II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 608 

To improve the allocation of grants through the Department of Homeland 

Security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2007 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. CORNYN, Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. HUTCHISON, 

Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. MENENDEZ, and 

Mr. OBAMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve the allocation of grants through the Department 

of Homeland Security, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Risk-Based Homeland Security Grants Act of 2007’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Risk-based funding for homeland security. 

Sec. 3. Essential capabilities, task forces, and standards. 

Sec. 4. Effective administration of homeland security grants. 

Sec. 5. Implementation and definitions. 


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1 SEC. 2. RISK-BASED FUNDING FOR HOMELAND SECURITY. 

2 (a) RISK-BASED FUNDING IN GENERAL.—The 

3 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296; 6 

4 U.S.C. 361 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘TITLE XX—RISK-BASED FUND7 ING FOR HOMELAND SECU8 RITY 

9 ‘‘SEC. 2001. RISK-BASED FUNDING FOR HOMELAND SECU10 RITY. 

11 ‘‘(a) RISK-BASED FUNDING.—The Secretary shall 

12 ensure that homeland security grants are allocated based 

13 on an assessment of threat, vulnerability, and consequence 

14 to the maximum extent practicable. 

15 ‘‘(b) COVERED GRANTS.—This title applies to grants 

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

17 eligible tribes for the primary purpose of improving the 

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

19 to, or mitigate threatened or actual terrorist attacks, espe20 cially those involving weapons of mass destruction, and 

21 grants provided by the Department for improving home22 land security, including the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) STATE HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PRO24 GRAM.—The State Homeland Security Grant Pro25 gram of the Department, or any successor to such 

26 grant program. 


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

2 Urban Area Security Initiative of the Department, 

3 or any successor to such grant program. 

4 ‘‘(3) LAW ENFORCEMENT TERRORISM PREVEN5 TION PROGRAM.—The Law Enforcement Terrorism 

6 Prevention Program of the Department, or any suc7 cessor to such grant program. 

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

9 Corps Program of the Department, or any successor 

10 to such grant program. 

11 ‘‘(c) EXCLUDED PROGRAMS.—This title does not 

12 apply to or otherwise affect the following Federal grant 

13 programs or any grant under such a program: 

14 ‘‘(1) NONDEPARTMENT PROGRAMS.—Any Fed15 eral grant program that is not administered by the 

16 Department. 

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

18 programs authorized by sections 33 and 34 of the 

19 Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

20 (15 U.S.C. 2229, 2229a). 

21 ‘‘(3) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING

22 AND ASSISTANCE ACCOUNT GRANTS.—The Emer23 gency Management Performance Grant program and 

24 the Urban Search and Rescue Grants program au25 thorized by title VI of the Robert T. Stafford DisVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:46 Feb 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S608.IS S608

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1 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 5195 et seq.), the Departments of Veterans 

3 Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and 

4 Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 

5 (113 Stat. 1047 et seq.), and the Earthquake Haz6 ards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701 et 

7 seq.). 

8 ‘‘(d) EFFECT ON COVERED GRANTS.—Nothing in 

9 this Act shall be construed to require the elimination of 

10 a covered grant program.’’. 

11 (b) COVERED GRANT ELIGIBILITY AND CRITERIA.— 

12 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107– 

13 296; 6 U.S.C. 361 et seq.), as amended by subsection (a), 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 2002. COVERED GRANT ELIGIBILITY AND CRITERIA. 

16 ‘‘(a) GRANT ELIGIBILITY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(A) GENERAL ELIGIBILITY.—Except as 

19 provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), any 

20 State, region, or directly eligible tribe shall be 

21 eligible to apply for a covered grant. 

22 ‘‘(B) URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIA23 TIVE.—Only a region shall be eligible to apply 

24 for a grant under the Urban Area Security IniVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:46 Feb 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S608.IS S608

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1 tiative of the Department, or any successor to 

2 such grant program. 

3 ‘‘(C) STATE HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT

4 PROGRAM.—Only a State shall be eligible to 

5 apply for a grant under the State Homeland 

6 Security Grant Program of the Department, or 

7 any successor to such grant program. 

8 ‘‘(2) OTHER GRANT APPLICANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Grants provided by 

10 the Department for improving homeland secu11 rity, including to seaports, airports, and other 

12 transportation facilities, shall be allocated as 

13 described in section 2001(a). 

14 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION.—Such grants shall 

15 be considered, to the extent determined appro16 priate by the Secretary, pursuant to the proce17 dures and criteria established in this title, ex18 cept that the eligibility requirements of para19 graph (1) shall not apply. 

20 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION OF REGIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

22 certify a geographic area as a region if— 

23 ‘‘(i) the geographic area meets the cri24 teria under section 2007(10)(B) and (C); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines, based 

2 on an assessment of threat, vulnerability, 

3 and consequence, that certifying the geo4 graphic area as a region under this title is 

5 in the interest of national homeland secu6 rity. 

7 ‘‘(B) EXISTING URBAN AREA SECURITY

8 INITIATIVE AREAS.—Notwithstanding subpara9 graphs (B) and (C) of section 2007(10), a geo10 graphic area that, on or before the date of en11 actment of the Risk-Based Homeland Security 

12 Grants Act of 2007, was designated as a high13 threat urban area for purposes of the Urban 

14 Area Security Initiative, shall be certified by 

15 the Secretary as a region unless the Secretary 

16 determines, based on an assessment of threat, 

17 vulnerability, and consequence, that certifying 

18 the geographic area as a region is not in the in19 terest of national homeland security. 

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

21 the Secretary shall assist States, local governments, and 

22 operators of airports, ports, or similar facilities in achiev23 ing, maintaining, and enhancing the essential capabilities 

24 established by the Secretary under section 2003. 

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


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

2 shall require that any State applying to the Sec3 retary for a covered grant shall submit to the Sec4 retary a 3-year State homeland security plan that— 

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

6 State has achieved the essential capabilities 

7 that apply to the State; 

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

9 necessary to achieve, maintain, or enhance the 

10 essential capabilities that apply to the State; 

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

12 based on threat, vulnerability, and consequence 

13 assessment factors applicable to the State; 

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

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

16 county, regional, tribal, State, and inter17 state level, including a precise description 

18 of any regional structure the State has es19 tablished for the purpose of organizing 

20 homeland security preparedness activities 

21 funded by covered grants; 

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

23 local resources available for the purpose of 

24 addressing such needs; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) to give particular emphasis to 

2 regional planning and cooperation, includ3 ing the activities of multijurisdictional 

4 planning agencies governed by local offi5 cials, both within its jurisdictional borders 

6 and with neighboring States; 

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

8 subject to appropriate comment by local govern9 ments within the State; and 

10 ‘‘(F) with respect to the emergency pre11 paredness of first responders, addresses the 

12 unique aspects of terrorism as part of a com13 prehensive State emergency management plan. 

