DHS grant time extended

Grant recipients spreadsheet (Excel)

State and local governments will have almost four months instead of five days to use money from the $2.5 billion in the Homeland Security Department's fiscal 2005 grants, department officials said today.

For fiscal 2003 and 2004, state and local officials could only request funds from their federal grants three to five days before making a purchase or investment. According to a study by the Task Force on State and Local Homeland Security Funding released in June, that made it close to impossible for localities to make major purchases or handle vendor backorders.

DHS also hopes to train states, counties and local officials on coordinating plans and investments, and ensuring that money does not get caught at any point in the process because of a rule or procedure.

The funding includes $1.66 billion under the Homeland Security Grant Program to each state, territory and the District of Columbia, and another $855 million to cities under the Urban Area Security Initiative program. Funding levels were determined by a combination of factors, including population and, in the case of the UASI grants, threat analyses and regional cooperation.

Grants for the states range from more than $298 million for New York – including $221 million specifically for New York City – to just over $14 million for Vermont. The full breakdown is available via an interactive map on the DHS Web site at http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/states.htm.