On April 21, the House Committee on Homeland Security unanimously approved H.R. 1544, the Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2005. Congressman Christopher Cox (R-Calif.) authored the legislation. The legislation changes the formula under which funds from the State Homeland Security Grant Program, the Urban Area Security Initiative, and the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program are distributed.

Currently these grants distribute funds based solely on population with each state receiving a base of 0.75% of appropriated funds. H.R. 1544 would change this formula, giving each state a minimum of 0.25% of appropriated funds (0.45% for states with an international border or waterway), with the remaining funds distributed based upon risk and threat. The legislation also creates a first responder task force to update regularly the preparedness benchmarks issued by the Department of Homeland Security. These benchmarks will guide state and local homeland security investments.

On April 13, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously approved similar legislation authored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Me.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.). The Homeland Security Grant Enhancement Act of 2005 (S.21) contains many of the same provisions as H.R. 1544; however the distribution formula is slightly different. The Senate bill will provide a base for each state of between 0.55% and 3% of appropriated funds dependant upon the population density of the state. Remaining funds will then be distributed based upon risk and threat. Neither the Senate nor House bill will affect the distribution formulas for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (FIRE Act) or the SAFER Grant Program.

For more information, visit the Congressional Fire Services Institute on the Web.