Homeland Security Boondoggle

A Congressional Investigation Calls Into Question How Federal Money Is Being Spent

(CBS)  Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. and Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., revealed a list of federal Homeland Security projects that put the "boon" in boondoggle — a series of taxpayer-supported programs that play like a punch line, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports.

"The things we're reviewing today run from tragic to funny to somewhere in between," Weiner said Thursday.

For example, there was $7,000 for bulletproof vests for police and fire department dogs in Ohio; $8,000 for clown and puppet shows performed by fire safety officials in Wisconsin; $33,000 for customized trailers to be used at a mushroom festival and lawn mower "drag races" in Texas; and $200,000 for 70 security cameras to protect a remote Alaska fishing village — cameras, the town admits on its Web site, "mostly no one" watches.

"If we reach a point where a fishing village in Alaska is the target of al Qaeda, we are all in very deep trouble," Weiner said.

In recent months, CBS News has reported on dubious Department of Homeland Security spending in states like Montana and Arizona, giving rise to those who question a formula set by Congress that requires every state — regardless of risk — get a slice of the Homeland Security pie.

"Very quickly it became almost an entitlement," says James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation. "The 9/11 Commission warned about this and said this is in danger of becoming pork-barrel funding."

On Thursday, Weiner and Flake proposed breaking open the barrel with a public database that would hold states accountable for how they spend every Homeland Security dollar.

"This is an effort to make sure that money goes where it is actually needed, rather than be spread across the country by either formula or favor," Flake said.

Today's critique comes as Homeland Security is reviewing applications on how it will allocate nearly $2 billion to cities and states this year.

[reallynow1-2009]

The examples we are given in this racy scandal total about $248,000, less than one one-thousandth of one percent of the $2 billion that Homeland Security is attempting to distribute and administer. And, without more information, we cannot be assured that there is not some valid component of security in each of the %u201Cpork barrel%u201D examples. I am all for efficiency and government accountability, but this story has overtones of sensationalism, both for CBS News and for the ambitious young State Reps. Unless the cost of mounting a database tracking system and additional layer of beauracracy is less than it purports to save (unlikely), the result will be more inefficiency, not less. And, for future reference, people named Weiner and Flake really shouldn%u2019t partner on high-publicity projects

[jwf512]

george2221 writes:
"OGDEN, Utah -- A police dog that was left in a pickup with the engine running apparently knocked the vehicle into gear and ran down a woman who was walking to her mailbox. ... The truck's engine was on so that the dog, named Ranger, would have air conditioning."
That is unfortunate, but it does not follow that we should expose working dogs to additional risk just because some guy forgot to use his parking brake.

"How many dogs'lives are saved by these vests?"
Here a few: http://www.k9storm.com/testimonials.html

"It probably cost $100,000,000 for each dog actually saved by a vest."
That seems unlikely, given that the price of these vests has fallen to as low as five hundred dollars. And as long as we're talking costs, let's consider the savings realized by giving police officers a partner who doesn't even draw a paycheck.

[jwf512]

george2221 writes:
"Dogs are dying from heat exhaustion while wearing vests. (http://www.missionk9.org/currentneeds)"
The web page you refer to begins with the following sentence: "The importance of bulletproof vests for police dogs is clear."
It says that K-9 units need vehicle temperature controllers, which monitor the temperature in the patrol car and alert the officer when the conditions inside the car become unsafe. It does not say that the temperature in the patrol car never becomes unsafe as long as the dog is not wearing a vest. K-9 units equipped with temperature controllers will prevent such heat-related deaths, the vast majority of which occur in the general public to dogs who were not wearing vests.

[jwf512]

george2221 writes:
"Here is a list of police dogs killed in Arizona. None would have been saved by a vest. (http://www.protectpolicek-9.com/memorial.php)"
This is an important point. Just as we wouldn't expect a person to survive being hit by a car just because he was wearing a vest, we need to remember that protective vests won't make K-9's invulnerable; they simply provide an added measure of safety in a hazardous job. That extra protection is certainly justified. The next step is to develop protective gear that provides the dogs a degree of head protection.

"A few died of heat stroke. I wonder if the dogs were wearing vests that caused them to overheat?"
Why wonder? Read the examples in the source you cited. Those dogs died from hyperthermia after the air conditioning in the cars in which they were riding stopped working. A dog cannot survive in the 130 degree heat of a closed car in the Arizona sun, regardless of whether it is wearing a vest.

