Homeland Insecurity

As a nervous nation adjusts to a second week of heightened terror warnings, the Bush administration is searching for ways to exude the proper balance of calm and caution. Though Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Sunday that his department might soon lower its "code orange" warning to yellow, he pledged that the government won't lower its guard.

Such assurances mask a serious disconnect between promises and action. Congress has talked of increased funding for homeland defense, yet several initiatives critical to bolstering the nation's security were shortchanged in a new budget approved last week.

In spite of claims by lawmakers who insist that the spending plan they approved provides adequate resources, vital needs were not fully met. They include:

• Emergency response. Many local emergency-response agencies lack training and equipment, according to a Penn State University study released last March. While Congress approved $3.5 billion for such purposes, most of the money covers existing grant programs that provide too little assistance to offset tough economic times. The National League of Cities says 16% of cities have laid off police officers in the past year, and 9% have laid off firefighters.
  
  
• Port security. The 11.5 million cargo containers carried into U.S. ports each year are tempting targets for terrorists. Yet the Council on Foreign Relations concludes the ports are no safer than they were two years ago. Overseas screening of cargo by the U.S. Customs Service that began in January 2002 is only slowly being expanded, according to the Center for Defense Information.
  
  
• Energy facilities. A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies concludes that nuclear power plants, refineries, and chemical factories remain highly vulnerable to attack because the government has done little to work with the companies that own the plants to develop emergency contingency plans.
  

Addressing these shortcomings won't be cheap. Cities say they need at least another $3.5 billion. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-CT, says the $40 billion homeland-security budget requires an additional $16 billion.

Increases that large require clear priorities and tough choices, particularly when the deficit is spiraling toward record territory. Developing a clear plan of action - and a responsible way to pay for it - would do more to calm jittery nerves than making soothing pledges.