District Boosts Request For Anti-Terrorism Aid; List for Relief, Equipment Tops $900 Million
Mayor Anthony A. Williams petitioned the White House yesterday for $736 million in federal relief -- about five times what officials originally proposed -- to help the District recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and overhaul the city's emergency preparedness system.</br></br>In addition, the city wants $182 million for grants to protect streets, schools and technology infrastructure, according to a copy of the proposal provided to The Washington Post. In all, the city wants more than $900 million in federal aid.</br></br>The request submitted late yesterday was far more ambitious than the $150 million in federal assistance aired by Williams (D) at a D.C. Council hearing Friday. Council members assailed the sum as far too low for a city forced to confront massive costs for the exigencies of 21st-century terrorist threats and economic losses that followed the calamity.</br></br>The District is asking for $233 million for emergency preparedness and $503 million for economic recovery.</br></br>"Congress is already talking about a major stimulus, already talking about homeland security," the mayor said in an interview. "Obviously, the downside of this is that it's a significant amount of money."