Schumer seeks to double funds for rail security [View All]

[Cocoa]

and Chertoff balks at raising the total to 0.1% of the cost so far of the Iraq war.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B4F71429C-020A-4C0B-8E21-1433962A39EB%7D&siteid=google

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would seek next week to double the amount of funding allocated in fiscal 2006 to rail security and mass-transit security, including subways and buses.

The amendment to the annual homeland-security spending bill would double the $100 million currently proposed for both mass transit and rail security, allocating $100 million for each. It would also double funding for bus security improvements to $20 million. Fiscal 2006 begins Oct. 1.

"It is clear that we're not doing close to enough and must do more. The soft underbelly of buses and subways and railroads are fully exposed to similar terrorist attacks unless we take real steps to beef up mass transit security immediately," Schumer said, in a written statement.

But Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said his agency had completed a review of security needs and would be coming out soon with policy proposals of its own.

"I wouldn't make a policy decision driven by a single event," Chertoff said at a news conference. "I think our priority here is to get to the bottom of this, make sure we understand what the dimensions of this set of acts are, who perpetrated them, determine whether there are any lessons in intelligence that we're going to gain from this, and then move forward."

Democrats, including Schumer, have long pushed for increased funding for rail and bus security.

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