At
the urging of U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the Senate Homeland
Security Subcommittee has approved an increase of $5 million dollars in
federal anti-terror funding to help safeguard civil, religious and
community institutions from terrorist attack, for a total of $20
million in federal resources. Funding last year for The Urban Area
Security Initiative (UASI) 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.
“The
thwarted plot in the Bronx is a stark reminder that religious
institutions must remain vigilant and need sufficient resources to keep
them safe from the threat of a terrorist attack,” said Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand. “No New Yorker, or American, should ever have to live and
worship in fear of being targeted because of who they are or what they
believe. These vital federal dollars will be a much needed boost in the
arm to help keep our synagogues and other community and religious
institutions safe.”
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
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.
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 full text of Gillibrand’s letter to Senators Byrd and Voinovich is below.
May 21, 2009
The Honorable Robert C. Byrd, Chairman
The Honorable George Voinovich, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Financial Services General Government Committee
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Byrd and Ranking Member Voinovich
Late
last night, the FBI and New York Police Department announced the arrest
of 4 attempted terrorists who were seeking to attack two Jewish
synagogues in New York City. While the weapons they purchased were
fakes and they were taken into custody before the attacks, the attempt
underscores the real terrorist threat to our non-profit institutions
and highlights the need for sufficient funding for these facilities to
protect against terrorist attack. Because of this, I strongly urge you
to provide at least $25 million funding for the Urban Area Security
Initiative (UASI) non-profit program to ensure that our civil,
religious and community institutions have the resources to guard
against the threat of a terrorist attack.
Since
the UASI non-profit grants program was originally created with $25
million in resources, funding has decreased to an insufficient $15
million. This low level of funding is insufficient for the needs of
our numerous non-profits who face the threat of an attack – in New York
State alone last year, only 65 of 137 applicants were able to receive
any funding at all. While President Obama has requested a maintained
funding level of $15 million for this program – a laudable improvement
compared with the Bush administration’s efforts to reduce or eliminate
the program – this funding level is simply not enough to ensure that
our vulnerable churches, synagogues and community centers in high-risk
areas like New York can receive protection against these kind of
attacks.
The
effective work and cooperation of the men and women of the FBI, NYPD,
and New York State Police was able to foil this terrorist plot, but we
cannot be sure that this will always be the case. 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 to provide them the
resources to ensure their safety.