WASHINGTON – While trying to reassure New Yorkers that they are safe on the eve of war, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday met with President Bush to push for more homeland-security funding for the city.
In his half-hour White House sit-down with Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, Bloomberg asked for more money in a supplemental budget that will be drafted over the next month to fund the war in Iraq.
“They understand that New York has needs different than the rest of the country, and they will address those needs,” Bloomberg told reporters during his busy day in the nation’s capital, where he also met with much of the state’s congressional delegation, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and Attorney General John Ashcroft.
“They understand that New York is not just 3 percent of the population,” the mayor said.
While not mentioning a specific amount of money at the White House, Bloomberg’s briefing book for the delegation showed that he wants $900 million in additional security spending – an amount he requested last year and instead got less than $20 million.
Both Ridge and the White House indicated that the city would get a larger share of the homeland-security budget this year – but did not say how much.
“The president would very much like to see in the proposal that he has made to Congress this year for additional billions of dollars in homeland-security money to have greater flexibility … in the way that money can be spent,” said Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer.
Democrats in Congress were quick to complain that the city had not gotten enough security funding since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
“We have gotten – as they say in French – bupkis up to now,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner, using a Yiddish expression for “nothing.”
Rep. Charles Rangel stopped just short of criticizing the Republican Bloomberg for not fighting harder for more funding from his fellow party members – Bush and Gov. Pataki.
He’s been low-key,” said Rangel, a Manhattan Democrat. “It never would have worked for our party.”
“We’re certainly disappointed that there hasn’t been anything specific that came out of the White House this morning, but I don’t blame the mayor for that,” said Sen. Charles Schumer.
Schumer and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said they will be introducing a bill this week that calls for $88 billion in additional homeland-security spending over 10 years.
Bloomberg and his aides tried to downplay any disagreement they had with the White House over funding.
“Bupkis is in the eye of the beholder,” Bloomberg said.
“You don’t walk out of these meetings with a check in hand or a firm number,” said Bloomberg, who got a commitment from Thompson that the city would get additional funding from his agency this year.
Asked about his support for Bush’s position on Iraq, Bloomberg said: “The debate is over. All New Yorkers are behind the president.”
The mayor also repeatedly told New York residents that they “should go out and about their business” even as the nation faced war.