Homeland Security announces $2 billion in terror preparedness grants

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US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas has announced more than $2 billion in funding for eight preparedness grant programs in the fiscal year of 2023. According to Homeland Security, these grant programs provide critical funding to help state, local, tribal and territorial officials prepare for, prevent, protect against and respond to acts of terrorism.

“As the threats to our homeland continue to evolve, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is fulfilling a key aspect of its mission by equipping state, local, tribal and territorial governments, as well as transportation authorities and nonprofit organizations, with vital resources to help them strengthen our nation’s preparedness,” said Mayorkas.

“The new threat landscape now includes medium and small-sized jurisdictions and remote locations and encompasses a greater swath of our country than ever before, to include so-called ‘soft targets’ and other targets of opportunity.

“This year, we are therefore expanding the reach of our more than $2 billion in funding by adding four additional urban areas as grant recipients: Austin, Texas; Honolulu, Hawaii; Jacksonville, Florida; and Nashville, Tennessee. This is in addition to the 36 urban areas we continue to support, bringing the total number of funded urban areas to 40.

“The law requires that at least 25% of the combined funds for the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) and the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) be dedicated to Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Activities (LETPA). Last year, for the first time, we increased that minimum requirement to 30%, resulting in a $51.5 million increase from the prior year. This year, we are increasing the LETPA minimum requirement once again, to 35%.

In total, LETPA funding will increase by $103 million – from $257.5 million to $360.5 million – over a two-year period. This increase will ensure critical support for law enforcement to better understand, recognize, prepare for, prevent and respond to terrorist activity. We are also providing additional policy guidance that will help ensure that law enforcement and terrorism-focused grant funds are appropriately focused on terrorism prevention activities, thereby strengthening our national preparedness posture.”

The DHS says that the grants will focus on the nation’s highest risk areas, including urban areas that face the most significant threats.

The DHS has identified six national priority areas in the grant cycle: cybersecurity; soft targets and crowded places; intelligence and information sharing; domestic violent extremism; community preparedness and resilience; and election security.

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