ARE THE FEDS F**KING WITH US CAUSE THEY NEED $40 MILLION FOR THEIR ANTI-NUKE SCREENING SYSTEM? DID YOU NOTICE THE RISE IN TERROR THREATS LATELY? IT JUST SMELLS FISHY!

WASHINGTON - The $40 million New York needs to complete its ambitious anti-nuke screening system is at stake in Congress in the coming weeks as a handful of lawmakers decide whether the feds will pick up the cost.
New Yorkers say the answer should be yes - pointing to the recent arrests in an Al Qaeda bomb plot as evidence the city is still in the terrorists' crosshairs.

"The plot in the last week makes clear there's a real and present danger," said Rep. Nita Lowey (D-Westchester).

"If there was ever money that has to be directed to New York, this is it," agreed Rep. Jose Serrano (D-Bronx).

The program, called Securing Our Cities, deploys sensors designed to detect radioactive material that could be used to sneak a nuclear bomb or radiation-spewing "dirty bomb" into the city.

Rings of sensors have already been placed throughout the tristate area at highways, toll plazas, bridges, tunnels and waterways. More funding is being sought to complete the system and pay for training exercises.

New York officials, including Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.), argue New York would be a top target for such weapons. But the funding request has hit several obstacles.

The first is that Homeland Security officials considered it a pilot project. After pouring $73 million over three years to get it up and running, they asked Congress to shut the spigot for 2010.

Homeland Security Department officials believe it's time for New York to shoulder the costs.

Also, the feds are still analyzing how reliable the current system is. Some believe next-generation technology the feds are testing will prove more effective, and worth waiting for.

"It would be more prudent not to ask for more funds when we have a delay in the new technology coming forward," a senior Homeland Security official said last spring about the funding request.

Lowey, a member of the Intelligence Committee, said it's clear enough that the system already works. The real issue, she said, is that the feds don't want Securing the Cities' federal funding to become permanent.

"It's been demonstrated that it's effective, so now we need to continue to fund it," Lowey said.

New York's House members managed to convince lawmakers in their chamber to put the $40 million in the Homeland Security funding bill for 2010.

But the Senate disagreed, and only voted for $10 million for anti-nuke detection. And that money wouldn't necessarily go to New York.

It's up to a conference committee of House members and senators to settle the issue in meetings that may begin this week.

The News reported exclusively last week that 42 lawmakers from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have already written to the conference chiefs to urge approval.

Serrano and Lowey, who were both named to the conference committee, fear a tough battle.

Said Serrano: "There was a full national understanding after Sept. 11 that indeed a crime was committed against America, but the scene of the crime was New York. That's worn down quite a bit ... so it will be a struggle."