[Senate Report 117-230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 521
117th Congress       }                           {             Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session          }                           {             117-230
_______________________________________________________________________

            HOMELAND SECURITY CAPABILITIES PRESERVATION ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                               H.R. 5615

            TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO
           SUBMIT A PLAN TO MAKE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE
            TO CERTAIN URBAN AREAS THAT PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED
           URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE FUNDING TO PRESERVE
         HOMELAND SECURITY CAPABILITIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

		[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                December 5, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
        
        
                               __________
                               
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE      

39-010                     WASHINGTON : 2022                    
        
        
        
        
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
         Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
            Benjamin J. Schubert, Professional Staff Member
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
            Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
       Clyde E. Hicks Jr., Minority Director of Homeland Security
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk



                                                     Calendar No. 521
117th Congress       }                           {           Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session          }                           {           117-230

======================================================================



 
            HOMELAND SECURITY CAPABILITIES PRESERVATION ACT

                                _______
                                

                December 5, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 5615]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 5615) to direct 
the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a plan to make 
Federal assistance available to certain urban areas that 
previously received Urban Area Security Initiative funding to 
preserve homeland security capabilities, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
with an amendment, in the nature of a substitute, and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 5615, the Homeland Security Capabilities Preservation 
Act, directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to 
submit a report to Congress with a plan to make federal 
assistance available to certain urban areas that previously 
received Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) funding, but no 
longer receive that funding, to preserve homeland security 
capabilities related to preventing acts of terrorism achieved 
with federal dollars. The bill includes a requirement that the 
report include an analysis from FEMA on whether this plan, if 
implemented, would actually help former UASI recipients 
maintain and preserve homeland capabilities, and whether 
changes need to be made to the UASI program to ensure current 
UASIs are able to preserve homeland security capabilities on a 
long-term basis without supplemental funding.

              II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

    The UASI program was established for the purpose of 
``assisting high-threat, high-density, Urban Area efforts to 
build, sustain, and deliver the capabilities necessary to 
prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to acts of 
terrorism.''\1\ Grants are awarded through this program based 
on FEMA's risk-based grant assessment model ranking and 
comparing each urban area annually and incorporating Department 
of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership decisions on where to 
allocate funding.\2\ The Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
has found that since 2008, FEMA has taken steps to strengthen 
the risk-based model used to determine the urban areas that are 
eligible for grants under this program.\3\ However, due to 
changes in the risk rankings and the limited number of urban 
areas eligible for funding each year, some urban areas find 
themselves losing funding unexpectedly without the ability to 
make up such shortfalls elsewhere and perhaps losing the 
preparedness capabilities developed through federal 
investments. During the April 28, 2021 hearing before the House 
Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Emergency 
Preparedness, Response, and Recovery titled ``State and Local 
Perspectives on DHS Preparedness Grant Programs,'' witnesses 
testified that suddenly losing Federal support under the UASI 
program places a great strain on jurisdictions who might not 
have the resources to cover costs once provided by the grant 
program.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Federal Emergency Management Agency, The Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Fiscal Year 2022 
Homeland Security Grant Program (https://www.fema.gov/grants/
preparedness/homeland-security/fy-22-nofo) (accessed Sept. 23, 2022).
    \2\Government Accountability Office, HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT 
PROGRAM: Additional Actions Could Further Enhance FEMA's Risk-Based 
Grant Assessment Model (GAO-18-354) (Sept. 2018).
    \3\Id.
    \4\House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, & 
Recovery, Hearing on State and Local Perspectives on DHS Preparedness 
Grant Programs, 117th Cong. (Apr. 28, 2021) (H. Hrg. 117-9).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    H.R. 5615 takes steps to address this issue by requiring 
FEMA to create a plan to provide temporary federal assistance 
to those jurisdictions. Additionally, the bill requires the 
FEMA Administrator to provide analysis on whether additional 
temporary federal assistance for the former UASI funded 
jurisdictions would help preserve their homeland security 
capabilities. FEMA is directed to submit the plan to Congress 
but not act on it unless it receives further legislative 
direction.

