BudgetDHS cuts funding for Las Vegas’ terrorism-related programs
Federal aid to terrorism-related programs in Las Vegas has been steadily decreasing in recent years. Next year, the city which boasts fifteen of the world’s largest hotels, and which is home to more than forty million tourists a year, will no longer receive any DHS funds for terrorism-related security programs.
For the first time since 2001, DHS will not provide federal funding to Las Vegas to fight terrorism.
CBS KLAS-TV reports that in recent years, the federal funding of terrorism-related security programs in Las Vegas has been decreasing steadily.
Las Vegas is home to fifteen of the world’s largest hotels and hosts more than forty million tourists a year..
Mayor Carolyn Goodman said the city has fallen to thirty-third on DHS’s list of risk locations. The department allocates its funds according to how high a city is on the list. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston will continue to receive funding next year.
“It is extremely upsetting to me in fact it’s outrageous and I’m simply outraged when I heard,” Goodman toldKLAS-TV. “We rely on the funds to keep out fusion center going to give us the support so we can be prepared in the case of a major emergency.”
Metro Sheriff Doug Gillespie believes the lack of funding in the future will affect more than just the city.
“This isn’t just about Las Vegas, although we are the city that was removed from the list, I don’t think it just impacts us locally,” Gillespie said. “I think it impacts us nationally as well as internationally.”
The cuts put pressure on the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Bomb Squad and the Metro fusion center. County Commissioner Steve Sisolak said the county cannot compensate for the budget cuts and as a result officials need to educate federal officials on the potential threats Las Vegas faces.
“They know we have a need here, they know we have a critical need and I think we just need to continue to emphasize that to them,” Sisolak told KLAS-TV.
