Convention cities set for more federal aid

WASHINGTON -- Congress is on the brink of granting an additional $50 million in federal funds to both the Democratic and Republican national conventions to defray escalating security costs. Split equally between the two conventions, the money would double the $25 million the government has already given each city to guard against a potential terrorist attack.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, with the help of Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry and the Massachusetts delegation, asked Congress for more money in June, citing Attorney General John Ashcroft's warning that Al Qaeda intends to ''hit the United States hard" in the next few months.

Yesterday the additional funds were included in the final version of the defense appropriations bill, which is expected to pass both the House and Senate by the end of the week.

The new grant would bring the total price tag of the Democratic National Convention to a record high of more than $130 million, at least $40 million more than the Los Angeles-based convention four years ago.

''These funds are essential support for the dedicated professionals working to see that our city has state-of-art protection for residents, delegates, and visitors alike during next week's convention," said Kennedy.

Representative Martin T. Meehan, Democrat of Lowell, said the bill will undoubtedly pass because of bipartisan concerns about national security.

''The entire leadership of the country will be concentrated in two cities during the convention, and conventions are symbols of freedom and civic virtue for radical terrorists," he said.

Nearly half the new money would be appropriated to direct security costs such as police and fire safety, while the rest would be split among defraying the costs of railway closings, preevent security training, surveillance cameras and supplies, and other emergency training.

Meehan said that the additional money would signal that the government is willing to assist with costs it helped create.

''Several precautions weren't part of the original budget before the Secret Service required them," he said, citing transportation disruptions such as the closure of North Station.

While Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge acknowledged last Thursday that the United States does not have intelligence specific to attacks at either the Democratic or Republican conventions, officials across Boston are taking no chances.

An estimated 3,000 local, state, and federal officers will be on duty throughout the convention as hoards of Secret Service and FBI officials also descend on Boston.

Upon visiting the city last week, Ridge also detailed a variety additional security precautions to protect the 35,000 visitors expected to attend the convention, such as the X-raying of shipments to the convention area and around-the-clock video surveillance of portions of the city.

Jessica E. Vascellaro can be reached at jvascellaro@globe.com.