Who Stands With the Firefighters?
Polls show that Americans trust the President more than Democrats to prevent another 9/11. But on homeland security, it’s Democrats who want to do more. Soon after the attacks in New York and Washington, Democrats tried to secure $10 billion in appropriations for things like computer upgrades at the FBI and better security at ports and nuclear installations. But President Bush said that America couldn’t afford it. In 2002 and 2003, Democrats once again tried to add billions to the homeland security budget to protect the country from terrorist attack. Once again, Bush rallied Congressional Republicans in opposition. Budget battles aren’t politically compelling, but Democrats can link them to something that is: the police and firefighters who gave their lives at Ground Zero. This June, an independent task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations reported that only 10 percent of America’s fire departments have the personnel and equipment to respond to a building collapse. Many
