WASHINGTON -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Thursday agreed to meet with Nevada lawmakers to provide classified information about Las Vegas terrorism threats.
Nevadans have criticized Chertoff since he disqualified Las Vegas on Jan. 3 from an anti-terrorism grant program that funnels millions of dollars to cities considered at "high threat" for a possible attack. The city remains eligible for other homeland security grants.
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Chertoff made the offer to Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing.
"I'm open to next year to reconsidering based on new facts, new threat information or better arguments," Chertoff said. "This is an evolving situation."
He later extended the offer to Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., in a private meeting, Porter spokesman T.J. Crawford said.
The date has not been set.
At the hearing, Gibbons questioned why Chertoff omitted Las Vegas from the grant program though informal assessments by the Homeland Security Department have ranked Las Vegas among the top six cities of concern for terrorism.
Officials at the Homeland Security Operations Center have conveyed that message to Clark County Sheriff Bill Young, Young spokesman Chris Jones said.
"It's a general consensus among law enforcement and Homeland Security that Las Vegas always makes it in the top five or six of the list," said Jones, who added that he knows of no formal list.
Chertoff on Thursday defended his decision to disqualify Las Vegas from the anti-terrorism grant program.
He cited several factors, including classified information, used to determine which 35 cities should benefit from "high threat" funding.
Las Vegas last year received $8 million through the program, and it is eligible to apply for funding this year.
Chertoff did not address Gibbons' characterization of Las Vegas as among the top six cities of concern.
A Homeland Security spokesman said the agency's Operations Center does not "officially rank cities."
"I could not comment on any personal conversations Sheriff Young had with the operations center," spokesman Mark Short said.
Young, who has called upon Chertoff to resign, last week raised the grant issue with President Bush. Bush told Young that he was unaware of the situation.
Homeland Security officials said 3.2 billion calculations were used to determine the top 35 high-threat cities.
"It just doesn't seem feasible if you take the sixth-ranked city in the country off a list of 35. There is no justification for it," Gibbons said.
Last year, Las Vegas used the money to buy a chemical agent spectrometer and handheld computers for emergency personnel, among other items.
The state received $20 million through other Homeland Security grants.
