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Mike Bloomberg on Homeland Security
Mayor of New York City (Independent)
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We've stopped making weapons for the last war; good job
This is a dangerous world. And if we haven't learnt that after 9/11, I don't know what's going to teach us what to do. We have to do something, and I think the things that I've seen recently convinced me
that the military today is better prepared than they have been in an awful long time, and that the monies they are spending on the war of weapons we need for the next war and not for the last, a common mistake that they're not making now.
Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary
, Feb 25, 2020
Address high suicide rates and mental illness among veterans
Mike's plan will increase funding for mental health across the VA, broaden access to mental health services through public-private partnerships, ease credentialing to increase the number of providers,
provide annual mental health exams for active-duty servicemembers, and educate those leaving the service on mental illness and gun safety.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com
, Jan 20, 2020
Reverse ban on transgender people serving in the military
Mike will reverse President Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military and grant an honorable
discharge to servicemembers who were forced out under the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com
, Jan 20, 2020
Expanded surveillance kept NYC safe from terrorists
On counterterrorism: Bloomberg touts his mayoral record, crediting his counterterrorism policies with keeping New York City safe from terrorist attacks. His expanded surveillance measures and other efforts sparked debate over how to balance security
with civil liberties. His administration's approach to counterterrorism was controversial, with his increased surveillance measures drawing criticism for relying on racial and religious profiling and violating civil liberties.
In the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, he argued that "our laws and our interpretation of the Constitution,
I think, have to change" to accommodate increased surveillance and other restrictions necessary to ensure public safety.
He argues that technology companies should be required to cooperate with government investigations by sharing customer data.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary
, Dec 24, 2019
Argued against increasing military spending
Bloomberg has taken few stances on defense issues, but he has argued against increasing military spending. As mayor, he pursued a range of initiatives to help veterans. He has argued that overall military spending is "about where it should be," and
dismisses claims that significant Pentagon budget increases are needed to sustain military readiness. He says the focus should be on developing high-tech equipment and "an effective cyberwar service."
He advocates for a new congressional authorization for overseas military operations, many of which currently rely on two-decade-old legislation, to put them "on sound legal footing."
He points to his mayoral record on veterans' issues.
His administration's programs included job placement and career assistance services, a veteran-run job center, and a joint program with the Department of Veterans Affairs to combat veteran homelessness in New York.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary
, Dec 24, 2019
Supported building mosque near Ground Zero
Selective evocation of religious tolerance continues today when Americans are lectured about who can exercise their freedom of religion, and under what circumstances. The plan to build a mosque just steps from Ground Zero in NYC is a good example.
NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg and other supporters of the initiative have argued that not allowing a mosque to be built at a sacred site where nearly 3000 people lost their lives in the name of Islam would somehow violate American principles of tolerance
and openness.
Many Americans, me included, feel it would be an intolerable & tragic mistake to allow such a project to go forward on such hallowed ground. Of course the supporters of this project have a constitutional right to build a mosque on private
land. But just because they can do something doesn't mean they necessarily should. This is nothing close to "religious intolerance"; it's what our Founders called "a decent respect for the opinions of mankind"--or in this case, their fellow Americans.
Source: America by Heart, by Sarah Palin, p.221-222
, Nov 23, 2010
1960s: Rejected as "1Y" when volunteering for Vietnam
When he was completing Harvard Business School, as his student draft deferment expired, he applied to the army's officer training program--assuming that a 2nd lieutenant would be a safer rank than infantry private--but he was rejected for having flat
feet.He was still subject to call-up by his hometown draft board, whose recruiting quota had tripled. Yet the board also invoked the flat feet and classified him as "1Y"--draftable only in a national emergency.
How the board learned about the flat feet without ordering its own medical exam remains a mystery. Bloomberg insists he was not the source, and the officer training program would not normally be.
Asked a few more questions about his
draft board's decision, he suddenly tore off his loafers and stood in stocking feet. "Look, those are my feet," he said, his voice rising. "Do you see an arch?" Indeed he has no arches.
Source: Bloomberg: Money, Power, Politics, by J.Purnick, p.113-114
, Sep 28, 2010
New York was 49th lowest per-capita in post-9-11 DHS grants
[Post 9-11, the Dept. of Homeland Security] gave a ton of money to New York City, though no matter what the amount, Mayor Bloomberg argued it wasn't enough and once said DHS grants were "pork barrel of the worst kind." He added, "NYC has already been
targeted by terrorists six times since 1993. Yet inexplicably, today New York State ranks 49th among the 50 states in per capita Homeland Security funding." During a televised hearing, he said, "During fiscal year 2004, New York State received
$5.47 per capita in Homeland Security grants. Nebraska got $14.33 per capita."The per capita comparison was misleading. If you look at the numbers, New York and Washington got the bulk of the money. In the second round of grants, we got the
FBI to assess the threats and tied grants to them. The political reality is you're not going to get representatives and senators from smaller states to vote in favor of a program that sends funds to only a few larger states, and nothing to anyone else.
Source: The Test of our Times, by Tom Ridge, p.179-180
, Sep 1, 2009
9/11 FYPD were heroes because they chose to stay behind
Giuliani basically said, "These guys [the firefighters who died on 9/11] were heroes; they chose to stay behind." Bloomberg said the same thing in a letter he sent to the
9/11 Commission, and that is what the commissioners put in their report because after going to great pains to describe--in chapter 9--the communications problems, the commissioners concluded in a footnote that all on-duty members of
15 to 20 fire companies knew there was an order to evacuate, but, for whatever reason, didn't get out.
What Giuliani, Bloomberg, and the 9/11 commissioners are basically saying is that these firefighters chose to die in the building. That drives the families nuts.
Source: Giuliani: Flawed or Flawless, by D. & G. Strober, p.291
, Jan 16, 2007
Use DNA and fingerprint technology for worker ID database
Bloomberg thrust himself into the national immigration debate, advocating a plan that would establish a DNA or fingerprint database to track and verify all legal US workers. Bloomberg compared his proposed federal identification database to the Social
Security card, insisting that such a system would not violate citizens’ privacy and was not a civil liberties issue. “You don’t have to work--but if you want to work for a company you have to have a Social Security card,” he said. “The difference is, in
the day and age when everybody’s got a PC on their desk with Photoshop that can replicate anything, it’s become a joke.“The mayor said DNA and fingerprint technology could be used to create a worker ID database that will ”uniquely identify the person“
applying for a job, ensuring that cards are not illegally transferred or forged. The New York Civil Liberties Union said a DNA or fingerprint database ”doesn’t sound like the free society we think we’re living in.“
Source: Sara Kugler, Associated Press
, May 24, 2006
Page last updated: Mar 20, 2021