Maine’s homeland security funds slashed

AUGUSTA – After learning that Maine will be getting less than half the funds it expected for homeland security programs this year, state officials charged that the federal government was leaving Mainers “less safe.”

“It’s yet again another example of the federal government not meeting its responsibilities,” Gov. John Baldacci said Thursday. “Our citizens’ health and security is my number one job, and I am going to make sure we do it.”

Maine was expecting about $16 million under the previous homeland security distribution formula. Instead, it will get $7.7 million, according to state officials, and that is not enough, Baldacci said.

The governor said a lot of equipment still is needed by first responders across the state, as well as additional training for responding to all types of disasters, natural or man-made. He said that while the state has made a lot of progress since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a lot remains to be done.

“We have to make further improvements in our homeland security protection,” he said, adding that funds needed to ensure Mainers are safe now will have to come from the state budget.

Baldacci said he is still hopeful members of the state’s congressional delegation can get increased funding, but that will be difficult. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, twice has managed to push through legislation in the Senate to increase funding and provide for a minimum allocation for every state. But the House has rejected her proposals during conference committees.

“The days following Hurricane Katrina demonstrated how unprepared we are as a nation to respond to a natural disaster that was predictable and predicted,” Collins said. “A terrorist strike for which we have no advance warning could prove even more devastating.”

She said the cut in funding is “shortsighted and dangerous” and ignores the likelihood terrorists will strike where an attack is unexpected, not where government agencies have clearly prepared for an attack.

“I am concerned that the decline in homeland security grant funding combined with a continued focus on large urban areas ignores the reality of where terrorists train and travel, and where natural disasters are likely to strike,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud of Maine’s 2nd District said he and many other Democrats supported Collins’ proposal to boost funding for homeland security grants but had been defeated by House Republicans. He said while there will be another fight to change the funding formula and increase the amount of funding for homeland security, he is not optimistic of passage in the House.

“It’s my hope that during the midterm elections we will see a change in the House and will see leadership in the House that is concerned about security back here, at home,” he said. “I don’t feel any more secure than I did after the September 11th attacks; in fact, I feel less secure here, back at home.”

Michaud said he opposed the GOP budget in part because it did not provide adequate funding for homeland security programs. He said rural states need protection as well as urban areas, and he will continue to seek additional funding.

State Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, said the state Homeland Security Task Force he co-chairs has had its work made more difficult by the federal cuts. He said the panel, which is charged with reviewing and recommending improvements to the state’s disaster plan, has acknowledged there are various shortcomings that need to be addressed.

“When you get cut by 50 percent, there is no way that you are going to be able to survive without some very serious cuts,” Strimling said. “The federal government is abdicating its responsibility.”

He said the task force was expecting there would be federal dollars to pay for making sure shelters are properly stocked and equipped, that first responders are properly equipped and trained, and that the Maine Emergency Management Agency is able to coordinate state and local responses to any type of disaster.

Charles Jacobs, the acting director of MEMA, said it would take awhile to assess the impact of the reduction in federal funds. He said some training and equipment priorities will have to change because of the deep cuts, but MEMA staff is still assessing where best to make reductions.

“Clearly, we are going to have to be more focused than we have been in past years,” he said. “We have to review existing commitments and how they fit in with our overall goals.”

Jacobs said the state has not completed all the goals it set previously for training and equipping first responders, and the decrease in federal funds will cause timetables to slip further.