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The State of Public Funding by Martha Braddock The House and Senate have passed versions of H.R. 2360, the bill making Appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for Fiscal Year 2006. The differences between the two versions will be resolved in a Conference Report when Congress returns after Labor Day from the August recess. Among the differences to be resolved is the funding level for Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPGs).EMPGs constitute the only source of direct federal funding for state and local governments to provide the foundation for basic emergency coordination and planning capabilities for all hazards, including those related to homeland security. The grants are pass-through grants to state and local emergency management offices and are used predominately for personnel who plan, train, coordinate, and conduct exercises and other functions essential to effective preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts. EMPGs require a 50% state or local match. Currently many local jurisdictions are receiving 20% or less. In addition, many local jurisdictions receive no funding because of a shortage of funds. A 2004 study by the National Emergency Management Association indicated that the program is under funded by $264 million. Funding Decision Pending The President’s request for FY 2006 was $170 million, a $10 million reduction from the amount appropriated in FY 2005. For FY 2006 the House included $180 million and the Senate $190 million. The increase proposed by the Senate is modest but much needed. The conferees deciding at which level to fund EMPG will be the members of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Homeland Security and the Chair and Ranking Member of the House and Senate Full Appropriations Committee. Representative Hal Rogers (R-KY) chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and Representative Martin Sabo serves as Ranking Member. Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) serves as Ranking Member. An issue like this will be resolved by committee staff before the actual formal meeting of the conferees. Key Senate Support for Increased Funding Senator Voinovich (R-OH), a former governor who recognizes the importance of this funding for all hazards, has led a bi-partisan Senate effort to increase the funding for two years. Last year Senator Voinovich sponsored a successful amendment on the Senate Floor to increase the funding by $56 million, but the amendment did not survive the conference due to an offset issue. In May 2005, Senator Voinovich and Senator Akaka (D-HI) sponsored a letter signed by 26 senators to Chairman Gregg and Ranking Member Byrd urging that the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security increase the funding to $250 million. The Senate Appropriations Committee included $180 million, but a successful amendment sponsored by Senator Voinovich added $10 million on the Senate Floor for a total of $190 million. At the time the amendment was accepted, there were 23 co-sponsors and numerous supporters. On July 22, 2005, Senator Voinovich and Senator Collins (R-ME) sponsored a letter signed by 26 senators to Chairman Gregg and Ranking Member Byrd urging the $190 million included by the Senate be maintained in the Conference instead of the $180 million included by the House. Many individuals in the emergency management field made contacts to their senators, which made this level of support possible. The Future The hope of those involved in emergency management is that the President’s Budget Request for FY 2007, which will be released in February 2006, will recognize the importance of the EMPG funding and include a significant increase. However, in these times of tight budgets and focus on terrorism, members of Congress must continue to hear from their constituents that communities want and need their support for strong emergency management programs to address all the hazards they face. About the Author Martha Braddock is a consultant who serves as the Policy Advisor to the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). IAEM has over 2600 members including emergency management professionals at the state and local government levels, the military, private business, and nonprofit sector in the United States and in other countries. Martha formerly served as Director of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  |