[hermit22]

CBS is back in the doghouse now.

if CBS news would have put the site address in the article for the ALASKA site, maybe 200,000 people would click in to see!

it would be fun to see a polar bear waddle on by. maybe a moose? birds? a real eskimo? the world is TIRED of California beaches! and NY times square.

for all the free advertizing Obama has been given on t.v., it would be nice to see Alaska get a second in the news.

[ke4won]

Your staff members who generated this story and did the research for it should be FIRED. The is nothing more than BIAS journalism. When you hire a new staff maybe you can have them get the fact right. Anything purchase in the name of public safety is always expensive. A pair of fire gloves worn by firefighter inside a burning building cost nearly 100.00. The helmet worn 375.00. The spec's required in manufacturing to keep public safety people safety makes everything expensive. Public education is the corner stone in reducing injuries and saving lifes. Maybe your staff can research the documented lifes that have been save as a direct result of clown and puppet shows to small children. Look at the reduction in loss of life due to fires. When the clown program first begin in the late 1980's fire deaths in the US were over 6000. Now there under 4000. Look at the amount of outdated and unsafe fire suppress equipment that has been replaced by this grant program. Look at the increases in the level of training that has been made possible throught this grant program. You should take the spot light off these isolated screw ups and put it on the overall good that has been possible because of this grant program.

[copnref]

I am also a safety clown...I must say whoever does your research needs to be replaced...this article makes you look stupid...I am very disappointed in this type of reporting,,,

Sender

[ccccorner]

My family just had the displeasure of watching the story on wasteful spending on this evening's newscast. While we would normally applaud the effort to uncover wasteful spending, the tone of this story from the beginning was concerning. Do you have a problem with the government equipping dogs with bullet-proof vests in general or just from this department? I really don't understand the inclusion of this expenditure on their hit list. Are the dogs%u2019 lives of no value because they're just dogs? Who cares? I care, as I'm sure do many others, and not because they are highly trained and that training is very expensive, but because they are risking, without any choice in the matter, their lives for their human friends. They deserve our full protection, just like any other officer of the law, but if you want to take your cold empty heart view, look at it as protecting an investment, those dogs aren't cheap. I will never watch Katie Couric or the CBS evening news again. Walter would never have been so cold.

[bootsatcfd]

What about the positive side? The firefighting gear, thermal imagers, haz-mat preparedness, replacement of obsolete equipment, the training our 1st. Responders have gotten from this funding. The dogs we are protecting are as much a part of the PD as the officers themselves. Maybe our friends would volunteer and sniff out a bomb or run after a fleeing suspect pocketing a gun. These dogs are saving the lives of our officers. As for the funding of clown shows for teaching our communities about Fire and Life Safety behaviors, this is a must. With the latest reported NFPA fire statistics reporting 3,675 Civilian Fire deaths, 17,000+ civilian fire injuries and $10.7 billion dollar in property loss, I would say there is a great need for prevention and fire safety education, just another form of terrorism. Our local fire department also received funding several years ago for it%u2019s characterization (clown) Fire and Life safety program and they have several reported life saves that were due to children knowing what to do because they were taught by several of these clowns you were making fun of. Many of these life saving programs would not have been possible if our Federal Government hadn%u2019t stepped in and made a contribution. They failed to talk about all the non-funded Federal requirements they keep placing on our communities. For once they did something right by helping make our communities a safer place and providing a small amount of funding to help meet some of these requirements.

[coffeysmith-2009]

I agree with Pete. I simply cannot believe that anyone would view $7000 as a waste of money when protecting ANY law enforcement or fire department member, whether that individual has 4 legs or 2. Those animals put their lives on the line everyday to protect their handlers and the public, and they deserve to be protected and respected. Not to mention that $7000 is a drop in the bucket compared the the amount of time and resources that go into training theses animals and their handlers. I think Katie and CBS News owes someone an apology.

[donbl1]

Having done some driving here in Texas, I suspect a chunk of Homeland Security money has been spent on local law enforcement to increase speeding revenue for the local regions. Seems like there have never been so many police on the freeway and they are ALL looking for speeders.

