[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 796 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 796

   To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to 
    address homeland security preparedness shortcomings of units of 
                    municipal and county government.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2005

Mrs. McCarthy introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to 
    address homeland security preparedness shortcomings of units of 
                    municipal and county government.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Domestic Preparedness Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. GRANT AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security may make grants 
in accordance with this Act to address homeland security preparedness 
shortcomings of units of municipal and county government.
    (b) Categories.--Each grant under this section shall be made for 
one of the following categories of use:
            (1) Equipment and training.
            (2) Improving interoperability between members of a 
        consortium of municipal or county governments.
    (c) Cost Sharing.--The Federal share of the costs of an activity 
carried out with a grant under this section--
            (1) may not exceed 70 percent of the total costs of such 
        activity, in the case of a grant for equipment and training; 
        and
            (2) may not exceed 90 percent of the total costs of such 
        activity, in the case of a grant for improving interoperability 
        between members of a consortium of municipal or county 
        governments.

SEC. 3. GRANT ELIGIBILITY.

    (a) In General.--To be eligible for a grant under this Act, an 
applicant must be a unit of municipal or county government or a 
consortium of such units.
    (b) Limitation.--
            (1) In general.--A unit of municipal or county government, 
        or a consortium of such units, may not receive more than one 
        grant under this Act.
            (2) Restriction on additional grant to member of 
        consortium.--A unit of municipal or county government that is a 
        member of a consortium that receives a grant under this Act is 
        not eligible to receive an additional grant under this Act 
        individually or as a member of another consortium.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION.

    (a) In General.--Any unit of municipal or county government may 
submit an application for a grant under this section to the Secretary, 
on behalf of such unit or on behalf of a consortium of which the unit 
is a member.
    (b) Contents.--An application under this section--
            (1) shall seek funding for one of the categories of use 
        required under section 2(b); and
            (2) shall include the results of a vulnerability assessment 
        in accordance with section 5.

SEC. 5. VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may not make a grant under this Act 
unless the applicant for the grant conducts a vulnerability assessment 
that assesses the risk and vulnerability of the applicant (including 
each member of the applicant, in the case of a consortium) to a variety 
of possible acts of terrorism, including conventional, biological, 
nuclear, and chemical attacks.
    (b) Requirements for Assessments.--The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall prescribe requirements for vulnerability assessments 
under this section.
    (c) Limitation on Grants for Equipment or Training.--The Secretary 
may not make a grant under this Act for equipment and training unless 
the Secretary determines that the grant will address a need determined 
in the vulnerability assessment conducted under this section for 
purposes of the grant.

SEC. 6. USE OF GRANT.

    Amounts provided as a grant under this section--
            (1) shall be used only for the category of use under 
        section 2(b) for which the grant is made;
            (2) may be used only for new domestic preparedness 
        initiatives;
            (3) shall not be used to sustain or supplement existing 
        program; and
            (4) may be distributed by the grantee to fire departments, 
        police departments, emergency services, and public health 
        agencies of the grantee.

SEC. 7. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER GRANT PROGRAMS.

    The program of grants under this Act--
            (1) is intended to complement, and not not take the place 
        of, the Assistance to Firefighters Program conducted by the 
        Office of Domestic Preparedness; and
            (2) does not affect the eligibility of any person for the 
        Assistance to Firefighters Grants or any other funding made 
        available by the Department of Homeland Security.
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