Guest Op-Ed Editorial/ Letter to the Editor

Hometown Security Is a Priority that Congress and the President Cannot Postpone

By J. Christian Bollwage, Mayor, Elizabeth and President, New Jersey State League of Municipalities

Now that the dust has settled from the elections, there is no time to waste in completing the business of America's hometown security.

Across the nation and here in New Jersey, our sense of security suffers with every day that the Congress and Administration delay funding for promised and desperately needed initiatives. The Congress and President Bush must speed the promised $3.5 billion first-responder and other funding to local governments, which are on the frontlines in the war against domestic terrorism.

In the days and weeks after the September 11 attacks, our law enforcement provided protection for vital systems and infrastructure. Local leaders here and in other states assessed vulnerabilities. To the extent we were able, with limited resources, we made sure we are as ready as we can be for the type of attacks that the federal government has warned us about. Here in the Garden State, from the very beginning, we have dealt not only in planning for possibilities, but in reacting to actual events. From the assistance that we provided to the City of New York, through the anthrax attacks, New Jersey local government has been willing to shoulder more than its fair share in our war on terrorism.

These steps, which we took in the name of national homeland security, have not been cheap. They have eaten into local resources - local tax dollars earmarked for other needed public services and programs. It has been a challenge in terms of marshalling the staff, equipment, and other resources that we need. In the year ahead, as the nation's economic downturn continues to drive down local revenues, the challenge will grow if municipalities don't get the resources they need.

America's hometowns are the targets of terrorism, the frontlines. And local leaders have risen to the occasion. But we have not been treated as full partners by the federal government.

A few weeks ago, a bipartisan, blue ribbon task force reported that, one-year after the strikes, the United States is still "dangerously unprepared to prevent and respond to another catastrophic terrorist attack." This task force of the Council on Foreign Relations, co-chaired by former U.S. Senators Warren Rudman and Gary Hart, found that local police continue to do without the intelligence they need; that communities across the U.S. are not prepared for biological or chemical attack; and that key infrastructure is often unprotected against attack.

We should be alarmed at what this group of Nobel laureates, former secretaries of state, and other top-level authorities has reported. But even more alarming is the failure of both the President and Congress to agree on basic measures that we need to protect our homeland, our hometowns, and our families.

So, as Congress returns for a lame-duck session, we add our voice to the hundreds of other cities, towns, townships, boroughs and villages represented by the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, and to the thousands represented by National League of Cities, and urge Congress and the Administration to overcome their differences and:

1) Restore the $2.5 billion in homeland security funding contained in the 2002 supplemental appropriation that was approved by the Congress in July, then withheld by the Administration;

2) Ensure that the Transportation Security Administration's 2003 appropriation enables the agency to reimburse municipalities approximately $22 million per month for the local law enforcement personnel assigned to the nation's 429 commercial airports; and

3) Authorize the $3.5 billion first-responder block grant originally proposed by the Administration for 2003 nine months ago.

This past year has been marked by security alerts and warnings of potential attacks. But the year must not end with inaction on hometown security. The Hart-Rudman task force recognizes that the federal government can provide the resources that our police, firefighters, and other first responders must have.

With the elections behind us, we hope the Congress and the President can put their differences behind them and finalize action on hometown security. There is no excuse for delaying investments and reimbursements for the planning, training, staffing, and equipment that will help us keep our communities safe.