House passes $32 bln domestic security bill

Police officers patrol a subway station in New York City, October 7, 2005. The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved $32 billion for domestic security programs next year as some lawmakers seethed over their inability to stop funding cuts this year for big cities seen as high-risk targets for terrorist attacks. (Seth Wenig/Reuters)

By Richard Cowan

June 6, 2006

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved $32 billion for domestic security programs next year as some lawmakers seethed over their inability to stop funding cuts this year for big cities seen as high-risk targets for terrorist attacks.

By a vote of 389-9, the House approved the fiscal 2007 spending bill that would fund Department of Homeland Security programs, including screenings at airports and shipping ports and immigration enforcement.

Officials in New York City and Washington last week were angered by the DHS' decision to slash their counterterrorism funding by 40 percent this year. Smaller cities, such as Louisville, Kentucky, and Omaha, Nebraska, saw big increases.

House Republicans defeated a bid by Democrats to add $750 million to maintain counterterrorism funds for the urban areas including New York. Before the partisan 207-191 vote, Rep. Nita Lowey (news, bio, voting record), a New York Democrat, called the funding cuts a "slap in the face."

Democrats would have offset the $750 million in spending by scaling back tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.

Rep. Harold Rogers (news, bio, voting record), the Kentucky Republican who steered the domestic security spending bill through the House, tried to cool tempers by telling lawmakers of the possibility of closed-door hearings to look into the DHS funding controversy.

During debate on the bill last month, the House added $50 million to help prevent terrorist attacks against U.S. railroads and mass transit systems.

The legislation rejects a Bush administration initiative that would have placed about $1.3 billion in new fees on airline passengers.

Before passing the spending bill, the House waded into a controversial immigration debate. By a vote of 218-179, it approved an amendment discouraging states and local governments from establishing "sanctuary policies."

Those policies allow illegal immigrants in the United States to cooperate with local law enforcement authorities when they witness crimes, without fearing deportation.

The House also voted to stop DHS from paying $22 million to a Washington-area limousine company, Shirlington Limousine and Transportation, Inc. Lawmakers have questioned the government's contract with the company and its possible ties to former Rep. Duke Cunningham, the California Republican now in prison for accepting $2.4 million in bribes.