I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1544

To provide faster and smarter funding for first responders, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 12, 2005

Mr. COX (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, 

Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. 

DICKS, Mr. KING of New York, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. LINDER, Mrs. LOWEY, 

Mr. SOUDER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Ms. ZOE

LOFGREN of California, Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, Ms. 

JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. GIBBONS, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. 

PEARCE, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. JINDAL, Mr. 

REICHERT, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. DENT, and Mr. DEFAZIO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL

To provide faster and smarter funding for first responders, 

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Faster and Smarter 

5 Funding for First Responders Act of 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In order to achieve its objective of mini4 mizing the damage, and assisting in the recovery, 

5 from terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland 

6 Security must play a leading role in assisting com7 munities to reach the level of preparedness they need 

8 to respond to a terrorist attack. 

9 (2) First responder funding is not reaching the 

10 men and women of our Nation’s first response teams 

11 quickly enough, and sometimes not at all. 

12 (3) To reform the current bureaucratic process 

13 so that homeland security dollars reach the first re14 sponders who need it most, it is necessary to clarify 

15 and consolidate the authority and procedures of the 

16 Department of Homeland Security that support first 

17 responders. 

18 (4) Ensuring adequate resources for the new 

19 national mission of homeland security, without de20 grading the ability to address effectively other types 

21 of major disasters and emergencies, requires a dis22 crete and separate grant making process for home23 land security funds for first response to terrorist 

24 acts, on the one hand, and for first responder pro25 grams designed to meet pre-September 11 priorities, 

26 on the other. 
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1 (5) While a discrete homeland security grant 

2 making process is necessary to ensure proper focus 

3 on the unique aspects of terrorism prevention, pre4 paredness, and response, it is essential that State 

5 and local strategies for utilizing such grants be inte6 grated, to the greatest extent practicable, with exist7 ing State and local emergency management plans. 

8 (6) Homeland security grants to first respond9 ers must be based on the best intelligence con10 cerning the capabilities and intentions of our ter11 rorist enemies, and that intelligence must be used to 

12 target resources to the Nation’s greatest threats, 

13 vulnerabilities, and consequences. 

14 (7) The Nation’s first response capabilities will 

15 be improved by sharing resources, training, plan16 ning, personnel, and equipment among neighboring 

17 jurisdictions through mutual aid agreements and re18 gional cooperation. Such regional cooperation should 

19 be supported, where appropriate, through direct 

20 grants from the Department of Homeland Security. 

21 (8) An essential prerequisite to achieving the 

22 Nation’s homeland security objectives for first re23 sponders is the establishment of well-defined na24 tional goals for terrorism preparedness. These goals 

25 should delineate the essential capabilities that every 
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1 jurisdiction in the United States should possess or 

2 to which it should have access. 

3 (9) A national determination of essential capa4 bilities is needed to identify levels of State and local 

5 government terrorism preparedness, to determine 

6 the nature and extent of State and local first re7 sponder needs, to identify the human and financial 

8 resources required to fulfill them, and to direct fund9 ing to meet those needs and to measure prepared10 ness levels on a national scale. 

11 (10) To facilitate progress in achieving, main12 taining, and enhancing essential capabilities for 

13 State and local first responders, the Department of 

14 Homeland Security should seek to allocate homeland 

15 security funding for first responders to meet nation16 wide needs. 

17 (11) Private sector resources and citizen volun18 teers can perform critical functions in assisting in 

19 preventing and responding to terrorist attacks, and 

20 should be integrated into State and local planning 

21 efforts to ensure that their capabilities and roles are 

22 understood, so as to provide enhanced State and 

23 local operational capability and surge capacity. 

24 (12) Public-private partnerships, such as the 

25 partnerships between the Business Executives for 
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1 National Security and the States of New Jersey and 

2 Georgia, can be useful to identify and coordinate pri3 vate sector support for State and local first respond4 ers. Such models should be expanded to cover all 

5 States and territories. 

6 (13) An important aspect of essential capabili7 ties is measurability, so that it is possible to deter8 mine how prepared a State or local government is 

9 now, and what additional steps it needs to take, in 

10 order to respond to acts of terrorism. 

11 (14) The Department of Homeland Security 

12 should establish, publish, and regularly update na13 tional voluntary consensus standards for both equip14 ment and training, in cooperation with both public 

15 and private sector standard setting organizations, to 

16 assist State and local governments in obtaining the 

17 equipment and training to attain the essential capa18 bilities for first response to acts of terrorism, and to 

19 ensure that first responder funds are spent wisely. 

20 SEC. 3. FASTER AND SMARTER FUNDING FOR FIRST RE21 SPONDERS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Homeland Security Act of 

23 2002 (Public Law 107–296; 6 U.S.C. 361 et seq.) is 

24 amended—
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1 (1) in section 1(b) in the table of contents by 

2 adding at the end the following:

‘‘TITLE XVIII—FUNDING FOR FIRST RESPONDERS 

‘‘Sec. 1801. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 1802. Faster and smarter funding for first responders. 

‘‘Sec. 1803. Essential capabilities for first responders. 

‘‘Sec. 1804. Task Force on Essential Capabilities for First Responders. 

‘‘Sec. 1805. Covered grant eligibility and criteria. 

‘‘Sec. 1806. Use of funds and accountability requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 1807. National standards for first responder equipment and training.’’;

3 and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘TITLE XVIII—FUNDING FOR 

6 FIRST RESPONDERS 

7 ‘‘SEC. 1801. DEFINITIONS. 

8 ‘‘In this title: 

9 ‘‘(1) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the 

10 First Responder Grants Board established under 

11 section 1805(f). 

12 ‘‘(2) COVERED GRANT.—The term ‘covered 

13 grant’ means any grant to which this title applies 

14 under section 1802. 

15 ‘‘(3) DIRECTLY ELIGIBLE TRIBE.—The term 

16 ‘directly eligible tribe’ means any Indian tribe or 

17 consortium of Indian tribes that—

18 ‘‘(A) meets the criteria for inclusion in the 

19 qualified applicant pool for Self-Governance 

20 that are set forth in section 402(c) of the In-
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1 dian Self-Determination and Education Assist2 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 458bb(c)); 

3 ‘‘(B) employs at least 10 full-time per4 sonnel in a law enforcement or emergency re5 sponse agency with the capacity to respond to 

6 calls for law enforcement or emergency services; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C)(i) is located on, or within 5 miles of, 

9 an international border or waterway; 

10 ‘‘(ii) is located within 5 miles of a facility 

11 within a critical infrastructure sector identified 

12 in section 1803(c)(2); 

13 ‘‘(iii) is located within or contiguous to one 

14 of the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas 

15 in the United States; or 

16 ‘‘(iv) has more than 1,000 square miles of 

17 Indian country, as that term is defined in sec18 tion 1151 of title 18, United States Code. 

19 ‘‘(4) ELEVATIONS IN THE THREAT ALERT

20 LEVEL.—The term ‘elevations in the threat alert 

21 level’ means any designation (including those that 

22 are less than national in scope) that raises the 

23 homeland security threat level to either the highest 

24 or second highest threat level under the Homeland 
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1 Security Advisory System referred to in section 

2 201(d)(7). 

3 ‘‘(5) EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.—The term 

4 ‘emergency preparedness’ shall have the same mean5 ing that term has under section 602 of the Robert 

6 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist7 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5195a). 

