New York, Washington say anti-terrorism funding is insufficient

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- New York, Washington and a handful of other urban areas are getting more than half of the Homeland Security Department's anti-terrorism grant money, but leaders say that's not enough.

Under the formula used to distribute the grants, the six urban areas considered most at risk for attacks compete for 55 percent of the $747 million in grant money.

About 39 "second-tier" cities get the rest of it.

New York's $134 million allocation is "wholly inconsistent with the threats," Sen. Hillary Clinton wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. And Rep. Peter King, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, called the amount "indefensible."

Of Washington's allotment, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Virginia, said, "It's better, but it's not enough."

"This is the capital of the free world. We have to assume it at or near the top of most terrorists' target lists," he said.

Chertoff on Wednesday defended the formula for distributing the grants.

"If those who criticize have a better way, they should come forward and propose that better way and see if they carry the day in the debate," he said.

Chertoff said the formula -- which has been revised and tweaked over the years -- recognizes New York, Washington and other urban areas face the greatest risk, but also acknowledges that terrorists have targeted smaller cities.

But New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters, "The fact remains that when you catch somebody who is a potential terrorist, they've got a map or a picture of New York or one of the two or three other cities, and that's where the preponderance of where the money should go."

The other top-tier urban areas are Los Angeles/Long Beach, Chicago, Jersey City/Newark, Houston, the San Francisco Bay area and Houston.

The announcement Wednesday covers five grant programs, totaling $1.7 billion. The biggest one -- and the one that sparked the most controversy -- is the Urban Areas Security Initiative program. It directs grants to urban areas to use on security measures such as fences, surveillance systems and intelligence centers.

Among the high-risk cities, UASI grants increased this year for the regions around New York, Washington, San Francisco and Houston. Grants declined for Los Angeles/Long Beach and Chicago.

In past years, Chertoff has faced a barrage of criticism as grants to cities have fluctuated.

The terror threat "is not restricted to a couple of cities," Chertoff said. "If Congress wants to decide to put it (grant money) all in six cities, Congress can do that."

"My job is about hard choices," he said, adding, "You can't satisfy everybody."

Chertoff stood by New York's allocation. Noting that transit and port grants will be announced next week, he said, "I'm comfortable predicting that's going to take the number substantially higher so that this will be New York's biggest year ever in terms of getting grants."

In one significant change this year, Chertoff said Tier 1 cities can propose to spend part of their grant money on personnel costs. Up to 25 percent of their award can be spend on overtime and other personnel costs if the people are performing counterterrorism jobs, he said. The money can't be spent on routine police work.

Cities like New York, which have special police units devoted to disrupting terrorists, have long argued they should be allowed to spend homeland security grant money on personnel. E-mail to a friend

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