From Congressional Quarterly:

King Suggests Overhaul of Homeland Funding Formula

By Benton Ives-Halperin, CQ Staff

The formula for distributing homeland security funds to states needs to be overhauled, according to the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

New York Republican Peter T. King, who spoke Tuesday at a rail and maritime security conference in Washington, said, “One thing which has to be changed is the current formula, which basically spreads money around the country . . . without taking into account threat and risk.”

King said responsibility for the funding scheme rests on the Senate, where small-state senators guaranteed “minimum amounts to every state, whether or not they need it.” Homeland security experts complain that smaller states, such as Wyoming, have received more security funding per capita than larger states under the current formula.

The chairman said he was in negotiations with his counterpart in the Senate, Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, to come up with a bill more to his liking.

King said he is working toward legislation “that will deal with the real problems, not just spread money around.” Negotiations between King and Collins to revamp the funding formula — using a reauthorization (HR 3199) of the Patriot Act (PL 107-56) as a vehicle — fell through last fall.

More broadly, the federal government has an “aggressive” role to play in the homeland security arena, according to King. He singled out law enforcement and intelligence as arenas where government officials need to step in and help.

But King also said that the government can “overplay its hand” and cause unintended consequences for industry while pursuing otherwise worthy legislative and security goals. He offered no examples.

Targets

While King noted that he did not want to scare his audience, which included representatives from the rail and maritime industries, he told attendees that “your industries could very likely be the ones attacked.”

“[Terrorists are] probably not going to attack a hot dog stand . . . but they could well attack rail, they could well attack shipping, because that is the mainstay of our economy,” King said.

King also said his committee would be looking into the transportation of hazardous chemicals on rail lines. “But in doing that, I want to do it in collaboration with the industry,” King said during a question-and-answer session.

King said rail operations need improved technology as well as an increased law enforcement presence at stations, on platforms and in cars. While he said the effectiveness of boosting security personnel numbers is debatable, King noted that terrorists are often thrown off by changes in security patterns, including beefed-up guard presence.