I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1449
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a program to 
provide assistance to enhance the ability of first responders to respond 
to incidents of terrorism, including incidents involving weapons of mass 
destruction, and to improve security of infrastructure, and for other 
purposes including emergency preparedness. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 26, 2003
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition 
to the Select Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 
a program to provide assistance to enhance the ability 
of first responders to respond to incidents of terrorism, 
including incidents involving weapons of mass destruc-
tion, and to improve security of infrastructure, and for 
other purposes including emergency preparedness.
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 ‘‘First Responder and 
Emergency Preparedness Block Grant Program for Local 
Governments’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) the Federal Government must enhance the 
ability of first responders to respond to incidents of 
terrorism, including incidents involving weapons of 
mass destruction; 
(2) as a result of the events of September 11, 
2001, it is necessary to clarify and consolidate the 
authority of the Office of Domestic Preparedness to 
support first responders; and 
(3) help States improve security of infrastruc-
ture. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to establish a program to provide assistance 
to enhance the ability of first responders to respond 
to incidents of terrorism, including incidents involv-
ing weapons of mass destruction; 
(2) to establish a program that allows local gov-
ernments to develop State, regional, and local emer-
gency preparedness plans; 
(3) to give States and localities the necessary 
resources to secure infrastructure assets; and
(4) to improve response capabilities of State 
and local first responders and emergency manage-
ment personnel. 
SEC. 3. WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION DEFINED. 
Section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
U.S.C. 101) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(17) The term ‘weapon of mass destruction’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 1403 of 
the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction 
Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 2302; 110 Stat. 2717).’’. 
SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF OFFICE OF DOMESTIC PRE-
PAREDNESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 430(c) of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 238(c) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and 
(8) as paragraphs (7), (8), and (9); 
(2) by striking paragraphs (2) through (5) and 
inserting after paragraph (1) the following:; 
‘‘(2) establish clearly defined standards and 
guidelines for Federal, State, tribal, and local gov-
ernment terrorism preparedness and response; 
‘‘(3) establish and coordinate an integrated ca-
pability for Federal, State, tribal, and local govern-
ments and emergency responders to plan for and ad-
dress potential consequences of terrorism; 
‘‘(4) coordinate provision of Federal terrorism 
preparedness assistance to State, tribal, and local 
governments; 
‘‘(5) establish standards for a national, inter-
operable emergency communications and warning 
system; 
‘‘(6) establish standards for training of first re-
sponders (as defined in section 431(a)), and for 
equipment to be used by first responders, to respond 
to incidents of terrorism, including incidents involv-
ing weapons of mass destruction;’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(8) (as so redesignated); 
(4) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (9) (as so redesignated) and inserting ‘‘; and’’ 
and the following: 
‘‘(10) carry out such other related duties as are 
approved by the Secretary. 
(b) USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES.—Section 430(d) 
of such Act is amended to read as follows—
‘‘(d) USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES.—In carrying 
out this section, the Director shall—
‘‘(1) use, to the maximum extent practicable, 
existing resources, including planning documents, 
equipment lists, and program inventories; and 
‘‘(2) consult with and use—
‘‘(A) existing Federal interagency boards 
and committees; 
‘‘(B) existing government agencies; and 
‘‘(C) nongovernmental organizations.’’. 
SEC. 5. PREPAREDNESS ASSISTANCE FOR FIRST RESPOND-
ERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 431. PREPAREDNESS ASSISTANCE FOR FIRST RE-
SPONDERS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 
definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 
the Director of the Office of Domestic Preparedness 
established by section 430. 
‘‘(2) FIRST RESPONDER.—The term ‘first re-
sponder’ means—
‘‘(A) fire, emergency medical service, and 
law enforcement personnel; and
‘‘(B) such other personnel as are identified 
by the Director. 
‘‘(3) LOCAL ENTITY.—The term ‘local entity’ 
has the meaning given that term by regulation 
issued by the Director. 
‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 
the program established under subsection (b). 
‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes an 
emergency preparedness authority establish under 
section 611(h) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of (42 U.S.C. 
5196(h)). 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 
a program to provide assistance to States to enhance 
the ability of State and local first responders to re-
spond to incidents of terrorism, including incidents 
involving weapons of mass destruction, and to assist 
States and localities in securing vital infrastructure 
resources. 
‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 
the costs eligible to be paid using assistance pro-
vided under the program shall be as determined by 
the Director, but not less than 75 percent.
‘‘(3) FORMS OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance pro-
vided under paragraph (1) may consist of—
‘‘(A) grants; and 
‘‘(B) such other forms of assistance as the 
Director determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(c) USES
OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance provided 
under subsection (b)—
‘‘(1) may be used—
‘‘(A) to purchase, to the maximum extent 
practicable, interoperable equipment that is nec-
essary to respond to incidents of terrorism, in-
cluding incidents involving weapons of mass de-
struction; 
‘‘(B) to train first responders, consistent 
with guidelines and standards developed by the 
Director; 
‘‘(C) in consultation with the Director, to 
develop, construct, or upgrade terrorism pre-
paredness training facilities; 
‘‘(D) to develop, construct, or upgrade 
emergency operations centers; 
‘‘(E) to develop preparedness and response 
plans consistent with Federal, State, and local 
strategies, as determined by the Director;
‘‘(F) to provide systems and equipment to 
meet communication needs, such as emergency 
notification systems, interoperable equipment, 
and secure communication equipment; 
‘‘(G) to conduct exercises relating to emer-
gency preparedness training; 
‘‘(H) to develop emergency preparedness 
plans; 
‘‘(I) to enhance infrastructure security, in-
cluding security of ports, mass transit systems, 
water infrastructure, power plants, tunnels, and 
bridges; 
‘‘(J) to improve security of infrastructure 
in accordance with regulations issued by the 
Secretary; and 
‘‘(K) to carry out such other related activi-
ties as are approved by the Director; and 
‘‘(2) may be used to provide compensation to 
first responders (including payment for overtime); 
except that not to exceed 10 percent of amounts 
made available to a State under this section for a 
fiscal year may be used for this purpose. 
‘‘(d) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—For each fiscal year, 
in providing assistance under subsection (b), the Director 
shall make available—
‘‘(1) to each of the District of Columbia, Puerto 
Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
lands, and the emergency preparedness authorities 
established under section 611(h) of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5196(h)) $3,000,000; and 
‘‘(2) to each State (other than a State referred 
to in paragraph (1))—
‘‘(A) a base amount of $10,000,000; and 
‘‘(B) a percentage of the total remaining 
funds made available for the fiscal year based 
on the following: 
‘‘(i) 50 percent of the amount appro-
priated to carry out this section (after ap-
plication of paragraph (1) and subpara-
graph (A)) for such fiscal year based on 
the population for such State divided by 
the total population of all such States; and 
‘‘(ii) the remainder based on such cri-
teria as the Director may establish, includ-
ing the proximity of the State to inter-
national borders and number of vital infra-
structure facilities located in the State, in-
cluding military installations, public build-