The new DHS budget promises a growing emphasis on discretionary grants over formula grants, as well as faster action on grant applications and possible micro-management by Congress.

By Carlos Roig and Ashley Herriman
Medill News Service, Washington, D.C.

One of the biggest political issues of the year, border security, and the aftermath of one of the nation’s greatest human tragedies, Hurricane Katrina, have left tangible marks on the FY '07 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act.

Congress appropriated $34.8 billion in discretionary spending for DHS, an increase from $31.9 billion in FY ’06, after a long legislative process that involved the melding of two congressional bills introduced in the House and Senate.

Standing among Arizona lawmakers in the dry desert heat of Scottsdale, Ariz., President Bush signed the act Oct. 4 and said stronger borders and immigration reform "free up our law enforcement officers to focus on criminals and drug dealers and terrorists and others who mean us harm."

The 2007 flow of dollars to immigration issues continues a trend that has seen funding for border security more than double from $4.6 billion in 2001 to $9.5 billion in 2006, Bush said at the signing ceremony.

With Hurricane Katrina still a recent memory, the appropriations act allocated more than $6.5 billion for Preparedness and Recovery. More than 38% of that, or $2.5 billion, is destined for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. And disaster relief, with $1.5 billion allocated, is the largest single item in FEMA ’s portion of the budget.

The Preparedness and Recovery budget, which includes all preparedness spending and fema funding, accounts for nearly one-fifth of the overall DHS budget appropriation for 2007.

Preparedness funding in the FY ’07 homeland security budget decreased by $14 million to $4.017 billion from $4.031 billion in FY ’06. 2007 is the third consecutive year in which Congress has reduced the overall domestic preparedness budget, which provides aid to state and local programs.

A sizable cut of $50 million in formula grants contributed to the overall preparedness budget decrease.

High-Threat, High-Density Urban Area discretionary grants, at $770 million, make up the single largest line item in the Preparedness portion of the budget and represent a $5 million increase over FY ’06 funding. This program received its highest funding in FY ’05 with $885 million, but funding was reduced by $120 million last year.

Risk-based funding here to stay
Congress again appropriated more money for discretionary grants in FY ’07 than for the formula grant programs that dominated DHS funding when the department was first established in 2002.

2007 marks the second year in a row that discretionary funding outpaced formula grants. Under the FY ’07 Appropriations Act, DHS received $1.229 billion in discretionary grant funds and $900 million for state formula grants. Discretionary grants increased by $74 million compared with FY ’06, while state formula grants decreased by $50 million.

The FY ’07 appropriations continue the trend toward a risk-based funding model in which large urban areas meeting selected DHS characteristics receive more discretionary funding because of a greater perceived risk of terrorist attacks.

In addition to the general trend toward increased funding for High-Threat, High-Density Urban Areas, discretionary grants are increasingly being distributed based on micro-level security considerations.

For example, the Senate-House conference committee that settled differences between the competing versions of the spending bill instructed the Grants and
Training office to carefully study the threat environment at individual facilities when awarding port security grants. "The conferees expect funds to be directed to ports with the highest risk and largest vulnerabilities," the report said.

Additionally, the conferees directed the Secretary of DHS to submit a report no later than March 1, 2007, "describing the security vulnerabilities of all rail, transit, and highway bridges and tunnels connecting Northern New Jersey, New York and the five boroughs of New York City."

Congress reduced FY '07 funding for formula grants and Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grants, but by smaller margins than the cuts in the previous two fiscal years. Lawmakers trimmed formula grants by 4.5% and LETPG by 6.3%, a $25 million drop for each category.

Cuts to formula grants mean less guaranteed money for localities, because at least 80% of the total formula money allocated to a state (a base amount, plus additional money based on factors such as population and the presence of critical infrastructure) must be passed down, usually to first responder agencies. 

Planes, trains and automobiles
Port security grants have increased by $25 million each year since 2004. The FY '07 budget accelerates the trend by increasing port security grants by $35 million. Port vulnerabilities have received a lot of political and media attention, and the congressional record shows that the legislature is still concerned about these vulnerabilities.

Rail and Transit Security grants were funded at $175 million, the first increase since FY '05. Funding had remained steady the two previous years at $150 million.

The increase showed lawmakers' concern about the ability of the nation’s rail system to "adequately resist, respond to, manage or adequately recover from natural or manmade crises," according to the conference report.

The Buffer Zone Protection program, which provides grants to states and localities to secure high-risk critical infrastructure, was funded at $50 million, the same level as FY '06.

Trucking security grants received $12 million, more than double the $5 million appropriated in each of the past two years. The new appropriation, however, is still $10 million below the $22 million allotment in FY '04.

Conferees directed that the money be used to maintain and enhance current training levels, as well as to work toward enrolling 1 million truckers in Highway Watch, a homeland security initiative administered by the American Trucking Associations that trains transportation workers to recognize potential safety issues and security threats.

Intercity Bus Security grants increased by $2 million to $12 million. Conferees stipulated that the grants support the installation of driver shields, enhancement of emergency communications and facility security, improvement of ticket identification, and implementation of passenger screening.

Money from discretionary grants may be available to localities sooner in FY '07 if DHS abides by new language inserted to speed up the process.

Expressing disappointment at the "slow pace of discretionary transportation and infrastructure grant awards in fiscal year 2006," conferees required that port, trucking, intercity bus, intercity passenger rail transportation and Buffer Zone Protection grant applications be acted on by DHS within 60 days of receipt.

