Barbara Cubin: “we have all heard talk of how Wyoming and other rural States do not deserve their razor-thin slice of the Homeland…”

“we have all heard talk of how Wyoming and other rural States do not deserve their razor-thin slice of the Homeland Security pie because they have higher per capita funding allocations than the likes of New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. What the per capita statistics don't tell you is that Wyoming's fiscal year 2005 share of first responder dollars amounted to around 4 percent of New York's $298.3 million. Attacking the first responder base minimum funding level might make for a good press release, but in reality, the per capita argument holds about as much water as a wicker basket. Wyoming's population may be spread thin, but this only presents an additional challenge to our first responders, who must deal with vast areas, rugged terrain and harsh weather with limited resources. In 2004, nearly 100,000 shipments of hazardous materials rolled through Wyoming, whose rails and roads help make up the backbone of the Northwest United States commodity corridor. Wyoming is home to national parks and landmarks, oil and gas pipelines, and coal reserves that supply over half of the States in the Nation. Wyoming houses intercontinental ballistic missiles critical to our national defense system, placed there because rural America was thought to be safe and secure. Perhaps the First Responder Grants Board would adequately weigh these points, and perhaps not. I would rather avoid relying on such bureaucratic uncertainty. I stand in opposition to H.R.…”