14 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL BY SECRETARY.—The Sec15 retary may not award any covered grant to a State 

16 unless the Secretary has approved the applicable 

17 State homeland security plan. 

18 ‘‘(d) CONSISTENCY WITH STATE PLANS.—The Sec19 retary shall ensure that each covered grant is used to sup20 plement and support, in a consistent and coordinated 

21 manner, the applicable State homeland security plan or 

22 plans. 

23 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION FOR GRANT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro25 vided in this subsection, any State, region, directly 


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1 eligible tribe, or operator of an airport, port, or simi2 lar facility may apply for a covered grant by submit3 ting to the Secretary an application at such time, in 

4 such manner, and containing such information as is 

5 required under this subsection, or as the Secretary 

6 may reasonably require. 

7 ‘‘(2) DEADLINES FOR APPLICATIONS AND

8 AWARDS.—All applications for covered grants shall 

9 be submitted at such time as the Secretary may rea10 sonably require for the fiscal year for which they are 

11 submitted. The Secretary shall award covered grants 

12 pursuant to all approved applications for such fiscal 

13 year as soon as practicable, but not later than 

14 March 1 of such year. 

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

16 awarded by the Secretary under covered grants in a 

17 fiscal year shall be available for obligation through 

18 the end of the second subsequent fiscal year. 

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

20 The Secretary shall require that each applicant in21 clude in its application, at a minimum— 

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

23 seeks covered grant funds and the reasons why 

24 the applicant needs the covered grant to meet 

25 the essential capabilities for terrorism preparedVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:46 Feb 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S608.IS S608

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1 ness within the State, region, or directly eligible 

2 tribe or at the airport, port, or similar facility 

3 to which the application pertains; 

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

5 the applicable State homeland security plan or 

6 plans under subsection (c), the allocation of 

7 grant funding proposed in the application, in8 cluding, where applicable, the amount not 

9 passed through under section 2006(g)(1), would 

10 assist in fulfilling the essential capabilities spec11 ified in such plan or plans; 

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

13 agreement applies to the use of all or any por14 tion of the covered grant funds; 

15 ‘‘(D) if the applicant is a State, a descrip16 tion of how the State plans to allocate the cov17 ered grant funds to regions, local governments, 

18 and Indian tribes; 

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

20 ‘‘(i) a precise geographical description 

21 of the region and a specification of all par22 ticipating and nonparticipating local gov23 ernments within the geographical area 

24 comprising that region; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a specification of what govern2 mental entity within the region will admin3 ister the expenditure of funds under the 

4 covered grant; 

5 ‘‘(iii) a designation of a specific indi6 vidual to serve as regional liaison; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) a description of how the govern8 mental entity administering the expendi9 ture of funds under the covered grant 

10 plans to allocate the covered grant funds to 

11 States, local governments, and Indian 

12 tribes; 

13 ‘‘(F) a capital budget showing how the ap14 plicant intends to allocate and expend the cov15 ered grant funds; and 

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

17 tribe, a designation of a specific individual to 

18 serve as the tribal liaison. 

19 ‘‘(5) REGIONAL APPLICATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE APPLICA21 TIONS.—A regional application— 

22 ‘‘(i) shall be coordinated with an ap23 plication submitted by the State or States 

24 of which such region is a part; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) shall supplement and avoid dupli2 cation with such State application; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) shall address the unique regional 

4 aspects of such region’s terrorism pre5 paredness needs beyond those provided for 

6 in the application of such State or States. 

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

8 To ensure the consistency required under sub9 section (d) and the coordination required under 

10 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, an appli11 cant that is a region shall submit its application 

12 to each State of which any part is included in 

13 the region for review and concurrence before 

14 the submission of such application to the Sec15 retary. The regional application shall be trans16 mitted to the Secretary through each such 

17 State within 30 days after receipt of the appli18 cation by that State, unless the Governor of 

19 such a State notifies the Secretary, in writing, 

20 that such regional application is inconsistent 

21 with the State’s homeland security plan and 

22 provides an explanation of the reasons therefor. 

23 ‘‘(C) DISTRIBUTION OF REGIONAL

24 AWARDS.—If the Secretary approves a regional 

25 application, then the Secretary shall distribute 


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1 a regional award to the State or States submit2 ting the applicable regional application under 

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

4 not later than the end of the 45-day period be5 ginning on the date after receiving a regional 

6 award, pass through to the region all covered 

7 grant funds or resources purchased with such 

8 funds, except those funds necessary for the 

9 State to carry out its responsibilities with re10 spect to such regional application: Provided 

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

12 pass through to the region less than 80 percent 

13 of the regional award. 

14 ‘‘(D) CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING DIS15 TRIBUTION OF GRANT FUNDS TO REGIONS.— 

16 Any State that receives a regional award under 

17 subparagraph (C) shall certify to the Secretary, 

18 by not later than 30 days after the expiration 

19 of the period described in subparagraph (C) 

20 with respect to the grant, that the State has 

21 made available to the region the required funds 

22 and resources in accordance with subparagraph 

23 (C). 

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

25 any State fails to pass through a regional 


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1 award to a region as required by subparagraph 

2 (C) within 45 days after receiving such award 

3 and does not request or receive an extension of 

4 such period under section 2006(h)(2), the re5 gion may petition the Secretary to receive di6 rectly the portion of the regional award that is 

7 required to be passed through to such region 

8 under subparagraph (C). 

9 ‘‘(F) REGIONAL LIAISONS.—A regional li10 aison designated under paragraph (4)(E)(iii) 

11 shall— 

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

13 local, regional, and private officials within 

14 the region concerning terrorism prepared15 ness; 

16 ‘‘(ii) develop a process for receiving 

17 input from Federal, State, local, regional, 

18 and private sector officials within the re19 gion to assist in the development of the re20 gional application and to improve the re21 gion’s access to covered grants; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) administer, in consultation with 

23 State, local, regional, and private officials 

24 within the region, covered grants awarded 

25 to the region. 


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1 ‘‘(6) TRIBAL APPLICATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION TO THE STATE OR

3 STATES.—To ensure the consistency required 

4 under subsection (d), an applicant that is a di5 rectly eligible tribe shall submit its application 

6 to each State within the boundaries of which 

7 any part of such tribe is located for direct sub8 mission to the Department along with the appli9 cation of such State or States. 

10 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY FOR STATE COM11 MENT.—Before awarding any covered grant to 

12 a directly eligible tribe, the Secretary shall pro13 vide an opportunity to each State within the 

14 boundaries of which any part of such tribe is lo15 cated to comment to the Secretary on the con16 sistency of the tribe’s application with the 

17 State’s homeland security plan. Any such com18 ments shall be submitted to the Secretary con19 currently with the submission of the State and 

20 tribal applications. 

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

22 shall have final authority to determine the con23 sistency of any application of a directly eligible 

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1 tion of such tribe. The Secretary shall notify 

2 each State within the boundaries of which any 

3 part of such tribe is located of the approval of 

4 an application by such tribe. 

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

6 designated under paragraph (4)(G) shall— 

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

8 and private sector officials to assist in the 

9 development of the application of such 

10 tribe and to improve the tribe’s access to 

11 covered grants; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) administer, in consultation with 

13 State, local, regional, and private officials, 

14 covered grants awarded to such tribe. 