8 ‘‘(6) ESSENTIAL CAPABILITIES.—The term ‘es9 sential capabilities’ means the levels, availability, 

10 and competence of emergency personnel, planning, 

11 training, and equipment across a variety of dis12 ciplines needed to effectively and efficiently prevent, 

13 prepare for, and respond to acts of terrorism con14 sistent with established practices. 

15 ‘‘(7) FIRST RESPONDER.—The term ‘first re16 sponder’ shall have the same meaning as the term 

17 ‘emergency response provider’. 

18 ‘‘(8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

19 means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other orga20 nized group or community, including any Alaskan 

21 Native village or regional or village corporation as 

22 defined in or established pursuant to the Alaskan 

23 Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et 

24 seq.), which is recognized as eligible for the special 
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1 programs and services provided by the United States 

2 to Indians because of their status as Indians. 

3 ‘‘(9) REGION.—The term ‘region’ means—

4 ‘‘(A) any geographic area consisting of all 

5 or parts of 2 or more contiguous States, coun6 ties, municipalities, or other local governments 

7 that have a combined population of at least 

8 1,650,000 or have an area of not less than 

9 20,000 square miles, and that, for purposes of 

10 an application for a covered grant, is rep11 resented by 1 or more governments or govern12 mental agencies within such geographic area, 

13 and that is established by law or by agreement 

14 of 2 or more such governments or governmental 

15 agencies in a mutual aid agreement; or 

16 ‘‘(B) any other combination of contiguous 

17 local government units (including such a com18 bination established by law or agreement of two 

19 or more governments or governmental agencies 

20 in a mutual aid agreement) that is formally cer21 tified by the Secretary as a region for purposes 

22 of this Act with the consent of—

23 ‘‘(i) the State or States in which they 

24 are located, including a multi-State entity 
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1 established by a compact between two or 

2 more States; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the incorporated municipalities, 

4 counties, and parishes that they encom5 pass. 

6 ‘‘(10) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

7 means the Task Force on Essential Capabilities for 

8 First Responders established under section 1804. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 1802. FASTER AND SMARTER FUNDING FOR FIRST RE10 SPONDERS. 

11 ‘‘(a) COVERED GRANTS.—This title applies to grants 

12 provided by the Department to States, regions, or directly 

13 eligible tribes for the primary purpose of improving the 

14 ability of first responders to prevent, prepare for, respond 

15 to, or mitigate threatened or actual terrorist attacks, espe16 cially those involving weapons of mass destruction, admin17 istered under the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) STATE HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PRO19 GRAM.—The State Homeland Security Grant Pro20 gram of the Department, or any successor to such 

21 grant program. 

22 ‘‘(2) URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE.—The 

23 Urban Area Security Initiative of the Department, 

24 or any successor to such grant program. 
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1 ‘‘(3) LAW ENFORCEMENT TERRORISM PREVEN2 TION PROGRAM.—The Law Enforcement Terrorism 

3 Prevention Program of the Department, or any suc4 cessor to such grant program. 

5 ‘‘(4) CITIZEN CORPS PROGRAM.—The Citizen 

6 Corps Program of the Department, or any successor 

7 to such grant program. 

8 ‘‘(b) EXCLUDED PROGRAMS.—This title does not 

9 apply to or otherwise affect the following Federal grant 

10 programs or any grant under such a program: 

11 ‘‘(1) NONDEPARTMENT PROGRAMS.—Any Fed12 eral grant program that is not administered by the 

13 Department. 

14 ‘‘(2) FIRE GRANT PROGRAMS.—The fire grant 

15 programs authorized by sections 33 and 34 of the 

16 Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

17 (15 U.S.C. 2229, 2229a). 

18 ‘‘(3) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING

19 AND ASSISTANCE ACCOUNT GRANTS.—The Emer20 gency Management Performance Grant program and 

21 the Urban Search and Rescue Grants program au22 thorized by title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Dis23 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 5195 et seq.); the Departments of Veterans 

25 Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and 
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1 Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 

2 (113 Stat. 1047 et seq.); and the Earthquake Haz3 ards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701 et 

4 seq.). 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1803. ESSENTIAL CAPABILITIES FOR FIRST RESPOND6 ERS. 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ESSENTIAL CAPABILI8 TIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of covered 

10 grants, the Secretary shall establish clearly defined 

11 essential capabilities for State and local government 

12 preparedness for terrorism, in consultation with—

13 ‘‘(A) the Task Force on Essential Capabili14 ties for First Responders established under sec15 tion 1804; 

16 ‘‘(B) the Under Secretaries for Emergency 

17 Preparedness and Response, Border and Trans18 portation Security, Information Analysis and 

19 Infrastructure Protection, and Science and 

20 Technology, and the Director of the Office for 

21 Domestic Preparedness; 

22 ‘‘(C) the Secretary of Health and Human 

23 Services; 

24 ‘‘(D) other appropriate Federal agencies; 
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1 ‘‘(E) State and local first responder agen2 cies and officials; and 

3 ‘‘(F) consensus-based standard making or4 ganizations responsible for setting standards 

5 relevant to the first responder community. 

6 ‘‘(2) DEADLINES.—The Secretary shall—

7 ‘‘(A) establish essential capabilities under 

8 paragraph (1) within 30 days after receipt of 

9 the report under section 1804(b); and 

10 ‘‘(B) regularly update such essential capa11 bilities as necessary, but not less than every 3 

12 years. 

13 ‘‘(3) PROVISION OF ESSENTIAL CAPABILI14 TIES.—The Secretary shall ensure that a detailed 

15 description of the essential capabilities established 

16 under paragraph (1) is provided promptly to the 

17 States and to the Congress. The States shall make 

18 the essential capabilities available as necessary and 

19 appropriate to local governments within their juris20 dictions. 

21 ‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

22 essential capabilities established under subsection (a)(1) 

23 meet the following objectives: 

24 ‘‘(1) SPECIFICITY.—The determination of es25 sential capabilities specifically shall describe the 
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1 training, planning, personnel, and equipment that 

2 different types of communities in the Nation should 

3 possess, or to which they should have access, in 

4 order to meet the Department’s goals for terrorism 

5 preparedness based upon—

6 ‘‘(A) the most current risk assessment 

7 available by the Directorate for Information 

8 Analysis and Infrastructure Protection of the 

9 threats of terrorism against the United States; 

10 ‘‘(B) the types of threats, vulnerabilities, 

11 geography, size, and other factors that the Sec12 retary has determined to be applicable to each 

13 different type of community; and 

14 ‘‘(C) the principles of regional coordination 

15 and mutual aid among State and local govern16 ments. 

17 ‘‘(2) FLEXIBILITY.—The establishment of es18 sential capabilities shall be sufficiently flexible to 

19 allow State and local government officials to set pri20 orities based on particular needs, while reaching na21 tionally determined terrorism preparedness levels 

22 within a specified time period. 

23 ‘‘(3) MEASURABILITY.—The establishment of 

24 essential capabilities shall be designed to enable 
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1 measurement of progress towards specific terrorism 

2 preparedness goals. 

3 ‘‘(4) COMPREHENSIVENESS.—The determina4 tion of essential capabilities for terrorism prepared5 ness shall be made within the context of a com6 prehensive State emergency management system. 

7 ‘‘(c) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In establishing essential ca9 pabilities under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary spe10 cifically shall consider the variables of threat, vulner11 ability, and consequences with respect to the Na12 tion’s population (including transient commuting 

13 and tourist populations) and critical infrastructure. 

