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Release Date: 11/13/03 00:00:00
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 13, 2003
The Department of Homeland Security is pleased to announce an additional $725 million dollars from the FY '04 Budget for the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), for grants to urban areas within the United States to help enhance their overall security and preparedness level to prevent, respond and recover from acts of terrorism. These funds are being made available in addition to the nearly $800 million that the Department's Office for Domestic Preparedness awarded during FY '03 specifically for urban areas.
"The Department of Homeland Security is pleased to be able to build upon the Administration's vision to enhance security capabilities from the ground up and to form strong regional partnerships to create a foundation of shared leadership and shared responsibility," said Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. "The funds will go to the designated states, which will then work with counties and cities to form regions that will work together through mutual aid agreements, interoperable communications, statewide intelligence centers and community and citizen participation. Our goal is to ensure that all of these necessary elements are communicating and coordinating to prevent a crisis and to be ready if one occurs."
As part of the Administration's commitment to ensuring that Homeland Security funding is directed to the areas with greater security needs, $675 million will be allocated in the form of grants through the states to urban areas selected by the Department of Homeland Security to enhance their overall security and preparedness level to prevent, respond and recover from acts of terrorism. The urban areas are chosen based on a formula that takes into account factors including critical infrastructure, population density and credible threat information. Funding allocations among the cities, contiguous counties and mutual aid partners will be based on an urban area assessment and strategic plan. Eighty percent of the funds allocated to the state under this program must be awarded to the designated cities and contiguous counties within the urban area based on the strategic plan. The state may use the remaining twenty percent for further security enhancements within the urban area.
Fifty million has been allocated in the form of grants through the States for mass transit security agencies across the country to help the agencies enhance the security of its assets and passengers. These transit systems were determined based upon the number of annual riders and overall track mileage. Allowable uses of funds would include installation of physical barricades, area monitoring systems such as; video surveillance, motion detectors, thermal/IR imagery and chemical/radiological material detection systems, integrated communications systems and prevention planning, training and exercises. If not already completed, each transit system would be required to conduct an assessment and preparedness plan on which to base resource allocations.
Urban Area Security Initiative: FY'04 Allocations
This page was last reviewed/modified on 11/13/03 00:00:00.