WASHINGTON - After learning last week that New Haven would abruptly lose $10 million next year in funding for homeland security, Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) today wrote to Homeland Security Department Secretary Tom Ridge asking that he reinstate the funding. The funding was part of the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), which provides high-risk cities with additional financial support. New Haven lost the UASI designation due to an administrative change by the Department of Homeland Security.

“If homeland security is our country’s top priority - as the Bush Administration continues to tell us - then why is New Haven no longer a high-risk city and why is it losing $10 million in funding next year?” said DeLauro. “These changes were made without prior warning and there are many questions that need to be answered.

“New Haven has unfortunately fallen victim to the Bush Administration's failed attempt to fully fund our nation’s homeland security needs.”

New Haven Harbor houses the Northeast's second-largest heating oil reserve and is the point of entry to shipments from around the country. New Haven has also been deemed high-risk for being strategically located between New York and Boston.

In addition to New Haven, St. Paul, Minnesota; Albany, NY; Richmond, VA; Memphis, TN; Orlando, FL; and Fresno, CA also lost the UASI designation. Cities that were added to this list include: Jacksonville, FL; Honolulu; Omaha, NE; Toledo, Ohio; Oklahoma City; and Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas.

“Our country’s homeland security needs have not diminished even though the national threat level is low,” said DeLauro. “For high-risk cities like New Haven this funding is crucial.”

DeLauro signed the letter along with other members whose districts were impacted: Representatives Betty McCollum (MN), Tom Feeney (FL), Harold Ford, Jr. (TN), Ric Keller (FL) and Michael McNulty (NY). The full text follows.

December 8, 2004

The Honorable Tom Ridge Secretary Department of Homeland Security Washington, DC 20528

Dear Secretary Ridge:

On behalf of our local elected officials and first responders, we write to express our extreme disappointment with the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to eliminate cities in our district from the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funding.

UASI funding is intended to provide support for urban areas deemed at greater risk than other parts of the country. Cities that were eliminated from 2005 UASI funding include St. Paul, Minnesota which is a state capital and adjacent to Minneapolis, a city that is still considered at risk. Other examples include Orlando, Florida, the home of Disney World, Albany, NY, the capital of a state already devastated by terrorism, Memphis, TN, home of the largest freight airport in the world, New Haven, CT, a home to the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, and Richmond, VA, a community only 2 hours from our nation’s Capitol.

It is troubling that a “classified threat analysis” has determined that these cities be eliminated from the list after they were included previously. We expect a complete explanation of what changed in the past year to eliminate the threat of terror for our seven cities.

Homeland Security is a critical issue for all Americans and it is our top priority as public officials to keep our communities safe. The local governments affected by this decision received no prior notice that they would be excluded from the funding in 2005, and in fact were previously assured that they could count on these dollars and planned accordingly. As the member of Congress representing these affected communities, we ask that you restore UASI funding at the 2004 level for 2005. In addition, we request a full explanation of the process used to determine eligibility for this funding to ensure this analysis is based on potential threats faced by our communities, not politics.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your timely response.