14 Such consideration shall be based upon the most 

15 current risk assessment available by the Directorate 

16 for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protec17 tion of the threats of terrorism against the United 

18 States. 

19 ‘‘(2) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS.—

20 The Secretary specifically shall consider threats of 

21 terrorism against the following critical infrastructure 

22 sectors in all areas of the Nation, urban and rural: 

23 ‘‘(A) Agriculture. 

24 ‘‘(B) Banking and finance. 

25 ‘‘(C) Chemical industries. 
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1 ‘‘(D) The defense industrial base. 

2 ‘‘(E) Emergency services. 

3 ‘‘(F) Energy. 

4 ‘‘(G) Food. 

5 ‘‘(H) Government. 

6 ‘‘(I) Postal and shipping. 

7 ‘‘(J) Public health. 

8 ‘‘(K) Information and telecommunications 

9 networks. 

10 ‘‘(L) Transportation. 

11 ‘‘(M) Water. 

12 The order in which the critical infrastructure sectors 

13 are listed in this paragraph shall not be construed 

14 as an order of priority for consideration of the im15 portance of such sectors. 

16 ‘‘(3) TYPES OF THREAT.—The Secretary spe17 cifically shall consider the following types of threat 

18 to the critical infrastructure sectors described in 

19 paragraph (2), and to populations in all areas of the 

20 Nation, urban and rural: 

21 ‘‘(A) Biological threats. 

22 ‘‘(B) Nuclear threats. 

23 ‘‘(C) Radiological threats. 

24 ‘‘(D) Incendiary threats. 

25 ‘‘(E) Chemical threats. 
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1 ‘‘(F) Explosives. 

2 ‘‘(G) Suicide bombers. 

3 ‘‘(H) Cyber threats. 

4 ‘‘(I) Any other threats based on proximity 

5 to specific past acts of terrorism or the known 

6 activity of any terrorist group. 

7 The order in which the types of threat are listed in 

8 this paragraph shall not be construed as an order of 

9 priority for consideration of the importance of such 

10 threats. 

11 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL FAC12 TORS.—In establishing essential capabilities under 

13 subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall take into ac14 count any other specific threat to a population (in15 cluding a transient commuting or tourist population) 

16 or critical infrastructure sector that the Secretary 

17 has determined to exist. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1804. TASK FORCE ON ESSENTIAL CAPABILITIES FOR 

19 FIRST RESPONDERS. 

20 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To assist the Secretary in 

21 establishing essential capabilities under section 

22 1803(a)(1), the Secretary shall establish an advisory body 

23 pursuant to section 871(a) not later than 60 days after 

24 the date of the enactment of this section, which shall be 
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1 known as the Task Force on Essential Capabilities for 

2 First Responders. 

3 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall sub5 mit to the Secretary, not later than 9 months after 

6 its establishment by the Secretary under subsection 

7 (a) and every 3 years thereafter, a report on its rec8 ommendations for essential capabilities for prepared9 ness for terrorism. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report shall—

11 ‘‘(A) include a priority ranking of essential 

12 capabilities in order to provide guidance to the 

13 Secretary and to the Congress on determining 

14 the appropriate allocation of, and funding levels 

15 for, first responder needs; 

16 ‘‘(B) set forth a methodology by which any 

17 State or local government will be able to deter18 mine the extent to which it possesses or has ac19 cess to the essential capabilities that States and 

20 local governments having similar risks should 

21 obtain; 

22 ‘‘(C) describe the availability of national 

23 voluntary consensus standards, and whether 

24 there is a need for new national voluntary con-
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1 sensus standards, with respect to first re2 sponder training and equipment; 

3 ‘‘(D) include such additional matters as 

4 the Secretary may specify in order to further 

5 the terrorism preparedness capabilities of first 

6 responders; and 

7 ‘‘(E) include such revisions to the contents 

8 of past reports as are necessary to take into ac9 count changes in the most current risk assess10 ment available by the Directorate for Informa11 tion Analysis and Infrastructure Protection or 

12 other relevant information as determined by the 

13 Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(3) CONSISTENCY WITH FEDERAL WORKING

15 GROUP.—The Task Force shall ensure that its rec16 ommendations for essential capabilities are, to the 

17 extent feasible, consistent with any preparedness 

18 goals or recommendations of the Federal working 

19 group established under section 319F(a) of the Pub20 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–6(a)). 

21 ‘‘(4) COMPREHENSIVENESS.—The Task Force 

22 shall ensure that its recommendations regarding es23 sential capabilities for terrorism preparedness are 

24 made within the context of a comprehensive State 

25 emergency management system. 
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1 ‘‘(5) PRIOR MEASURES.—The Task Force shall 

2 ensure that its recommendations regarding essential 

3 capabilities for terrorism preparedness take into ac4 count any capabilities that State or local officials 

5 have determined to be essential and have undertaken 

6 since September 11, 2001, to prevent or prepare for 

7 terrorist attacks. 

8 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall con10 sist of 25 members appointed by the Secretary, and 

11 shall, to the extent practicable, represent a geo12 graphic and substantive cross section of govern13 mental and nongovernmental first responder dis14 ciplines from the State and local levels, including as 

15 appropriate—

16 ‘‘(A) members selected from the emergency 

17 response field, including fire service and law en18 forcement, hazardous materials response, emer19 gency medical services, and emergency manage20 ment personnel (including public works per21 sonnel routinely engaged in emergency re22 sponse); 

23 ‘‘(B) health scientists, emergency and in24 patient medical providers, and public health 

25 professionals, including experts in emergency 
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1 health care response to chemical, biological, ra2 diological, and nuclear terrorism, and experts in 

3 providing mental health care during emergency 

4 response operations; 

5 ‘‘(C) experts from Federal, State, and local 

6 governments, and the private sector, rep7 resenting standards-setting organizations, in8 cluding representation from the voluntary con9 sensus codes and standards development com10 munity, particularly those with expertise in first 

11 responder disciplines; and 

12 ‘‘(D) State and local officials with exper13 tise in terrorism preparedness, subject to the 

14 condition that if any such official is an elected 

15 official representing one of the two major polit16 ical parties, an equal number of elected officials 

17 shall be selected from each such party. 

18 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT

19 OF HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES.—In the selec20 tion of members of the Task Force who are health 

21 professionals, including emergency medical profes22 sionals, the Secretary shall coordinate the selection 

23 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

24 ‘‘(3) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Secretary 

25 and the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
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1 shall each designate one or more officers of their re2 spective Departments to serve as ex officio members 

3 of the Task Force. One of the ex officio members 

4 from the Department of Homeland Security shall be 

5 the designated officer of the Federal Government for 

6 purposes of subsection (e) of section 10 of the Fed7 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.). 

8 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM9 MITTEE ACT.—Notwithstanding section 871(a), the Fed10 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), including 

11 subsections (a), (b), and (d) of section 10 of such Act, 

12 and section 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code, shall 

13 apply to the Task Force. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 1805. COVERED GRANT ELIGIBILITY AND CRITERIA. 

15 ‘‘(a) GRANT ELIGIBILITY.—Any State, region, or di16 rectly eligible tribe shall be eligible to apply for a covered 

17 grant. 

18 ‘‘(b) GRANT CRITERIA.—In awarding covered grants, 

19 the Secretary shall assist States and local governments in 

20 achieving, maintaining, and enhancing the essential capa21 bilities for first responders established by the Secretary 

22 under section 1803. 

