More than $5 billion in federal money to help communities brace for terrorist attacks has not yet reached the local authorities and remains stuck in the administrative pipeline, Congressional officials said Tuesday. That is more than 80 percent of the money approved by Congress to help cities, counties and states since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and efforts to prepare for possible attacks may be lagging as a result, a new Congressional analysis has found.”The money’s sitting there waiting for them,” said Representative Christopher Cox, Republican of California, chairman of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, which prepared the assessment. “They can’t spend it. Nothing happens.” The Sept. 11 attacks revealed alarming gaps in the ability of local officials to respond to terrorist attacks on major urban areas, and Congress responded with an investment of billions of dollars in grants. The money is intended to help so-called first responders buy chemical and radiological detectors, improve their emergency communication systems, expand training and take a variety of other steps to help deter terrorist attacks and respond to them. Full Story
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