Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Increases AFG and SAFER Funding to $355 million each ($710 total).

September 25, 2019

September 24, 2019 the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY 2020 DHS appropriations bill. The Subcommittee increased Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) and SAFER funding by $10 million to a total of $710 million ($355 million for each program).

While modest, the increase is a sign of continued support for these programs by the Senate appropriators. The House Appropriations Committee passed a FY 2020 DHS Appropriations bill increasing funding for AFG and SAFER by $25 million each, to $375 million ($750 million total).

The Congress will need to pass a short term “continuing resolution” to keep the federal government funded beyond September 30th, the end of the 2019 fiscal year. Last week the House passed such a bill extending funding through November 21. This will allow the Senate and House time to come agreement on the various appropriations bills for FY 2020.

Below is a summary provided by the Subcommittee of other key State and local FEMA grant programs and their funding levels contained in the Senate subcommittee bill.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – $21.8 billion, of which $17.8 billion is for the Disaster Relief Fund, representing an overall increase of $5.2 billion above the FY2019 enacted level.

The bill includes strong support for state and local first responders and emergency management personnel, providing a total of $2.7 billion for these grant and training programs, including:

  • $525 million for State Homeland Security Grants, including $90 million for Operation Stonegarden;
  • $600 million for Urban Area Security Initiative grants, including $50 million for non-profit organizations;
  • $100 million each for Port and Transit Security grants;
  • $710 million for Fire and SAFER grants;
  • $355 million for Emergency Management Performance grants;
  • $148 million for Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis Program;
  • $10 million for Regional Catastrophic Preparedness grants;
  • $10 million for the Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams grants;
  • $67 million for the Center for Domestic Preparedness;
  • $18 million for the Center for Homeland Defense and Security;
  • $19 million for the Emergency Management Institute; and
  • $101 million for the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium.

If you have any questions, please contact GAC Co-chairs:
John Granby [email protected]
Lee Morris [email protected]
David Durstine [email protected] or
GAC Sr. Advisor Dave Gatton [email protected]