23 ‘‘(c) STATE HOMELAND SECURITY PLANS.—

24 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—The Secretary 

25 shall require that any State applying to the Sec-
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1 retary for a covered grant must submit to the Sec2 retary a 3-year State homeland security plan that—

3 ‘‘(A) demonstrates the extent to which the 

4 State has achieved the essential capabilities 

5 that apply to the State; 

6 ‘‘(B) demonstrates the needs of the State 

7 necessary to achieve, maintain, or enhance the 

8 essential capabilities that apply to the State; 

9 ‘‘(C) includes a prioritization of such needs 

10 based on threat, vulnerability, and consequence 

11 assessment factors applicable to the State; 

12 ‘‘(D) describes how the State intends—

13 ‘‘(i) to address such needs at the city, 

14 county, regional, tribal, State, and inter15 state level, including a precise description 

16 of any regional structure the State has es17 tablished for the purpose of organizing 

18 homeland security preparedness activities 

19 funded by covered grants; 

20 ‘‘(ii) to use all Federal, State, and 

21 local resources available for the purpose of 

22 addressing such needs; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) to give particular emphasis to 

24 regional planning and cooperation, includ25 ing the activities of multijurisdictional 
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1 planning agencies governed by local offi2 cials, both within its jurisdictional borders 

3 and with neighboring States; 

4 ‘‘(E) is developed in consultation with and 

5 subject to appropriate comment by local govern6 ments within the State; and 

7 ‘‘(F) with respect to the emergency pre8 paredness of first responders, addresses the 

9 unique aspects of terrorism as part of a com10 prehensive State emergency management plan. 

11 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL BY SECRETARY.—The Sec12 retary may not award any covered grant to a State 

13 unless the Secretary has approved the applicable 

14 State homeland security plan. 

15 ‘‘(d) CONSISTENCY WITH STATE PLANS.—The Sec16 retary shall ensure that each covered grant is used to sup17 plement and support, in a consistent and coordinated 

18 manner, the applicable State homeland security plan or 

19 plans. 

20 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION FOR GRANT.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro22 vided in this subsection, any State, region, or di23 rectly eligible tribe may apply for a covered grant by 

24 submitting to the Secretary an application at such 

25 time, in such manner, and containing such informa-
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1 tion as is required under this subsection, or as the 

2 Secretary may reasonably require. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEADLINES FOR APPLICATIONS AND

4 AWARDS.—All applications for covered grants must 

5 be submitted at such time as the Secretary may rea6 sonably require for the fiscal year for which they are 

7 submitted. The Secretary shall award covered grants 

8 pursuant to all approved applications for such fiscal 

9 year as soon as practicable, but not later than 

10 March 1 of such year. 

11 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—All funds 

12 awarded by the Secretary under covered grants in a 

13 fiscal year shall be available for obligation through 

14 the end of the subsequent fiscal year. 

15 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—

16 The Secretary shall require that each applicant in17 clude in its application, at a minimum—

18 ‘‘(A) the purpose for which the applicant 

19 seeks covered grant funds and the reasons why 

20 the applicant needs the covered grant to meet 

21 the essential capabilities for terrorism prepared22 ness within the State, region, or directly eligible 

23 tribe to which the application pertains; 

24 ‘‘(B) a description of how, by reference to 

25 the applicable State homeland security plan or 
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1 plans under subsection (c), the allocation of 

2 grant funding proposed in the application, in3 cluding, where applicable, the amount not 

4 passed through under section 1806(g)(1), would 

5 assist in fulfilling the essential capabilities spec6 ified in such plan or plans; 

7 ‘‘(C) a statement of whether a mutual aid 

8 agreement applies to the use of all or any por9 tion of the covered grant funds; 

10 ‘‘(D) if the applicant is a State, a descrip11 tion of how the State plans to allocate the cov12 ered grant funds to regions, local governments, 

13 and Indian tribes; 

14 ‘‘(E) if the applicant is a region—

15 ‘‘(i) a precise geographical description 

16 of the region and a specification of all par17 ticipating and nonparticipating local gov18 ernments within the geographical area 

19 comprising that region; 

20 ‘‘(ii) a specification of what govern21 mental entity within the region will admin22 ister the expenditure of funds under the 

23 covered grant; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) a designation of a specific indi25 vidual to serve as regional liaison; 
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1 ‘‘(F) a capital budget showing how the ap2 plicant intends to allocate and expend the cov3 ered grant funds; 

4 ‘‘(G) if the applicant is a directly eligible 

5 tribe, a designation of a specific individual to 

6 serve as the tribal liaison; and 

7 ‘‘(H) a statement of how the applicant in8 tends to meet the matching requirement, if any, 

9 that applies under section 1806(g)(2). 

10 ‘‘(5) REGIONAL APPLICATIONS.—

11 ‘‘(A) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE APPLICA12 TIONS.—A regional application—

13 ‘‘(i) shall be coordinated with an ap14 plication submitted by the State or States 

15 of which such region is a part; 

16 ‘‘(ii) shall supplement and avoid dupli17 cation with such State application; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) shall address the unique regional 

19 aspects of such region’s terrorism pre20 paredness needs beyond those provided for 

21 in the application of such State or States. 

22 ‘‘(B) STATE REVIEW AND SUBMISSION.—

23 To ensure the consistency required under sub24 section (d) and the coordination required under 

25 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, an appli-
28

•HR 1544 IH 

1 cant that is a region must submit its applica2 tion to each State of which any part is included 

3 in the region for review and concurrence prior 

4 to the submission of such application to the 

5 Secretary. The regional application shall be 

6 transmitted to the Secretary through each such 

7 State within 30 days of its receipt, unless the 

8 Governor of such a State notifies the Secretary, 

9 in writing, that such regional application is in10 consistent with the State’s homeland security 

11 plan and provides an explanation of the reasons 

12 therefor. 

13 ‘‘(C) DISTRIBUTION OF REGIONAL

14 AWARDS.—If the Secretary approves a regional 

15 application, then the Secretary shall distribute 

16 a regional award to the State or States submit17 ting the applicable regional application under 

18 subparagraph (B), and each such State shall, 

19 not later than the end of the 45-day period be20 ginning on the date after receiving a regional 

21 award, pass through to the region all covered 

22 grant funds or resources purchased with such 

23 funds, except those funds necessary for the 

24 State to carry out its responsibilities with re25 spect to such regional application: Provided
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 That, in no such case shall the State or States 

2 pass through to the region less than 80 percent 

3 of the regional award. 

4 ‘‘(D) CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING DIS5 TRIBUTION OF GRANT FUNDS TO REGIONS.—

6 Any State that receives a regional award under 

7 subparagraph (C) shall certify to the Secretary, 

8 by not later than 30 days after the expiration 

9 of the period described in subparagraph (C) 

10 with respect to the grant, that the State has 

11 made available to the region the required funds 

12 and resources in accordance with subparagraph 

13 (C). 

14 ‘‘(E) DIRECT PAYMENTS TO REGIONS.—If 

15 any State fails to pass through a regional 

16 award to a region as required by subparagraph 

17 (C) within 45 days after receiving such award 

18 and does not request or receive an extension of 

19 such period under section 1806(h)(2), the re20 gion may petition the Secretary to receive di21 rectly the portion of the regional award that is 

22 required to be passed through to such region 

23 under subparagraph (C). 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(F) REGIONAL LIAISONS.—A regional li2 aison designated under paragraph (4)(E)(iii) 

3 shall—

4 ‘‘(i) coordinate with Federal, State, 

5 local, regional, and private officials within 

6 the region concerning terrorism prepared7 ness; 

8 ‘‘(ii) develop a process for receiving 

9 input from Federal, State, local, regional, 

10 and private sector officials within the re11 gion to assist in the development of the re12 gional application and to improve the re13 gion’s access to covered grants; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) administer, in consultation with 

15 State, local, regional, and private officials 

16 within the region, covered grants awarded 

17 to the region. 

