Sessions Announces Homeland Security Grants

U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas), a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Homeland Security and Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Science, and Research and Development, announced this morning that Dallas will receive a total of nearly $13 million in Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The funds for the UASI grants are being made available to the Department in the fiscal year (FY) 2004 Budget. The grants are designed to enhance the overall security and preparedness level of major metropolitan areas to prevent, respond, and recover from acts of terrorism. The grants for FY 2004 total $725 million nationwide. These funds are being made available in addition to the nearly $800 million that the Department's Office for Domestic Preparedness awarded during FY 2003 specifically for urban areas. They are to be allocated by the states that receive them to specific metropolitan areas and divided between Formula Grants and Metropolitan Rail Transit Grants. Under the FY 2004 UASI grants, Dallas will receive a Formula Grant of $12,198,661 million. A Formula Grant is a grant made to an urban area that is chosen based on a formula that takes into account factors including critical infrastructure, population density, and credible threat information. Funds from a Formula Grant are to be used to ensure better prevention and response in the event of a terrorist threat. Dallas will also receive $800,000 in Metropolitan Rail Transit Grants to help the transit authority enhance the security of its assets and passengers. Transit systems across the country receive grants based upon the number of annual riders and overall track mileage. "Emergency preparedness is essential to the Dallas community as it is to communities across the country," said Sessions. "The grants made available today by the Department of Homeland Security will help Dallas take the steps it needs to achieve the greatest possible level of security for its citizens." Sessions also said that the Select Committee on Homeland Security is currently reviewing legislation that further refines threat assessment to ensure that homeland security funds are distributed to those areas where the need is the greatest. Funding allocations for Formula Grants among the cities, contiguous counties, and mutual aid partners will be based on an urban area assessment and strategic plan. Eighty percent of the funds allocated throughout each state under this program must be awarded to the designated cities and contiguous counties within the urban area based on the strategic plan. The state may use the remaining twenty percent for further security enhancements within the urban area. Allowable uses of funds for Metropolitan Rail Transit Grants would include installation of physical barricades, integrated communications systems, prevention planning, training and exercises, and area monitoring systems such as video surveillance, motion detectors, thermal/IR imagery, and chemical/radiological material detection systems. If not already completed, each transit system would be required to conduct an assessment and preparedness plan on which to base resource allocations.