Fiscal Year 2007 Homeland Security Grant Program and H.R. 1: Description and Analysis

Publication Date: February 2007

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

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Abstract:

On January 5, 2007, the Office for Grants and Training -- within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) -- issued the FY2007 Homeland Security Grant Program: Program Guidance and Application Kit, to states and localities. On January 10, 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1 -- "Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007." The FY2007 guidance provides information on how the department intends to allocate Homeland Security Grant Program funding to states, urban areas, and U.S. insular areas. H.R. 1 proposes changes to the distribution methods the Department of Homeland Security uses to allocate some components the Homeland Security Grant Program funding.

The Homeland Security Grant Program includes the State Homeland Security Grant Program, the Urban Area Security Initiative, the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program, the Metropolitan Medical Response System, and the Citizen Corps Program. H.R. 1, however, only addresses the State Homeland Security Grant Program, the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program, and the Urban Area Security Initiative distribution methods, and is silent on Metropolitan Medical Response System and Citizen Corps Program.

The FY2007 guidance and H.R. 1 both propose using risk and effectiveness evaluations to allocate Homeland Security Grant Program funding to the states, the District of Columbia (DC), and U.S. insular areas. Both intend for the Urban Area Security Initiative funding to be based purely on risk and effectiveness assessments.

This report summarizes and compares the FY2007 program guidance and H.R. 1 Homeland Security Grant Program distribution methods; it presents rough estimates of the State Homeland Security Grant Program and the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program grant allocations following each of the two methods and assuming a $900 million appropriation; it also compares the estimates with actual FY2006 allocations.

Both the FY2007 guidance and H.R. 1 address critical infrastructure protection, homeland security information sharing, interoperable communications, radiological and nuclear detection capabilities, catastrophic planning, and National Incident Management System compliance. These homeland security activities and programs are, however, outside the scope of this report.

For information on the National Preparedness Goal, Homeland Security Strategies, and Targeted Capabilities Enhancement Plans, see CRS Report RL33583, Homeland Security Grants: Evolution of Program Guidance and Grant Distribution Methods, by Shawn Reese. For more on the DHS grant distributions for more DHS programs for earlier years, see CRS Report RL33770, Department of Homeland Security Grants to State and Local Governments: FY2003 to FY2006, by Steven Maguire and Shawn Reese. This report will updated as legislative events warrant.