New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton ‘Very Concerned’ About Potential DHS Shutdown
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton journeyed to the nation’s capital Friday to attend a handful of meetings regarding the funding of the Department of Homeland Security.
Some of the people Commissioner Bratton met with Friday were Homeland Security Advisor to the President Lisa Monaco, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, and the Director of the FBI, James Comey.
“Universally, they are very concerned about this,” Bratton said.
Commissioner Bratton is urging law makers to fully fund the DHS, vehemently disagreeing with the House Republicans’ three-week bill proposal.
“We cannot fund the Nation’s Counterterrorism Program and the Department of Homeland Security on the ‘installment plan,’” Bratton said. “This idea of kicking the can down the road for three weeks; the idea of passing this continuing resolution bill is just not practical or feasible,” and that efforts should be focused elsewhere.
Commissioner Bratton says he needs the DHS to be fully funded, as he believes his city is arguably the, “number one target in the room.”
If the Department of Homeland Security does shut down, the impact could be significant, especially on New York, as the city is very dependent on federal funding.
DHS funds for New York are used for the development and expansion of the NYPD’s Domain Awareness System, the purchase and deployment of a wide range of explosive detection equipment, training and maintenance, as well as the NYPD’s intelligence analyst program.
Failing to fund the DHS would cause a furlough of up to 30,000 employees, most of which are involved in many of New York’s important operations. Protective Security Advisors would be unable to share critical intelligence with the NYPD, and any other local and state partners.
“Given the current threats facing this country, holding an agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorism, hostage to politics is irresponsible at best and dangerous at worst,” Bratton said in statement.
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