Cornyn Backs Amendment To Ensure Homeland Security Funding Is Based On Risk

Cornyn Backs Amendment To Ensure Homeland Security Funding Is Based On Risk

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Vice Chairman of the Republican Conference, continued his efforts in the Senate today to ensure that homeland security funding is allocated based on risk, which takes into consideration threat, vulnerability and consequence.

Senator John Cornyn discusses four amendments to the pending 9/11 bill - 03/05/2007

Senator John Cornyn discusses four amendments to the pending 9/11 bill - 03/05/2007
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Senator Cornyn has joined with U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in introducing an amendment to S.4, the 9/11 Commission recommendations bill. The Feinstein-Cornyn amendment is similar to the Risk-Based Homeland Security Grants Act of 2007, which they introduced last month. It requires states to quickly distribute federal funds to areas where they are most needed, provides greater flexibility and allows states to use the funding for other hazards consistent with federally established capability standards.

In a speech on the Senate floor today, Senator Cornyn said, "It's important that we take the limited resources we have available for homeland security grant funding and to allocate them on a risk-based approach. This approach is so simple and so common-sense that it strikes me as unusual that it has not already been embraced by the United States Congress. It is simply a system that will protect our most vulnerable assets and populations, one that recognizes the need to protect the critical infrastructure and vital components of our national economy. It is vital that we better allocate our limited resources to the most vulnerable places in the country that we need to protect, and that these funds be distributed in an efficient and timely manner."

Senator Cornyn noted that his amendment will also require states to quickly pass on federal funds to areas where they are most needed and provides greater flexibility to use those funds. The amendment will allow states to retain authority to administer grant programs, but there are penalties for statutes that do not pass funds to local governments within 45 days.

"This is an attempt to respond to one of the concerns I hear in my state from local governments and local authorities that are dependent on the state government to actually pass the funds on through," Senator Cornyn said on the floor today. "In fact, despite the good work that this body did on things like Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita relief, we find that a lot of the funds that have been appropriated by Congress are simply bogged down in the bureaucratic structure when it moves from the federal government to the state government on to the local governments."

Among other things the Feinstein-Cornyn risk-based funding amendment would:

* Direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to allocate funding to homeland security grants based on risk analysis. This direction covers the four major first-responder grant programs administered by the Department of Homeland Security, in addition to some grants for seaport and airport security - called "covered grants" in the bill, including:

1. The State Homeland Security Grant Program;
2. The Urban Area Security Initiative;
3. The Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program; and
4. The Citizens Corps Program.
* Reduce the "small state minimum" to .25 percent per state. Current practice requires each state to get .75 percent of much of the grant funding. That means roughly 38 percent of the funds are marked for distribution before any risk analysis.
* Require grants be designed to meet "essential capabilities." Essential capabilities refer to the ability of jurisdictions to address risks by reducing vulnerability to attack and diminishing the consequences of such an attack by effective response. This bill ensures that grant funds are properly accounted for and utilized within an integrated framework to enhance security.
* Ensure that States quickly and effectively pass on Federal funds to where they are needed so that Federal funds are not held back and the process moves forward in a timely, efficient manner.

http://cornyn.senate.gov/index.asp?f=record&lid=1&yid=1&rid=237336&pg=1