DHS announces funding for preparedness grants

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced Friday the final allocations for seven competitive preparedness grants for Fiscal Year 2021.

The $475 million in grants add to the nearly $1.5 billion in non-competitive grant funding announced earlier this year, bring to $2 billion the total funding for programs designed to prepare the country against man-made threats and natural disasters.

“Through these grant programs, we demonstrate our steadfast commitment to addressing the most significant and persistent terrorism-related threats to the homeland today,” Mayorkas said. “Many of the communities and nonprofit organizations receiving these grants have been historically underserved. The funding allocated for each of the grant programs will allow these communities and organizations to build, sustain, and improve their preparedness and response capabilities. I look forward to working with our state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to achieve these shared goals.”

The grant programs will provide state, local, tribal and territorial governments, non-profit agencies, and the private sector with funding to build and sustain their capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism and other disasters. Funding amounts are set by Congress and allocations are made by the Secretary.

Funding allocations include $90 million for Operation Stonegarden designed to enhance cooperation and coordination amongst state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal law enforcement agencies to enhance border security; and $15 million for the Tribal Homeland Security Grant Program that provides funding to eligible tribal nations to implement preparedness initiatives to help strengthen the nation against risk associated with potential terrorist attacks and other hazards.