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WASHINGTON, DC – With another terrorist plot revealed targeting New York only last week, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) today introduced an amendment during floor consideration of the 2007 Department of Homeland Security spending bill to restore cuts to homeland security funding for states and cities at highest risk of terrorist attack. The Department of Homeland Security announced these dangerous and short-sighted cuts on May 31, 2006. States and cities at highest risk of terrorist threats, including New York City, Buffalo, Baltimore and the National Capital Region, suffered drastic cuts to critical homeland security funding threatening their ability to ensure needed personnel, equipment and resources.

“New York remains a top target of terrorists. It is simply unexplainable that the Administration cut homeland security funding for New York and other areas at highest risk of terrorist attack. We are taking action today to right this outrageous wrong,” said Senator Clinton.

“The way that the Department of Homeland Security has given out high threat funding defies logic and it’s dangerous,” Senator Schumer said. “Our amendment will ensure that there is enough money for New York, New Jersey and the other states that face the greatest risk and threat. To continue to play games with our homeland security dollars could leave us wide open to another attack. New York City is under constant terrorist threat and we need to ensure that there is enough support coming in to protect our most vulnerable and important targets.”

“What will happen if we don’t restore these cuts? Local taxpayers will be forced to pay more in taxes or critical national assets will lose protection. Neither of these options is acceptable,” said Senator Mikulski.

The Clinton-Schumer-Mikulski amendment would add $790 million in homeland security funding, restoring the Homeland Security Grant Program, the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program and the Urban Areas Security Initiative to the FY2005 funding level. These programs provide high risk areas, which face unique security threats, with the resources needed to protect their citizens and to enhance security and overall preparedness to prevent and to respond to acts of terrorism.

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