18 ‘‘(6) TRIBAL APPLICATIONS.—

19 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION TO THE STATE OR

20 STATES.—To ensure the consistency required 

21 under subsection (d), an applicant that is a di22 rectly eligible tribe must submit its application 

23 to each State within the boundaries of which 

24 any part of such tribe is located for direct sub-
31

•HR 1544 IH 

1 mission to the Department along with the appli2 cation of such State or States. 

3 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY FOR STATE COM4 MENT.—Before awarding any covered grant to 

5 a directly eligible tribe, the Secretary shall pro6 vide an opportunity to each State within the 

7 boundaries of which any part of such tribe is lo8 cated to comment to the Secretary on the con9 sistency of the tribe’s application with the 

10 State’s homeland security plan. Any such com11 ments shall be submitted to the Secretary con12 currently with the submission of the State and 

13 tribal applications. 

14 ‘‘(C) FINAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

15 shall have final authority to determine the con16 sistency of any application of a directly eligible 

17 tribe with the applicable State homeland secu18 rity plan or plans, and to approve any applica19 tion of such tribe. The Secretary shall notify 

20 each State within the boundaries of which any 

21 part of such tribe is located of the approval of 

22 an application by such tribe. 

23 ‘‘(D) TRIBAL LIAISON.—A tribal liaison 

24 designated under paragraph (4)(G) shall—
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(i) coordinate with Federal, State, 

2 local, regional, and private officials con3 cerning terrorism preparedness; 

4 ‘‘(ii) develop a process for receiving 

5 input from Federal, State, local, regional, 

6 and private sector officials to assist in the 

7 development of the application of such 

8 tribe and to improve the tribe’s access to 

9 covered grants; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) administer, in consultation with 

11 State, local, regional, and private officials, 

12 covered grants awarded to such tribe. 

13 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION ON THE NUMBER OF DI14 RECT GRANTS.—The Secretary may make cov15 ered grants directly to not more than 20 di16 rectly eligible tribes per fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(F) TRIBES NOT RECEIVING DIRECT

18 GRANTS.—An Indian tribe that does not receive 

19 a grant directly under this section is eligible to 

20 receive funds under a covered grant from the 

21 State or States within the boundaries of which 

22 any part of such tribe is located, consistent with 

23 the homeland security plan of the State as de24 scribed in subsection (c). If a State fails to 

25 comply with section 1806(g)(1), the tribe may 
33

•HR 1544 IH 

1 request payment under section 1806(h)(3) in 

2 the same manner as a local government. 

3 ‘‘(7) EQUIPMENT STANDARDS.—If an applicant 

4 for a covered grant proposes to upgrade or purchase, 

5 with assistance provided under the grant, new equip6 ment or systems that do not meet or exceed any ap7 plicable national voluntary consensus standards es8 tablished by the Secretary under section 1807(a), 

9 the applicant shall include in the application an ex10 planation of why such equipment or systems will 

11 serve the needs of the applicant better than equip12 ment or systems that meet or exceed such standards. 

13 ‘‘(f) FIRST RESPONDER GRANTS BOARD.—

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.—The Sec15 retary shall establish a First Responder Grants 

16 Board, consisting of—

17 ‘‘(A) the Secretary; 

18 ‘‘(B) the Under Secretary for Emergency 

19 Preparedness and Response; 

20 ‘‘(C) the Under Secretary for Border and 

21 Transportation Security; 

22 ‘‘(D) the Under Secretary for Information 

23 Analysis and Infrastructure Protection; 

24 ‘‘(E) the Under Secretary for Science and 

25 Technology; and 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(F) the Director of the Office for Domes2 tic Preparedness. 

3 ‘‘(2) CHAIRMAN.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall be 

5 the Chairman of the Board. 

6 ‘‘(B) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES BY DEP7 UTY SECRETARY.—The Deputy Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security may exercise the authorities 

9 of the Chairman, if the Secretary so directs. 

10 ‘‘(3) RANKING OF GRANT APPLICATIONS.—

11 ‘‘(A) PRIORITIZATION OF GRANTS.—The 

12 Board—

13 ‘‘(i) shall evaluate and annually 

14 prioritize all pending applications for cov15 ered grants based upon the degree to 

16 which they would, by achieving, maintain17 ing, or enhancing the essential capabilities 

18 of the applicants on a nationwide basis, 

19 lessen the threat to, vulnerability of, and 

20 consequences for persons and critical infra21 structure; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) in evaluating the threat to per23 sons and critical infrastructure for pur24 poses of prioritizing covered grants, shall 

25 give greater weight to threats of terrorism 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 based on their specificity and credibility, 

2 including any pattern of repetition. 

3 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM AMOUNTS.—After evalu4 ating and prioritizing grant applications under 

5 subparagraph (A), the Board shall ensure that, 

6 for each fiscal year—

7 ‘‘(i) each of the States, other than the 

8 Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, 

9 and the Northern Mariana Islands, that 

10 has an approved State homeland security 

11 plan receives no less than 0.25 percent of 

12 the funds available for covered grants for 

13 that fiscal year for purposes of imple14 menting its homeland security plan in ac15 cordance with the prioritization of needs 

16 under subsection (c)(1)(C); 

17 ‘‘(ii) each of the States, other than 

18 the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, 

19 Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, 

20 that has an approved State homeland secu21 rity plan and that meets one or both of the 

22 additional high-risk qualifying criteria 

23 under subparagraph (C) receives no less 

24 than 0.45 percent of the funds available 

25 for covered grants for that fiscal year for 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 purposes of implementing its homeland se2 curity plan in accordance with the 

3 prioritization of needs under subsection 

4 (c)(1)(C); 

5 ‘‘(iii) the Virgin Islands, American 

6 Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana 

7 Islands each receives no less than 0.08 per8 cent of the funds available for covered 

9 grants for that fiscal year for purposes of 

10 implementing its approved State homeland 

11 security plan in accordance with the 

12 prioritization of needs under subsection 

13 (c)(1)(C); and 

14 ‘‘(iv) directly eligible tribes collectively 

15 receive no less than 0.08 percent of the 

16 funds available for covered grants for such 

17 fiscal year for purposes of addressing the 

18 needs identified in the applications of such 

19 tribes, consistent with the homeland secu20 rity plan of each State within the bound21 aries of which any part of any such tribe 

22 is located, except that this clause shall not 

23 apply with respect to funds available for a 

24 fiscal year if the Secretary receives less 

25 than 5 applications for such fiscal year 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 from such tribes under subsection 

2 (e)(6)(A) or does not approve at least one 

3 such application. 

