The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released its FY 2008 budget request, which increases funding for the U.S. Fire Administration while reducing the amount of money available for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

The FY 2008 budget request represents the first combined budget to incorporate the components of the Department of Homeland Security's Preparedness Directorate that transferred to FEMA as directed by the FY 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. As such, analyses of the requested $8.02 billion in funding requested presents a cohesive picture of how the newly redesigned FEMA will be funded and operate.

The FY 2008 budget request reflects the first year of a three-year phased approach that will improve the core competencies necessary to meet FEMA's commitment to serve the public and be the nation's preeminent emergency management agency. The requested total funding for legacy programs transferred to FEMA and FEMA's existing programs represents an 11% increase, or $601 million, for a total of $5.8 billion in FY 2008.

The budget request includes two key elements associated with the reorganization of FEMA under the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act:

• $100 million increase for FEMA's Vision Initiatives, including staffing increases, new technologies, and targeted investment in equipment and supplies that will support emergency management efforts across preparedness, protection, response and recovery.
• $48 million transfer from the Disaster Relief Fund to the Operations, Planning and Support account to convert FEMA's Cadre of On-Call Response Employee positions with four-year terms into permanent full-time employees.

Additional funding over FY 2007 enacted levels is requested for the Disaster Relief Fund ($213.5 million), the National Flood Insurance Fund ($215 million), the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program ($6.5 million) and the U.S. Fire Administration ($1.9 million).

The FY 2008 budget request also includes $2.2 billion to support grant programs; provide technical assistance funding; and support training programs to federal, state, local and tribal partners under FEMA. While this suggests a $1.2 billion decrease from the FY 2007 enacted level, it does not reflect the $1 billion Public Safety Interoperable Communications grant program, which FEMA will be co-administering with the Department of Commerce.

As interoperable communications projects have accounted for almost 28% of state grant program expenditures in recent program years, the PSIC grant program will supplement the significant investments made by DHS in state and local preparedness efforts. The PSIC funding is not captured as part of the FY 08 request as it was appropriated per the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 from anticipated spectrum auction. However, the funding will add to the total level of grant funding that will be made available to state and local governments.

Although the total grant funding requested includes a decrease in the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program, the FY 2008 request will fund hundreds of grants, focusing on those applications that enhance the most critical capabilities of local response in the event of a terrorist attack or major disasters. Since the program began in FY 2001, Congress has appropriated over $3.6 billion to fund grants to state and local first responders, with FY 2006 funding still being distributed and the FY 2007 grant application process just beginning.

Finally, the FY 2008 request does include several decreases in funding for programs that transferred out of FEMA or changes in grant allocations that reflect a move toward placing more funding in programs that are better coordinated with state and local homeland security strategies and are allocated on the basis of risk. Included in these decreases are the transfer of the National Disaster Medical System from FEMA to the Department of Health and Human Services and the reduction of the Emergency Food and Shelter Grant programs.