Lawmakers press for DNC security assistance
WASHINGTON -- With Congress set to adjourn for the year as soon as the end of this week, Massachusetts congressmen are scrambling to nail down $25 million in federal funding for security costs associated with next summer's Democratic National Convention.
The federal money represents nearly 40 percent of the estimated cost of the convention, and it's considered crucial to convention organizers, particularly with the pace of private donations lagging. Planners say they need the cash to be approved as soon as possible, so they can pay for special training for police officers and firefighters and make plans to purchase radios, fences, and other equipment that will be used to help secure the FleetCenter and the surrounding area next July.
"It would be the ideal to get this settled now," said US Representative Michael E. Capuano, a Somerville Democrat whose district includes much of Boston. "The longer we have to plan, the better off the security people will be."
Yesterday, members of the Massachusetts and New York congressional delegations began circulating a letter asking House and Senate budget chiefs to approve $50 million for convention security: $25 million for the Democrats in Boston and $25 million for the Republicans in New York City. The two delegations are lobbying for the money together to avoid partisan wrangling.
"These conventions will be the focus of intense media coverage from around the world, as the nation engages in one of the most important events of our democracy," says a draft of the letter, which points out that the total security costs for the two cities could reach $80 million. "It is an unfortunate reality and a sign of the times in which we live that these important national events could also be the focus of terrorist activity."
After Sept. 11, 2001, there is little controversy in Congress over whether the political conventions should get security money from the federal government. The convention has already been deemed a National Special Security Event by the federal government, often a precursor to receiving federal security aid. But the timing and scope of any aid package remain unsettled.
An omnibus spending bill scheduled to be finalized in Congress before Thanksgiving will probably be the last chance for convention organizers to secure the money until at least February.
Members of the Massachusetts delegation are concerned that security funding for the convention will get lost in the shuffle of a busy time on Capitol Hill, when scores of funding requests are being floated at the same time that lawmakers tussle over high-profile bills affecting energy policy, Medicare, and other issues.
And because New York has raised a vastly larger amount of private funds for its convention, getting the security money in place isn't as important to New York convention planners as it is to Boston at this stage.
Aides to Governor Mitt Romney, one of the Bay State's few high-placed Republicans, have been employed to help lobby the GOP-controlled Congress. Theirs have been among a chorus of Massachusetts voices that have been impressing on top Washington lawmakers the importance of getting the money approved, so that organizers can procure equipment and train public safety officials in plenty of time for the convention, said Julie Burns, executive director of Boston 2004, the convention host committee.
"We're getting the message out about what we need and why we need it," Burns said.
Still, Burns downplayed the potential impact on convention planning if the money doesn't come through until early next year, saying that planners would find a way to cope. "Obviously the sooner the decision is made, the better, but certainly we'd be happy to have the funding whenever we can get it," she said.
Much of the security money, including overtime for police officers and firefighters, won't be spent until the week of the convention. But other expenses, including antiterrorism training and the purchase of specialized equipment, will be incurred months before the event. An infusion of cash from the federal government would ease the way for that planning.
As federal help is being sought, the flow of private donations to the Democratic convention has slowed. US Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino lined up $20 million in commitments before winning the convention bid, but only about $3 million more has been secured since then. New York planners, meanwhile, have brought in more than $60 million from private sources for a convention that's expected to cost $91 million.
Boston organizers are trying to raise at least $28.5 million from private sources, with the rest of the estimated $65 million convention budget to be funded by some combination of public aid and in-kind contributions from private sources. If the federal government doesn't chip in for security, which is considered unlikely, it would put more pressure on private fund-raising and the state and city governments. Menino has said he wants to avoid using city tax dollars for the convention, and Romney has taken a similar stance with regard to state tax revenues.
Boston's original convention budget called for $10 million for security, but the estimated cost swelled to $25 million after the convention was tagged as a National Special Security Event in May. A similar designation cleared the way for the federal government to pay $250 million of the $310 million security bill at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. The designation ensures that Boston security planners will be aided by the Secret Service, the FBI, and other federal agencies.
The precise uses of the security money at the convention have not been determined, and organizers are awaiting the completion of a security plan by the Secret Service and Boston police to determine the cost with more precision. Capuano said he is optimistic about getting the $25 million approved before Congress breaks for the holidays, but will remain vigilant until the money is in hand.
Rick Klein can be reached at rklein@globe.com.
