LETTER
PARTNERSHIP FOR NEW YORK CITY
New York, New York
October 3, 2011
press release (PDF 84K)Letter to Congressional Leaders on the Importance of Homeland Security Funding
October 3, 2011
The Honorable John Boehner The Honorable Nancy Pelosi |
The Honorable Harry Reid The Honorable Mitch McConnell |
Dear Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Reid, Republican Leader McConnell, and Democratic Leader Pelosi:
As employers and taxpayers, we write to express deep concern of proposed reductions in federal funding in the House and Senate appropriations legislation for Homeland Security programs that are essential to our country’s security. Specifically, we are concerned about funding reductions that will dramatically increase the vulnerability of New York City to international terrorism.
As the business and financial capital of the United States, New York City is also the Number One target of international terrorists. Federal aid, in combination with local and private investment, has made it possible to subvert thirteen terrorist plots against our city since September 11, 2001. In partnership with the federal government, our city and state have put in place the international intelligence network, the infrastructure, the person power and the technology required to keep those who would attack our country at bay. This is a bulwark of defense that protects not just New York, but all of America.
At the same time, the private sector has joined with government to invest tens of billions of dollars in rebuilding Lower Manhattan, the nation’s third largest business district, which was so badly damaged on 9/11. We have invested together on security upgrades for business locations, transportation networks, public buildings and tourist destinations across the city and region.
There continue to be extraordinary costs for the training, equipment, intelligence operations and personnel that are necessary to protect employees, clients, visitors and customers, not only from conventional attacks but also from the possibility of nuclear, biological and cyber attacks in the future. These initiatives have been successful because they are carried out with support from the private sector and all levels of government.
Contemplated cuts in federal funding will seriously undermine confidence in the security of our city that we have all worked so hard, together, to restore. This is something that our city and country cannot afford.
Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman & CEO, American Express Company
Co-Chair, Partnership for New York City
Terry J. Lundgren, Chairman, President & CEO, Macy's, Inc.
Co-Chair, Partnership for New York City
Linda L. Addison, Partner-in-Charge, New York, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
Lee S. Ainslie, III, Managing Partner, Maverick Capital
Donald R. Allman, President & CEO, Titan
David Barger, President & CEO, JetBlue Airways Corporation
Candace K. Beinecke, Chair, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
Walter A. Bell, Chairman, Swiss Re America Holding Corporation
Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Vice Chairman & CEO, Hearst Corporation
Stephen Berger, Chairman, Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC
Jeffrey L. Bewkes, Chairman & CEO, Time Warner Inc.
Michael W. Blair, Presiding Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Glenn A. Britt, Chairman & CEO, Time Warner Cable Inc.
Marianne C. Brown, President & CEO, Omgeo, LLC
Kevin Burke, Chairman, President & CEO, Con Edison
Michael A. Carpenter, Chief Executive Officer, Ally Financial Inc.
Russell L. Carson, Co-Founder and General Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Evan R. Chesler, Presiding Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
H. Rodgin Cohen, Senior Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Philippe P. Dauman, President and CEO, Viacom Inc.
Todd C. DeGarmo, Chief Executive Officer, STUDIOS Architecture
Barry Diller, Chairman & Senior Executive, IAC
James Dimon, Chairman & CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Daniel L. Doctoroff, President & CEO, Bloomberg L.P.
Donald F. Donahue, President & CEO, The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation
Irene M. Dorner, President & CEO, HSBC Bank USA
Brian Duperreault, President & CEO, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.
Laurence D. Fink, Chairman & CEO, BlackRock, Inc.
Winston C. Fisher, Partner, Fisher Brothers
Alan H. Fishman, Chairman, Ladder Capital Finance LLC
Eric J. Friedman, Managing Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Carl Galioto, FAIA, Senior Principal, HOK, Inc.
Mark T. Gallogly, Managing Partner, Centerbridge Partners
William F. Glavin Jr., Chief Executive Officer, OppenheimerFunds, Inc.
Thomas Glocer, Chief Executive Officer, Thomson Reuters
James P. Gorman, President & CEO, Morgan Stanley
Barry M. Gosin, Chief Executive Officer, Newmark Knight Frank
Jerry Gottesman, Chairman of the Board, Edison Properties, LLC
Robert Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
Kevin R. Hackett, President & CEO, Rockefeller Group International, Inc.
