The Wall Street Journal-20080205-Politics - Economics- Homeland Security Would Get 11- Bump

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Politics & Economics: Homeland Security Would Get 11% Bump

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Homeland security earns the largest percentage boost in spending under President Bush's proposed budget, with an 11% rise that would translate into $6.68 billion in new money across the government to bolster domestic-security needs.

Much of the added money would go toward shielding domestic infrastructure, especially computer networks after several major government and commercial security breaches, as well as to nuclear- detection programs and border security, which has become a major Republican election-year priority.

There are some less-expected beneficiaries of the proposed $68.5 billion total, including the Smithsonian Institution. Supplemental spending requests could add more.

While domestic-security spending at the Department of Homeland Security would climb by about 7% to $34.99 billion, that is about half of what President Bush has requested for agencies outside the department. That reflects a new tack to assign more responsibilities, such as the Environmental Protection Agency's responsibility for protecting water sources. EPA would get a 24% increase in security money, to $171 million.

Other major expansions include a 28% increase to $348 million for the Veterans Affairs Department and 26% more for the State Department, totaling $2.47 billion. The Pentagon's homeland-security budget would grow a comparatively meager 2%, but it still holds a major chunk of the homeland budget at $17.64 billion.

Some money would fund a government-wide effort to protect computer networks. Officials familiar with the initiative estimate it would cost $6 billion or more this year. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff would say only that it will be "a well-funded effort," because much of the budget is classified. His department would get about $300 million for cybersecurity.

Much of the spending would go to security for federal buildings and museums, money that before 2001 was considered facility spending, "so, in some respects, there's less there than meets the eye," said James Carafano, a homeland security analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank.

Even entities like the Social Security Administration, the National Archives and the U.S. Holocaust Museum would get boosts. The Smithsonian Institution would gain an additional $4 million, bringing its total homeland-security spending to $96.6 million. It plans to hire 40 more security guards and improve bag checking and personnel- security procedures.

"The Smithsonian is an iconic sort of target," said Robert Liscouski, former chief of infrastructure protection at Homeland Security.

After suffering a defeat of its immigration-overhaul proposals, the administration is taking a much harder line with its border-security proposals. Mr. Bush proposed $12.14 billion to beef up border security and immigration enforcement. That would buy about $3.5 billion for Border Patrol agents and $3 billion to enforce immigration laws inside the country.

The budget has losers, too, namely state and local officials whose proposed grants were cut nearly in half. That money may be restored by lawmakers seeking to ensure the places they represent don't lose money.

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Gary Fields contributed to this article.