I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3631 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to preserve homeland security 
capability gains achieved through the Urban Area Security Initiative 
program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 9, 2011 
Mr. HIGGINS (for himself and Mr. STIVERS) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to preserve 
homeland security capability gains achieved through the 
Urban Area Security Initiative program, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preserving Urban Area 
Security Initiative Capability Gains Act of 2011’’ or the 
‘‘Preserving UASI Capability Gains Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) In the wake of the devastating attacks of 
September 11, 2001, the National Commission on 
Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the ‘‘9/ 
11 Commission’’) concluded that ‘‘[i]f New York or 
other major cities are to be prepared for future ter-
rorist attacks, different first responder agencies 
within each city must be fully coordinated, just as 
different branches of the U.S. military are.’’. 
(2) The 9/11 Commission recommended that 
limited Federal preparedness and response resources 
should be allocated to ‘‘supplement state and local 
resources based on risks and vulnerabilities that 
merit additional support.’’. 
(3) The Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) 
program, as established in 2003, provides grant 
funding to certain high-threat, high-density urban 
areas that need assistance to build an enhanced and 
sustainable capacity to prevent, protect against, re-
spond to, and recover from terrorist attacks and 
other catastrophic events. 
(4) The UASI program emphasizes multi-juris-
dictional, regional readiness and supports the unique 
planning, organization, equipment, training, and ex-
ercise needs of high-threat, high-density urban 
areas. State and local governments have leveraged 
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Federal investment under the UASI program to pro-
vide personnel, plans, equipment, training, and exer-
cises to first responders to address the homeland se-
curity challenges of a post-9/11 world. 
(5) An August 2011 report issued by the Na-
tional Urban Area Security Initiative Association 
stated that between fiscal years 2003 and 2010, 
high-threat, high-density urban areas had received 
6.5 billion dollars in UASI funding to achieve pre-
paredness and response capabilities. 
(6) Over the past eight years, UASI funding 
has enabled at-risk State and local governments to 
develop critical preparedness and response capabili-
ties that such governments could not otherwise 
achieve. 
(7) UASI funding has been used to advance the 
National Homeland Security Priorities promulgated 
by the Department of Homeland Security in the Na-
tional Preparedness Guidelines in 2007, including to 
strengthen information sharing and collaboration, 
strengthen interoperable and operable communica-
tions, strengthen planning and citizen preparedness, 
improve chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, 
and explosives detection, and improve critical infra-
structure protection. 
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(8) UASI funding has helped foster better de-
tection of potential threats and information sharing 
on the local level. In fact, an October 2010 study re-
leased by the Institute for Homeland Security Solu-
tions found that 51 percent of the 68 known ter-
rorist plots from 1999 to 2009 were thwarted when 
community members or local law enforcement—the 
first lines of defense—detected these threats. 
(9) For fiscal year 2010, the Department of 
Homeland Security identified 64 high-threat, high- 
density urban areas that required UASI funding to 
achieve and preserve preparedness and response ca-
pabilities and provided necessary funding. 
(10) For fiscal year 2011, the Department of 
Homeland Security eliminated thirty-two high- 
threat, high-density urban areas from the UASI pro-
gram when UASI funding was reduced by 18 per-
cent pursuant to the Department of Defense and 
Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011. 
The urban areas eliminated are Albany, NY; Austin, 
TX; Bakersfield, CA; Baton Rouge, LA; Bridgeport, 
CT; Buffalo, NY; Columbus, OH; El Paso, TX; 
Hartford, CT; Honolulu, HI; Indianapolis, IN; Jack-
sonville, FL; Kansas City, MO; Louisville, KY; 
Memphis, TN; Milwaukee, WI; Nashville, TN; New 
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Orleans, LA; Oklahoma City, OK; Omaha, KS; 
Oxnard, CA; Providence, RI; Richmond, VA; Roch-
ester, NY; Sacramento, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; 
San Antonio, TX; San Juan, PR; Syracuse, NY; To-
ledo, OH; Tucson, AZ; and Tulsa, OK. 
