Homeland Security stands by N.Y., D.C. cut

WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it stands by a planned 40-percent cut in Washington and New York anti-terror funds.

The agency will not reconsider its decision, George Foresman, Homeland Security undersecretary for preparedness, told a congressional committee despite criticism by representatives from those regions, The Washington Post reported.

The funding was based on complicated formulas to divide $711 million in 2006 funds for urban areas. The result was less for the two areas targeted in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and more for such cities as Louisville, Ky., and Omaha.

Foresman and his agency were lambasted by members of both major U.S. political parties, the Post said, with such terms as "mind-boggling" and "goofy" and "one of the greatest displays of incompetence."

"I feel confident in the risk-analysis process and the peer review process," Foresman said, labeling his agency's risk analysis "incredible," the Post report said.