Ridge outlines changes to homeland security funding programs

Secretary Tom Ridge outlined plans to change the way the federal government allocates and disburses funding for homeland security funding. Ridge offered solutions that he said he believed would "improve the way the Department of Homeland Security's First Responder Grant Programs are organized within the Department, [and] improve the formulas by which these grants are distributed." Shifting administration of the Fire Grant program to the Office for Domestic Preparedness, as outlined in the Bush administration's FY 2004 budget request, "would move state and local governments toward the 'one stop shop' they have been looking for, consolidate related functions within DHS, and improve coordination within the programs," Ridge said. The administration also supports moving the Office for Domestic Preparedness from its current location in the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security to the Office of State and Local Government Coordination, as proposed in Senate bill 796, which is co-sponsored by several members of the Governmental Affairs Committee. Concerning changes to the grant formula, Ridge said that while "the concept behind the Patriot formula is valid...our current formula fails to recognize that linear population increases do not equate to linear threat increases."

ANALYSIS: While it is unclear whether Congress will approve the structural changes proposed and supported by the administration, the new formula being developed will be used in fiscal year 2004. Ridge said the new formula "better takes into account threats, population density and the presence of critical infrastructure."