National Insecurity: Transit Edition

Republicans are more concerned with protecting America from low wage Mexican workers than having trains attacked. (See Madrid and London.)

WASHINGTON -- House and Senate Republican leaders stripped $4.5 billion in funds for mass transit security from homeland security legislation, then forced a quick vote on the streamlined bill last month -- leading angry Democrats to accuse Congress of reneging on a promise to protect the nation's commuters from terrorist attacks.

Some lawmakers complained that they had only a few hours to read the legislation before voting, and said they believe mass transit security should be a top priority, particularly since terrorist bombs killed hundreds of commuters in Madrid, London, and Mumbai, India, during the last 2 1/2 years. Still, President Bush was expected to sign the bill into law.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff lobbied to kill the mass transit money.

``We have to take a balanced, risk-managed approach that puts our resources and our attention in areas of our country and critical infrastructure that represent the greatest risk in terms of threats, vulnerabilities and consequences," Chertoff said in a statement.

The real reason is that the Bush administration doesn't want to be held accountable for transit security.

In March, Homeland Security official Tracey Henke testified before Congress that the government is legally bound to protect airports, but ``that is not the case for transit security."

It's all about liabibility and the White House doesn't want anything to do with it. The buck stops with the states. It doesn't matter that the White House signs pork budget after pork budget. They won't fund this. Gone is money for overtime pay, surveillance cameras and upgrading subway security.

Hat tip to Shakes.