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U.S. Response II: Bush Criticizes Congress for Domestic Security Funding Levels U.S. President George W. Bush criticized Congress yesterday for what he said were shortfalls in funding to protect against terrorist attacks on the United States (see GSN, Jan. 24). The comments were seen as unusual, considering Republicans control both houses of Congress, the New York Times reported. Charging that Congress had not provided the full $3.5 billion he had requested to fund state and local emergency responders, Bush said it was “a disappointment when the executive branch gets micromanaged by the legislative branch.” The White House at first supported the spending bill that Congress passed, but officials now say the bill does not sufficiently support counterterrorism programs. Bush signed the bill into law this month but yesterday he said that Congress “did not respond to the $3.5 billion we asked for — they not only reduced the budget that we asked for, they earmarked a lot of the money.” Bush administration officials said there is only $1.3 billion in counterterrorism funding in the $397.4 billion bill. Leading members of Congress said that they had provided the $3.5 billion the White House sought for first responders, but administration officials said most of that money is directed towards emergency programs that do not address terrorism. Budget specialists agreed with this assessment, the New York Times reported. “We wanted specific counterterrorism funding,” said a White House official. “We weren’t talking about community policing programs. We weren’t talking about grants to buy bulletproof vests for police officers,” the official said. A Republican congressional aide said that Republicans are not happy with the White House’s criticism of the spending bill. “The White House is realizing how vulnerable it is on this issue,” said Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). “This is the first time that their attitude about homeland security — their ‘don’t worry, be happy attitude’ — has been shed,” he added (Philip Shenon, New York Times, Feb. 27).
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