4 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL HIGH-RISK QUALIFYING

5 CRITERIA.—For purposes of subparagraph 

6 (B)(ii), additional high-risk qualifying criteria 

7 consist of—

8 ‘‘(i) having a significant international 

9 land border; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) adjoining a body of water within 

11 North America through which an inter12 national boundary line extends. 

13 ‘‘(4) EFFECT OF REGIONAL AWARDS ON STATE

14 MINIMUM.—Any regional award, or portion thereof, 

15 provided to a State under subsection (e)(5)(C) shall 

16 not be considered in calculating the minimum State 

17 award under paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(5) FUNCTIONS OF UNDER SECRETARIES.—

19 The Under Secretaries referred to in paragraph (1) 

20 shall seek to ensure that the relevant expertise and 

21 input of the staff of their directorates are available 

22 to and considered by the Board. 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 1806. USE OF FUNDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY RE2 QUIREMENTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered grant may be used 

4 for—

5 ‘‘(1) purchasing or upgrading equipment, in6 cluding computer software, to enhance terrorism 

7 preparedness and response; 

8 ‘‘(2) exercises to strengthen terrorism prepared9 ness and response; 

10 ‘‘(3) training for prevention (including detec11 tion) of, preparedness for, or response to attacks in12 volving weapons of mass destruction, including train13 ing in the use of equipment and computer software; 

14 ‘‘(4) developing or updating response plans; 

15 ‘‘(5) establishing or enhancing mechanisms for 

16 sharing terrorism threat information; 

17 ‘‘(6) systems architecture and engineering, pro18 gram planning and management, strategy formula19 tion and strategic planning, life-cycle systems de20 sign, product and technology evaluation, and proto21 type development for terrorism preparedness and re22 sponse purposes; 

23 ‘‘(7) additional personnel costs resulting from—

24 ‘‘(A) elevations in the threat alert level of 

25 the Homeland Security Advisory System by the 

26 Secretary, or a similar elevation in threat alert 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 level issued by a State, region, or local govern2 ment with the approval of the Secretary; 

3 ‘‘(B) travel to and participation in exer4 cises and training in the use of equipment and 

5 on prevention activities; 

6 ‘‘(C) the temporary replacement of per7 sonnel during any period of travel to and par8 ticipation in exercises and training in the use of 

9 equipment and on prevention activities; and 

10 ‘‘(D) participation in information, inves11 tigative, and intelligence sharing activities spe12 cifically related to terrorism prevention; 

13 ‘‘(8) the costs of equipment (including software) 

14 required to receive, transmit, handle, and store clas15 sified information; 

16 ‘‘(9) protecting critical infrastructure against 

17 potential attack by the addition of barriers, fences, 

18 gates, and other such devices, except that the cost 

19 of such measures may not exceed the greater of—

20 ‘‘(A) $1,000,000 per project; or 

21 ‘‘(B) such greater amount as may be ap22 proved by the Secretary, which may not exceed 

23 10 percent of the total amount of the covered 

24 grant; 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(10) the costs of commercially available inter2 operable communications equipment (which, where 

3 applicable, is based on national, voluntary consensus 

4 standards) that the Secretary, in consultation with 

5 the Chairman of the Federal Communications Com6 mission, deems best suited to facilitate interoper7 ability, coordination, and integration between and 

8 among emergency communications systems, and that 

9 complies with prevailing grant guidance of the De10 partment for interoperable communications; 

11 ‘‘(11) educational curricula development for 

12 first responders to ensure that they are prepared for 

13 terrorist attacks; 

14 ‘‘(12) training and exercises to assist public ele15 mentary and secondary schools in developing and 

16 implementing programs to instruct students regard17 ing age-appropriate skills to prepare for and respond 

18 to an act of terrorism; 

19 ‘‘(13) paying of administrative expenses directly 

20 related to administration of the grant, except that 

21 such expenses may not exceed 3 percent of the 

22 amount of the grant; and 

23 ‘‘(14) other appropriate activities as determined 

24 by the Secretary. 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITED USES.—Funds provided as a cov2 ered grant may not be used—

3 ‘‘(1) to supplant State or local funds; 

4 ‘‘(2) to construct buildings or other physical fa5 cilities; 

6 ‘‘(3) to acquire land; or 

7 ‘‘(4) for any State or local government cost 

8 sharing contribution. 

9 ‘‘(c) MULTIPLE-PURPOSE FUNDS.—Nothing in this 

10 section shall be construed to preclude State and local gov11 ernments from using covered grant funds in a manner 

12 that also enhances first responder preparedness for emer13 gencies and disasters unrelated to acts of terrorism, if 

14 such use assists such governments in achieving essential 

15 capabilities for terrorism preparedness established by the 

16 Secretary under section 1803. 

17 ‘‘(d) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.—In addition to 

18 the activities described in subsection (a), a covered grant 

19 may be used to provide a reasonable stipend to paid-on20 call or volunteer first responders who are not otherwise 

21 compensated for travel to or participation in training cov22 ered by this section. Any such reimbursement shall not 

23 be considered compensation for purposes of rendering 

24 such a first responder an employee under the Fair Labor 

25 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.). 
42

•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

2 may not request that equipment paid for, wholly or in 

3 part, with funds provided as a covered grant be made 

4 available for responding to emergencies in surrounding 

5 States, regions, and localities, unless the Secretary under6 takes to pay the costs directly attributable to transporting 

7 and operating such equipment during such response. 

8 ‘‘(f) FLEXIBILITY IN UNSPENT HOMELAND SECU9 RITY GRANT FUNDS.—Upon request by the recipient of 

10 a covered grant, the Secretary may authorize the grantee 

11 to transfer all or part of funds provided as the covered 

12 grant from uses specified in the grant agreement to other 

13 uses authorized under this section, if the Secretary deter14 mines that such transfer is in the interests of homeland 

15 security. 

16 ‘‘(g) STATE, REGIONAL, AND TRIBAL RESPONSIBIL17 ITIES.—

18 ‘‘(1) PASS-THROUGH.—The Secretary shall re19 quire a recipient of a covered grant that is a State 

20 to obligate or otherwise make available to local gov21 ernments, first responders, and other local groups, 

22 to the extent required under the State homeland se23 curity plan or plans specified in the application for 

24 the grant, not less than 80 percent of the grant 

25 funds, resources purchased with the grant funds 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 having a value equal to at least 80 percent of the 

2 amount of the grant, or a combination thereof, by 

3 not later than the end of the 45-day period begin4 ning on the date the grant recipient receives the 

5 grant funds. 

6 ‘‘(2) COST SHARING.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of 

8 the costs of an activity carried out with a cov9 ered grant to a State, region, or directly eligible 

10 tribe awarded after the 2-year period beginning 

11 on the date of the enactment of this section 

12 shall not exceed 75 percent. 

13 ‘‘(B) INTERIM RULE.—The Federal share 

14 of the costs of an activity carried out with a 

15 covered grant awarded before the end of the 2-

16 year period beginning on the date of the enact17 ment of this section shall be 100 percent. 

18 ‘‘(C) IN-KIND MATCHING.—Each recipient 

19 of a covered grant may meet the matching re20 quirement under subparagraph (A) by making 

21 in-kind contributions of goods or services that 

22 are directly linked with the purpose for which 

23 the grant is made, including, but not limited to, 

24 any necessary personnel overtime, contractor 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 services, administrative costs, equipment fuel 

2 and maintenance, and rental space. 

3 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING DISTRIBU4 TION OF GRANT FUNDS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—

5 Any State that receives a covered grant shall certify 

6 to the Secretary, by not later than 30 days after the 

7 expiration of the period described in paragraph (1) 

8 with respect to the grant, that the State has made 

9 available for expenditure by local governments, first 

10 responders, and other local groups the required 

11 amount of grant funds pursuant to paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(4) QUARTERLY REPORT ON HOMELAND SECU13 RITY SPENDING.—The Federal share described in 

14 paragraph (2)(A) may be increased by up to 2 per15 cent for any State, region, or directly eligible tribe 

16 that, not later than 30 days after the end of each 

17 fiscal quarter, submits to the Secretary a report on 

18 that fiscal quarter. Each such report must include, 

19 for each recipient of a covered grant or a pass20 through under paragraph (1)—

21 ‘‘(A) the amount obligated to that recipient 

22 in that quarter; 

23 ‘‘(B) the amount expended by that recipi24 ent in that quarter; and 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(C) a summary description of the items 

2 purchased by such recipient with such amount. 

