00:08Good morning, I'm proud to stand here with the mayor of New York City, Zoram Mamdani,
00:12as well as my commissioner of Homeland Security.
00:16Today, after a quarter century of successfully thwarting other attacks on our homeland,
00:23our brave police and firefighters learn that the Trump administration is abandoning them.
00:30That's right, Donald Trump withholding funding intended to keep New Yorkers safe from another terrorism attack.
00:38And that's exactly why we're standing here together today,
00:41to stand up and fight back against the unprecedented, reckless and dangerous decisions being made in Washington.
00:52The Department of Homeland Security, the agency created in response to 9-11,
00:58is withholding 40% of New York State's counter-terrorism funding.
01:04Yes, 40%.
01:06That's, from New York State, the number one terror target in the nation.
01:11A place where, just recently, a terror plot against our state capitol was uncovered.
01:18That 40% adds up to $87 million.
01:23That's $87 million they owe us.
01:28Donald Trump is defunding the police.
01:33Defunding the NYPD intelligent analysts who foil the attacks.
01:38Defunding the brave members of FDNY who run into the fire while the rest of us are running out.
01:45Defunding the National Guard, the units who protect the major transit hubs.
01:50Defunding bomb squads, defunding police departments and sheriff's offices from Long Island to Westchester to Buffalo.
02:00Over the last three years, the teams use these funds that have been responsible for these 145 major arrests, disruptions
02:09and leads across 10 states.
02:11You know what that translates into?
02:14Lives saves.
02:15Tragedy is averted because of those highly specialized units.
02:20And now, Donald Trump is refusing to release the funds that those teams so desperately need.
02:30Release the $87 million you owe us.
02:33Because if you don't release the counterterrorism funding, you're betraying every family that lost someone on 9-11.
02:42You're betraying every police officer and firefighter who puts their lives on the line every single day.
02:48And you're betraying every New Yorker who no longer believes that the federal government is there to protect them.
02:57We should be strengthening the systems that protect New Yorkers.
03:00The federal government is walking away from that responsibility.
03:03That is why we are here together today to call on Washington to restore the funding that our city is
03:09owed.
03:10Funding that our first responders need, funding that is essential to keeping New Yorkers safe.
03:18I want to take a moment to make clear where this funding goes.
03:22We are not talking about reports or studies or abstract security proposals.
03:28We are talking about the money needed to fully fund 12 bomb squads across New York.
03:33We are talking about the money needed to ensure that in the event of a catastrophic attack, the FDNY can
03:40communicate internally and respond effectively.
03:43And we are talking about making sure that should New Yorkers ever face a radiological threat,
03:48our first responders have the training, the equipment, and the capabilities they need to respond.
03:54To put it simply, there is no excuse for the federal government to leave the nation's largest city to shoulder
04:01this burden alone.
04:05And it is funding that affects NYPD, FDNY, NYSOM, emergency preparedness across the board.
04:12And that is what is so galling about this, is we're not speaking about money that could be used to
04:19some potential benefit.
04:20This is exactly the kinds of operations and equipment that are critical, and they are critical on a day-to
04:27-day basis.
04:31By restoring this $87 million that was promised 10 months ago, the federal government can do its part to make
04:39sure that New York is ready for any threat that faces it.
04:42And for that reason, we are calling upon Secretary Mullen and the Department of Homeland Security to make good on
04:49the promise that the president made 11 months ago, and we are still waiting.
04:53Not having this funding is making sure that we cannot take those next steps.
04:59We cannot be ready for whatever comes our way.
05:03That concludes our program. Thank you all for joining us.
