Homeland Security Receives $4 Billion of War Bill

April 17, 2003
The Department of Homeland Security will receive $4 billion of the $79 billion bill Congress recently approved to pay for the war. President George W. Bush has already signed the bill into law.

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.

About the Author

Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith is the former content director of EHS Today, and is currently the EHSQ content & community lead at Intelex Technologies Inc. She has written about occupational safety and health and environmental issues since 1990.

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