3 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL REPORT ON HOMELAND SECU4 RITY SPENDING.—Each recipient of a covered grant 

5 shall submit an annual report to the Secretary not 

6 later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year. 

7 Each recipient of a covered grant that is a region 

8 must simultaneously submit its report to each State 

9 of which any part is included in the region. Each re10 cipient of a covered grant that is a directly eligible 

11 tribe must simultaneously submit its report to each 

12 State within the boundaries of which any part of 

13 such tribe is located. Each report must include the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(A) The amount, ultimate recipients, and 

16 dates of receipt of all funds received under the 

17 grant during the previous fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(B) The amount and the dates of dis19 bursements of all such funds expended in com20 pliance with paragraph (1) or pursuant to mu21 tual aid agreements or other sharing arrange22 ments that apply within the State, region, or di23 rectly eligible tribe, as applicable, during the 

24 previous fiscal year. 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(C) How the funds were utilized by each 

2 ultimate recipient or beneficiary during the pre3 ceding fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(D) The extent to which essential capa5 bilities identified in the applicable State home6 land security plan or plans were achieved, main7 tained, or enhanced as the result of the expend8 iture of grant funds during the preceding fiscal 

9 year. 

10 ‘‘(E) The extent to which essential capa11 bilities identified in the applicable State home12 land security plan or plans remain unmet. 

13 ‘‘(6) INCLUSION OF RESTRICTED ANNEXES.—A 

14 recipient of a covered grant may submit to the Sec15 retary an annex to the annual report under para16 graph (5) that is subject to appropriate handling re17 strictions, if the recipient believes that discussion in 

18 the report of unmet needs would reveal sensitive but 

19 unclassified information. 

20 ‘‘(7) PROVISION OF REPORTS.—The Secretary 

21 shall ensure that each annual report under para22 graph (5) is provided to the Under Secretary for 

23 Emergency Preparedness and Response and the Di24 rector of the Office for Domestic Preparedness. 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(h) INCENTIVES TO EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION

2 OF HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) PENALTIES FOR DELAY IN PASSING

4 THROUGH LOCAL SHARE.—If a recipient of a cov5 ered grant that is a State fails to pass through to 

6 local governments, first responders, and other local 

7 groups funds or resources required by subsection 

8 (g)(1) within 45 days after receiving funds under 

9 the grant, the Secretary may—

10 ‘‘(A) reduce grant payments to the grant 

11 recipient from the portion of grant funds that 

12 is not required to be passed through under sub13 section (g)(1); 

14 ‘‘(B) terminate payment of funds under 

15 the grant to the recipient, and transfer the ap16 propriate portion of those funds directly to local 

17 first responders that were intended to receive 

18 funding under that grant; or 

19 ‘‘(C) impose additional restrictions or bur20 dens on the recipient’s use of funds under the 

21 grant, which may include—

22 ‘‘(i) prohibiting use of such funds to 

23 pay the grant recipient’s grant-related 

24 overtime or other expenses; 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(ii) requiring the grant recipient to 

2 distribute to local government beneficiaries 

3 all or a portion of grant funds that are not 

4 required to be passed through under sub5 section (g)(1); or 

6 ‘‘(iii) for each day that the grant re7 cipient fails to pass through funds or re8 sources in accordance with subsection 

9 (g)(1), reducing grant payments to the 

10 grant recipient from the portion of grant 

11 funds that is not required to be passed 

12 through under subsection (g)(1), except 

13 that the total amount of such reduction 

14 may not exceed 20 percent of the total 

15 amount of the grant. 

16 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF PERIOD.—The Governor of 

17 a State may request in writing that the Secretary 

18 extend the 45-day period under section 

19 1805(e)(5)(E) or paragraph (1) for an additional 

20 15-day period. The Secretary may approve such a 

21 request, and may extend such period for additional 

22 15-day periods, if the Secretary determines that the 

23 resulting delay in providing grant funding to the 

24 local government entities that will receive funding 

25 under the grant will not have a significant detri-
49

•HR 1544 IH 

1 mental impact on such entities’ terrorism prepared2 ness efforts. 

3 ‘‘(3) PROVISION OF NON-LOCAL SHARE TO

4 LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

6 upon request by a local government pay to the 

7 local government a portion of the amount of a 

8 covered grant awarded to a State in which the 

9 local government is located, if—

10 ‘‘(i) the local government will use the 

11 amount paid to expedite planned enhance12 ments to its terrorism preparedness as de13 scribed in any applicable State homeland 

14 security plan or plans; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the State has failed to pass 

16 through funds or resources in accordance 

17 with subsection (g)(1); and 

18 ‘‘(iii) the local government complies 

19 with subparagraphs (B) and (C). 

20 ‘‘(B) SHOWING REQUIRED.—To receive a 

21 payment under this paragraph, a local govern22 ment must demonstrate that—

23 ‘‘(i) it is identified explicitly as an ul24 timate recipient or intended beneficiary in 

25 the approved grant application; 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(ii) it was intended by the grantee to 

2 receive a severable portion of the overall 

3 grant for a specific purpose that is identi4 fied in the grant application; 

5 ‘‘(iii) it petitioned the grantee for the 

6 funds or resources after expiration of the 

7 period within which the funds or resources 

8 were required to be passed through under 

9 subsection (g)(1); and 

10 ‘‘(iv) it did not receive the portion of 

11 the overall grant that was earmarked or 

12 designated for its use or benefit. 

13 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF PAYMENT.—Payment of 

14 grant funds to a local government under this 

15 paragraph—

16 ‘‘(i) shall not affect any payment to 

17 another local government under this para18 graph; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) shall not prejudice consideration 

20 of a request for payment under this para21 graph that is submitted by another local 

22 government. 

23 ‘‘(D) DEADLINE FOR ACTION BY SEC24 RETARY.—The Secretary shall approve or dis25 approve each request for payment under this 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 paragraph by not later than 15 days after the 

2 date the request is received by the Department. 

3 ‘‘(i) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

4 submit an annual report to the Congress by December 31 

5 of each year—

6 ‘‘(1) describing in detail the amount of Federal 

7 funds provided as covered grants that were directed 

8 to each State, region, and directly eligible tribe in 

9 the preceding fiscal year; 

10 ‘‘(2) containing information on the use of such 

11 grant funds by grantees; and 

12 ‘‘(3) describing—

13 ‘‘(A) the Nation’s progress in achieving, 

14 maintaining, and enhancing the essential capa15 bilities established under section 1803(a) as a 

16 result of the expenditure of covered grant funds 

17 during the preceding fiscal year; and 

18 ‘‘(B) an estimate of the amount of expend19 itures required to attain across the United 

20 States the essential capabilities established 

21 under section 1803(a). 

