Hochul: Anti-terrorism funding cuts jeopardizing public safety

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(The Center Square) — A steep cut in federal anti-terrorism funding jeopardizes law enforcement and public safety in New York.

So says Gov. Kathy Hochul, who wants the Trump administration to reverse course.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Hochul demands to know why the federal agency cut $187 million — an 86% reduction — from the state's annual allocation from the Homeland Security Grant Program and called for "transparency and accountability" in the process. She urges Noem "not to play games" with the anti-terrorism funding.

"While the Trump administration may talk tough, in practice, you have chosen to defund the counterterrorism efforts of the NYPD, FDNY, New York State Police, and law enforcement agencies from Long Island to Buffalo," she wrote in Monday's letter. "You have ignored the National Counterterrorism Center’s own determination that New York has been attacked by foreign or foreign inspired terrorists nearly twice as many times as the next most targeted state." 

New York received its allocation from the Homeland Security Grant Program in August, but Hochul said the agency cut $87 million from the state’s allocation — roughly 40% of the state's counterterrorism funding.

On Friday, the federal agency announced additional cuts in funding that reduced New York's funding by another $100 million but provided little explanation for the reduction, the Hochul administration said.

"Given that counterterrorism is fundamentally a federal mission and your agency is charged with ensuring high profile targets receive funding to protect local communities, historical sites, and financial sectors, I call upon you to be transparent with what appears to be a politically motivated effort to reduce funding for New York," Hochul wrote to Noem.

New York received about $220 million from that program in the previous fiscal year, with a large chunk going to law enforcement agencies in New York City and its suburbs, according to the Hochul administration.

The funding, provided through several grant programs, has helped New York pay for National Guard members to patrol subways in New York and for synagogues, mosques, churches,, and other houses of worship to harden their infrastructure and security protocols. Hochul said law enforcement agencies in New York City, utilizing the grant funds, have reported at least 145 "significant" arrests and "disruptions" and generated "leads" in major investigations. 

The program, which was approved by Congress in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, distributed more than $1 billion in funding to states in the previous fiscal year, according to Homeland Security. That includes about $81 million for "Operation Stonegarden" which provides funding to states on the Mexico and Canadian borders to address illegal immigration and transnational drug trafficking.

"Do not play games with this critical security funding," Hochul wrote to Noem. "I demand you reverse this decision and restore funding for those that work to protect the number one terrorist target in America: New York."