Security Briefing - Aug. 8 - Aug. 15
The Latest Headlines:
- Bush Puts Brakes on Security Funding
- Security Eased at Golden Gate Bridge
- TSA Warns About Airport Identity Theft
- Implementation of TIPS Delayed
- Security Tightened on Streets Around White House
- Security Eased at Golden Gate Bridge
Bush Puts Brakes on Security Funding
With the U.S. economy seemingly stalling out, President Bush said that he would withhold $5.1 billion in emergency spending, which contains funding for the Transportation Security Administration along with other agencies and purposes, approved by Congress earlier this month, USA Today reported Wednesday.Speaking at Tuesday's economic forum, Bush said that he would impose spending restraint on the federal government, just a few weeks after pushing for passage of the spending package. Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), said that the president was putting politics ahead of protection American lives, USA Today reported.
Included in the package Bush said he would hold up were:
- $419 million for the Transportation Security Administration
- $221 million for the Federal Emergency Management Agency
- $200 million for anti-terrorism aid to Israel
- and $200 million for the UN Global AIDS fund
Security Eased at Golden Gate Bridge
Security returned to normal on Monday at the Golden Gate Bridge after a weekend of increased patrols due to a potential terrorist threat, the Associated Press reported Monday.A spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District said the bridge had been placed on a "superheightened" state of alert.
Officials were looking into the credibility of a threat that terrorists planned to crash an aircraft into the span, AP said. Transport Topics
TSA Warns About Airport Identity Theft
The Transportation Security Administration has warned airlines to watch for impostors wearing stolen uniforms trying to gain access to planes and airports, the Washington Post reported Saturday.Truck drivers that haul cargo to and from airports come into contact with many airline employees.
Agency officials issued the warning days after burglars took airline uniforms, keys and identification tags from the New York apartment of two Delta Air Lines flight attendants.
Airport security officials are urged to be vigilant about checking employee identification cards. Transport Topics
Implementation of TIPS Delayed
The implementation of the Terrorism Information and Prevention System (TIPS) anti-terrorism program being instituted by the Justice Department has been delayed until Congress returns from summer recess so it can be consulted about changes, the Associated Press reported Saturday.The plan already has been modified to exclude as tipsters people from industries and government agencies that often have access to people's homes as tipsters. Instead TIPS will focus on workers who operate on the highways, such as truck drivers, and at the ports of entry, AP said.
The program originally came under heavy assault from civil libertarians and many in Congress because it would encourage spying on each other, AP said. Transport Topics
Security Tightened on Streets Around White House
The Secret Service is banning trucks and street parking of any vehicles on several blocks that run alongside the White House complex, the Associated Press reported.The action is designed to thwart possible terrorist attacks.
Beginning at 6 a.m. EDT Friday, trucks will not be allowed around eight blocks of downtown Washington near the White House. In addition, on the four blocks closest to the White House, no vehicles will be allowed to park or stop.
The Secret Service said this was not a response to any specific threat, AP noted. Transport Topics
