$16 MILLION SET FOR PORT SECURITY.

Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security has awarded $16 million in security funding to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, federal and local officials announced Wednesday.

The funding, along with about $6 million to other entities operating inside the ports, will go toward surveillance, cargo inspection, detection systems and perimeter fencing.

Local leaders said they were grateful for the money, but maintained that the ports really need multiyear funding to plan long-term security improvements at the nation's largest container seaport complex.

``This is the only way that we can adequately safeguard our nation's economy and protect the lives of the people in the Harbor area,'' said Los Angles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who led a delegation to Washington, D.C., earlier this year to lobby for port security funding.

The funding is part of $179 million in grants announced Wednesday by the Transportation Security Administration to provide dockside and perimeter security at the nation's ports. Altogether, 442 projects received funding.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-El Segundo, a member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, called the money ``a first step.''

``These facilities, symbols of America's commercial success, have been seriously underfunded, considering their visibility and potential vulnerability,'' Harman said.

Lisa Friedman, [phone]

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com