An Appropriator s Guide to Homeland Security heritage.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heritage.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Bush Administration's FY 2005 budget proposal calls for $47.4billion in homeland security funding: approximately 13 percent morethan estimated FY 2004 spending and a significant and appropriategrowth in homeland security expenditures. Most important, theAdministration's funding priorities dovetail well with the criticalmission areas established in the national homeland securitystrategy.
As the conference committee reconciles the House and Senateversions of the 2005 defense authorization bill, some of the mostimportant differences that must be resolved include the issues ofmissile defense; base realignment and closure; the U.N.Oil-for-Food scandal; U.S.-Taiwan military-to-military exchanges;Rapid Acquisition Authority; and "Buy America" and otherprotectionist purchasing requirements.
The Bush Administration's National Strategy for Homeland Securityidentified six critical mission areas to focus federal efforts onthe objectives of preventing terrorist attacks, reducing America'svulnerabilities to terrorism, and minimizing the damage andrecovering from attacks that do occur. An analysis of spendingpriorities suggests that most of the proposed major programs fallinto one of the six critical mission areas. It is not clear,however, that in every case the level of resources requested isadequate to meet the critical goals the Administration hasestablished in its strategy or that these efforts are appropriateto address future threats. In particular, while notable progresshas been made in virtually every critical mission area, shortfallsin maritime security top the list of concerns.