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American Morning

Mayors Discuss Homeland Defense

Aired January 25, 2002 - 08:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, the president's plan to keep the nation safe from terror. He is asking Congress for $37.7 billion to spend on Homeland Security, which also includes $3.5 billion for so-called first responders. That amount is nearly double the previous Homeland Security budget. Mr. Bush unveiled the new proposals at a meeting of U.S. mayors in Washington, and he had a message for America's heroes coast to coast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you go back to your communities, you make sure that you thank you police chiefs and your fire chiefs and your emergency medical teams, not only on behalf of the president, but the entire country. These good folks put their lives at risk. They work incredibly hard and long hours, and they deserve the praise and love of our nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: So how is the president's plan playing with the nation's mayors? Joining us now, Mayor John Delaney of Jacksonville, Florida. And here in New York, Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys and Kwame Kilpatrick, mayor of Detroit -- welcome, gentlemen. Nice to have all of you mayors with us this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to be here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great to be with you.

ZAHN: Our pleasure. Mayor Kirkpatrick, I wanted to start with you this morning. If this money comes through from Congress, how much control will your city actually have over how you spend it?

MAYOR KWAME KILPATRICK, DETROIT, MICHIGAN: Well, that's a big point of contention nor, or just a point that we need to clarify before mayors across America are fully in support of how this money will be distributed. We don't want it to come through the state. We don't want it to come through the counties. We need it to come right to local communities, so we can put it to use.

We have been impacted tremendously by the events of September 11, by the downturn in the economy, overtime for our police officers and first responders. Detroit is a border city on an international border. So we're spending a huge amount of money just to, you know, to keep up with the federal restrictions and regulations. So I would want those dollars to come directly to the city of Detroit, so we can impact immediately the security of America, and also to make sure that the economy can keep moving from our border state of Canada.

ZAHN: Mayor Humphreys, is that an equal concern of yours that the government might give you targeted assistance rather than block grants allowing you to spend the money the way you want to?

MAYOR KIRK HUMPHREYS, OKLAHOMA CITY: Well, we would always prefer block grants. I think the big issue for us is preparedness in Oklahoma City. We know that terrorism can strike anywhere. We were prepared in '95 when the bombing came, but now we're looking at biological warfare, and it's going to take a different level of preparedness. And so, I think whether it comes from block grants or not, we would prefer a block grant, but the issue is to be prepared.

ZAHN: Mayor Humphreys, was there enough emphasis on protecting cities from bioterrorism?

HUMPHREYS: That is something we've not had to deal with in the past. I'll tell you, I'm going to go back to Oklahoma City and go through an extensive exercise and make sure we know who is in charge, and that we're prepared for a major event.

ZAHN: Mayor Delaney, I wanted to read something that Representative Jane Harman had to say about this proposal. She is very concerned, in her words, unless Governor Ridge's office maintains over more focus over that, that in her words, "that this program will be ad hoc, inconsistent and confusing." Does she have a point there?

MAYOR JOHN DELANEY, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA: No, I don't think so. I'm not seeing at all. For the first time, you're really seeing the federal government with President Bush saying we want to help the localities, because they are the first line. About half of a city's or county's budget goes to police and fire, and since September 11, and also Oklahoma City, obviously more overtime, more emphasis, more security measures have to go on.

I heard Detroit talk about being, you know, an international border with Canada, a fairly fluid border, but you know, and Jacksonville is a port city. Every city has their unique circumstances. But all of us have had to change a little bit of focus. I don't care if it's a block grant that goes through Tallahassee or comes straight to us. The funding is immense. The effort is significant, and I'm just delighted to see President Bush, you know, move this up to try to help us out.

ZAHN: Mayor Kilpatrick, there has been a lot of talk about how much more actively the federal government is involved with individual communities. Is that true in Detroit?

KILPATRICK: Yes, it has been true. And you know, the mayor of Jacksonville is absolutely right as far as the federal government stepping up to the responsibility of leadership on behalf of local communities.

In Detroit, we had eight-mile backups at the border, and just-in- time delivery is what really runs the economic situation and fiscal situation in this country. So the federal government did step up. I did move more people to the border, did get more Customs agents. But in the meantime, the Detroit police department was handling that security. So since September 11 to December 31, we spent almost $3 million just on local policing of the border.

So the federal government has stepped up, but we really want them to step up a little more, and we want to receive that money directly. We don't want it to go through Lansing, because we know what happens with money when it goes to the state. We are experiencing a $1.4 billion deficit in the state budget. So we want to make sure those dollars come directly to local communities.

ZAHN: Mayor Humphreys, you said that I know you wanted to go home and make sure that your bioterror program is as efficient as it possibly could be. Do you think your city is safe?

HUMPHREYS: Oh, I think our city is very safe. I think our people feel safe. I think the issue for government is that we be prepared. We don't know where terrorism is going to strike. We're at war. We're on the front lines, and I think it's going to strike somewhere again, so we need to be ready.

ZAHN: Mayor Delaney, a final thought on that for us this morning?

DELANEY: Yes, since 1995, our fire chief came in and he said, "Mayor, the threat for Jacksonville, Florida is hurricanes obviously, but really it's NBC." And I said, What is that? And he said, "Nuclear, biological and chemical." So he's had that on the forefront. I think there are about two dozen cities, ours included, that began in '96 preparing for the potential of this, getting units created, special engines trucks sensors, etcetera. So there's a ways to go. It's a wake up call for all of us, but I'm just delighted somebody is looking at it and going to help the localities with the funding, because it's such an immense part of our budgets.

ZAHN: Well, it appears though all of your citizens are in good hands this morning as the three of you set off to make sure your programs are as efficient as they can be. Mayors Humphreys, Delaney and Kilpatrick -- really appreciate your coming in this morning. We know...

(CROSSTALK)

KILPATRICK: Thank you.

DELANEY: Thanks, Paula.

HUMPHREYS: Thanks for having us.

ZAHN: Mayors all across the country have been meeting -- our pleasure. So how prepared is your city? Find out where your city rates by visiting our Web page. CNN.com has a special report that actually assesses the 30 largest cities with the help of six national emergency experts. Remember, the AOL keyword is CNN.

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