February 4, 2002

The President's Plan to Strengthen Our Homeland Security

• $3.5 billion, a 1,000-percent increase -- for the nation’s “first responders” – our police, firefighters and Emergency Medical Teams.
• $11 billion for border security, a $2 billion increase.
• Nearly $6 billion to defend against bioterrorism.
• $700 million to improve intelligence-gathering and information-sharing between agencies and throughout all levels of government.
• $230 million to create Citizen Corps to help your community be better prepared for a terrorist attack.

• The President's budget nearly doubles funding for a sustained strategy of homeland security, focused on four key areas: bioterrorism, emergency response, airport and border security, and improved intelligence. We will develop vaccines to fight anthrax and other deadly diseases. We'll increase funding to help states and communities train and equip our heroic police and firefighters. We will improve intelligence collection and sharing, expand patrols at our borders, strengthen the security of air travel, and use technology to track the arrivals and departures of visitors to the United States.

The President's Plan

• $3.5 billion, a 1,000-percent increase -- for the nation’s “first responders.” These are the police officers, firefighters and medical personnel who risk their lives every day defending our homeland -- and who gave their lives on 9/11. The funding will help pay for new equipment, training and overtime costs, based on what states, cities and counties agree they need in order to implement their anti-terrorism plan.
• $11 billion for border security, a $2 billion increase. This includes a significant increase for the Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs Service, to keep unwanted goods – including drugs -- from coming into the U.S. by land, sea or air. And it includes funding for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to develop a new entry-exit visa database and tracking system.
• Nearly $6 billion to defend against bioterrorism. This will help hospitals become better able to respond to a bioterror emergency; boost research and development of new vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tests; and build up our critical National Pharmaceutical Stockpile.
• $700 million to improve intelligence-gathering and information-sharing. This money will not only help federal agencies share information with each other, but develop ways that we can share information with states and cities so they can better determine how to use their resources.
• $230 million to create Citizen Corps. A variety of programs to engage ordinary Americans in specific homeland security efforts in their own communities. Initiatives include the creation of a Medical Reserve Corps, a Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) program and a Terrorist Information and Prevention System (TIPS) – as well as a doubling of the Neighborhood Watch program, and a tripling of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.

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