15 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION ON THE NUMBER OF DI16 RECT GRANTS.—The Secretary may make cov17 ered grants directly to not more than 20 di18 rectly eligible tribes per fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(F) TRIBES NOT RECEIVING DIRECT

20 GRANTS.—An Indian tribe that does not receive 

21 a grant directly under this section is eligible to 

22 receive funds under a covered grant from the 

23 State or States within the boundaries of which 

24 any part of such tribe is located, consistent with 

25 the homeland security plan of the State as deVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:46 Feb 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S608.IS S608

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1 scribed in subsection (c). If a State fails to 

2 comply with section 2006(g)(1), the tribe may 

3 request payment under section 2006(h)(3) in 

4 the same manner as a local government. 

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

6 for a covered grant proposes to upgrade or purchase, 

7 with assistance provided under the grant, new equip8 ment or systems that do not meet or exceed any ap9 plicable national voluntary consensus standards es10 tablished by the Secretary under section 2005(a), 

11 the applicant shall include in the application an ex12 planation of why such equipment or systems will 

13 serve the needs of the applicant better than equip14 ment or systems that meet or exceed such standards. 

15 ‘‘(f) HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS BOARD.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.—The Sec17 retary shall establish a Homeland Security Grants 

18 Board, consisting of— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Secretary; 

20 ‘‘(B) the Deputy Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security; 

22 ‘‘(C) the Under Secretary for Emergency 

23 Preparedness and Response; 

24 ‘‘(D) the Under Secretary for Border and 

25 Transportation Security; 


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1 ‘‘(E) the Under Secretary for Information 

2 Analysis and Infrastructure Protection; 

3 ‘‘(F) the Under Secretary for Science and 

4 Technology; and 

5 ‘‘(G) the Director of the Office of State 

6 and Local Government Coordination. 

7 ‘‘(2) CHAIRMAN.— 

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

9 the Chairman of the Board. 

10 ‘‘(B) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES BY DEP11 UTY SECRETARY.—The Deputy Secretary of 

12 Homeland Security may exercise the authorities 

13 of the Chairman, if the Secretary so directs. 

14 ‘‘(3) RISK-BASED RANKING OF GRANT APPLICA15 TIONS.— 

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

17 Board— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall evaluate and annually 

19 prioritize all pending applications for cov20 ered grants based upon the degree to 

21 which they would, by achieving, maintain22 ing, or enhancing the essential capabilities 

23 of the applicants on a nationwide basis, 

24 lessen the threat to, vulnerability of, and 


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1 consequences for persons and critical infra2 structure; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) in evaluating the threat to per4 sons and critical infrastructure for pur5 poses of prioritizing covered grants, shall 

6 give greater weight to threats of terrorism 

7 based on their specificity and credibility, 

8 including any pattern of repetition. 

9 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM AMOUNTS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After evaluating 

11 and prioritizing grant applications under 

12 subparagraph (A), the Board shall ensure 

13 that, for each fiscal year, each State that 

14 has an approved State homeland security 

15 plan receives no less than 0.25 percent of 

16 the funds available for the State Homeland 

17 Security Grant Program, as described in 

18 section 2001(b)(1), for that fiscal year for 

19 purposes of implementing its homeland se20 curity plan in accordance with the 

21 prioritization of additional needs under 

22 subsection (c)(1)(C). 

23 ‘‘(ii) OTHER ENTITIES.—Notwith24 standing clause (i), the Board shall ensure 

25 that, for each fiscal year, American Samoa, 


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1 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar2 iana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands 

3 each receive 0.08 percent of the funds 

4 available for the State Homeland Security 

5 Grant Program, as described in section 

6 2001(b)(1), for that fiscal year for pur7 poses of implementing its homeland secu8 rity plan in accordance with the 

9 prioritization of additional needs under 

10 subsection (c)(1)(C). 

11 ‘‘(4) FUNCTIONS OF UNDER SECRETARIES.— 

12 The Under Secretaries referred to in paragraph (1) 

13 shall seek to ensure that the relevant expertise and 

14 input of the staff of their directorates are available 

15 to and considered by the Board.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. ESSENTIAL CAPABILITIES, TASK FORCES, AND 

17 STANDARDS. 

18 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 

19 107–296; 6 U.S.C. 361 et seq.), as amended by section 

20 2, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 2003. ESSENTIAL CAPABILITIES FOR HOMELAND SE22 CURITY. 

23 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ESSENTIAL CAPABILI24 TIES.— 


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

2 grants, the Secretary shall establish clearly defined 

3 essential capabilities for State and local government 

4 preparedness for terrorism, in consultation with— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Task Force on Essential Capabili6 ties established under section 2004; 

7 ‘‘(B) the Under Secretaries for Emergency 

8 Preparedness and Response, Border and Trans9 portation Security, Information Analysis and 

10 Infrastructure Protection, and Science and 

11 Technology, and the Director of the Office of 

12 State and Local Government Coordination; 

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

14 Services; 

15 ‘‘(D) other appropriate Federal agencies; 

16 ‘‘(E) State and local first responder agen17 cies and officials; and 

18 ‘‘(F) consensus-based standard making or19 ganizations responsible for setting standards 

20 relevant to the first responder community. 

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

22 ‘‘(A) establish essential capabilities under 

23 paragraph (1) within 30 days after receipt of 

24 the report under section 2004(b); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) regularly update such essential capa2 bilities as necessary, but not less than every 3 

3 years. 

4 ‘‘(3) PROVISION OF ESSENTIAL CAPABILI5 TIES.—The Secretary shall ensure that a detailed 

6 description of the essential capabilities established 

7 under paragraph (1) is provided promptly to the 

8 States and to Congress. The States shall make the 

9 essential capabilities available as necessary and ap10 propriate to local governments and operators of air11 ports, ports, and other similar facilities within their 

12 jurisdictions. 

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

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

15 meet the following objectives: 

16 ‘‘(1) SPECIFICITY.—The determination of es17 sential capabilities specifically shall describe the 

18 training, planning, personnel, and equipment that 

19 different types of communities in the Nation should 

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

21 order to meet the Department’s goals for terrorism 

22 preparedness based upon— 

23 ‘‘(A) the most current risk assessment 

24 available by the Directorate for Information 


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1 Analysis and Infrastructure Protection of the 

2 threats of terrorism against the United States; 

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

4 geography, size, and other factors that the Sec5 retary has determined to be applicable to each 

6 different type of community; and 

7 ‘‘(C) the principles of regional coordination 

8 and mutual aid among State and local govern9 ments. 

10 ‘‘(2) FLEXIBILITY.—The establishment of es11 sential capabilities shall be sufficiently flexible to 

12 allow State and local government officials to set pri13 orities based on particular needs, while reaching na14 tionally determined terrorism preparedness levels 

15 within a specified time period. 

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

17 essential capabilities shall be designed to enable 

18 measurement of progress toward specific terrorism 

19 preparedness goals. 

