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Lawmakers should give the Homeland Security Department more money to distribute to colleges and universities in grants to develop homeland security "centers of excellence," the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Monday.

"If we are going to build a technologically advanced Department [of Homeland Security], we need to pull from institutions that look like America," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the committee "I plan to develop centers of excellence at a variety of universities, including historically black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions."

Thompson praised DHS Undersecretary for Science and Technology Jay M. Cohen for his substantial outreach and cooperation in previous DHS centers of excellence grants. Thompson said he looks forward to working with Cohen as he aims to direct more funding to institutions, which could get up to $10 million each in grants.

DHS grant data indicates that from 2003 to 2005, the University of Maryland, Michigan State University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Southern California, Texas A&M and Johns Hopkins, received at least $10 million each to develop centers of excellence. Texas A&M was the biggest winner, with an $18 million grant in 2004.

The schools used the centers to focus on a range of studies, including preparedness, biological threats and agricultural security. Maryland and USC shared their federal grants with partnering universities, according to the DHS Web site.

Experts have said that college courses specific to homeland security have been on the rise since Sept. 11, 2001. Thompson did not say how many universities he would seek to fund, and he did not single out any institution for possible federal grants.

COMMENTS

• What has come from young innovative minds? 1. Microsoft - Prom young innovative Bill Gates who dropped out of college to develop his young innovative idea. 2. Apple computer - Wozniak and Jobs developed in their garage and not working in research as some university. Graphics interface and icon driven operating systems. 3. Integration of the races - accomplished by black protests on the streets and young people riding buses into areas that needed to broaden their outlook. 4. Thomas Edison and his inventions, Henry Ford and his production methods, etc. etc. etc. What has come from the universities? 1. Free trade - driven our manufacturing overseas and into decline. 2. Pensions - guaranteed benefit programs that are going bust and cannot be sustained 3. Studies financed by government - Why do kids fall off bikes? 4. Higher tuition and worthless research so professors (a major cost) do not have to teach. I do not think funding young innovative minds means going through universities - especially state chartered institutions. We funded the agricultural schools (land grant schools) and look at the level of subsidies we pay for agriculture. Also, look at our innovative agriculture that is not allowed to be marketed in Europe and Asia. I do not think we should make the same mistakes with security - universities are to be free and open centers of discussion and ideas by those that have little of nothing and therefore are extremely liberal. Most college students tend to be liberal because it is very easy to spend other people’s money! However, once they become successful they tend to become conservative because now they are spending their own money! The colleges and universities do not provide the best environmental for development of social or political ideals and should not be funded by the federal government. taxpayer Posted February 5, 2007 7:13 AM
• And of course Rep. Thompson (D-Miss.) will ensure that the highly ranked and prestigious colleges and universities in his home state will benefit from this congressional generosity! There is a limit to the taxes that can be levied upon American taxpayers. To throw billions of dollars at something as nebulous as these so-called "Centers of Excellence" sounds like pure pork to me! GovExec.com reader Posted January 31, 2007 3:33 PM
• It is my opinion that the best ideas come from research conducted at universities and young innovative minds under the guidance of their professors who are intelligent, innovative and has the necessary skills to attract and motivate young adults which prepares them for productive and rewarding careers. While all of us are aware that there are excess waste in our government spending however, we must continue to support both research and teaching institutions where ever we find excellent ideas and unique, reasonable and feasible ideas that can do the job; i.e. ideas that will assist in "protecting the U.S. and our citizens" from terrorist activities and also, cutting edge technology which will assist our military forces to "conduct war" smarter and reduce their exposure to dangerous enemies. Utilizing better technology which can be flexible for both military and the private sector usage. It is my belief that sometimes better ideas often come from people who think outside the box and who are not directly involved in the "specific field". So, it is worth funding these excellence centers as long as there is oversight and it is not just a blank check. New ideas come from young, innovative minds! And we find that at universities of all sizes! GovExec.com reader Posted January 31, 2007 8:16 AM