Bill Pascrell: “we all know that the current system for distributing grants is fundamentally broken. I applaud the fact that this…”

“we all know that the current system for distributing grants is fundamentally broken. I applaud the fact that this bipartisan conference report gives the Secretary of Homeland Security the flexibility to distribute more money based on risk rather than population. While I would like to see a much greater percentage of funds allotted exclusively on risk, at least this conference report finally addresses an issue on which many of us have spent years on both sides of the aisle working to remedy. I find it inexplicable that just as we improve the methods of monetary distribution, just as we improve the way first responders can get what they need, we limit the availability, the pool of needed resources. In fact, if it were not for both folks on each side of the aisle, we would have accepted the administration's plan, which would have been 4 percent less than what we have and no increase whatsoever. Mr. Speaker, I think you should know today that the New York subway system is under high alert. We need to understand what the ramifications of that are. The FBI is working in concert with the New York City Police. This is the first time they have had very specific place, very specific time ramifications. Yet the coordinated and timed bombings in London and Madrid, the latest example of the fact between 1998 and 2003, there were approximately 181 terrorist attacks on rail and transit targets.…”