[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3631 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3631

    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to preserve homeland 
  security capability gains achieved through the Urban Area Security 
              Initiative program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 9, 2011

  Mr. Higgins (for himself and Mr. Stivers) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to preserve homeland 
  security capability gains achieved through the Urban Area Security 
              Initiative program, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Preserving Urban Area Security 
Initiative Capability Gains Act of 2011'' or the ``Preserving UASI 
Capability Gains Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In the wake of the devastating attacks of September 11, 
        2001, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the 
        United States (the ``9/11 Commission'') concluded that ``[i]f 
        New York or other major cities are to be prepared for future 
        terrorist attacks, different first responder agencies within 
        each city must be fully coordinated, just as different branches 
        of the U.S. military are.''.
            (2) The 9/11 Commission recommended that limited Federal 
        preparedness and response resources should be allocated to 
        ``supplement state and local resources based on risks and 
        vulnerabilities that merit additional support.''.
            (3) The Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) program, as 
        established in 2003, provides grant funding to certain high-
        threat, high-density urban areas that need assistance to build 
        an enhanced and sustainable capacity to prevent, protect 
        against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks and 
        other catastrophic events.
            (4) The UASI program emphasizes multi-jurisdictional, 
        regional readiness and supports the unique planning, 
        organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs of high-
        threat, high-density urban areas. State and local governments 
        have leveraged Federal investment under the UASI program to 
        provide personnel, plans, equipment, training, and exercises to 
        first responders to address the homeland security challenges of 
        a post-9/11 world.
            (5) An August 2011 report issued by the National Urban Area 
        Security Initiative Association stated that between fiscal 
        years 2003 and 2010, high-threat, high-density urban areas had 
        received 6.5 billion dollars in UASI funding to achieve 
        preparedness and response capabilities.
            (6) Over the past eight years, UASI funding has enabled at-
        risk State and local governments to develop critical 
        preparedness and response capabilities that such governments 
        could not otherwise achieve.
            (7) UASI funding has been used to advance the National 
        Homeland Security Priorities promulgated by the Department of 
        Homeland Security in the National Preparedness Guidelines in 
        2007, including to strengthen information sharing and 
        collaboration, strengthen interoperable and operable 
        communications, strengthen planning and citizen preparedness, 
        improve chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and 
        explosives detection, and improve critical infrastructure 
        protection.
            (8) UASI funding has helped foster better detection of 
        potential threats and information sharing on the local level. 
        In fact, an October 2010 study released by the Institute for 
        Homeland Security Solutions found that 51 percent of the 68 
        known terrorist plots from 1999 to 2009 were thwarted when 
        community members or local law enforcement--the first lines of 
        defense--detected these threats.
            (9) For fiscal year 2010, the Department of Homeland 
        Security identified 64 high-threat, high-density urban areas 
        that required UASI funding to achieve and preserve preparedness 
        and response capabilities and provided necessary funding.
            (10) For fiscal year 2011, the Department of Homeland 
        Security eliminated thirty-two high-threat, high-density urban 
        areas from the UASI program when UASI funding was reduced by 18 
        percent pursuant to the Department of Defense and Full-Year 
        Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011. The urban areas 
        eliminated are Albany, NY; Austin, TX; Bakersfield, CA; Baton 
        Rouge, LA; Bridgeport, CT; Buffalo, NY; Columbus, OH; El Paso, 
        TX; Hartford, CT; Honolulu, HI; Indianapolis, IN; Jacksonville, 
        FL; Kansas City, MO; Louisville, KY; Memphis, TN; Milwaukee, 
        WI; Nashville, TN; New Orleans, LA; Oklahoma City, OK; Omaha, 
        KS; Oxnard, CA; Providence, RI; Richmond, VA; Rochester, NY; 
        Sacramento, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; San Antonio, TX; San Juan, 
        PR; Syracuse, NY; Toledo, OH; Tucson, AZ; and Tulsa, OK.
            (11) As a result of the funding reductions to the UASI 
        program for fiscal year 2011, many of these high-threat, high-
        density urban areas must stretch their limited financial 
        resources to preserve the advancements made to their terrorism 
        prevention and disaster preparedness and response capabilities 
        with UASI funding. Some of these urban areas will not be able 
        to sustain the advancements made under the UASI program without 
        additional Federal assistance. Nationally, this capabilities' 
        erosion has significant homeland security implications.

SEC. 3. PRESERVATION OF URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE SECURITY GAINS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle A of title XX of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 603 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 2004 through 2008 as sections 
        2005 through 2009, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 2003 the following new 
        section:

``SEC. 2004. PRESERVATION OF URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE SECURITY 
              GAINS.

    ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Administrator shall establish a 
competitive grant program to make funding available for preservation of 
homeland security capabilities achieved by high-risk urban areas that 
received Urban Area Security Initiative funding in fiscal years 2009 or 
2010 but were removed from the program thereafter.
    ``(b) Application.--Not later than 90 days after establishment of 
the competitive grant program required under subsection (a), the 
Administrator shall accept applications with the following information:
            ``(1) Specific homeland security capability gains achieved 
        through previous grant awards that are at risk of being reduced 
        or eliminated without Federal grant assistance.
            ``(2) A description of activities, programs, and 
        acquisitions that would be undertaken with Federal grant 
        assistance to enhance homeland security capabilities.
            ``(3) The proposed division of responsibilities and 
        distribution of funding among the local and tribal governments 
        in each high-risk urban area.
            ``(4) The name of an individual to serve as a high-risk 
        urban area point of contact (in each such area) for 
        communication with the Department and among the various 
        jurisdictions in each high-risk urban area.
            ``(5) Such information in support of the application as the 
        Administrator may reasonably require.
    ``(c) Criteria.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
Administrator shall evaluate each grant application and give priority 
to those applications that best--
            ``(1) preserve capabilities needed to prevent, protect 
        against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the threats and 
        hazards that pose the greatest risk to the United States, as 
        reflected in the Presidential Policy Directive 8 and the 
        National Preparedness Goal;
            ``(2) preserve core capabilities developed through previous 
        Urban Area Security Initiative grant allocations;
            ``(3) align with strategies and principles of the National 
        Preparedness Goal, including the promotion of national 
        preparedness within the private and nonprofit sectors, 
        nongovernmental organizations, and the public;
            ``(4) support capabilities that enhance regional 
        catastrophic planning that could be used nationally through 
        mutual aid agreements before, during, and after incidents; and
            ``(5) align with other established grant funding priorities 
        identified by the Administrator.
    ``(d) Conformance With the Urban Area Security Initiative 
Program.--All provisions relating to State review and transmission, 
opportunity to amend, and distribution of awards, as established in 
section 2003, shall apply to the competitive grant program under this 
section.
    ``(e) Limitations of Awards.--No one applicant may receive more 
than seven percent of the total amount authorized for the competitive 
grant program under this section.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $58,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2012 through 2014, of which not more than five percent shall be 
available each fiscal year for the costs of administering the grant 
program.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
such Act is amended by increasing by one the section number in each of 
the items in the table relating sections 2004 through 2008, and by 
inserting after the item relating to section 2003 the following:

``Sec. 2004. Preservation of Urban Area Security Initiative security 
                            gains.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--Sections 2003(b)(2)(A)(i) and 2005(e) 
of such Act (6 U.S.C. 604(b)(2)(A)(i), 606(e)) are each amended by 
striking ``section 2007'' and inserting ``section 2008''.
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