20 ‘‘(4) COMPREHENSIVENESS.—The determina21 tion of essential capabilities for terrorism prepared22 ness shall be made within the context of a com23 prehensive State emergency management system. 

24 ‘‘(c) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In establishing essential ca2 pabilities under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary spe3 cifically shall consider the variables of threat, vulner4 ability, and consequences with respect to the Na5 tion’s population (including transient commuting 

6 and tourist populations) and critical infrastructure. 

7 Such consideration shall be based upon the most 

8 current risk assessment available by the Directorate 

9 for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protec10 tion of the threats of terrorism against the United 

11 States. 

12 ‘‘(2) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS.— 

13 The Secretary specifically shall consider threats of 

14 terrorism against the following critical infrastructure 

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

16 ‘‘(A) Agriculture. 

17 ‘‘(B) Banking and finance. 

18 ‘‘(C) Chemical industries. 

19 ‘‘(D) The defense industrial base. 

20 ‘‘(E) Emergency services. 

21 ‘‘(F) Energy. 

22 ‘‘(G) Food. 

23 ‘‘(H) Government. 

24 ‘‘(I) Postal and shipping. 

25 ‘‘(J) Public health. 


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1 ‘‘(K) Information and telecommunications 

2 networks. 

3 ‘‘(L) Transportation. 

4 ‘‘(M) Water. 

5 The order in which the critical infrastructure sectors 

6 are listed in this paragraph shall not be construed 

7 as an order of priority for consideration of the im8 portance of such sectors. 

9 ‘‘(3) TYPES OF THREAT.—The Secretary spe10 cifically shall consider the following types of threat 

11 to the critical infrastructure sectors described in 

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

13 Nation, urban and rural: 

14 ‘‘(A) Biological threats. 

15 ‘‘(B) Nuclear threats. 

16 ‘‘(C) Radiological threats. 

17 ‘‘(D) Incendiary threats. 

18 ‘‘(E) Chemical threats. 

19 ‘‘(F) Explosives. 

20 ‘‘(G) Suicide bombers. 

21 ‘‘(H) Cyber threats. 

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

23 to specific past acts of terrorism or the known 

24 activity of any terrorist group. 


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

2 this paragraph shall not be construed as an order of 

3 priority for consideration of the importance of such 

4 threats. 

5 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL FAC6 TORS.—In establishing essential capabilities under 

7 subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall take into ac8 count any other specific threat to a population (in9 cluding a transient commuting or tourist population) 

10 or critical infrastructure sector that the Secretary 

11 has determined to exist. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 2004. TASK FORCE ON ESSENTIAL CAPABILITIES. 

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

14 establishing essential capabilities under section 

15 2003(a)(1), the Secretary shall establish an advisory body 

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

17 the date of the enactment of this section, which shall be 

18 known as the Task Force on Essential Capabilities. 

19 ‘‘(b) REPORT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall sub21 mit to the Secretary, not later than 9 months after 

22 its establishment by the Secretary under subsection 

23 (a) and every 3 years thereafter, a report on its rec24 ommendations for essential capabilities for prepared25 ness for terrorism. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report shall— 

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

3 capabilities in order to provide guidance to the 

4 Secretary and to Congress on determining the 

5 appropriate allocation of, and funding levels for, 

6 first responder needs; 

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

8 State or local government will be able to deter9 mine the extent to which it possesses or has ac10 cess to the essential capabilities that States and 

11 local governments having similar risks should 

12 obtain; 

13 ‘‘(C) describe the availability of national 

14 voluntary consensus standards, and whether 

15 there is a need for new national voluntary con16 sensus standards, with respect to first re17 sponder training and equipment; 

18 ‘‘(D) include such additional matters as 

19 the Secretary may specify in order to further 

20 the terrorism preparedness capabilities of first 

21 responders; and 

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

23 of past reports as are necessary to take into ac24 count changes in the most current risk assess25 ment available by the Directorate for InformaVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:46 Feb 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S608.IS S608

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1 tion Analysis and Infrastructure Protection or 

2 other relevant information as determined by the 

3 Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(3) CONSISTENCY WITH FEDERAL WORKING

5 GROUP.—The Task Force shall ensure that its rec6 ommendations for essential capabilities are, to the 

7 extent feasible, consistent with any preparedness 

8 goals or recommendations of the Federal working 

9 group established under section 319F(a) of the Pub10 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–6(a)). 

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

12 shall ensure that its recommendations regarding es13 sential capabilities for terrorism preparedness are 

14 made within the context of a comprehensive State 

15 emergency management system. 

16 ‘‘(5) PRIOR MEASURES.—The Task Force shall 

17 ensure that its recommendations regarding essential 

18 capabilities for terrorism preparedness take into ac19 count any capabilities that State or local officials 

20 have determined to be essential and have undertaken 

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

22 terrorist attacks. 

23 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall con25 sist of 35 members appointed by the Secretary, and 


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1 shall, to the extent practicable, represent a geo2 graphic and substantive cross section of govern3 mental and nongovernmental first responder dis4 ciplines from the State and local levels, including as 

5 appropriate— 

6 ‘‘(A) members selected from the emergency 

7 response field, including fire service and law en8 forcement, hazardous materials response, emer9 gency medical services, and emergency manage10 ment personnel (including public works per11 sonnel routinely engaged in emergency re12 sponse); 

13 ‘‘(B) health scientists, emergency and in14 patient medical providers, and public health 

15 professionals, including experts in emergency 

16 health care response to chemical, biological, ra17 diological, and nuclear terrorism, and experts in 

18 providing mental health care during emergency 

19 response operations; 

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

21 governments, and the private sector, rep22 resenting standards-setting organizations, in23 cluding representation from the voluntary con24 sensus codes and standards development comVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:46 Feb 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S608.IS S608

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1 munity, particularly those with expertise in first 

2 responder disciplines; and 

3 ‘‘(D) State and local officials with exper4 tise in terrorism preparedness, subject to the 

5 condition that if any such official is an elected 

6 official representing 1 of the 2 major political 

7 parties, an equal number of elected officials 

8 shall be selected from each such party. 

9 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT

10 OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.—In the selec11 tion of members of the Task Force who are health 

12 professionals, including emergency medical profes13 sionals, the Secretary shall coordinate the selection 

14 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

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

16 and the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

17 shall each designate 1 or more officers of their re18 spective Departments to serve as ex officio members 

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

20 from the Department of Homeland Security shall be 

21 the designated officer of the Federal Government for 

22 purposes of subsection (e) of section 10 of the Fed23 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.). 

