Here’s just one...there are others where they actually raised cain to Perry for holding back border funding from the border and demanding an answer to where the money is going...after audit was completed they determined approx. 3% was all that was being proprely distributed.
“We noted that an average of $125 million ‘annually’ in Department of Homeland Security funding has gone to the state since 2006. And yet, Governor Perry has consistently sent less than 10 percent of those funds to border law enforcement agencies, where they are most needed.
http://www.texasinsider.org/?p=26695
Your link is to old comments made by 5 Democrats, including Ciro Rodriquez who was replaced by Quico Conseco in 2010.
Some of the money went to San Antonio, Houston and Dallas (known targets due to their size and importance in Texas and the US’ economy), and other places that deal with customs and immigration - and those Federal hearings on illegal aliens - the ones where the people are given a date to appear - and then disappear.
We allocate $100 million of our own State Tax funds to border security and will increase that in the next 2 years.
The 2009 audit found that although the money was “generally spent the way it was intended, some local governments weren’t spending money as they said they would
http://www.homeland1.com/homeland-security-grants/articles/475610-Texas-lawmakers-angered-by-spending-of-border-security-money/
The recent media coverage of the review of DHS audits by the Feds is full of contradictory statements -
http://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Audit-questions-Texas-Homeland-Security-spending-2155568.php
Most of the money was spent “efficiently,” but the oversight did not meet the fed’s standards.
It does appear that we need to monitor Kleburg County (a Dem border County that bought 2 Camaros to patrol in) and other Dem strongholds more carefully. (However, even Dem-controlled Sequin had a fair excuse for their fish tank and animal cage - to be able to take care of fish and other pets for hurricane refugees. They were obviously influenced by experience from Rita and Ike, etc.)
As for how the Feds respond - look at what happened when they showed up in Montgomery County during this month’s fires:https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=197603266974809
Here’s a better explanation, in a 2010 article, for the complaints from the Federal Department of Homeland Security and about where the money went:
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-state-agencies/department-of-public-safety/security-spending-oversight-diffuse-decentralized/
First, be sure and read the first 3 paragraphs and remember this was written in March, 2010.
“”If nature calls for firefighters in the middle of a 10,000-acre West Texas blaze 15 miles from the nearest facilities, they’ll be able to answer in privacy. That’s thanks to a $441 portable toilet local governments bought with homeland security dollars.””
It appears that the Feds weren’t monitoring where the money went, then set up guidelines since this article was written. And, then, we hear about Texas’ failure to follow their guidelines.
“”Despite repeated inquiries, FEMA officials who oversee homeland security grants never responded with direct answers about what steps they have taken since the 2008 GAO report to measure what effect on national safety the billions spent have actually had. A July 2009 GAO report indicated that FEMA still hadn’t found a way to measure whether billions in security grants for urban areas effectively added response capabilities, though the agency told GAO investigators an effort was underway to develop such an assessment system.””