America's northern border stretches more than 4,000 miles through 12 states, while our southern border measures just 1,900 miles along four states. Yet, as the 9/11 Commission pointed out in its final report, the northern border has traditionally received less attention and resources from the federal government.

Because 721 of the border's 4,000 miles belong to Michigan - giving our state the longest section of the U.S.-Canadian border in the contiguous 48 states -we are acutely interested in northern border security.

On Sept. 11, 2001, there were less than 400 Border Patrol agents assigned to the northern border compared to more than 8,000 along the southern border. Put another way, more than 20 times as many agents on the southern border were covering less than half the distance as the northern border.

Fortunately, we have made some progress in the last few years. There are now more than 1,000 northern border patrol agents, including a large increase in southeastern Michigan. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security has recommended Southeast Michigan as the new home of a Northern Border Air Wing, an initiative launched by the Department of Homeland Security in 2004 to improve northern border security.

We still have more to do. We need to address the unique challenges our first responders face in communicating in the event of a large-scale disaster or terrorist attack. Our first responders need open communication not only with federal, state and local entities but also with their Canadian counterparts.

In 2005, the Senate twice approved an amendment I authored to help our first responders address these challenges. The amendment directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish demonstration projects on the northern border to address our first responders' interoperable communications needs. The projects would identify common frequencies for communications equipment and provide training and equipment to relevant personnel.

Unfortunately, the House of Representatives did not agree so the amendments did not become law. I will continue to work with my colleagues from the Michigan Congressional delegation to ensure we address the needs of our first responders.

We must also reevaluate the way homeland security grant money is distributed. The current formula hurts large population states like Michigan by guaranteeing that a large portion of the funds will be divided equally among the states, regardless of size, population or risk.

An identical program has existed for southern border states since 2002. By easing the cost burden on local governments, they will be able to more effectively prosecute border-related crime and devote more resources to border security efforts.

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