Washington - Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer, Frank Lautenberg, Robert Menendez, Hillary Rodham Clinton, announced they have introduced an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill to raise the funding to $40 million for the "Securing Our Cities" program, being conducted in the New York City metro area. DHS had originally requested $40 million for the program, which will deploy radiation detectors around New York City and the region, but that amount was slashed in half by the House. Schumer offered the amendment late last night.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said, "Since al Qaeda has been allowed to regroup along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, there should be no let up in the effort to secure the New York City area, terror target number one. Every resource, every piece of technology and every measure of security that is available to protect our region from weapons of mass destruction should be put to use. I applaud Senator Schumer and the rest of my colleagues representing New York and New Jersey for their leadership and dedication to protecting the residents of our region."

"This is an indispensable tool used to protect the population and commercial centers of New York City from the possibility of a devastating nuclear or dirty bomb attack," Schumer said. "New York City is poised to lead the way in implementing this high-tech system, but the federal government must provide them sufficient resources to get the job done. This amendment will raise the funding back to the level needed to ensure the effectiveness of New York City's front line of defense."

"We must prepare for a potential terrorist attack from a nuclear or radiological weapon, especially in densely populated areas. In light of the recent national intelligence estimate showing the continued strength of Al Qaeda, we must strengthen our ability to detect these weapons. We will continue to work to increase funding so the Department of Homeland Security can better secure New Jersey and New York," said Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg.

"In the face of continued attempts to under fund homeland security for high-threat areas like New York City, our support for this program is absolutely critical. These funds will go straight towards New York City's frontline defense and to our ongoing efforts to protect high threat cities across the nation. We will do what we can to ensure that this funding makes it through Congress," Senator Clinton said.

After the Senators personally asked the Senate Appropriations committee to support the program, the committee restored funding back up to $30 million. This amendment reflects an additional $10 million to be allocated for this crucial program, raising funding to the full amount requested by the President.

The "Securing Our Cities" initiative is designed is to assist regional collaborations of municipalities to set up a detection and interdiction ring around the region with the goal of preventing nuclear weapons or radioactive materials from entering densely populated areas. The New York City metro area is the first location that the Administration has selected to launch this groundbreaking program.

Local law enforcement authorities in and around New York City are planning to install a network of stationary and mobile detection devices on highways, sea lanes, bridges and tunnels throughout the City, Long Island, the lower Hudson Valley, and New Jersey. The Securing the Cities project has the strong support of law enforcement in New York City and the surrounding counties, and it is sorely needed to combat the threat of a nuclear or radiological attack against the city.

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