National grants close the gap
National discretionary grant programs helped close the gap created by the shift away from formula grant awards.

The Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium was funded at $12 million for FY '07, the second consecutive increase and the most money the program has ever received. The consortium provides support and training to rural first responders who might be required to protect critical infrastructure in their own areas or to respond to consequences from a disaster in a nearby locale.

Emergency personnel also stand to benefit from the Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program, which was funded at $50 million for the third consecutive year. Designed to benefit smaller jurisdictions, those ineligible for funding under the Urban Areas Security Initiative, this program provides advanced counter-terrorism technology directly to first-responder agencies.

Previously known as the Technology Transfer Program, the cedap provides for equipment, such as chemical detection systems, sensors and other protective gear, and for training to use it.

Another national program funded by Congress this year is the Metropolitan Medical Response System. The MMRS received $33 million in fy ’07, a $3 million increase from FY '06, but still far less than the $50 million allocated in FY '04. MMRS distributes funding to help emergency preparedness systems more effectively respond to mass-casualty public health crises.

While funding for Demonstration Training grants held steady at $30 million, lawmakers increased funding for Continuing Training grants by $6 million to $31 million for FY '07 and urged DHS to increase graduate education for first responders. "The conferees recommend full funding for the graduate-level homeland security education programs currently supported by the Department and encourage the Department to leverage these existing programs to meet the growing need for graduate-level education."

The Technical Assistance program, which provides direct assistance for responding to and recovering from threats or acts of terrorism involving wmd, has been cut for the second consecutive year. The $2 million decrease to $18 million brings Technical Assistance funding to its lowest funding level since FY '04.

Fighting fire with funding
Total funding for the U.S. Fire Administration and FEMA's Noble Training Center at Ft. McClellan, Ala., came in at $46.8 million, the same bottom line as the president's budget request and an increase from $44.9 million in FY '06.

Congress has been quick to defend Emergency Management Performance Grants and Firefighter Assistance Grants (formerly known as Assistance to Firefighter Grants), both popular programs with all-hazards missions.

The Firefighter Assistance Grants were funded at $662 million overall, including $115 million for safer Act grants. This program streamlines the grant allocation process, because funds are provided directly to local agencies rather than distributed through states.

“The conferees concur with language in the Senate report directing the Department to favor those grant applications that take a regional approach in equipment purchases and their future deployment,” lawmakers noted in the conference report.

Conferees granted $200 million for empgs, an 8% increase over fy ’06. This program gives emergency management agencies added flexibility, because grant money can be spent on personnel costs.

The president’s budget had sought only some $300 million for Firefighter Assistance Grants and no funding for EMPGS.

Conferees expressed continued concern that the ems community is not represented adequately as an equal partner on state and local planning committees. Conferees asked DHS to conduct a nationwide ems needs assessment and report to Congress by January on the use of Homeland Security Grant and Firefighter Assistance Grant funds for EMS.

FEMA remains a “distinct entity”
The FY ’07 DHS Appropriations Act reaffirmed the inclusion of fema as a distinct entity within the DHS. It emphasized the important collaborative role of regional fema administrators who work “in partnership with State, local, and tribal governments, emergency managers, emergency response providers, medical providers, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, multijurisdictional councils of governments, and regional planning commissions and organizations.”

Hurricane Katrina highlighted the challenges faced by first responders who rely heavily on federal preparedness funding and grants included in each year’s DHS Appropriations Act.
DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said he supports fema remaining within DHS. “The bill wisely reinforces DHS’ ability to operate as a comprehensive all hazards agency by keeping FEMA’s capabilities within DHS. DHS can thereby enhance fema’s ability to coordinate response and recovery efforts.”

Appropriations for FY ’07 give fema $25 million for its system of 28 Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces in 19 states, a 25% increase over last year and nearly $6 million more than the president’s budget request.

Coping with catastrophe
A DHS study released in June raised concerns about the nation's ability to cope with catastrophic events, particularly with respect to resource management and mass evacuations.

"Resource management is the 'Achilles heel' of emergency planning," the DHS Nationwide Plan Review Phase 2 Report said. "Resource Management Annexes do not adequately describe in detail the means, organization, and process by which States and urban areas will find, obtain, allocate, track, and distribute resources to meet operational needs."

The report also highlighted evacuation weaknesses nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina: "Significant weaknesses in evacuation planning are an area of profound concern."

A recent independent study also said that most major urban areas would face significant challenges in a mass evacuation. The Emergency Evacuation Report Card 2006, released by the American Highway Users Alliance, which mainly represents businesses that depend on ground transportation, considered internal traffic flow, exit capacity and automobile accessibility in its rankings of the 37 major urban areas with more than 1 million residents.

The study rated 25 urban areas lower than New Orleans in the overall evacuation capacity index. Los Angeles, Chicago and New York were the bottom three; Kansas City, Mo.; Columbus, Ohio; and Memphis, Tenn., received the best marks.

The alliance’s report recommended increasing roadway capacity and creating national standards and reporting systems to help urban areas better address their evacuation capacity weaknesses.

"There is considerable latitude for improving the evacuation capacity of the nation's urban areas," the report said.

About the authors

Ashley Herriman and Carlos Roig are reporters for the Medill News Service, Washington, D.C.