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 5615 was introduced on October 19, 2021, by 
Representatives Demings (D-FL-10) and Bacon (R-NE-2) and 
referred to The House Committee on Homeland Security. 
Representative Cleaver (D-MO-5) later joined as a cosponsor on 
October 26, 2021. The bill was referred to the Subcommittee on 
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, discharged from 
the Subcommittee, and considered by the full Committee for 
markup on October 26, 2021. The bill was passed out of the 
Committee by voice vote during the business meeting. On March 
7, 2022, the bill was passed by voice vote in the House.
    H.R. 5615 was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs on March 8, 2022. The 
Committee considered the bill at a business meeting on August 
3, 2022. During the meeting, Chairman Peters offered an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute that added a rule of 
construction, and required FEMA to provide an analysis on 
whether additional federal funding to former UASI recipients 
would actually help them maintain and preserve homeland 
capabilities, and whether changes need to be made to the UASI 
program to ensure current UASIs are able to preserve homeland 
security capabilities on a long-term basis.
    The substitute amendment was adopted en bloc by voice vote 
with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, 
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley present for the vote. The 
Committee ordered the bill, as amended, to be favorably 
reported by voice vote en bloc. Senators present for the vote 
were: Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Lankford, 
Romney, Scott, and Hawley.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title

    This section designates the name of the bill as the 
``Homeland Security Capabilities Preservation Act.''

Section 2. Preservation of Homeland Security capabilities

    Subsection (a) defines the terms ``Administrator,'' 
``appropriate congressional committees,'' ``covered homeland 
security capabilities,'' ``covered urban area,'' ``Secretary'', 
and ``UASI.''
    Subsection (b) provides that a report and proposal must be 
submitted to Congress within 18 months after the bill is 
enacted regarding preserving covered homeland security 
capabilities to covered urban areas. The report must include an 
analysis from FEMA on whether this plan required under this 
bill, if implemented, would help former UASI recipients 
preserve homeland capabilities, and whether changes need to be 
made to the UASI program to ensure current UASIs are able to 
preserve homeland security capabilities on a long-term basis. 
This subsection also sets forth requirements relating to UASI 
funds and any proposed supplemental funds that are considered 
in this plan.
    Subsection (c) provides that the FEMA Administrator must 
conduct a survey to ascertain the scope of the Federal 
financial assistance required under this measure.
    Subsection (d) provides that the Secretary has the 
authority to exempt the Administrator from certain requirements 
in carrying out the survey in subsection (c).
    Subsection (e) provides that this bill does not authorize 
or direct the Administrator to implement the proposal required 
in Subsection (b).

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                Washington, DC, September 15, 2022.
Hon. Gary Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5615, the Homeland 
Security Capabilities Preservation Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Madeleine 
Fox.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    	[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    H.R. 5615 would require the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) to submit a plan to the Congress to ensure that 
federal assistance is available to certain urban jurisdictions 
under the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). UASI provides 
grants to state and local law enforcement agencies in urban 
areas that are at high-risk for acts of terrorism to cover the 
costs of planning, equipment, and training. Specifically, the 
act would require that grants be made available under the 
program for at least three consecutive years to jurisdictions 
that did not receive UASI funding in the current fiscal year.
    In developing the plan, FEMA would be required to survey 
urban jurisdictions to confirm the need for federal assistance. 
Based on the cost of similar plans, CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 5615 would cost less than $500,000 over the 
2022-2027 period; any spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    On May 3, 2022, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
5615, the Homeland Security Capabilities Preservation Act, as 
passed by the House of Representatives on March 7, 2022. The 
two pieces of legislation are similar, and CBO's estimated 
costs are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Madeleine Fox. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    This legislation would make no change in existing law, 
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of 
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this 
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current 
law.

                                  [all]