[House Report 117-240]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 117-240
======================================================================
HOMELAND SECURITY CAPABILITIES PRESERVATION ACT
_______
February 1, 2022.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, from the Committee on Homeland Security,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5615]
The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5615) to direct the Secretary of Homeland
Security to submit a plan to make Federal assistance available
to certain urban areas that previously received Urban Area
Security Initiative funding to preserve homeland security
capabilities, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 4
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 5
C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and
Tax Expenditures............................................... 5
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 5
Duplicative Federal Programs..................................... 5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 5
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits....................................................... 5
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 5
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 6
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 5615, the ``Homeland Security Capabilities
Preservation Act'' seeks to require the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) to address the needs of jurisdictions that had
developed homeland security capabilities with funding under the
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and were removed from the
program. Specifically, it directs the Secretary of Homeland
Security, acting through the Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to survey certain current
and former UASI jurisdictions regarding capabilities that were
achieved through UASI grant funding that are at risk of being
reduced or eliminated without Federal assistance. Then, the DHS
Secretary is required to submit a plan to Congress for how to
make Federal assistance available to former UASI jurisdictions
to help such jurisdictions take on the costs of preserving
UASI-funded homeland security capabilities.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
In the wake of September 11, 2001, there was a recognition
that U.S. urban centers could be terrorist targets and did not
have the resources to develop core capabilities to prevent,
protect against, and respond to terrorist attacks and other
catastrophic events on their own. Starting in 2003, cities
began receiving funding under the UASI program, a program that
was established with the goal of enhancing ``regional
preparedness and capabilities in designated high-threat, high-
density areas.''\1\ UASI funding is used to provide first
responders with the tools, resources, and training they need to
do their jobs safely and effectively. FEMA uses a risk formula,
which has been modified over time, to determine which
jurisdictions will be funded under the program. Specifically,
eligibility ``. . .is determined through an analysis of
relative risk of terrorism faced by the 100 most populous
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the United States, in
accordance with the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as
amended.''\2\
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\1\``Homeland Security Grant Program,'' Federal Emergency
Management Agency, (Aug. 16, 2021), available at https://www.fema.gov/
grants/preparedness/homeland-security.
\2\``Fiscal Year 2021 Nonprofit Security Grant Program,'' Federal
Emergency Management Agency, (April 14, 2021), available at https://
www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_fy2021-nsgp-nofo_3-2-
2021.pdf.
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Over the past 18 years, UASI has played an instrumental
role in helping cities prevent and respond to terrorist threats
and attacks.\3\ Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon explained,
in testimony before the Committee, that for local law
enforcement who are on the ``front lines of responding to any
emergency, whether it be a terrorist attack, natural disaster,
or global pandemic, FEMA preparedness grants are critical
resources that bolster law enforcement's ability to prevent and
respond to terrorist attacks and other associated threats.''\4\
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\3\See U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, ``State and Local
Perspectives on DHS Preparedness Grant Programs,'' 117th Cong. (April
28, 2021), available at https://homeland.house.gov/activities/hearings/
state-and-local-perspectives-on-dhs-preparedness-grant-programs, with
testimony of Orlando Rolon. Chief of Police for Orlando, Florida, and
Eastern Region Representative Major Cities Chiefs Association.
\4\Id.
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In recent years, the number of jurisdictions participating
in the UASI program has been roughly 30,\5\ which is less of
what it was in FY 2010.\6\ While the top tier of at-risk
jurisdictions has stayed constant, cities that rank lower on
the list face uncertainty. Year-to-year changes in the
terrorism risk picture, fluctuations in grant funding levels,
and changes in DHS' risk formula can result in jurisdictions
suddenly falling out of the program, after years of critical
investment.
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\5\``Fiscal Year 2021 Homeland Security Grant Program,'' Federal
Emergency Management Agency, (Aug. 21, 2021), available at https://
www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/FEMA_FY2021-HSGP-NOFO_02-19-
21.pdf.
\6\``Fiscal Year 2010 Homeland Security Grant Program,'' Federal
Emergency Management Agency, (Dec. 2009), available at https://
www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/2010/fy10_hsgp_kit.pdf.
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The sudden loss of Federal support for maintaining such
core homeland security capabilities can place great strain on
jurisdictions who may not have the resources to cover such
costs.\7\ In the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub shooting,
Sheriff Jerry Demings, in testimony before the House Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform, stated, ``. . .we received
UASI funding for a video camera surveillance project in the
tourist quarter, downtown Orlando. . .due to a loss of [UASI]
funding, we have not been able to expand the camera
project.''\8\ In 2014, John Sadler, Senior Regional Homeland
Security Planner for Hampton Roads, Virginia, stated, ``the
removal of Hampton Roads from the eligibility list and loss of
UASI funds called into question the sustainability of the work
of six years of preparation and planning.''\9\
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\7\See U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, ``State of
Emergency: The Disaster of Cutting Preparedness Grants,'' 114th Cong.
(Mar. 15, 2016), available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-
114hhrg22623/html/CHRG-114hhrg22623.htm, with testimony of the
Honorable Bill De Blasio, Mayor, New York, New York.
\8\See U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets and the Subcommittee
on National Security, ``Oversight of the Urban Area Security Initiative
Grant Program,'' 114th Cong. (July 15, 2016), available at https://
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-114hhrg22963/html/CHRG-
114hhrg22963.htm, with testimony of Sheriff Jerry Demings, Sheriff of
Orange County, Orlando, Florida.
