Local pols tout LI company for border security
Congressmen Steve Israel, left, a Democrat and Peter King, a Republican, have come together to work for business for a Long Island Company. (Undated) Credit: Handouts
Telephonics Corp., the Farmingdale-based company that is Long Island's second-largest defense contractor, got a boost from two members of the Island's congressional delegation in its efforts to sell its border-surveillance equipment.
Reps. Peter King (R-Seaford) and Steve Israel (D-Huntington), appealed to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano "to use available technology to secure the border with Mexico."
Telephonics, a unit of Jericho-based Griffon Corp., designs and manufactures ground and maritime surveillance radar systems. Some of Telephonics' systems are already in use, but King and Israel called for broader implementation.
Israel seemed to take a swipe at Telephonics' competitors, saying border surveillance should not depend on "pie-in-the-sky technologies that will never see the light of day."
In August, both the House and Senate passed legislation authorizing $600 million for personnel and equipment to help secure the Southwest border, but the government hasn't determined how to spend the money yet.
