Steve Quayle News Alerts

January 23, 2004
By Amy Goldstein and Dan Eggen, Washington Post Staff Writers

ROSWELL, N.M., Jan. 22 -- President Bush announced Thursday that he will seek a nearly 10 percent increase in spending on efforts to prevent terrorism in the United States, an expansion that is more than twice as large as the overall rise in discretionary spending in the budget the president is preparing to send Congress in two weeks.

White House officials said that the biggest chunk of the extra funds for homeland security would include a 19 percent increase for Justice Department counterterrorism programs, to $2.6 billion, which would allow the FBI to devote more agents to investigating suspected terrorism and heighten the agency's ability to gather intelligence. Most of rest of the money would go to the Department of Homeland Security, according to the officials, who would not disclose how it would be spent.

At an appearance here, the final stop of a two-day swing across the country to promote the main themes from his State of the Union address, Bush also called on Congress to renew several provisions of the USA Patriot Act that are scheduled to expire soon. The law, which has enraged civil libertarians on the right and the left, was passed less than two months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to increase the government's surveillance powers and ability to share information among law enforcement agencies.

"The greatest responsibility of the federal government, and my first responsibility as your president, is to defend and protect America," Bush said at the civic center here, which was filled with cadets from a local military institute, law enforcement officers and emergency workers. "My job as your president is to be realistic, to be open-eyed, to understand the lessons of September 11, 2001; to understand there are still terrorists who are plotting against us."

By focusing on the war on terrorism, Bush emphasized the area that draws his strongest approval ratings. And the budget decisions the White House announced illustrate the priority the administration continues to place on that issue at a time of record federal deficits.

The announcement comes amid sharp criticism from congressional Democrats and some Democratic presidential candidates that the administration has spent too little on homeland security and local emergency responders. A survey released Thursday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that three-quarters of the 215 cities responding had not received their share of federal money set aside in fiscal 2003 to boost security and improve the readiness of police, firefighters and other emergency personnel.

Bush's proposal, which contained few details as to how the money would be spent, was greeted cautiously by leading Democrats.

"I'm glad he agrees that increased investments need to be made to close the security gap our country faces," said Rep. Jim Turner (Tex.), ranking Democrat on the Select Committee on Homeland Security. "I look forward to seeing the specific numbers contained in the budget to determine the priorities the president recommends."

The infusion of money Bush is seeking to combat terrorism inside the United States would bring total federal expenditures on homeland security to about $30 billion, according to the White House. That amount would come on top of more dramatic increases each year since the 9/11 attacks: a jump of 85 percent for fiscal 2003 and 24 percent last year.

Bush's visit to this small, heavily Republican city in southeastern New Mexico known primarily as a site of purported UFO landings follows similar campaign-style stops Wednesday in Ohio and Arizona. All three states are vital to Bush's hopes of winning reelection in November. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore defeated Bush in this state by about 350 votes out of nearly 600,000 cast.

About $500 million of Bush's proposed $2 billion increase would go to the FBI, whose annual budget has jumped 44 percent since the 9/11 attacks to $4.6 billion. Bush's proposal would push the total to $5.1 billion, or 60 percent more than the 2001 figure.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39096-2004Jan22.html?nav=hptoc_p