Photo Courtesy of Sen. Schumer’s Office
“To suggest in a formal congressional hearing that we can do without these specially trained teams is both myopic and maddening,” Sen. Schumer said.
By Forum Staff
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday blasted a new Transportation Security Administration proposal to ax the federal funding for canine Visible Intermodal Prevent and Response teams which are employed to keep NYC airports, train stations, ferries, ports, and special events, like parades and marathons, safe.
Last week, at a House Homeland Security Transportation Subcommittee hearing, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said he wanted to eliminate the agency’s use of canine VIPR teams and turn the responsibility over to state and local governments. According to Politico, Pekoske said, “We just can’t afford to continue to provide that level of support.”
But Schumer noted that the dogs often play a necessary and critical redundancy to other security measures that screen individuals for explosives or explosive residue.
“We are talking about preserving the most basic charge of the TSA: to keep America safe. And to suggest in a formal congressional hearing that we can do without these specially trained teams is both myopic and maddening,” the senator said. “Given the all-too-recent suicide bombing attempt within the Port Authority subway station, just this past December, it is unthinkable that the TSA is even considering the removal of our security firewall; the canine VIPR teams. In fact, I have fought for and helped deliver extra canine teams to New York City in the past—because we need to beef up these kinds of security operations, not cut them to the bone or throw the responsibility onto the NYPD. So, it is incumbent upon the TSA to immediately reverse course on making a potentially catastrophic decision to slash the funding that delivers these teams and the idea that local governments can bare the national security burden. Canine teams are not a luxury. In New York City, canine dog teams can mean life or death.”
New York’s senior senator also noted that he recently faced this sort of issue. President Donald Trump’s proposed budget slashed VIPR canine teams by $43 million, or 23 total tandems. However, the bipartisan omnibus spending bill restored those cuts and provided $58 million to the VIPR initiative, sustaining 31 teams.
“My message to the TSA is a simple one: If you think you are going to tell New York to just pick up the security slack and then the tab for a canine VIPR team that is—and must remain—a federal responsibility, you are barking up the wrong tree, because it should not happen,” Schumer added.
