Despite Katrina, Bill Gives Responders Less Than Expected.

This article reports that emergency personnel will receive only slightly more for new communications gear than the amount initially proposed by U.S. President George Bush in February, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. House-Senate conferees agreed last week to provide the Homeland Security Department with $27 million to develop technology and expand interoperability initiatives, $15 million less than the House approved in its spending bill in May. The Senate's version included $15 million, and Bush requested $21 million. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said after touring the hurricane-ravaged area that the Congress had invested money over the last four years but its efforts had failed. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it would cost $15 billion to upgrade equipment for firefighters and police and experts say it would take 15 to 20 years to connect the 60,000 emergency workers across the country.