House and Senate Committees Approve Homeland Security Funding Bills
By Ed Somers
July 14, 2003
The House and Senate Appropriation Committees have both approved their FY 2004 funding bills for the Department of Homeland Security. The House bill includes $4.4 billion for first responder programs, and the Senate bill includes $3.8 billion. In a major victory for cities, both the House and Senate have included significant funding for high-threat areas, although both funding levels are below the $800 million provided in FY 2003. Following is a comparison of some of the key first responder funding included in the bills. Additional information on other funding related to areas such as port security, aviation security and border security will be provided in the next edition of U.S.MAYOR.
| Program | House | Senate |
| Office for Domestic Preparedness Basic State Formula Grant Program | $1.9 billion | $1.25 billion |
| State and Local Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grants (new) | $500 million | $500 million |
| High-Threat Urban Areas | $500 million | $750 million |
| Infrastructure Grants | $200 million | 0 |
| Firefighter Grants | $750 million | $750 million |
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