Feds Cut NYC Antiterror Funds

Janet Napolitano can expect a Bronx cheer the next time she makes a visit to New York City. The Department of Homeland Security is cutting antiterrorism funding directed toward the metropolitan area, only days after a bombing attempt in Times Square. Funding to secure transportation with be cut from $153 million to $111 million and port security is being slashed from $45 million to $39 million, according to Representative Peter King. Senator Chuck Schumer said he was outraged by the decision. "For the administration to announce these cuts two weeks after the attempted Times Square bombing shows they just don't get it and are not doing right by New York City on anti-terrorism funding," the senator said, "Instead of distributing funding all over the country, they should focus their attention where the greatest threat exists—right here in New York." But the White House cautioned that New York lawmakers weren’t getting their numbers straight. An Obama spokesman said Thursday, "When all federal funding is totaled, New York City has received a net increase of $47 million for port and transit security over the previous year's budget, the last signed into law by the Bush administration."