24 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM25 MITTEE ACT.—Notwithstanding section 871(a), the FedVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:46 Feb 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S608.IS S608

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1 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), including 

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

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

4 apply to the Task Force. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 2005. NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR FIRST RESPONDER 

6 EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING. 

7 ‘‘(a) EQUIPMENT STANDARDS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta9 tion with the Under Secretaries for Emergency Pre10 paredness and Response and Science and Tech11 nology and the Director of the Office of State and 

12 Local Government Coordination, shall, not later 

13 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

14 section, support the development of, promulgate, and 

15 update as necessary national voluntary consensus 

16 standards for the performance, use, and validation 

17 of first responder equipment for purposes of section 

18 2002(e)(7). Such standards— 

19 ‘‘(A) shall be, to the maximum extent prac20 ticable, consistent with any existing voluntary 

21 consensus standards; 

22 ‘‘(B) shall take into account, as appro23 priate, new types of terrorism threats that may 

24 not have been contemplated when such existing 

25 standards were developed; 


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1 ‘‘(C) shall be focused on maximizing inter2 operability, interchangeability, durability, flexi3 bility, efficiency, efficacy, portability, sustain4 ability, and safety; and 

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

6 equipment. 

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

8 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall specifically con9 sider the following categories of first responder 

10 equipment: 

11 ‘‘(A) Thermal imaging equipment. 

12 ‘‘(B) Radiation detection and analysis 

13 equipment. 

14 ‘‘(C) Biological detection and analysis 

15 equipment. 

16 ‘‘(D) Chemical detection and analysis 

17 equipment. 

18 ‘‘(E) Decontamination and sterilization 

19 equipment. 

20 ‘‘(F) Personal protective equipment, in21 cluding garments, boots, gloves, and hoods, and 

22 other protective clothing. 

23 ‘‘(G) Respiratory protection equipment. 


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1 ‘‘(H) Interoperable communications, in2 cluding wireless and wireline voice, video, and 

3 data networks. 

4 ‘‘(I) Explosive mitigation devices and ex5 plosive detection and analysis equipment. 

6 ‘‘(J) Containment vessels. 

7 ‘‘(K) Contaminant-resistant vehicles. 

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

9 Secretary determines that national voluntary 

10 consensus standards would be appropriate. 

11 ‘‘(b) TRAINING STANDARDS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the Under Secretaries for Emergency Pre14 paredness and Response and Science and Tech15 nology and the Director of the Office of State and 

16 Local Government Coordination, shall support the 

17 development of, promulgate, and regularly update as 

18 necessary national voluntary consensus standards for 

19 first responder training carried out with amounts 

20 provided under covered grant programs, that will en21 able State and local government first responders to 

22 achieve optimal levels of terrorism preparedness as 

23 quickly as practicable. Such standards shall give pri24 ority to providing training to— 


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

2 prepare for, respond to, and mitigate terrorist 

3 threats, including threats from chemical, bio4 logical, nuclear, and radiological weapons and 

5 explosive devices capable of inflicting significant 

6 human casualties; and 

7 ‘‘(B) familiarize first responders with the 

8 proper use of equipment, including software, 

9 developed pursuant to the standards established 

10 under subsection (a). 

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

12 paragraph (1), the Secretary specifically shall in13 clude the following categories of first responder ac14 tivities: 

15 ‘‘(A) Regional planning. 

16 ‘‘(B) Joint exercises. 

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

18 sharing. 

19 ‘‘(D) Emergency notification of affected 

20 populations. 

21 ‘‘(E) Detection of biological, nuclear, radi22 ological, and chemical weapons of mass destruc23 tion. 

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

25 Secretary determines that national voluntary 


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1 consensus training standards would be appro2 priate. 

3 ‘‘(3) CONSISTENCY.—In carrying out this sub4 section, the Secretary shall ensure that such training 

5 standards are consistent with the principles of emer6 gency preparedness for all hazards. 

7 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION WITH STANDARDS ORGANIZA8 TIONS.—In establishing national voluntary consensus 

9 standards for first responder equipment and training 

10 under this section, the Secretary shall consult with rel11 evant public and private sector groups, including— 

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

13 Technology; 

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

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

16 City Health Officials; 

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

18 Health Officials; 

19 ‘‘(5) the American National Standards Insti20 tute; 

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

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

23 Standardization and Interoperability; 

24 ‘‘(8) the National Public Health Performance 

25 Standards Program; 


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1 ‘‘(9) the National Institute for Occupational 

2 Safety and Health; 

3 ‘‘(10) ASTM International; 

4 ‘‘(11) the International Safety Equipment Asso5 ciation; 

6 ‘‘(12) the Emergency Management Accredita7 tion Program; 

8 ‘‘(13) the National Domestic Preparedness Con9 sortium; and 

10 ‘‘(14) to the extent the Secretary considers ap11 propriate, other national voluntary consensus stand12 ards development organizations, other interested 

13 Federal, State, and local agencies, and other inter14 ested persons. 

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

16 In establishing any national voluntary consensus stand17 ards under this section for first responder equipment or 

18 training that involve or relate to health professionals, in19 cluding emergency medical professionals, the Secretary 

20 shall coordinate activities under this section with the Sec21 retary of Health and Human Services.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF HOMELAND SECU23 RITY GRANTS. 

24 (a) USE OF GRANT FUNDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

25 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107– 


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1 296; 6 U.S.C. 361 et seq.), as amended by sections 2 and 

2 3, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 2006. USE OF FUNDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY RE4 QUIREMENTS. 

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

6 for— 

7 ‘‘(1) purchasing, upgrading, or maintaining 

8 equipment, including computer software, to enhance 

9 terrorism preparedness and response; 

10 ‘‘(2) exercises to strengthen terrorism prepared11 ness and response; 

12 ‘‘(3) training for prevention (including detec13 tion) of, preparedness for, or response to attacks in14 volving weapons of mass destruction, including train15 ing in the use of equipment and computer software; 

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

17 ‘‘(5) establishing or enhancing mechanisms for 

18 sharing terrorism threat information; 

19 ‘‘(6) systems architecture and engineering, pro20 gram planning and management, strategy formula21 tion and strategic planning, life-cycle systems de22 sign, product and technology evaluation, and proto23 type development for terrorism preparedness and re24 sponse purposes; 

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


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

2 the Homeland Security Advisory System by the 

3 Secretary, or a similar elevation in threat alert 

4 level issued by a State, region, or local govern5 ment with the approval of the Secretary; 

6 ‘‘(B) travel to and participation in exer7 cises and training in the use of equipment and 

8 on prevention activities; 

9 ‘‘(C) the temporary replacement of per10 sonnel during any period of travel to and par11 ticipation in exercises and training in the use of 

12 equipment and on prevention activities; and 

13 ‘‘(D) participation in information, inves14 tigative, and intelligence-sharing activities spe15 cifically related to terrorism prevention; 

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

17 required to receive, transmit, handle, and store clas18 sified information; 

19 ‘‘(9) target hardening to reduce the vulner20 ability of high-value targets, as determined by the 

21 Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(10) protecting critical infrastructure against 

23 potential attack by the addition of barriers, fences, 

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

25 of such measures may not exceed the greater of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $1,000,000 per project; or 

2 ‘‘(B) such greater amount as may be ap3 proved by the Secretary, which may not exceed 

4 10 percent of the total amount of the covered 

5 grant; 

6 ‘‘(11) the costs of commercially available inter7 operable communications equipment (which, where 

8 applicable, is based on national, voluntary consensus 

9 standards) that the Secretary, in consultation with 

10 the Chairman of the Federal Communications Com11 mission, deems best suited to facilitate interoper12 ability, coordination, and integration between and 