\9\Joe Turner, ``Region Reinstated as a UASI Funded Region,''
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, (April 10, 2014), available
at https://www.hrpdcva.gov/news/index/view/id/1646.
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Jurisdictions that have lost UASI grant funding but need to
continue to partner with DHS to ensure that they can maintain
security capabilities achieved with UASI could be helped under
H.R. 5615. Specifically, this measure was introduced to help
jurisdictions preserve their capabilities achieved with Federal
grant dollars by directing DHS to, for the first time, develop
a plan for how to support the transition of costs associated
with maintaining UASI-funded homeland security core
capabilities.
HEARINGS
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII, the
following hearings were used to develop H.R. 5615:
The Committee did not hold a legislative hearing on H.R.
5615 in the 117th Congress. However, the legislation was
informed by the following hearings in the 117th Congress:
On April 28, 2021, the Subcommittee on
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery held a
hearing entitled, ``State and Local Perspectives on DHS
Preparedness Grant Programs.'' The Subcommittee
received testimony from Mr. David Ige, Governor,
Hawaii; Mr. Jared Maples, Director, New Jersey Office
of Homeland Security and Preparedness; Mr. Orlando
Rolon, Chief of Police, City of Orlando, Florida; and
Mr. Robert Altman, Battalion Chief, Ocala Fire Rescue.
On June 29, 2021, the Committee on Homeland
Security held a hearing entitled, ``Examining FEMA's
Readiness to Meet Its Mission.'' The Committee received
testimony from Deanne Criswell, Administrator, Federal
Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.
H.R. 5615 was also informed by the following hearing in the
116th Congress:
On January 9, 2020, the Subcommittee on
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery held a
hearing entitled, ``Understanding the Importance of DHS
Preparedness Grants: Perspectives from the Field.'' The
Subcommittee received testimony from Mr. W. Greg
Kierce, Director, Jersey City Office of Emergency
Management and Homeland Security; Mr. Michael A.
Sprayberry, Director, North Carolina Emergency
Management, North Carolina Office of Recovery and
Resiliency; Mr. Michael G. Masters, National Director
and CEO, Secure Community Network; and Mr. John J.
Miller, Deputy Commissioner, Intelligence and
Counterterrorism, New York City Police Department.
H.R. 5615 was also informed by the following hearings in
the 114th Congress:
On March 15, 2016, the Subcommittee on
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications
held a hearing entitled, ``State of Emergency: The
Disaster of Cutting Preparedness Grants.'' The
Subcommittee received testimony from the Honorable Bill
de Blasio, Mayor, City of New York, New York; Mr. Jim
Butterworth, Director, Emergency Management Agency/
Homeland Security, State of Georgia; Ms. Rhoda Mae
Kerr, Fire Chief, City of Austin Fire Department,
Austin, Texas; Mr. George Turner, Chief of Police,
Atlanta Police Department, Atlanta, Georgia; Mr. Mike
Sena, Director, Northern California Regional
Intelligence Center; and Sgt. W. Greg Kierce, Director,
Office of Emergency Management & Homeland Security,
City of Jersey City, New Jersey.
On July 15, 2016, the House Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on
Transportation and Public Assets and Subcommittee on
National Security held a joint hearing entitled,
``Oversight of the Urban Area Security Initiative Grant
Program.'' The Subcommittees received testimony from
Sheriff Jerry Demings, Orange County Sheriff's Office;
Chief John Mina, Orlando Police Department; Mr. Walter
Purdy, President, Terrorism Research Center; Mr. Brian
E. Kamoie, Assistant Administrator of Grant Program,
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee met on October 26, 2021, a quorum being
present, to consider H.R. 5615 and ordered the measure to be
favorably reported to the House, without amendment, by voice
vote.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the
recorded votes on the motion to report legislation and
amendments thereto.
No recorded votes were requested during consideration of
H.R. 5615.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII, the
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1)
of rule X, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this
report.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE, NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT
AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, and with respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of
rule XIII and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has requested but not received from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office a statement as to
whether this bill contains any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENTS
An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.
DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds
that H.R. 5615 does not contain any provision that establishes
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another
Federal program.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the objective of
H.R. 5615 is to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security
evaluates what actions it can take to help certain urban areas
maintain capabilities that were achieved with Urban Area
Security Initiative funding when such urban area no longer
receives UASI grant funding and, based on that evaluation,
issue a plan for how to support urban areas who want to take on
the cost of preserving such homeland security capabilities.
CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF
BENEFITS
In compliance with rule XXI, this bill, as reported,
contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or
limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or
9(f) of rule XXI.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that H.R. 5615 does not relate to the
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of
the Congressional Accountability Act.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Section 1. Short Title.
This section states that the Act may be cited as the
``Homeland Security Capabilities Preservation Act''.
Sec. 2. Preservation of Homeland Security Capabilities.
This section requires a survey of certain current and
former UASI jurisdictions regarding capabilities that were
achieved through UASI grant funding that are at risk of being
reduced or eliminated without Federal assistance.
Additionally, it would require the Secretary to submit a
plan to Congress, within a year of enactment, for how to make
Federal assistance available to former UASI jurisdictions to
help such jurisdictions take on the costs of preserving UASI-
funded homeland security capabilities. The plan is to be
informed by the survey and is to contain the following:
information on eligibility criteria for a jurisdiction to
receive Federal UASI homeland security capabilities
preservation funding; information on a range of approaches to
make funding available to include the modifications of the UASI
program and the establishment of a competitive grant or formula
grant program; and a timeline for implementation together with
a legislative proposal, if necessary.
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