Tom Ridge is a decent man and a fine public servant, but unfortunately was not given the leeway or resources to tighten up homeland security in the way it should be done,
I've said to the people at the White House that you say you need all the resources to fight the war overseas, but to fight the war on terror at home with no money is like saying let's fight the war in Iraq with no new money, ... It makes no sense whatsoever.
And for some people, the proposal would benefit. But other people, the proposal would increase their taxes, because there's a cut-off. And if your home is worth about $200,000, and that's a lot of very middle-class homes in Western New York, you're stuck.
We need that bill passed, ... New York City is doing a great job on homeland security, but their resources are stretched as far as they can be stretched, and we're not getting the help from Washington that we need.