13 among emergency communications systems, and that 

14 complies with prevailing grant guidance of the De15 partment for interoperable communications; 

16 ‘‘(12) educational curricula development for 

17 first responders to ensure that they are prepared for 

18 terrorist attacks; 

19 ‘‘(13) training and exercises to assist public ele20 mentary and secondary schools in developing and 

21 implementing programs to instruct students regard22 ing age-appropriate skills to prepare for and respond 

23 to an act of terrorism; 

24 ‘‘(14) paying of administrative expenses directly 

25 related to administration of the grant, except that 


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1 such expenses may not exceed 3 percent of the 

2 amount of the grant; and 

3 ‘‘(15) other appropriate activities as determined 

4 by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITED USES.—Funds provided as a cov6 ered grant may not be used— 

7 ‘‘(1) to supplant State or local funds that have 

8 been obligated for a homeland security or other first 

9 responder-related project; 

10 ‘‘(2) to construct buildings or other physical fa11 cilities, except for— 

12 ‘‘(A) activities under section 611 of the 

13 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer14 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5196); and 

15 ‘‘(B) upgrading facilities to protect 

16 against, test for, and treat the effects of biologi17 cal agents, which shall be included in the home18 land security plan approved by the Secretary 

19 under section 2002(c); 

20 ‘‘(3) to acquire land; or 

21 ‘‘(4) for any State or local government cost22 sharing contribution. 

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

24 section shall be construed to preclude State and local gov25 ernments from using covered grant funds in a manner 


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1 that also enhances first responder preparedness for emer2 gencies and disasters unrelated to acts of terrorism, if 

3 such use assists such governments in achieving essential 

4 capabilities for terrorism preparedness established by the 

5 Secretary under section 2003. 

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

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

8 may be used to provide a reasonable stipend to paid-on9 call or volunteer first responders who are not otherwise 

10 compensated for travel to or participation in training cov11 ered by this section. Any such reimbursement shall not 

12 be considered compensation for purposes of rendering 

13 such a first responder an employee under the Fair Labor 

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

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

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

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

18 available for responding to emergencies in surrounding 

19 States, regions, and localities, unless the Secretary under20 takes to pay the costs directly attributable to transporting 

21 and operating such equipment during such response. 

22 ‘‘(f) FLEXIBILITY IN UNSPENT HOMELAND SECU23 RITY GRANT FUNDS.—Upon request by the recipient of 

24 a covered grant, the Secretary may authorize the grantee 

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


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1 grant from uses specified in the grant agreement to other 

2 uses authorized under this section, if the Secretary deter3 mines that such transfer is in the interests of homeland 

4 security. 

5 ‘‘(g) STATE, REGIONAL, AND TRIBAL RESPONSIBIL6 ITIES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PASS-THROUGH.—The Secretary shall re8 quire a recipient of a covered grant that is a State 

9 to obligate or otherwise make available to local gov10 ernments, first responders, and other local groups, 

11 to the extent required under the State homeland se12 curity plan or plans specified in the application for 

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

14 funds, resources purchased with the grant funds 

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

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

17 not later than the end of the 45-day period begin18 ning on the date the grant recipient receives the 

19 grant funds. 

20 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING DISTRIBU21 TION OF GRANT FUNDS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.— 

22 Any State that receives a covered grant shall certify 

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

24 expiration of the period described in paragraph (1) 

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


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1 available for expenditure by local governments, first 

2 responders, and other local groups the required 

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

4 ‘‘(3) QUARTERLY REPORT ON HOMELAND SECU5 RITY SPENDING.—Each recipient of a covered grant 

6 shall submit a quarterly report to the Secretary not 

7 later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal quar8 ter. Each such report shall include, for each recipi9 ent of a covered grant or a pass-through under para10 graph (1)— 

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

12 in that quarter; 

13 ‘‘(B) the amount expended by that recipi14 ent in that quarter; and 

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

16 purchased by such recipient with such amount. 

17 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORT ON HOMELAND SECU18 RITY SPENDING.—Each recipient of a covered grant 

19 shall submit an annual report to the Secretary not 

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

21 Each recipient of a covered grant that is a region 

22 shall simultaneously submit its report to each State 

23 of which any part is included in the region. Each re24 cipient of a covered grant that is a directly eligible 

25 tribe shall simultaneously submit its report to each 


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1 State within the boundaries of which any part of 

2 such tribe is located. Each report shall include the 

3 following: 

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

5 dates of receipt of all funds received under the 

6 grant during the previous fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(B) The amount and the dates of dis8 bursements of all such funds expended in com9 pliance with paragraph (1) or pursuant to mu10 tual aid agreements or other sharing arrange11 ments that apply within the State, region, or di12 rectly eligible tribe, as applicable, during the 

13 previous fiscal year. 

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

15 ultimate recipient or beneficiary during the pre16 ceding fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(D) The extent to which essential capa18 bilities identified in the applicable State home19 land security plan or plans were achieved, main20 tained, or enhanced as the result of the expend21 iture of grant funds during the preceding fiscal 

22 year. 

23 ‘‘(E) The extent to which essential capa24 bilities identified in the applicable State home25 land security plan or plans remain unmet. 


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1 ‘‘(5) INCLUSION OF RESTRICTED ANNEXES.—A 

2 recipient of a covered grant may submit to the Sec3 retary an annex to the annual report under para4 graph (4) that is subject to appropriate handling re5 strictions, if the recipient believes that discussion in 

6 the report of unmet needs would reveal sensitive but 

7 unclassified information. 

8 ‘‘(6) PROVISION OF REPORTS.—The Secretary 

9 shall ensure that each annual report under para10 graph (4) is provided to the Under Secretary for 

11 Emergency Preparedness and Response and the Di12 rector of the Office of State and Local Government 

13 Coordination. 

14 ‘‘(h) INCENTIVES TO EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION

15 OF HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) PENALTIES FOR DELAY IN PASSING

17 THROUGH LOCAL SHARE.—If a recipient of a cov18 ered grant that is a State fails to pass through to 

19 local governments, first responders, and other local 

20 groups funds or resources required by subsection 

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

22 the grant, the Secretary may— 

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

24 recipient from the portion of grant funds that 


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1 is not required to be passed through under sub2 section (g)(1); 

3 ‘‘(B) terminate payment of funds under 

4 the grant to the recipient, and transfer the ap5 propriate portion of those funds directly to local 

6 first responders that were intended to receive 

7 funding under that grant; or 

8 ‘‘(C) impose additional restrictions or bur9 dens on the recipient’s use of funds under the 

10 grant, which may include— 

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

12 pay the grant recipient’s grant-related 

13 overtime or other expenses; 

14 ‘‘(ii) requiring the grant recipient to 

15 distribute to local government beneficiaries 

16 all or a portion of grant funds that are not 

17 required to be passed through under sub18 section (g)(1); or 

19 ‘‘(iii) for each day that the grant re20 cipient fails to pass through funds or re21 sources in accordance with subsection 

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

23 grant recipient from the portion of grant 

24 funds that is not required to be passed 

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


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1 that the total amount of such reduction 

2 may not exceed 20 percent of the total 

3 amount of the grant. 

