The FY04 Federal Homeland Security Budget is $35 billion dollars, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that much of this funding will be allocated to the states. In November, 2003 the first distribution of these funds were announced, including: $725 million for the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), $50 million for the State Metro Transit grants, and $2.2 billion dollars for Counterterrorism/State & Local First Responders.

In administering these grants, the Congress has directed DHS Secretary Ridge to take into consideration credible threat, presence of critical infrastructure, population, vulnerability, cooperation of multiple jurisdictions in preparing domestic preparedness plans, and the identified needs of public agencies when determining the allocation of these funds.

As an example, in June 2003, FEMA convened a national review panel to evaluate the EOC competitive grant applications that total $410 million in requests. The federal evaluation panel reviewed each application for technical merit using the national priorities. Points were awarded based on the severity and impact of the identified deficiencies and the proposed solution, such as structural integrity and physical security of the facility. Additionally, other factors, such as the degree to which the application was tied to an assessment, thoroughness of the application, operational impact, and population were taken into account.

A Secure America is prepared to quickly assist you by producing comprehensive Vulnerability/Risk Assessments, Emergency Operations & Response Plans, Physical Security System Design and Mitigation Planning; and Continuity of Operations/Government (COOP/COG) Plans, etc. Our proven solutions will provide excellent justification for this and future Homeland Security-related funding opportunities.