Dems slam Trump over potential airport security cuts

Democrats slammed President Trump on Wednesday for reportedly considering major funding cuts to national security for U.S. airports, train stations and ports, saying it would make the country more susceptible to terrorist attacks.

The administration is weighing budget reductions to the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other federal agencies to help pay for Trump’s proposed border wall and immigration enforcement plans, according to The Washington Post.

“President Trump’s incompetence would be laughable, except it’s dangerous,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in a statement. “Every expert says the wall will do nothing to make us more secure, but the potential cuts at our nation’s ports would be dangerous.”

{mosads}A draft proposal would slash the TSA’s budget by 11 percent, to $4.5 billion, while cutting the Coast Guard’s budget by 14 percent, to about $7.8 billion. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would also see an 11 percent cut, to about $3.6 billion.

Appropriators proposed a funding boost for the TSA in their fiscal 2017 spending bills, in part because of the massive security lines that started forming at airports around the country last spring. Lawmakers had to allow the agency to shift around funding in its current budget to help the TSA deal with the crisis and hire new screening officers.

Schumer also pointed out that the Senate led an effort last summer to beef up airport security in the wake of a deadly bombing at a Brussels airport. Language was attached to an aviation reauthorization bill to increase the number of bomb-sniffing dogs at transit hubs and expand pre-check programs.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, accused Trump of placing a greater priority on keeping his campaign promises than keeping America safe.

“The campaign is over and the Trump Administration must show us that it is serious about governing and can preserve the investments we have made keeping the country secure since 9/11,” Thompson said.
 
“Slashing the already tight budgets of the Coast Guard, FEMA, and TSA will only reduce our readiness and effectiveness in preventing potential attacks and responding to disasters.”