22 ‘‘SEC. 1807. NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR FIRST RESPONDER 

23 EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING. 

24 ‘‘(a) EQUIPMENT STANDARDS.—
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta2 tion with the Under Secretaries for Emergency Pre3 paredness and Response and Science and Tech4 nology and the Director of the Office for Domestic 

5 Preparedness, shall, not later than 6 months after 

6 the date of enactment of this section, support the 

7 development of, promulgate, and update as nec8 essary national voluntary consensus standards for 

9 the performance, use, and validation of first re10 sponder equipment for purposes of section 

11 1805(e)(7). Such standards—

12 ‘‘(A) shall be, to the maximum extent prac13 ticable, consistent with any existing voluntary 

14 consensus standards; 

15 ‘‘(B) shall take into account, as appro16 priate, new types of terrorism threats that may 

17 not have been contemplated when such existing 

18 standards were developed; 

19 ‘‘(C) shall be focused on maximizing inter20 operability, interchangeability, durability, flexi21 bility, efficiency, efficacy, portability, sustain22 ability, and safety; and 

23 ‘‘(D) shall cover all appropriate uses of the 

24 equipment. 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED CATEGORIES.—In carrying out 

2 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall specifically con3 sider the following categories of first responder 

4 equipment: 

5 ‘‘(A) Thermal imaging equipment. 

6 ‘‘(B) Radiation detection and analysis 

7 equipment. 

8 ‘‘(C) Biological detection and analysis 

9 equipment. 

10 ‘‘(D) Chemical detection and analysis 

11 equipment. 

12 ‘‘(E) Decontamination and sterilization 

13 equipment. 

14 ‘‘(F) Personal protective equipment, in15 cluding garments, boots, gloves, and hoods and 

16 other protective clothing. 

17 ‘‘(G) Respiratory protection equipment. 

18 ‘‘(H) Interoperable communications, in19 cluding wireless and wireline voice, video, and 

20 data networks. 

21 ‘‘(I) Explosive mitigation devices and ex22 plosive detection and analysis equipment. 

23 ‘‘(J) Containment vessels. 

24 ‘‘(K) Contaminant-resistant vehicles. 
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•HR 1544 IH 

1 ‘‘(L) Such other equipment for which the 

2 Secretary determines that national voluntary 

3 consensus standards would be appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(b) TRAINING STANDARDS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta6 tion with the Under Secretaries for Emergency Pre7 paredness and Response and Science and Tech8 nology and the Director of the Office for Domestic 

9 Preparedness, shall support the development of, pro10 mulgate, and regularly update as necessary national 

11 voluntary consensus standards for first responder 

12 training carried out with amounts provided under 

13 covered grant programs, that will enable State and 

14 local government first responders to achieve optimal 

15 levels of terrorism preparedness as quickly as prac16 ticable. Such standards shall give priority to pro17 viding training to—

18 ‘‘(A) enable first responders to prevent, 

19 prepare for, respond to, and mitigate terrorist 

20 threats, including threats from chemical, bio21 logical, nuclear, and radiological weapons and 

22 explosive devices capable of inflicting significant 

23 human casualties; and 

24 ‘‘(B) familiarize first responders with the 

25 proper use of equipment, including software, 
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1 developed pursuant to the standards established 

2 under subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED CATEGORIES.—In carrying out 

4 paragraph (1), the Secretary specifically shall in5 clude the following categories of first responder ac6 tivities: 

7 ‘‘(A) Regional planning. 

8 ‘‘(B) Joint exercises. 

9 ‘‘(C) Intelligence collection, analysis, and 

10 sharing. 

11 ‘‘(D) Emergency notification of affected 

12 populations. 

13 ‘‘(E) Detection of biological, nuclear, radi14 ological, and chemical weapons of mass destruc15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(F) Such other activities for which the 

17 Secretary determines that national voluntary 

18 consensus training standards would be appro19 priate. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONSISTENCY.—In carrying out this sub21 section, the Secretary shall ensure that such training 

22 standards are consistent with the principles of emer23 gency preparedness for all hazards. 

24 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION WITH STANDARDS ORGANIZA25 TIONS.—In establishing national voluntary consensus 
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1 standards for first responder equipment and training 

2 under this section, the Secretary shall consult with rel3 evant public and private sector groups, including—

4 ‘‘(1) the National Institute of Standards and 

5 Technology; 

6 ‘‘(2) the National Fire Protection Association; 

7 ‘‘(3) the National Association of County and 

8 City Health Officials; 

9 ‘‘(4) the Association of State and Territorial 

10 Health Officials; 

11 ‘‘(5) the American National Standards Insti12 tute; 

13 ‘‘(6) the National Institute of Justice; 

14 ‘‘(7) the Inter-Agency Board for Equipment 

15 Standardization and Interoperability; 

16 ‘‘(8) the National Public Health Performance 

17 Standards Program; 

18 ‘‘(9) the National Institute for Occupational 

19 Safety and Health; 

20 ‘‘(10) ASTM International; 

21 ‘‘(11) the International Safety Equipment Asso22 ciation; 

23 ‘‘(12) the Emergency Management Accredita24 tion Program; and 
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1 ‘‘(13) to the extent the Secretary considers ap2 propriate, other national voluntary consensus stand3 ards development organizations, other interested 

4 Federal, State, and local agencies, and other inter5 ested persons. 

6 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH SECRETARY OF HHS.—

7 In establishing any national voluntary consensus stand8 ards under this section for first responder equipment or 

9 training that involve or relate to health professionals, in10 cluding emergency medical professionals, the Secretary 

11 shall coordinate activities under this section with the Sec12 retary of Health and Human Services.’’. 

13 (b) DEFINITION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE PRO14 VIDERS.—Paragraph (6) of section 2 of the Homeland Se15 curity Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296; 6 U.S.C. 

16 101(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘includes’’ and all that 

17 follows and inserting ‘‘includes Federal, State, and local 

18 governmental and nongovernmental emergency public 

19 safety, law enforcement, fire, emergency response, emer20 gency medical (including hospital emergency facilities), 

21 and related personnel, organizations, agencies, and au22 thorities.’’. 

23 (c) TEMPORARY LIMITATIONS ON APPLICATION.—

24 (1) 1-YEAR DELAY IN APPLICATION.—The fol25 lowing provisions of title XVIII of the Homeland Se-
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1 curity Act of 2002, as amended by subsection (a), 

2 shall not apply during the 1-year period beginning 

3 on the date of the enactment of this Act: 

4 (A) Subsections (b), (c), and (e)(4)(A) and 

5 (B) of section 1805. 

6 (B) In section 1805(f)(3)(A), the phrase ‘‘, 

7 by enhancing the essential capabilities of the 

8 applicants,’’. 

9 (2) 2-YEAR DELAY IN APPLICATION.—The fol10 lowing provisions of title XVIII of the Homeland Se11 curity Act of 2002, as amended by subsection (a), 

12 shall not apply during the 2-year period beginning 

13 on the date of the enactment of this Act: 

14 (A) Subparagraphs (D) and (E) of section 

15 1806(g)(5). 

16 (B) Section 1806(i)(3). 

17 SEC. 4. SUPERSEDED PROVISION. 

18 This Act supersedes section 1014 of Public Law 107–

19 56. 

20 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING CITIZEN CORPS 

21 COUNCILS. 

22 (a) FINDING.—The Congress finds that Citizen 

23 Corps councils help to enhance local citizen participation 

24 in terrorism preparedness by coordinating multiple Citizen 
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1 Corps programs, developing community action plans, as2 sessing possible threats, and identifying local resources. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

4 Congress that individual Citizen Corps councils should 

5 seek to enhance the preparedness and response capabilities 

6 of all organizations participating in the councils, including 

7 by providing funding to as many of their participating or8 ganizations as practicable to promote local terrorism pre9 paredness programs.

Æ