Norton Wants Face-to-Face Meeting with DHS and Regional Officials - June 1, 2006

Norton Wants Face-to-Face Meeting with DHS and
Regional Officials on Federal Risk from Cuts
June 1, 2006

Washington, DC—Following a $30 million cut in homeland security funds for the National Capital Region, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said that she is asking for a face-to-face meeting next week with officials from the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and elected and other regional officials for a review of the reasons for the cuts, and for the opportunity for regional representatives, including members of Congress, to detail how these cuts will affect the security of the federal presence and the residents of this region. Norton joined city officials in expressing dismay about the size of the drop in this year’s funding to $46 million, well below the $77 million provided last year. Norton said that her chief concern is that vital projects necessary for protecting not only residents, but also the federal presence, cannot be supported with the funds as allocated. She cited interoperability communications, medical response and support planning, and weapons of mass destruction collaboration as particularly urgent in the wake of continuing concerns about terrorism and the special targeting of this region well-understood since 9/11.

Norton said that while officials in other cities, like New York, also have balked at the cuts, the District has a unique place because it is the seat of the federal government—Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, and more than 280,000 federal employees. She got DHS to set up the Office of the National Capital Region Coordination following September 11th.