Chip Taylor

The political economy of homeland security pork

Security funding: New York vs. Wyoming

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Since Congress first dispensed money after 9/11 to help local officials prepare for future acts of terrorism, New Yorkers have been rankled by the notion that people in rural states like Wyoming get almost twice as much per capita as they do. It's a feeling based not only on having experienced 9/11 firsthand, but also in knowing that New York remains a top target.

This week, Congress might do something to change that. A House-Senate conference committee will decide how much risk should factor into the decision about how to distribute homeland security money. Big, vulnerable states like New York are in favor of a more risk-based formula, but they're getting a fight from lawmakers in small states, who contend they also have vulnerabilities and just as much right to protect themselves.

The dispute started earlier this year, when the Senate passed an appropriations bill that essentially shares 75 percent of homeland-security funds equally between the 50 states, with the other 25 percent being allocated according to risk. That's favored by most smaller states. But this July, the House passed an amendment to the Patriot Act that would turn this formula on its head. Only 25 percent would be shared equally by the states, although even to qualify for that, each state would have to prove why they needed the money. Border states could qualify for more. But most of the money would be given based totally on how much risk each location faced.

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