Janet Jackson News

The White House issued a Press Release stating that the proposed FY 2005 federal budget has been sent to Congress. As can only occur in Washington, the agencies are lining up to explain how happy they are to have their budgets cut or capped. The Department of Homeland Security (one of the few winners in the battle of the budget) announced that a $3.7 billion increase in funding to $40.2 billion has been proposed for the department for FY05. On border and port security, the budget includes $411 million more than in FY04 for customs and border patrol, immigration and customs enforcement, and the Coast Guard. For seaport security, the president proposed an additional $25 million over last year's funding for the final phase of a pre-screening cargo initiative.