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

5 a State may request in writing that the Secretary 

6 extend the 45-day period under section 

7 2002(e)(5)(E) or paragraph (1) for an additional 

8 15-day period. The Secretary may approve such a 

9 request, and may extend such period for additional 

10 15-day periods, if the Secretary determines that the 

11 resulting delay in providing grant funding to the 

12 local government entities that will receive funding 

13 under the grant will not have a significant detri14 mental impact on such entities’ terrorism prepared15 ness efforts. 

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

17 LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 

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

19 upon request by a local government pay to the 

20 local government a portion of the amount of a 

21 covered grant awarded to a State in which the 

22 local government is located, if— 

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

24 amount paid to expedite planned enhance25 ments to its terrorism preparedness as deVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:46 Feb 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S608.IS S608

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1 scribed in any applicable State homeland 

2 security plan or plans; 

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

4 through funds or resources in accordance 

5 with subsection (g)(1); and 

6 ‘‘(iii) the local government complies 

7 with subparagraph (B). 

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

9 payment under this paragraph, a local govern10 ment must demonstrate that— 

11 ‘‘(i) it is identified explicitly as an ul12 timate recipient or intended beneficiary in 

13 the approved grant application; 

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

15 receive a severable portion of the overall 

16 grant for a specific purpose that is identi17 fied in the grant application; 

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

19 funds or resources after expiration of the 

20 period within which the funds or resources 

21 were required to be passed through under 

22 subsection (g)(1); and 

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

24 the overall grant that was earmarked or 

25 designated for its use or benefit. 


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

2 grant funds to a local government under this 

3 paragraph— 

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

5 another local government under this para6 graph; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) shall not prejudice consideration 

8 of a request for payment under this para9 graph that is submitted by another local 

10 government. 

11 ‘‘(D) DEADLINE FOR ACTION BY SEC12 RETARY.—The Secretary shall approve or dis13 approve each request for payment under this 

14 paragraph by not later than 15 days after the 

15 date the request is received by the Department. 

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

17 submit an annual report to Congress by December 31 of 

18 each year— 

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

20 funds provided as covered grants that were directed 

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

22 the preceding fiscal year; 

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

24 grant funds by grantees; and 

25 ‘‘(3) describing— 


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

2 maintaining, and enhancing the essential capa3 bilities established under section 2003(a) as a 

4 result of the expenditure of covered grant funds 

5 during the preceding fiscal year; and 

6 ‘‘(B) an estimate of the amount of expend7 itures required to attain across the United 

8 States the essential capabilities established 

9 under section 2003(a).’’. 

10 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING INTEROPER11 ABLE COMMUNICATIONS.— 

12 (1) FINDING.—Congress finds that— 

13 (A) many emergency response providers 

14 (as defined under section 2 of the Homeland 

15 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101), as amend16 ed by this Act) working in the same jurisdiction 

17 or in different jurisdictions cannot effectively 

18 and efficiently communicate with one another; 

19 and 

20 (B) their inability to do so threatens the 

21 public’s safety and may result in unnecessary 

22 loss of lives and property. 

23 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

24 Congress that interoperable emergency communica25 tions systems and radios should continue to be deVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:46 Feb 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S608.IS S608

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1 ployed as soon as practicable for use by the emer2 gency response provider community, and that up3 graded and new digital communications systems and 

4 new digital radios should meet prevailing national 

5 voluntary consensus standards for interoperability. 

6 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING CITIZEN

7 CORPS COUNCILS.— 

8 (1) FINDING.—Congress finds that Citizen 

9 Corps councils help to enhance local citizen partici10 pation in terrorism preparedness by coordinating 

11 multiple Citizen Corps programs, developing commu12 nity action plans, assessing possible threats, and 

13 identifying local resources. 

14 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

15 Congress that individual Citizen Corps councils 

16 should seek to enhance the preparedness and re17 sponse capabilities of all organizations participating 

18 in the councils, including by providing funding to as 

19 many of their participating organizations as prac20 ticable to promote local terrorism preparedness pro21 grams. 

22 (d) REQUIRED COORDINATION.—The Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security shall ensure that there is effective and 

24 ongoing coordination of Federal efforts to prevent, prepare 

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1 asters and emergencies among the divisions of the Depart2 ment of Homeland Security, including the Directorate of 

3 Emergency Preparedness and Response and the Office for 

4 State and Local Government Coordination and Prepared5 ness. 

6 (e) COORDINATION OF INDUSTRY EFFORTS.—Sec7 tion 102(f) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

8 U.S.C. 112(f)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

10 the semicolon; 

11 (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period 

12 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(11) coordinating industry efforts, with re15 spect to functions of the Department of Homeland 

16 Security, to identify private sector resources and ca17 pabilities that could be effective in supplementing 

18 Federal, State, and local government agency efforts 

19 to prevent or respond to a terrorist attack.’’. 

20 (f) STUDY REGARDING NATIONWIDE EMERGENCY

21 NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.— 

22 (1) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu23 rity, in consultation with the heads of other appro24 priate Federal agencies and representatives of pro25 viders and participants in the telecommunications 


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1 industry, shall conduct a study to determine whether 

2 it is cost effective, efficient, and feasible to establish 

3 and implement an emergency telephonic alert notifi4 cation system that will— 

5 (A) alert persons in the United States of 

6 imminent or current hazardous events caused 

7 by acts of terrorism; and 

8 (B) provide information to individuals re9 garding appropriate measures that may be un10 dertaken to alleviate or minimize threats to 

11 their safety and welfare posed by such events. 

12 (2) TECHNOLOGIES TO CONSIDER.—In con13 ducting the study under paragraph (1), the Sec14 retary shall consider the use of the telephone, wire15 less communications, and other existing communica16 tions networks to provide such notification. 

17 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 9 months after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 shall submit to Congress a report regarding the con20 clusions of the study conducted under paragraph 

21 (1). 

22 (g) STUDY OF EXPANSION OF AREA OF JURISDIC23 TION OF OFFICE OF NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION COORDI24 NATION.— 


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1 (1) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu2 rity, acting through the Director of the Office of Na3 tional Capital Region Coordination, shall conduct a 

4 study of the feasibility and desirability of modifying 

5 the definition of ‘‘National Capital Region’’ applica6 ble under section 882 of the Homeland Security Act 

7 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 462) to expand the geographic 

8 area under the jurisdiction of the Office of National 

9 Capital Region Coordination. 

10 (2) FACTORS.—In conducting the study under 

11 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall analyze whether 

12 expanding the geographic area under the jurisdiction 

13 of the Office of National Region Coordination will— 

14 (A) promote coordination among State and 

15 local governments within the Region, including 

16 regional governing bodies, and coordination of 

17 the efforts of first responders; and 

18 (B) enhance the ability of such State and 

19 local governments and the Federal Government 

20 to prevent and respond to a terrorist attack 

21 within the Region. 

