Scrutinizing security spending 

By Petra Bartosiewicz
Petra Bartosiewicz is a freelance writer.

July 31, 2005

Scarce homeland security dollars that could help New York City are being wasted on pork-barrel projects nationwide, Rep. Anthony Weiner charged yesterday.

While the city is denied precious terror-fighting resources such as specially trained terrorism cops, some states are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for unrelated items like plasma televisions and a paging system for a state agricultural fair, said Weiner (D-Queens/Brooklyn), a candidate for mayor.

Standing on a podium near the U.S. Army recruiting station in Times Square, Weiner described the system as unfair and inefficient.

"We give lump sums to states and basically say, 'Spend it however you like,'" said Weiner, a member of the House subcommittee on crime, terrorism and homeland security. The result, he said, is "the most wasteful pork-barrel projects you can imagine."

Tens of thousands of dollars and in some cases tens of millions of dollars are being wasted, Weiner said.

Among the examples he cited were $100,000 for a rap song "to teach children emergency preparedness," $300,000 for air-conditioned garbage trucks in Newark and $500,000 for "decorative artwork, plants, kitchen appliances and fitness equipment" for the Transportation Security Administration.

The system, he said, fails to account for the size and security needs of individual states. Spending guidelines, which are regulated by Congress, dictate homeland security funds be used largely for capital expenditures and training.

But New York City, which has already invested heavily in terrorism-prevention infrastructure, is in more dire need of funds for additional personnel, an expense that is not covered.

The result, he said, is the city has been denied funding for specially trained terrorism cops and is grossly underfunded when it comes to police overtime.

Weiner said he did not find misallocations of homeland security funding in New York State. "In general, the decisions that we made in New York City are the right ones."

However, he added that some states have more money than they need. In Madisonville, Texas, for example, he said $30,000 was allocated for a custom trailer for the annual October Mushroom Festival to be used to treat individuals who become overheated or injured during the festivities.

The expense was justified because the trailer will double as a command center if terrorists should attack Madisonville, which has a population of 4,200.

A bill that would have moved to eliminate the current system of blank checks was passed in the House in May.

Under the proposed legislation, states would submit funding proposals that the Department of Homeland Security would rank by importance, creating a national priority list. Funds would then be disbursed starting with the most important security needs.

The measure failed to receive Senate consideration before the summer recess, which began last week.

For now, Weiner said, Congress is sending a message that "if you're going to go for pork barrel, we're going to pay for it."

Petra Bartosiewicz is a freelance writer.

How some states spend funds

Funding for homeland security is going to these projects.

• Washington, D.C.: Dale Carnegie public speaking training for sanitation workers: $100,000 and computerized car towing service: $300,000
• Converse, Texas: A trailer to transport lawnmowers to lawnmower drag races: $3,000
• South Dakota: Paging system for the state agricultural fair: $29,995
• Montgomery County, Md.: Eight large-screen plasma televisions: $160,000
• Tiptonville, Tenn.: Purchases including a Gator all-terrain vehicle and two defibrillators, one for use at high school basketball games: $183,000
• Santa Clara County, Calif.: Four Segway scooters to transport bomb squad personnel: $18,000
• Mason County, Wash.: Biochemical decontamination units that have been sitting in a warehouse for more than a year with no one trained to use them: $63,000
• Prince Georges County, Md.: Digital camera system used for mug shots: $500,000

SOURCE: Office of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens/ Brooklyn)