| EFL. |
The announcement created potential winners and losers among dozens of metropolitan areas competing for funds from the urban area security initiative, which is being cut from the $855 million Congress provided last year. "I think that's exactly what we have been screaming for all along," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. New York received $207 million from the program last year, by far the most any community received.
Homeland Security officials said they will not announce how much each qualifying metropolitan area will receive until June, after a competition that will include agency scrutiny of their plans for using the money. That means there could be months of lobbying by city officials and their representatives in Congress before any final decisions are made.
The funds can also be used to prepare communities to respond to a natural disaster or a health crisis, such as a flu pandemic.
The agency said 35 metropolitan areas will have to apply for funding and show that they have a good use for the money. Those cities include Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans, Denver and Miami. The decision to restructure payments was bad news for 11 cities that had previously been awarded such money. They will be given "sustainment" funding to finish work already started, but they are in danger of being dropped from the program entirely in years to come.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the changes show the agency is responding to past complaints about possible waste and misallocation of funds. "We are taking a giant step forward in implementing this risk-based strategy," Chertoff told reporters. He added later that the grants were "not party favors to be distributed as widely as possible."
| No, politics would never have anything to do with it ... |
In a similar move, Homeland Security officials said the agency will distribute the majority of a separate, $550 million grant program for state and local authorities based on risk.