Today, the President signed into law the Port Security Bill, which includes provisions from the Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act. Check out my earlier posting to learn more about the WARN Agreement, and the Incident.com blog, too.

I thought you might also find the Democratic National Committee's response to the President's signing of the Port Security Bill into law of interest. Of course it's highly political and points the finger at (or gives the finger to?!) Republicans for not doing enough to secure the homeland. With respect to first responders, the DNC notes the following:

Bush's 2007 Budget Cuts Funding for First Responders by 25 Percent. Police departments nationwide do not have the protective gear to safely secure a site after the detonation of a weapon of mass destruction and fire departments have only enough radios for half the firefighters on a shift. And yet the budget includes a net cut in first responder funding within the Department of Homeland Security of $573 million, or 25 percent. Within this total, the budget slashes the Firefighter Grant program by $355 million and eliminates all funding for law enforcement terrorism prevention, a reduction of $385 million. These cuts are partially offset by an $87 million increase for first responder formula-based grants and an $80 million increase for specific high-threat urban areas.

For the record, the FRC is a non-partisan organization focused on first responder issues. I provide the information above for informational purposes only, and will leave it to the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.

That said, if you have an opinion about the work of either party to provide first responders with the resources they need don't hesitate to share your thoughts!