The Funds Don't Match The Threat

Although "America the Beautiful" can be found in every state, the ultimate symbols of our nation are located in the Washington area. The Capitol, the Pentagon, and many monuments and museums represent who we are as Americans -- often in ways not easily measured or appreciated.

So a terrorist attack or natural disaster in the D.C. region could profoundly damage public morale and confidence, in addition to causing terrible human casualties and political and economic damage. Certainly the federal officials who award homeland security funds in the midst of a war understand the consequences. The greater issue, however, is whether they give those facts the full weight they deserve.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded $61.6 million to the Washington region under the Urban Area Security Initiative. We appreciate our allotment, which will further the progress we've made since Sept. 11, 2001. The Washington region is better prepared to respond to an attack or natural disaster as a result of almost six years of hard work to strengthen emergency planning. We will continue to spend local, state and federal dollars wisely. But these new funds will cover less than half of the needs identified by local and state officials. More should be done to improve our state of readiness.

Just a few days before the grant was announced, a story in The Post ["Bomb Squads Are Left Lacking," Metro, July 13] reported that the region's first responders might not be able to handle multiple bombings, such as the failed attacks in London and Glasgow.

In fact, we at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments acknowledge that upgrading the capabilities of our bomb squads is important. We also know that improving communications systems for first responders is critical. And we are just as certain that protecting the region's mass transit system and preparing for mass casualties cannot be ignored. Regional officials identified eight areas that require immediate attention when we applied for fiscal 2007 funds. It was a complicated and difficult task, and addressing all of them this fiscal year would carry a price tag in excess of $140 million. We will face even tougher decisions later this summer when we must decide which tasks can be funded with the dollars available, and which cannot.

Government is about setting priorities and making decisions, often amid limited resources. Homeland security is no different. Yet improving emergency preparedness in the region most identified with the U.S. government and our country warrants a greater investment than the amount recently approved.

Stronger preparedness in an ever-more-dangerous world is not an option, it is a necessity. Here, where the psychological and symbolic value of the area is almost as important as the government itself, emergency preparedness means that, as an FBI official said recently, "we should have the best of the best." Our region needs and deserves more.

-- Gerald E. Connolly

Fairfax

The writer, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, is also chairman of the National Capital Region Emergency Preparedness Council of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. He will take questions at 1 p.m. Thursday on www.washingtonpost.com.