Homeland Security Grant Formulas: A Comparison of Formula Provisions in S. 21 and H.R. 1544, 109th Congress

Publication Date: July 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

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Abstract:

In FY2005, Congress appropriated $3.6 billion for state and local homeland security assistance programs. These homeland security assistance programs include the: State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP); Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI); Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP); Citizen Corps Programs (CCP); Assistance to Firefighters (FIRE); and Emergency Management Performance Grants.

In the FY2005 DHS appropriations (P.L. 108-334), Congress directed DHS to allocate funding for SHSGP, LETPP, EMPG, and CCP in the same manner as the FY2004 allocations. The minimum allocations are based on the formula of 0.75% of total appropriations guaranteed to each state, 0.25% of total appropriations guaranteed to each U.S. territory, and the remainder of total appropriations are based on the states' population percentage of the total national population. The actual FY2005 minimum allocation, including SHSGP and LETPP, was $11.25 million for each state and $3.75 million for each territory. In the absence of statutes or congressional guidance, DHS, in FY2004, decided to allocate the remaining appropriations in direct proportion to the ratio of each states's population to the total national population.

UASI grants are the only DHS assistance that is distributed based on threat and risk factors. On May 3, 2003, former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge testified before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and stated that DHS uses risk and threat assessments, location of critical infrastructure, and population as factors in determining which metropolitan areas receive funding from UASI.

In August 2004, however, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) questioned the way state and local homeland security assistance is allocated and argued that federal homeland security assistance should not "remain a program for general revenue sharing."

In the 109th Congress, a bill passed by the House (H.R. 1544, "Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2005") and a bill (S. 21, "Homeland Security Enhancement Act of 2005") passed as an amendment to the Senate reported H.R. 2360 (FY2006 Department of Homeland Security appropriations) propose to alter the formulas for allocating federal homeland security assistance to states and localities. Both bills propose that ODP use risk factors in determining state and locality homeland security assistance.

This CRS report summarizes and compares the two bills. Specifically, the report compares the sections in S. 21 and H.R. 1544 (Table 2), presents estimated guaranteed amounts each state would receive under the House and Senate formulas (Table 3), and a step-by-step process for distribution of federal homeland security assistance (Appendix A and B), as proposed by these two bills.