Congress Reaches Consensus on 9/11 Commission Recomendations
The Democratic-led Congress just reached consensus on legislation that would "require a greater share of Homeland Security grants to be based on risk, instead of a political formula, and seeks to tighten security of cargo carried on ships and passenger planes."
The bill, if signed into law, will implement many of the recommendations of bipartisan 9/11 Commission. Consider it a win for the "Jersey Girls" that extremist right-wingers like Ann Coulter love to hate. More importantly, of course, it's a win for those of us who are committed to a real plan for security that's smart, not just tough.
Some specifics of the legislation, thanks to the NY Times:
The so-called 9/11 commission bill would make a major change in the way grants from the Department of Homeland Security are distributed to states. It would cut in half the guaranteed minimum grant, which this year was $3.8 million, that each state would receive, allowing Homeland Security officials to distribute more money in discretionary grants to states where the threat and consequences of a terror strike are deemed greatest.The change in the grant formula moves in the direction advocated by the Sept. 11 commission, whose recommendations were the inspiration for this bill. Still, the minimum amount of grant money set aside for small population states like Wyoming, West Virginia and Montana is 50 percent higher than what the House first proposed when the bill was introduced in January. In past years, officials from some more populous states that were considered likely terrorist targets, like New York, complained that small or rural states collected outsize grants.
The bill, which is expected to pass with bipartisan support by the end of next week, will also require the screening of all cargo carried by passenger jets.
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