In the wake of 9/11, the responsibilities of police, fire, and other "first responders" have increased; they must now meet their regular law enforcement and public safety duties while also be equipped to handle the possibility of responding to a terrorist attack. State governments across the country, however, are facing severe budget deficits and many individuals involved in public safety-firefighters and police officers, for instance-have been called to military duty in Iraq. To improve the capacities of states and localities to handle these new challenges, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) offered an amendment to the war supplemental spending bill that would have provided an additional $2.3 billion for first responders. Progressives supported the Schumer proposal to improve the ability of states and localities to effectively handle potential terrorist acts. On a procedural motion offered by Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) to table (or strike down) the Schumer amendment, a united front of Republicans were able to defeat Schumer's measure on a nearly party-line vote of 51-46. The partisan division on this vote can be attributed to differences between the parties regarding the amount that should have been provided to the President for discretionary (or flexible) spending on homeland security.