Cutting funds for first responders. The Bush budget would reduce funding for grants to local police, fire, and emergency medical agencies from $4.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2004 to $3.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2005 - more than a 15 percent decrease. This significant cut comes despite a June 2003 report, entitled Emergency Responders: Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared, that found a five-year budget shortfall of $98 billion for first responders. The President's proposal would also cut first responder training by 43 percent, from $202 million to only $87 million. As Kevin O'Connor of the International Association of Firefighters stated, "this budget is profoundly disappointing to first responders...It's a continuation of the president's lack of commitment to first responders in general and firefighters in particular." (UPI, 2/2/04)

Neglecting personnel on the front lines of our homeland defense. President Bush's Fiscal Year 2005 budget proposal provides no new funding for the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) program, which provides state, local, and regional agencies with funds to hire firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, rescue workers, ambulance personnel and hazardous materials workers for local fire departments. The proposal also cuts FIRE Act programs from $750 million to $500 million - a 33 percent reduction. The FIRE program sends money directly to local fire departments to enhance their ability to protect the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel. The Bush budget would eliminate altogether the $60 million grant program for Urban Search and Rescue, as well as $60 million for competitive training grant programs.

Slashing local law enforcement capabilities. The Bush budget would slash or eliminate many programs aimed at bolstering local

law enforcement, including the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which helps local police departments put more officers out on our nation's streets. Under the President's proposal, the COPS program would see a reduction from $756-million to $44 million - a staggering 94 percent cut. Moreover, funding for three essential law enforcement programs - the Basic Formula Grant Program, the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grant Program, and the Citizen Corps Program - would be reduced from $2.2 billion to $1.2 billion (45 percent) under the President's plan.

Failing to protect our nation's ports. Recently, an FBI official testified that intelligence the agency has gathered suggests that ports are a key vulnerability in our homeland defense, and have attracted interest from terrorists. With over 20 million containers entering our nation's ports each year, experts worry that terrorists could smuggle nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons into the country in these containers. Yet, Robert Jacksta, executive director of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, testified before Congress last month that "in fiscal year `03 we inspected approximately 5.4 percent of the containers that arrived at our ports of entry."

Despite Mr. Jacksta's testimony, the Bush budget proposes no federal funds to meet port facility security requirements. And, despite the fact that the Coast Guard has said it will cost $1.2 billion in the first year - and $4 billion over 10 years - just to make basic necessary physical security improvements at the ports, the President has proposed only $46 million in funding for this task in Fiscal Year 2005. As American Association of Port Authorities President Kurt Nagle noted, "it's disheartening that port facilities have been neglected as a key player...Port authorities and facility operators are expected to comply with the new security regulations, at a cost of billions of dollars. Federal help is simply imperative in order to make that expectation reality."

Stalling progress on biosecurity. The Bush budget would increase funding for certain biosecurity programs, particularly those related to surveillance and to Project Bioshield (the Bush Administration plan to stockpile vaccines to counter biological or chemical attacks). However, while providing some gains, the President's proposal also weakens other areas critical to biosecurity. The Bush budget includes a $144 million, or 10 percent, cut in grants to help state, local, and hospital bioterrorism efforts. The Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness program is slated to receive $476 million in Fiscal Year 2005, a $39 million (7.5 percent) cut. Finally, the President's proposal would also eliminate an $8.2 million research program on how to decontaminate buildings attacked by toxins - a decision announced the same day that Ricin, a lethal biological toxin, was discovered in the office of Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist.

Refusing to commit funds to improve nuclear security. Despite the fact that there have been a number of public reports that terrorists have considered attacking U.S. commercial nuclear facilities, the Bush budget fails to include any funds to make these facilities more secure. In addition, President Bush's budget would cut funding by $20 million for domestic programs designed to dispose of fissile material.

Opposing chemical security measures. Thousands of chemical facilities in the United States produce or store highly toxic chemicals that pose a tempting target to terrorists. Many of these facilities have little or no security and a large number are located near heavily populated areas. A recent study found that there are 123 facilities in 24 states where a chemical release could expose more than 1 million people to highly toxic chemicals; 750 facilities in 39 states where a chemical release could expose more than 100,000 people; and nearly 3,000 facilities in 49 states where a release could expose more than 10,000 people. (General Accounting Office, "Voluntary Initiatives Are Under Way at Chemical Facilities, but the Extent of Security Preparedness Is Unknown," March 14, 2003)

In spite of the clear and evident danger posed by having such highly lethal chemicals located in such highly vulnerable sites, President Bush has again failed to include a single dollar in his budget proposal for the protection of U.S. commercial chemical facilities. The Administration also opposed to legislative efforts that would require chemical facilities to perform vulnerability assessments and to prepare prevention and response plans in the event of a terrorist attack.