Washington,
D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced today that an
additional $4 million dollars in federal anti-terror funding to help
safeguard civil, religious and community institutions from terrorist
attack will be included in the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill,
for a total of $19 million in federal resources. Gillibrand requested
the additional funds for The Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI)
non-profit program immediately after a bomb plot targeting two
synagogues in the Bronx was thwarted. Funding last year for the
non-profit program was an insufficient $15 million. In New York State
alone, only 55 of 137 applications were able to receive any funding at
all.
“New York’s religious institutions and non-profit
organizations are the backbone of our communities,” Senator Gillibrand
said. “No New Yorker, or American, should ever have to live or worship
in fear of being targeted because of who they are or what they believe.
As we have seen, New York City’s places of faith, worship and community
gatherings continue to be targeted by hatred. These homeland security
dollars will help arm our non-profits with the resources they need to
guard us from attacks and keep us safe.”
In response
to the arrest of four attempted terrorists targeting two Jewish
synagogues in New York City, Senator Gillibrand wrote to the Senate
Subcommittee on Homeland Security calling for greater federal
investments for the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) non-profit
program to guard New York City’s civil, religious and community
institutions against threats of terrorist attacks.
The UASI
budget experienced devastating cuts during the Bush administration –
providing insufficient funding to give non-profit organization the
funding they need to protect community centers and places of worship.
In her letter to Chairman Robert Byrd and Ranking Member George
Voinovich, Senator Gillibrand wrote, “Our community leaders and
citizens need to know that they are safe in their community centers and
places of worship, and we need to help provide them the resources to
ensure their safety.”
The House-Senate Conference Committee
voted on the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill earlier today. The
legislation will soon be voted on in both chambers, and sent to the
President to be signed into law.