22 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 shall submit a report to Congress on the study con25 ducted under paragraph (1), and shall include in the 


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1 report such recommendations (including rec2 ommendations for legislation to amend section 882 

3 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

4 462)) as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

5 (h) STUDY OF RISK ALLOCATION FOR PORT SECU6 RITY GRANTS.— 

7 (1) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu8 rity shall conduct a study of the factors to be used 

9 for the allocation of funds based on risk for port se10 curity grants made under section 70107 of title 46, 

11 United States Code. 

12 (2) FACTORS.—In conducting the study, the 

13 Secretary shall analyze the volume of international 

14 trade and economic significance of each port. 

15 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

16 enactment of the Act, the Secretary shall submit a 

17 report to Congress on the study and shall include 

18 recommendations for using such factors in allocating 

19 grant funds to ports. 

20 (i) STUDY OF ALLOCATION OF ASSISTANCE TO FIRE21 FIGHTER GRANTS.— 

22 (1) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu23 rity shall conduct a study of the allocation of grant 

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1 fighter Grants program and shall analyze the dis2 tribution of awards by State. 

3 (2) FACTORS.—In conducting the study, the 

4 Secretary shall analyze the number of awards and 

5 the per capita amount of grant funds awarded to 

6 each State and the level of unmet firefighting equip7 ment needs in each State. The study shall also ana8 lyze whether allowing local departments to submit 

9 more than 1 annual application and expanding the 

10 list of eligible applicants for such grants to include 

11 States will enhance the ability of State and local 

12 governments to respond to fires. 

13 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

14 date of enactment of the Act, the Secretary shall 

15 submit a report to Congress on the study and shall 

16 include recommendations for legislation amending 

17 the factors used in allocating grant funds to insure 

18 that critical firefighting needs are addressed by the 

19 program in all areas of the Nation. 

20 SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION; DEFINITIONS; TABLE OF CON21 TENTS. 

22 (a) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

23 Section 1014 of the USA PATRIOT ACT (42 U.S.C. 

24 3714) is amended— 

25 (1) by striking subsection (c)(3); 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub2 section (d); and 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—Grants under this section 

6 shall be administered in accordance with title XX of the 

7 Homeland Security Act of 2002.’’. 

8 (b) TEMPORARY LIMITATIONS ON APPLICATION.— 

9 (1) 1-YEAR DELAY IN APPLICATION.—The fol10 lowing provisions of title XX of the Homeland Secu11 rity Act of 2002, as added by this Act, shall not 

12 apply during the 1-year period beginning on the date 

13 of enactment of this Act— 

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

15 and (B) of section 2002; and 

16 (B) In section 2002(f)(3)(A)(i), the phrase 

17 ‘‘by achieving, maintaining, or enhancing the 

18 essential capabilities of the applicants on a na19 tionwide basis,’’. 

20 (2) 2-YEAR DELAY IN APPLICATION.—The fol21 lowing provisions of title XX of the Homeland Secu22 rity Act of 2002, as added by this Act, shall not 

23 apply during the 2-year period beginning on the date 

24 of enactment of this Act— 


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

2 2006(g)(4); and 

3 (B) Section 2006(i)(3). 

4 (c) DEFINITIONS.— 

5 (1) TITLE XX.—Title XX of the Homeland Se6 curity Act of 2002, as amended by sections 2, 3, and 

7 4, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 2007. DEFINITIONS. 

9 ‘‘In this title: 

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

11 Homeland Security Grants Board established under 

12 section 2002(f). 

13 ‘‘(2) CONSEQUENCE.—The term ‘consequence’ 

14 means the assessment of the effect of a completed 

15 attack. 

16 ‘‘(3) COVERED GRANT.—The term ‘covered 

17 grant’ means any grant to which this title applies 

18 under section 2001(b). 

19 ‘‘(4) DIRECTLY ELIGIBLE TRIBE.—The term 

20 ‘directly eligible tribe’ means any Indian tribe or 

21 consortium of Indian tribes that— 

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

23 qualified applicant pool for self-governance that 

24 are set forth in section 402(c) of the Indian 


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1 Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

2 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 designated as high-risk critical infrastructure 

12 by the Secretary; 

13 ‘‘(iii) is located within or contiguous to 1 

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 ‘‘(5) 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 ‘‘(6) 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 ‘‘(7) 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 ‘‘(8) FIRST RESPONDER.—The term ‘first re16 sponder’ shall have the same meaning as the term 

17 ‘emergency response provider’ under section 2. 

18 ‘‘(9) 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 ‘‘(10) REGION.—The term ‘region’ means any 

4 geographic area— 

5 ‘‘(A) certified by the Secretary under sec6 tion 2002(a)(3); 

7 ‘‘(B) consisting of all or parts of 2 or more 

8 counties, municipalities, or other local govern9 ments and including a city with a core popu10 lation exceeding 500,000 according to the most 

11 recent estimate available from the United 

12 States Census; and 

13 ‘‘(C) that, for purposes of an application 

14 for a covered grant— 

15 ‘‘(i) is represented by 1 or more local 

16 governments or governmental agencies 

17 within such geographic area; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) is established by law or by agree19 ment of 2 or more such local governments 

20 or governmental agencies, such as through 

21 a mutual aid agreement. 

22 ‘‘(11) RISK-BASED FUNDING.—The term ‘risk23 based funding’ means the allocation of funds based 

24 on an assessment of threat, vulnerability, and con25 sequence. 


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1 ‘‘(12) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

2 means the Task Force on Essential Capabilities es3 tablished under section 2004. 

4 ‘‘(13) THREAT.—The term ‘threat’ means the 

5 assessment of the plans, intentions, and capability of 

6 an adversary to implement an identified attack sce7 nario. 

8 ‘‘(14) VULNERABILITY.—The term ‘vulner9 ability’ means the degree to which a facility is avail10 able or accessible to an attack, including the degree 

11 to which the facility is inherently secure or has been 

12 hardened against such an attack.’’. 

13 (2) DEFINITION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE

14 PROVIDERS.—Paragraph (6) of section 2 of the 

15 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101(6)) 

16 is amended by striking ‘‘includes’’ and all that fol17 lows and inserting ‘‘includes Federal, State, and 

18 local governmental and nongovernmental emergency 

19 public safety, law enforcement, fire, emergency re20 sponse, emergency medical (including hospital emer21 gency facilities), and related personnel, organiza22 tions, agencies, and authorities.’’. 

23 (d) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—Section 1(b) of the 

24 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 note) is 


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1 amended in the table of contents by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

‘‘TITLE XX—RISK-BASED FUNDING FOR HOMELAND SECURITY 

‘‘Sec. 2001. Risk-Based funding for homeland security. 

‘‘Sec. 2002. Covered grant eligibility and criteria. 

‘‘Sec. 2003. Essential capabilities for homeland security. 

‘‘Sec. 2004. Task Force on Essential Capabilities. 

‘‘Sec. 2005. National standards for first responder equipment and training. 

‘‘Sec. 2006. Use of funds and accountability requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 2007. Definitions.’’. 

Æ 


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