[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 71 (Wednesday, June 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H3433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING

  (Mrs. KELLY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express the shock, disgust 
and frustration that I have felt since the Department of Homeland 
Security slashed homeland security money for New York and increased 
funding for other smaller, rural cities across America.
  For many months since 9/11, Congress has been working to convince 
this administration that a risk-based distribution formula is the right 
way to protect Americans in cities like New York that are the most 
vulnerable to terrorist attacks. If the mission at Homeland Security is 
truly to protect America, then Department of Homeland Security funding 
should never be a pork-barrel matter. Yet the lack of common sense 
displayed by cutting New York's funding by 40 percent, while increasing 
the funding of nearly every other city, demonstrates that the threat is 
clearly not foremost in the minds of the DHS.
  This is a slap in the face to all of us who experienced 9/11 in New 
York. We need to look no further than the 9/11 Commission report to 
understand that we must dedicate our resources to areas like New York 
where the risks are the highest and where multiple terrorist attacks 
have already occurred.
  Our constituents ask us to spend taxpayer money wisely. By cutting 
first responder funding for New York and instead sending it to other 
areas of the country that are not at as much risk, the administration 
has failed terribly in its responsibility to spend taxpayer dollars 
wisely. If truly committed to securing our homeland, the administration 
must work with New York and immediately correct this horrendous 
blunder.

                          ____________________