On Oct. 4, President George W. Bush signed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for 2007. The bill provides $34.8 billion to fund the department and its grant programs for fiscal year 2007. In addition, the spending measure includes provisions to reorganize the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was severely criticized for its response to Hurricane Katrina last summer.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program received a slight increase from $545 million in FY 2006 to $547 million in FY 2007. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program also received an increase, from $110 million to $115 million. These programs represent a combined $662 million in funding specifically for fire service grants. The State Homeland Security Grant Program received $525 million, $25 million less than FY 2006. The Urban Area Security Initiative has been funded at $770 million, an increase of $5 million.

The bill also contains several provisions related to the reorganization of FEMA. While FEMA will remain a part of DHS, the department is prohibited from diverting any of the agency’s funding to other offices and the position of administrator of FEMA will be elevated to the level of deputy secretary.

The appropriations act provides over 2.5 billion in funding for preparedness and response activities, including $46,849,000 for the U.S. Fire Administration.