Gerald L. Hassell, Chairman, President & CEO, BNY Mellon
Susan L. Hayes, President & CEO, Cauldwell Wingate Company
H. Dale Hemmerdinger, President, Atco Properties & Management, Inc.
C. Robert Henrikson, Chairman, MetLife, Inc.
John B. Hess, Chairman & CEO, Hess Corporation
Marc Holliday, President & CEO, SL Green Realty Corporation
Brian T. Horey, President, Aurelian Management
Stephen R. Howe, Americas Area Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP
Glenn H. Hutchins, Co-CEO, Silver Lake
Mel M. Immergut, Chairman, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP
Frederick J. Iseman, Chairman & CEO, CI Capital Partners LLC
Jill Kaplan, Publisher, Crain's New York Business
Brad S. Karp, Chair, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
George S. Kaufman, Chairman, Kaufman Organization
David P. Kirchhoff, President & CEO, Weight Watchers International, Inc.
Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman & CEO, Alcoa Inc.
William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman, The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc.
Rochelle B. Lazarus, Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
Richard S. LeFrak, Chairman & CEO, The LeFrak Organization
Jeffrey E. Levine, Chairman, Levine Builders
Martin Lipton, Senior Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Peter L. Malkin, Chairman, Malkin Holdings, LLC
Donald B. Marron, Chairman & CEO, Lightyear Capital
Theodore Mathas, Chairman, President & CEO, New York Life Insurance Company
Peter W. May, President & COO, Trian Partners
Lowell C. McAdam, President and CEO, Verizon Communications, Inc.
Charles R. McCall, Chief Executive Officer & General Manager, Astoria Energy LLC
William L. McComb, Chief Executive Officer, Liz Claiborne Inc.
Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr., Chairman & CEO, Moody's Investors Service
Harold McGraw, III, Chairman, President & CEO, The McGraw-Hill Companies
Edward J. Minskoff, President, Edward J. Minskoff Equities, Inc.
Mitchell Modell, Chief Executive Officer, Modell's Sporting Goods
Thomas J. Moran, Chairman, President & CEO, Mutual of America Life Insurance Company
Robert E. Moritz, Chairman & Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
K. Rupert Murdoch, Chairman & CEO, News Corporation
Duncan Niederauer, Chief Executive Officer, NYSE Euronext
Vikram S. Pandit, Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup Inc.
Michael Patsalos-Fox, Chairman, The Americas, McKinsey & Company, Inc.
Hank J. Ratner, President & CEO, Madison Square Garden
Ian C. Read, President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, Pfizer Inc.
James D. Robinson, III, Co-Founder & General Partner, RRE Ventures
Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Chairman & CEO, WL Ross & Co. LLC
Stephen M. Ross, Chairman & CEO, The Related Companies, L.P.
Steven Roth, Chairman, Vornado Realty Trust
Michael I. Roth, Chairman & CEO, Interpublic Group
Howard J. Rubenstein, President, Rubenstein Associates, Inc.
William C. Rudin, CEO and Vice Chairman, Rudin Management Company, Inc.
Alan D. Schwartz, Executive Chairman, Guggenheim Partners, LLC
Frank J. Sciame, Chairman & CEO, F.J. Sciame Construction Co., Inc.
Dominick M. Servedio, Executive Chairman, STV Inc.
Larry A. Silverstein, President & CEO, Silverstein Properties, Inc.
Jerry I. Speyer, Chairman & Co-CEO, Tishman Speyer
Mary Ann Tighe, Chief Executive Officer, NY Tri-State Region, CB Richard Ellis
James S. Tisch, President & CEO, Loews Corporation
Edward D. Turen, Chairman and CEO, Control Equity Group
John B. Veihmeyer, Chairman & CEO, KPMG LLP
Mark L. Wagar, President & CEO, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield
Robert E. Wankel, President & Co-CEO, The Shubert Organization, Inc.
Anthony Watson, Chairman & CEO, EmblemHealth Services LLC
Seth Waugh, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Bank Americas
Charles Weinstein, Chief Executive Officer, EisnerAmper LLP
Keith C. Wetmore, Chair, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Christopher J. Williams, Chairman & CEO, The Williams Capital Group, L.P.
Kathryn S. Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New York City
Strauss Zelnick, Chief Executive Officer, ZelnickMedia Corporation
Mortimer B. Zuckerman, Chairman & CEO, Boston Properties
cc: The Honorable Janet Napolitano
The Honorable Charles Schumer
The Honorable Kirsten Gillibrand
The Honorable Frank Lautenberg
The Honorable Joseph Lieberman
The Honorable Peter King
Members of the New York State Congressional Delegation
About the Partnership for New York City
The Partnership for New York City’s mission is to engage the business community in efforts to advance the economy of New York City and maintain the city’s position as the center of world commerce, finance and innovation. Through the New York City Investment Fund, the Partnership contributes directly to projects that create jobs, improve economically distressed communities and stimulate new business creation. Partnership companies account for nearly 7 million American jobs and contribute over $740 billion to the national GDP.