Emerson counting costs of security

WASHINGTON -- First responders in Missouri and other states are watching closely as Congress prepares to assemble a budget for the newly created Department of Homeland Security, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson said.

Emerson, R-Mo., serves on the House Appropriations subcommittee that will make funding decisions for the agency, which Congress created in November.

"I asked our chairman if he thought we had enough, and he thought it would be adequate," Emerson said in a recent telephone interview. "I'm not sure we really understand how much is enough -- it's hard to judge."

How much money Congress will budget for homeland security is important to the first responders in her Southeast Missouri district, she said, but their top concern is how the government will actually dole out the funds.

Emerson said fire, police and other emergency agencies are pushing hard for money to come directly to them in the form of grants.

"What I'm hearing a lot from my local guys, the first responders in particular, is that they're afraid all the resources will go to big cities," she said.

"There's a little bit of an interesting dynamic working, because on the one hand, the state wants all the federal grant monies to go to the state, yet all my first responders are accustomed to working through COPS and fire grants, and they all want the money to come directly to them," she said. "It's a tricky situation, and I don't know how it's going to end up."

Emerson spent the final week in May -- a recess for Congress -- touring parts of Missouri's homeland security network, including Boeing Co., Callaway County's nuclear power plant and a Mississippi River lock and dam.

She said she is concerned the government has not concentrated adequately on the nation's waterways, although she said the Coast Guard has a sophisticated system of tracking every container shipped on the Mississippi and other rivers.

"With the millions of dollars of commodities we send down the Mississippi, and all the chemicals and fertilizer we send up the Mississippi, I am concerned we aren't focusing enough efforts there," she said.

Her tour came as Democratic Gov. Bob Holden, state lawmakers and GOP members of Congress clashed over Missouri's budget needs. Holden vetoed two-thirds of state spending in the legislature's budget for the next fiscal year, claiming the budget is out of balance by $367 million, and called lawmakers back for a special session beginning Monday.

Missouri's Republican U.S. senators, Kit Bond and Jim Talent, criticized Holden, arguing that state aid included in President Bush's tax cut plan should be enough to cover the shortfall. Holden disputes their analysis.

Regardless, already-approved state budget cuts mean Missouri will see reductions in homeland security measures. At the Statehouse, security will return to levels that existed before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; the state is doing away with its private security guards and metal detectors at the Capitol and two office buildings.

"There's just not enough money," said Mary Still, Holden's spokeswoman. She would not disclose details but said the state is taking other measures to curb homeland security costs.

"It's top on the list of unfunded mandates, and it's a big one," Still said.

The state may spend as much as $1.71 million on homeland security in the fiscal year that ends June 30, Missouri budget officials said. Federal funds should provide about $21 million more, mostly for public health needs. The federal amount does not take into account money announced in May for St. Louis and Kansas City.

Holden and Democratic lawmakers maintain that Missouri and other cash-strapped states cannot afford the tax cuts in the $350 billion economic package now signed into law by Bush.

Emerson defended the tax measure. She voted for earlier versions of it but missed the final vote to attend a stepson's graduation ceremony.

"Within the budget that was passed, there is money set aside for homeland security, and since the tax package is less than our budget called for, I think there is enough wiggle room," she said. "And I believe today that we won't be cutting into money that was otherwise designated for homeland security."