(11) As a result of the funding reductions to 
the UASI program for fiscal year 2011, many of 
these high-threat, high-density urban areas must 
stretch their limited financial resources to preserve 
the advancements made to their terrorism prevention 
and disaster preparedness and response capabilities 
with UASI funding. Some of these urban areas will 
not be able to sustain the advancements made under 
the UASI program without additional Federal as-
sistance. Nationally, this capabilities’ erosion has 
significant homeland security implications. 
SEC. 3. PRESERVATION OF URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIA-
TIVE SECURITY GAINS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title XX of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 603 et seq.) 
is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 2004 through 
2008 as sections 2005 through 2009, respectively; 
and 
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(2) by inserting after section 2003 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 2004. PRESERVATION OF URBAN AREA SECURITY INI-
TIATIVE SECURITY GAINS. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Adminis-
trator shall establish a competitive grant program to make 
funding available for preservation of homeland security ca-
pabilities achieved by high-risk urban areas that received 
Urban Area Security Initiative funding in fiscal years 
2009 or 2010 but were removed from the program there-
after. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—Not later than 90 days after es-
tablishment of the competitive grant program required 
under subsection (a), the Administrator shall accept appli-
cations with the following information: 
‘‘(1) Specific homeland security capability gains 
achieved through previous grant awards that are at 
risk of being reduced or eliminated without Federal 
grant assistance. 
‘‘(2) A description of activities, programs, and 
acquisitions that would be undertaken with Federal 
grant assistance to enhance homeland security capa-
bilities. 
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‘‘(3) The proposed division of responsibilities 
and distribution of funding among the local and 
tribal governments in each high-risk urban area. 
‘‘(4) The name of an individual to serve as a 
high-risk urban area point of contact (in each such 
area) for communication with the Department and 
among the various jurisdictions in each high-risk 
urban area. 
‘‘(5) Such information in support of the appli-
cation as the Administrator may reasonably require. 
‘‘(c) CRITERIA.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Administrator shall evaluate each grant applica-
tion and give priority to those applications that best— 
‘‘(1) preserve capabilities needed to prevent, 
protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover 
from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest 
risk to the United States, as reflected in the Presi-
dential Policy Directive 8 and the National Pre-
paredness Goal; 
‘‘(2) 
preserve 
core 
capabilities 
developed 
through previous Urban Area Security Initiative 
grant allocations; 
‘‘(3) align with strategies and principles of the 
National Preparedness Goal, including the pro-
motion of national preparedness within the private 
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and nonprofit sectors, nongovernmental organiza-
tions, and the public; 
‘‘(4) support capabilities that enhance regional 
catastrophic planning that could be used nationally 
through mutual aid agreements before, during, and 
after incidents; and 
‘‘(5) align with other established grant funding 
priorities identified by the Administrator. 
‘‘(d) CONFORMANCE WITH THE URBAN AREA SECU-
RITY INITIATIVE PROGRAM.—All provisions relating to 
State review and transmission, opportunity to amend, and 
distribution of awards, as established in section 2003, 
shall apply to the competitive grant program under this 
section. 
‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS OF AWARDS.—No one applicant 
may receive more than seven percent of the total amount 
authorized for the competitive grant program under this 
section. 
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$58,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2014, 
of which not more than five percent shall be available each 
fiscal year for the costs of administering the grant pro-
gram.’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by increasing by 
one the section number in each of the items in the table 
relating sections 2004 through 2008, and by inserting 
after the item relating to section 2003 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 2004. Preservation of Urban Area Security Initiative security gains.’’. 
(c) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—Sections 
2003(b)(2)(A)(i) and 2005(e) of such Act (6 U.S.C. 
604(b)(2)(A)(i), 606(e)) are each amended by striking 
‘‘section 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2008’’. 
Æ 
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