Collins, Snowe eye security measures

WASHINGTON – Republican Sen. Susan Collins has presented U.S. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge an ambitious plan to fix nagging problems in the grant-making system he manages.

And while Collins was telling Ridge on Thursday how to better channel money to first responders, Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe was challenging the fledgling agency’s plans to downsize Maine’s airport screening work force.

Collins’ proposal calls for refining the grant allocation process, increasing the flexibility of how funds can be used, and improving coordination among federal agencies.

“My legislation will topple the mountain of paperwork by eliminating duplicative homeland security planning requirements,” Collins said during a hearing by the Governmental Affairs Committee, which she chairs and which oversees the new Department of Homeland Security. The bill will promote “one-stop shopping” for federal grants and “allow state and local officials to decide how to spend federal dollars to meet their particular needs” in lieu of a “one-size-fits-all formula,” she said.

The senator said her plan would “ensure that local government officials and first responders have a seat at the table in the homeland security planning process and that they can access resources in an efficient manner.”

The head of the new department voiced his support for Collins’ efforts, even as his subordinates took measures that disappointed Snowe and other legislators hoping for something stronger.

Ridge called the oversight and involvement of Collins and her colleagues “critical,” saying he looks forward to working with Congress as the homeland security grant-making process is streamlined and improved.

In particular, Ridge endorsed Collins’ proposal to ease the grant-making process by streamlining the department.

As the plan was being outlined during the hearing, Snowe and many other legislators elsewhere on Capitol Hill began criticizing federal authorities over the cuts in airport screening personnel.

The cuts reduce Maine’s federal airport screening work force by 10 percent, according to the Transportation Security Administration, the agency responsible for the cuts. A Snowe statement indicated she had “serious concerns” about the plan, and ordered the TSA to explain its actions.

“We cannot afford, as a nation, to send an inconsistent, constantly vacillating message about aviation security,” Snowe said.

Adm. James M. Loy, director of the TSA and a Ridge subordinate, announced on Wednesday that 6,000 jobs would be shed over the next year. The first 3,000 layoffs occur this month, and the remaining jobs are expected to be cut by the end of September.

The Maine personnel cuts affect the Portland International Jetport, which is expected to lose 30 of its 101 screeners, according to the TSA. Bangor International Airport, by contrast, is slated to increase from 65 to 71 screeners, bucking national trends. Four other airports in Maine also are expected to see slight increases.

Augusta State Airport will hire two new screeners, raising its total to 11; Hancock County Bar Harbor Airport in Trenton and Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland will each hire a 10th screener; and the Northern Maine Regional Airport in Presque Isle will hire an 11th.

Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, also has concerns about the Portland reductions, but said he is pleased with the increases at the five other Maine airports.

Collins was unavailable Thursday afternoon for comment on the airport personnel downsizing.