There ought to be a law!

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently announced that under a new funding system the majority of the country will now be receiving security grants. Guess who will suffer under this plan? Did you guess New Yorkers? You are right on target, and you are the target!
This change according to a report released by Congressman Anthony Weiner, a member of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security and City Councilman David Weprin, Chairman of the City Council Finance Committee could cause funding to be diverted away from New York’s 8 million residents, including Queens’ subway and bus riders, only to be spent in other states for items like bulletproof vests for dogs.
The city spent over $405 million in police overtime last year, but can use only a tiny portion of their allotted Homeland grant to pay for that cost. But Columbus, OH spent $7,348 on 11 bulletproof vests for dogs in 2005.
The city is prohibited by federal law from using any Homeland funds to pay the salaries of the 1,000 “terrorism cops” currently protecting the city. Meanwhile, Madisonville, TX (population 4,200) used $30,000 of their funds to buy a custom trailer that will be used during the annual October Mushroom Festival for people who are overheated or injured and will double as a command center should terrorists manage to find the town.
Not one red cent of the Homeland funds can be spent by the city on projects like building bio-terror response centers (remember last week’s anthrax scare in Brooklyn), but Washington, DC spent $100,000 for Dale Carnegie public speaking training for sanitation workers.
Congressman Weiner wants to introduce a Homeland Security Transparency Act, which would make any government entity that spends funds to report the use and its connection to Homeland Security. Weiner’s bill would also cap the number of high-threat, high-density areas at 15 and would direct the funds go directly to the cities and not to the states. Currently the states can retain up to 20% of the incoming grants.
There really ought to be a law . . . and this is a good one!