State and local legislators, who have complained for months that heightened security measures called for by the federal government are taking a huge bite out of their budgets, will share about $2.2 billion. About one-third of the money, $700 million, will go to urban areas such as New York, Washington and other cities considered prime terrorism targets.
The Transportation Security Administration, part of the department, will receive $665 million to fund security improvements at airports, while the Coast Guard will get $628 million, much of it to support war-related military activities. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security will give more than half the money, $2.4 billion, to the airlines, which face bankruptcy due to travel slowdowns related to terrorism fears and the war with Iraq.
The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection will use $90 million of its $333 million allocation to develop detection and monitoring equipment to uncover radioactive material that terrorists might try to smuggle into the country.