On Feb. 14, Acting Secretary of
Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf announced the release of nearly $1.8 billion for
preparedness.
The grant programs, which fund
state, local, tribal and territorial governments, transportation authorities,
nonprofit organizations and the private sector to improve the nation’s
readiness in preventing, protecting against, responding to, recovering from and
mitigating terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies.
The grants reflect the
department’s focus on funding for programs that address our nation’s immediate
security needs and ensure public safety in our communities. In 2020, DHS
identified four critical priority areas for attention in the FY 2020 grant
cycle: cybersecurity, soft targets and crowded places, intelligence and
information sharing, and emerging threats.
Grant recipients under state
homeland and urban area programs must dedicate a minimum of 20% of the award
amounts to address the DHS priority areas by allocating no less than 5% to each
category. Applicants will be required to submit investment justifications that
address these priorities, and DHS will conduct an effectiveness review process
to ensure grant funding is allocated to projects that most effectively address
these priorities.
While several of the grant
programs include changes from past practices, these changes also reflect
comments and criticisms we have heard from stakeholder about the need for new
ideas and new strategies in the following critical grant programs.
·
Homeland Security Grant Program - more than $1 billion
including:
- State Homeland
Security Program: $415 million.
- Urban Area
Security Initiative: $615 million.
- Operation
Stonegarden: $90 million.
·
Emergency Management Performance Grants: more than $355 million.
·
Tribal Homeland Security Grant Program: $15 million.
·
Nonprofit Security Grant Program: $90 million.
·
Intercity Passenger Rail Program: Amtrak $10 million.
·
Intercity Bus Security Grant Program: $2 million.
·
Port Security Grant Program: $100 million.
·
Transit Security Grant Program: $88 million.
For 2020, the Urban Area Security
Initiative will enhance regional preparedness and capabilities by funding 32
high-threat, high-density urban areas. This represents Congressional
intent to limit funding to those urban areas that represent up to 85 percent of
the nationwide risk, as stated in the Explanatory Statement accompanying the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019
(Pub. L. No. 116-6).
All preparedness notices of
funding opportunities can be found at www.grants.gov. Final submissions must be made
through the Non-Disaster (ND) Grants system located at https://portal.fema.gov.
Further information on DHS’s preparedness grant programs is
available on the DHS and FEMA websites
