Follow the moneyMap offers details of DHS grant money disbursement since 9/11
The federal government — and, since 2003, DHS — have disbursed more than $30 billion in grants to states and localities since the 9/11 attacks; now you can see where each dollar went, and what states and localities did with the money they received; most of the money was used for homeland security-related projects; an uncomfortably large amount, though, was used in a way not as directly related to securing the home front
Since the 9/11 attacks, Congress has allocated roughly $30 billion to states in homeland security grants. Has the money been well spent? The The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) has gathered data that allows anyone to follow the money and judge for themselves.
CIR has made available a detailed map of where homeland security dollars have gone state by state.
Sherry Harowitz writes that the data, developed by CIR in conjunction with the Center for Public Integrity, shows both questionable uses and laudatory ones. On the questionable list in CIR’s view, the $8 million West Virginia spent on “trips, label pins, furniture, office supplies, cell-phone charges, and more” (for examples of how homeland security money is misused or wasted, see Security Management’s “A California County Shows How to Waste Homeland Security Grants”).
Harowitz writes that looking at the map — you can click on any state to pull up data for that region — many of the purchases seem legitimately related to homeland security, but CIR questions whether the resources are allocated wisely, given the high cost of some equipment being deployed in locations with tiny populations, such as Potter, Nebraska, with a population of about 400 persons, which spent $4,500 of homeland security grant money on surveillance cameras.
You can also download source data behind the numbers. “Whether you agree with CIR’s characterizations or not, there’s a wealth of information well worth perusing,” Harowitz says.
