, I would have flunked them."
Despite Chertoff's insistence on change, the Department of Homeland Security clearly has a ways to go before Clarke, or a lot of other folks, will be ready to offer the department a passing grade.
In fiscal year 2004, the Department of Homeland Security approved $9 billion worth of contracts. In the current fiscal year, the total awarded will reach $11 billion.
DHS funds have been pushed and pulled by a host of constituencies.
Between homeland security and a bloated budget, deficits stretch to the horizon.
Spreading the Loot Around
President Bush has asked for $3.36 billion for state and local homeland security grants in fiscal year 2006. One of these formulas will determine how most of that money is divvied up.
New proposals ...
90 PERCENT PLAN
The House plan begins by carving up the money based on risk. States receiving less than 0.25 percent of the funds are topped off to that level; certain border states are raised to 0.45 percent. Still, 90 percent of funds are allocated according to risk.
60 PERCENT PLAN
In the Senate proposal, states are guaranteed a minimum percentage of the money, ranging from 0.55 percent to 3 percent, depending on population density. The remaining 60 percent of funds are rationed according to risk.
CURRENT FORMULA
First, each state and territory is handed 0.75 percent of the pot of money, a process that swallows up 40 percent of the funds. Remainder is split up based on population.
Grant dollars per capita--2004 (latest available)
$104.35 VIRGIN ISLANDS
$90.36 GUAM
$54.00 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
$37.74 WYOMING
$37.54 AMERICAN SAMOA
$34.16 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
$31.43 VERMONT
$30.82 NORTH DAKOTA
$30.18 ALASKA
$26.32 SOUTH DAKOTA
$24.86 DELAWARE
$22.66 MONTANA
$20.00 RHODE ISLAND
$17.75 HAWAII
$17.44 NEW HAMPSHIRE
$17.26 MAINE
$16.65 IDAHO
$14.10 NEBRASKA
$13.73 WEST VIRGINIA
$13.39 NEW MEXICO
$11.84 NEVADA
$11.56 UTAH
$10.65 KANSAS
$10.63 ARKANSAS
$10.32 MISSISSIPPI
$10.20 IOWA
$9.30 CONNECTICUT
$9.27 OKLAHOMA
$9.18 OREGON
$8.82 PUERTO RICO
$8.57 KENTUCKY
$8.52 SOUTH CAROLINA
$8.24 ALABAMA
$8.24 LOUISIANA
$8.17 COLORADO
$7.81 MINNESOTA
$7.57 WISCONSIN
$7.53 MARYLAND
$7.45 MISSOURI
$7.43 ARIZONA
$7.37 TENNESSEE
$7.22 WASHINGTON
$7.21 INDIANA
$7.14 MASSACHUSETTS
$6.75 VIRGINIA
$6.49 NORTH CAROLINA
$6.45 NEW JERSEY
$6.40 GEORGIA
$6.19 MICHIGAN
$6.00 OHIO
$4.97 CALIFORNIA
$5.24 TEXAS
$5.41 NEW YORK
$5.45 FLORIDA
$5.85 ILLINOIS
$5.89 PENNSYLVANIA
Source: "What Does Homeland Security Spending Buy?" a report by Veronique de Rugy
USN&WR
With Danielle Knight and Samantha Levine
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