Bush to seek 9.7 percent increase in homeland security funding

President Bush announced Thursday that he would propose a 9.7 percent increase in funding for homeland security in fiscal 2005.

Bush made the comments during a visit to the New Mexico Military Institute; his full fiscal 2005 budget proposal will be sent to Congress on Feb. 2.

The president also said the proposed budget would include a 19 percent increase over fiscal 2004 funding for the Justice Department's counterterrorism initiatives.

"The additional [Justice] resources will put more FBI agents to work on counter-terrorism activities, bringing overall FBI funding to $5.1 billion," a White House press release said. The funding also would go toward the FBI's intelligence capabilities and the interagency Terrorist Threat Integration Center.