First responders signal red alert for safety dollars; although the need for hometown security has reached an all-time high, cities have yet to receive sufficient funds for public-safety equipment. (Homeland Security)(Cover Story).

Publication: Government Procurement

Publication Date: 01-APR-03

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2003 Penton Media, Inc.

Following the terrorist attacks to our nation on September 11, 2001, many realizations came to light. Besides demonstrating U.S. vulnerability to terrorist attacks on American soil, the events showed the bravery of public-safety forces, as well as the lack of specialized equipment to detect and combat terrorist actions.

Since 9/11, government agencies at all levels have been scrambling to formulate and fine-tune disaster preparedness plans and equip government workers with the necessary supplies and training to counter terrorism. Now that U.S. military forces are engaged overseas in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the chance of terrorist attacks in our homeland is an even greater threat.

To bolster domestic security, Operation Liberty Shield was launched on March 17, 2003. The unified, national effort is a multi-department, multi-agency plan designed to increase protection for America's citizens and infrastructure. Strategies range from reinforcing security at U.S. borders to increasing public-health preparedness.

"The Iraq war will be fought on two fronts: one in the Middle East by our armed forces; and the other here at home by firefighters and other first responders," said Harold A. Schaitberger, General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), in a March 11, 2003 letter to President George W. Bush and senior-level officials.

Schaitberger continues: "The federal government has taken the necessary steps to properly train, equip, and staff our military forces for action in Iraq, but it has failed to provide the same level of support to our first responders across the nation." Based in Washington, DC, the IAFF represents 260,000 union firefighters and paramedics, who protect 80 percent of the U.S. population.

Money Matters

A main shortcoming in sufficiently equipping first responders is attributed to the lack of federal funding for local homeland-security programs. Since 9/11, only a handful of states have received federal funds, targeted at areas such as improving public-health programs, state and local firefighting, and law-enforcement readiness to combat weapons of mass destruction.

Other than various grants and relatively small distributions, the only significant amount of federal funding was awarded to states last September. As part of a supplemental appropriation, $100 million was distributed among states to develop a comprehensive plan for dealing with terrorism within their cities and regions.

"Ordinarily, we [the National League of Cities] would support money going directly to cities," says Cameron Whitman, Director of Policy and Federal Relations at the National League of Cities (NLC). "Because there's got to be somebody coordinating a comprehensive plan within each state, we have agreed to have the money go through the states, with 75 percent of the money, passed down to cities and regions within 45 days." Headquartered in Washington, DC, the NLC represents more than 18,000 municipal governments, which collectively serve 225 million people.

Whitman...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.