[sparkylafs]

Reporting practices by CBS over the Homeland Security Boondoggle may end my lifelong relationship with CBS News. CBS has filtered the report to appear scandalous for the entertainment factor. I work with Fire and Police Departments across the country that use %u201Cedutainment%u201D as a teaching medium for safety education. This includes, puppets, clowns, magic, songs, skits. More research would have revealed that teaching children using these skills have proven results in retention of messages reflected in reduced injuries and fatalities. There are many more children hurt and killed by fires, guns, lack of helmets and seatbelts than there are Acts of Terrorism in this country. The puppet/clown monies in question are actually part of the FIRE ACT GRANT, which has been in place long before 9/11. Administrating this fund was moved from US Fire Administration to Homeland Security. This money was never intended to be used for Anti-Terrorism in the first place. Get your facts correct before you report. Another interesting note, in the past year, the CBS Morning News reported a heart-warming story about a 5-year-old girl who saved her mother%u2019s life because of the firefighters who recorded music and performed puppet/clown programs in their schools in Colorado Springs. A positive on the CBS Morning News becomes negative on the CBS Evening News. Contradicting their own reporting. Just reiterates what we%u2019ve always known, don%u2019t believe what you hear on the news!

[wackykaky]

I am just mortified that Ms. Couric and crew think that purchasing vests for our canine officers is a waste of money. I, too, will be waiting for a retraction on the comments made towards our furry friends helping to keep us safe not only in our home towns but airports, bus stations, etc.
What were you thinking??????

[sharilari]

I am not a regular viewer of CBS Evening News and only just found out about this story from a co-worker. I WILL tune in tonight to hear Ms. Couric's apology to all public service personnell, their K-9 partners and animal lovers in general for the thoughtless comments about spending money for their protection. A more fitting and sincere apology would be for CBS AND Ms. Couric to get the checkbook out and personally outfit K-9 officers across the United States with the gear they need for their continued safety.

[csmith1948]

Don't shoot the messenger! Not seeing the Kouric report (can't stand her), but reading the story, I don't think any news organization has an option to agree or not with a point of view. It's called reporting! The story is about waste! We do not need another pork barrell apparatus. The dogs and the clowns are in Washington. BTW, dogs don't devote their lives to criminal investigation, they are tools. Let's protect more human lives by spending Homeland Security money more effectively!

[j-whitman]

HSD has a long way to go yet,,, According to thier own reporting & investigations, HSD keeping America safer for the 1st 4 years was mostly HYPE. They are still wasting billions.

[teresac6]

I was extremely disappointed and digusted with your comments of how it was wasteful to provide protection to canine police officers. How dare you say that about these animals? Search and Rescue dogs as well as police dogs are vital to public safety and deserve any protective equipment we can give them. You have just lost me as a fan, both professionally and personally. I suggest that you get a dog and maybe that will spark a tiny bit of compassion from you toward these wonderful creatures who would die to protect and to serve.

[teresac6]

I was extremely disappointed and digusted with your comments of how it was wasteful to provide protection to canine police officers. How dare you say that about these animals? Search and Rescue dogs as well as police dogs are vital to public safety and deserve any protective equipment we can give them. You have just lost me as a fan, both professionally and personally. I suggest that you get a dog and maybe that will spark a tiny bit of compassion from you toward these wonderful creatures who would die to protect and to serve.

[keta5]

One last thing, forgot to tell you I will no longer be seeking CBS as my news source, whether you think so or not there has been alot of discussion about this comment made by you, Ms. Couric and reponses I have heard her at work are of the same opinion as mine, they will not longer seek your news station for informaion either. And as for you and the few others, Canine officers are VERY important for Homeland security as they are for everyday security. Shame on you Ms. Couric and CBS, I will be watching ABC awaiting them to report your apology that is certainly due to our Canine Officers.

[lbartlett3]

I, too, think that $7000 to protect police and fire dogs is reasonable. Could your reporter think of no questions to ask regarding this money? How many vests and how much per vest? Does Ohio have an unusually high number of service dogs? I believe the Ohio prison system has inmates training dogs; does this cause any troubles for the police departments?

Indianspolis recently had a police dog shot and killed and local school children raise money for vests for other police dogs. Maybe Steve Hartman should take a look at this issue.