Letter to incoming DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas - Nadler, Quigley, Roybal-Allard Lead Bicameral Letter Calling on the Biden Administration to Protect UASI Funding

Letter

Dear Secretary-Designate Mayorkas:

We write today to express our serious concerns regarding the abrupt changes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is proposing to the Homeland Security Grant Program's (HSGP) Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) for the FY2021 Fiscal Year. As Members that represent cities that rely heavily on UASI funding to keep their citizens and our nation safe, we ask that the Biden Administration reject these substantial changes for FY21 prior to the issuance of a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in order to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of programs that depend on UASI funding and to continue collaborative deliberations on how best to distribute UASI funding in the future.
Since its inception following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the UASI program has been the most effective vehicle for directing homeland security funds where they are most needed: our nation's highest-threat metropolitan areas, state capital cities, and government buildings. Cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles face complicated and ever-changing threat environments and it is crucial that we provide our cities with the funding they need to invest in resources to keep Americans safe.
UASI funds historically have been important for providing first responders the equipment and training they need to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks. Much-needed UASI-funded equipment includes upgraded security measures like cameras, physical barriers, and controlled entry systems. Additionally, UASI has been responsible for increasing regional public safety cooperation and coordination between local, state, and federal first responders.
The proposed changes by the Trump Administration's FEMA make the UASI program a competitive "free-for-all.' Under these proposed new procedures, there will be no guaranteed minimum allotments for the first time. Without committed funding streams for this program, many of UASI's prevention and recovery initiatives may be shut down permanently. Additionally, the number of cities eligible for this funding have dramatically increased, resulting in less money available for high-risk and densely populated cities.
The danger to our urban areas has not gone away, yet funding for this important grant program hangs in the balance. Failure to maintain for a strong and functional UASI program threatens to undermine the successful federal investments we have made in regional homeland security capacity over the past decade. We therefore urge you to reject, or at the very least delay, these proposed changes prior to the issuance of a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to consider alternate proposals that will more effectively keep our cities safe.
Thank you for your consideration of our request. We look forward to working with you on this important matter.

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