Legislation To Lessen Anti-Terror Costs
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Rep. Bob Turner recently met to discuss the Public Transit Security and Local Law Enforcement Support Act.
The bill, which was introduced by Turner last week, will eliminate what the congressman considers to be an unreasonable and burdensome process at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that requires transit systems to apply for a waiver in order to sustain funding for specialized patrol teams.
“I am pleased to have been able to meet with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to discuss this bill. Commissioner Kelly and I agree wholeheartedly that we must find ways to sustain specialized patrol teams through a streamlined process that will provide greater consistency to our local security funding,” Turner said .
The bill will allow Transit Security Grant Program funds to be used for the sustainment of specialized patrol teams in order to secure the nation’s mass transit systems. It will also allow transit systems and the police departments that secure them to have more certainty in their planning of future security initiatives.
“The measure will provide muchneeded continuity for the federal funding of crucial anti-terror measures, and, in the process, help keep New York City’s transit system secure in the face of terrorist plots, several of which have surfaced since 9/11,” Kelly said.
The congressman emphasized that the bill in no way increases costs to the government. He explained that funding for this program would not be altered as a result of this bill.
What this bill will do, he said, is codify an eligible use for these funds that taxpayer dollars are already being used to support.
“This bill will allow the NYPD to fund needed law enforcement programs such as the Transit Operational
Response Canine Heavy Weapons (TORCH) teams without the uncertainty or bureaucracy that accompanies having to request a waiver for an extension,” said Turner. “The Public Transit Security and Local Law Enforcement Support Act will keep the teams on the street that keep our transit systems safe with no additional cost the government. It makes sense to find ways to streamline processes in order to save money.”
