On the likelihood of a domestic bombing, Bawden said, "It’s been a fatalistic view by state and local law enforcement agencies. We just don’t have a good way to increase the level of awareness or ability to detect and mitigate bomb threats and they (law enforcement officers) are all saying, 'it's just a matter of time before someone explodes a bus, a car or a trash can.' "
At the federal level, the Homeland Security grants have been a frequent subject of critics decrying spending waste and abuse. The arguments against the grants are staggering. According to a report assessing the usage of federal grants on homeland security spending in cities, officials in Michigan used DHS grants to purchase 13 sno-cone machines and officials in Cook County, Ill., spent $45 million on a failed video surveillance network. And in the landlocked city of Columbus, Ohio, officials used a $98,000 grant to purchase an "underwater robot" which local officials explained would be used to assist in underwater rescues.
Top 10 States, Homeland Security Grants |
Grant funding per capita
|
Source: FSIS, fy2011. |
In per capita spending, the grants were disproportionately awarded to smaller states with fewer homeland security risks. Of the top five states in per capita funding, only Washington, D.C. is a likely terrorism target. New York, which took the brunt of the 9/11 casualties, is ranked 10th.
Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn has led the charge against waste in the DHS grant programs, which he says lack clear intent. “We cannot secure liberty and guarantee security simply by spending more and more money in the name of security,” Coburn wrote in a Senate oversight committee report in December. “Every dollar misspent in the name of security weakens our already precarious economic condition, indebts us to foreign nations, and shackles the future of our children and grandchildren.”
Despite the momentum of cuts at the federal level, Bawden said he expected that in the coming days the success — or not — of interagency collaboration could inform DHS grant allocations and guidance.
"We are going to see state and local law enforcement, lawmakers and governors saying that they want to take steps to minimize this; that need the resources to train people to respond, and minimize this from happening again," he said.
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