By Andrew M. McGee, USCM Intern
July 14, 2003

Drastic Increases in Funding for First Responders Needed, According to New National Report

By Andrew M. McGee, USCM Intern

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a Washington-based independent think-tank, released its report on the state of American Homeland Security preparedness and funding on June 29th. The document, entitled "Emergency Responders: Drastically Under-funded, Dangerously Unprepared," presents a grim picture, concluding that even if current funding levels for homeland security are maintained over the next five years, America's emergency responders will still require an additional $98.4 billion to meet critical needs.

Prepared by a blue-ribbon panel of scholars, former senators and White House advisors, and three Nobel Laureates, the CFR report used surveys and statistical analysis to explore anticipated needs and expected funding for the nation's emergency response providers, including police, firefighters, and the public health, emergency management, and emergency communications fields. Panel findings laud the Administration, Congress, state governments, and mayors for increased vigilance and awareness of homeland security issues since 9/11, but warn of a growing "gap between current levels of emergency preparedness and minimum essential preparedness levels across the country." According the report, federal Homeland Security funding for first responders would ultimately need to increase from $5.4 billion to $25.1 billion per annum.

In the Report, Council for Foreign Relations President Leslie H. Gelb writes, "Congress should work to establish a system for distributing funds based less on politics and more on threat. To do this, the federal government should consider such factors as population, population density, vulnerability assessment, and presence of critical infrastructure within each state. State governments should be required to use the same criteria for distributing funds within each state."

Warren B. Rudman, former two-term senator from New Hampshire, chaired the Task Force. In a press conference unveiling the report, Rudman highlighted the importance of first responders: "In the final analysis, you will be the ones that will face the onerous task of responding to additional acts of terrorism in this country, which unfortunately are more likely than unlikely." Echoing the concerns of many mayors, Rudman said, "This is not a political decision. This is truly a national decision based on need. And thus, when you start allocating funds, they cannot be allocated on, if you will, a competitive or a political basis."

Though the CFR's report makes strong headway in the fight for increased funding for first responders, no special mention is made of direct funding to cities. The U.S. Conference of Mayors has been strongly advocating for direct Homeland Security funding to cities, which frequently bear the uncompensated costs of mobilizing, training, and equipping first responders.

Participants in the CFR's survey included national organizations representing physicians, firefighters, police, health and emergency management officials, state and county leaders, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Visits to mayors' offices in San Francisco, Baltimore, and Kansas City provided crucial evidence for the reports' findings.

Copies of the report and a transcript of the related press conference can be found at the Council for Foreign Relations' web site, www.cfr.org. For more information, please contact Lisa Shields, Vice President of Communication for the Council on Foreign Relations, at 212-434-9888.