Congress has enacted legislation and appropriated funds for homeland security assistance programs since 1996, a policy initiated in large measure by the bombings of the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993, and the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress further increased its attention on homeland security assistance programs by, among other things, establishing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This report focuses on the department's homeland security assistance programs, but not the department as a whole. The number and purpose of programs, their administration, and funding have evolved over the past 12 years. These assistance programs are intended to enhance and maintain state, local, and non-federal government entities' homeland security and emergency management capabilities. Since FY2003, DHS has administered these assistance programs through four different offices or agencies within the department due to both congressional and departmental actions. With the increase of terrorist threats and attacks against the United States following the end of the Cold War and the termination of old civil defense programs, a number of policy questions have arisen regarding homeland security assistance programs. The majority of these questions have not been completely addressed, even though Congress has debated and enacted legislation that provides homeland security assistance to states and localities since 1997. Some officials such as Members of Congress, former President Bush's administration personnel, and President Barack Obama have questioned (1) the purpose and number of assistance programs; (2) the use of preparedness funding; (3) the determination of eligibility; (4) the funding amounts for the assistance programs; (5) the programs' funding distribution methodology, and (6) the use of grant funding for sustainment and maintenance costs associated with previous fiscal year homeland security projects. These policy questions may continue to be important during the second session of the 111 th Congress as Members continues to appropriate funding and conduct oversight of these assistance programs. Specifically, the House Homeland Security Committee stated that oversight of DHS grants is one of its priorities for 111 th Congress. Discussion of these potential issues may enable Congress and the federal government to anticipate possible homeland security crises and establish policies that are not strictly reactionary. This report provides a brief summary of the development of the federal government's role in providing homeland security assistance, a summary of assistance programs DHS presently provides to states and localities, and a discussion of the policy issues identified above. The federal government began providing counter-terrorism assistance to states and localities following the bombings of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in 1995. This assistance was separate from any federal disaster assistance these cities may have received due to these terrorist attacks. Federal homeland security assistance evolved and expanded after the terrorist attacks on September 11 th , 2001, and the establishment of DHS in 2002 with P.L. 107-296 , "Homeland Security Act of 2002." A brief discussion on this evolution and expansion follows. In 1996, Congress enacted The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act (also known as the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Act). This law, among other things, established the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Program (NLD) that provided financial assistance to over 150 major U.S. cities. This assistance, with the Oklahoma City bombing being the primary catalyst, was focused on helping first responders prepare for, prevent, and respond to terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction. Two years later, the Department of Justice (DOJ) established the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP) to administer assistance programs that enhanced state and local emergency response capabilities, including terrorist attack response. At first, NLD provided assistance to 120 cities; it was later expanded to include 157 cities and counties. At the end of 1998, 40 of the original 120 cities had received funding and training. In addition to training, approximately $300,000 was provided by DOD to each city for personal protection, decontamination, and detection equipment. Following the transfer of NLD to DOJ, all cities completed the training initiated by DOD, and DOJ based the training and exercises on state assessments. The program ended in 2001 upon completion of the training. ODP was transferred to DHS with enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Initially, ODP and its terrorism preparedness programs were administered by the Border and Transportation Security Directorate, and all-hazard preparedness programs were in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). ODP and all assistance programs were transferred to the Office of the Secretary in 2004 due to state and local criticism of DHS not having a "one-stop-shop" for grant programs assistance. After investigations into the problematic response to Hurricane Katrina, the programs were transferred to the National Preparedness Directorate. Currently all programs and activities are administered by the Grants Program Directorate (GPD), within FEMA. GPD is now the primary DHS and FEMA entity responsible for managing the majority of DHS assistance to states and localities. Since the establishment of DHS, the department has not only been responsible for preparing for and responding to terrorist attacks, it is also the lead agency for preparing for, responding to, and recovering from any accidental man-made or natural disasters. The most recent legislative action affecting DHS grants was P.L. 110-53 , Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 , which authorized a number of the DHS grants and mandated some of their allocation methodologies. This legislation was a result of numerous years of debate on how DHS should allocate homeland security assistance funding to states, the District of Columbia (DC), and U.S. insular areas. In FY2003, DHS administered eight assistance programs, and expanded the total to 15 programs in FY2010. In the FY2011 budget request, the Administration requests funding for only eight programs. The following section summarizes 14 of the 15 programs and activities that are currently administered by DHS. The department has yet to issue information or guidance on the Center for Counterterrorism and Cyber Crime Program so there is no summary of this program. This report uses DHS documents, and congressional reports to summarize the programs. This report is not intended to provide in-depth information on these grants. For detailed information on individual grant programs, see the cited sources. DHS does not identify grant programs as either terrorism preparedness or all-hazards preparedness. As a result, CRS has based its characterization of programs falling primarily into one category or another on an examination of DHS grant guidance documents. The criteria for placing a grant program in either the terrorism preparedness or all-hazards preparedness categories is based on a review of the program's eligible activities or the DHS's stated goal for the program. Other analysts might categorize the programs differently. Seven of the 15 programs administered by GPD could arguably be categorized as terrorism preparedness. These programs specifically address terrorism preparedness activities, terrorist incident response, or focus on law enforcement activities. The State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) provides states, tribal governments, DC, and U.S. insular areas assistance in preparing for terrorist attacks. Grant recipients must have a DHS approved homeland security strategy to be eligible for SHSGP funding. The program is intended to implement state homeland security strategies and initiatives outlined in State Preparedness Reports. The program's eligible activities include the purchase of specialized equipment, training, and exercises. It also provides funds for the protection of critical infrastructure of national importance. All states, DC, and Puerto Rico are guaranteed a minimum allocation of 0.36% of total appropriations for SHSGP and Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). U.S. insular areas are guaranteed a minimum allocation of 0.08% of total appropriations for SHSGP and UASI. However, prior to the distribution of minimum allocations, DHS conducts a risk assessment to determine grant recipient allocations and then ensures that the allocation amount meets or exceeds the guaranteed amount in statute. UASI is a discretionary grant program that provides funding to metropolitan areas (including counties and mutual aid partners). Designated urban areas may use UASI funds to purchase specialized homeland security equipment, plan and execute exercises, pay first responder overtime costs associated with heightened alert threat levels, and train first responders. Additionally, funds from this program can be used for port and mass transit security, radiological defense systems, pilot projects, and technical assistance. DHS conducts vulnerability and threat assessments that consider the location of critical infrastructure and the population density of all major metropolitan areas. Based on these assessments, and at the DHS Secretary's discretion, selected metropolitan areas are grouped into two categories, Tier I and Tier II. The seven highest risk urban areas are designated as Tier I and receive a larger portion of funding; the remaining areas designated as Tier II receive less funding. All funding allocations are based on risk analysis and anticipated effectiveness of funding. The Transportation Security Grant Program (TSGP) provides funding to high-threat and high-risk urban areas to enhance their security for bus, rail, and ferry systems. States are eligible to apply for funding, and grant awards must be obligated to the state's appropriate transit systems. DHS determines eligible transit agencies by using a comprehensive risk assessment. The risk assessment methodology is linked to the methodology that DHS uses for other state and local grant programs. UASI eligibility determines TSGP eligibility. This grant program includes funding for the Freight Rail Security Grant Program (FRSGP), and the Intercity Passenger Rail Program (IPR). The Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) provides funding for the protection of ports and port infrastructure from terrorism. It is intended to enhance risk management capabilities, maritime domain awareness, training and exercises, and counter-terrorism capabilities.