WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is defending a decision not to take action on a request for $150 million for increased security at reservoirs, locks and dams from coast to coast.
According the Associated Press (AP), the US Army Corps of Engineers asked for the money to make it tougher for terrorists to attack up to 200 water projects the agency operates in 43 states.
The decision comes, said AP, at a time when Democrats say the administration has shortchanged domestic security spending, and as Congress prepares to begin writing a new multibillion-dollar bill aimed at financing such programs.
White House officials said the corps has spent only half the $139 million it received in last fall's $40 billion anti-terrorism package, passed in the wake of the 11 September attacks. That leaves enough for the corps for the rest of this fiscal year, which runs through 30 September, said Amy Call, spokeswoman for the White House budget office, according to the news service.
AP said a Corps list described 14 projects not currently funded for protection, including the Upper Saint Anthony Falls lock and dam on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, which its said helps create a water supply with an annual economic benefit of $32.9 billion; and the aqueduct serving Washington, DC, which, if harmed, "would stop water supply and firefighting to the District of Columbia."
"I'm sure the folks that live near those potential targets would be very interested to hear why (budget director) Mitch Daniels believes it's unimportant to fully address their communities' security needs," said David Sirota, spokesman for the Democratic staff of the House Appropriations Committee, AP reported.
President Bush proposed a new $27.1 billion counterterrorism package last month, said AP. The White House and House Republican leaders want Congress to limit the measure to that price tag, but the Democratic-controlled Senate is widely expected to add several billion dollars to it.
That money could finance improvements at as many as 200 facilities in 43 states, according to Corps figures, the news service said.
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