Currently, several agencies administer preparedness programs, among which are the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A number of these programs are scheduled to be transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security. Congress authorizes the programs to provide training, technical assistance, and monetary grants for emergency planning, equipment, and exercises. Most programs focus on helping state and local first responders, including fire service, emergency medical service, and law enforcement, prepare for potential attacks (some observers believe that with the threat of bioterrorism, public health officials should also be considered first responders). This catalog places preparedness programs into the following six categories:

This report will be updated to reflect the transfer of programs into the new Department of Homeland Security. It will also be updated as relevant programs are created, modified, or terminated. For more information on policy issues related to state and local preparedness, see the following reports:

CRS Report RL31465, Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Terrorist Attack: A Catalog of Selected Federal Assistance Programs, coordinated by John Moteff.

CRS Report RL31475, First Responder Initiative: Policy Issues and Options, by Ben Canada.

Introduction

Information in This Catalog

Federal Agency Training Catalogs

Grant Writing Assistance

Related CRS Products

Federal Preparedness Programs

Emergency Management and Planning

Emergency Management Institute

Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG)

National Fire Academy

Metropolitan Medical Response Systems (MMRS)

Training

Domestic Preparedness Training and Technical Assistance Program

State and Local Domestic Preparedness Exercise Support

First Responder Counter-Terrorism Training Assistance

State Fire Training System Grants

Equipment

State Domestic Preparedness Equipment Support Program

Hazardous Materials Assistance Program

Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant Program (FIRE grants)

Homeland Defense Equipment Reuse Program

Law Enforcement

State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training

Law Enforcement Assistance—FBI Field Police Training

Local Law Enforcement Block Grant

Public Health and Medical Community

Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism

Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program

U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

Community Preparedness

    This report lists and describes selected federal programs that assist states and localities in preparing for terrorist attacks, particularly those involving weapons of mass destruction. Some of the programs are authorized specifically for this purpose, while others are general assistance programs that recipients may use for terrorism preparedness. Depending on the structure of the program, local governments seeking assistance may apply directly to the federal agency or to the state program administrator.

      For each program, this catalog provides the program title, brief description, administering agency, agency phone number, web site, and CRS contact. For those programs registered in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), the program number is provided after the title. This catalog provides only basic descriptive and contact information about the selected programs, and does not provide details about course offerings and application requirements.

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      Federal agencies have published catalogs with detailed information about their terrorism training programs. Agency catalogs typically provide descriptions of specific training courses and technical assistance programs, give application requirements, and often offer suggestions for writing grant proposals. The following federal agency catalogs are available on the Internet:

  Compendium of Weapons of Mass Destruction Courses—Descriptions of all federal training programs for responding to weapons of mass destruction. Available at: [http://www.usfa.fema.gov/dhtml/fire-service/cwmdc.cfm].

       Listed below are CRS products and other resources available through the Internet that may assist applicants in completing applications.

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CRS Report RS21302, Assistance to Firefighters Program, by Len Kruger.

CRS Report RL31490, Department of Homeland Security: State and Local Preparedness Issues, by Ben Canada.

CRS Report RS21227, Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC): An Overview, by Ben Canada

CRS Report RS21377, Federal Emergency Warning Systems: An Overview, by Shawn Reese.

CRS Report RL31475, First Responder Initiative: Issues and Options, by Ben Canada.

CRS Report RS21400, FY2003 Appropriations for First Responders: Fact Sheet, by Ben Canada and Shawn Reese.

CRS Report RL31680, Homeland Security: Standards for State and Local Preparedness, by Ben Canada.

CRS Report RL31670, Transfer of FEMA to the Department of Homeland Security: Issues for Congressional Oversight, by Keith Bea.

CRS Report RL31465, Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Terrorist Attack: A Catalog of Selected Federal Assistance Programs, coordinated by John Moteff.

CRS Report RL31263, Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act (P.L. 107-188): Provisions and Changes to Preexisting Law, by C. Stephen Redhead, Donna U. Vogt, and Mary E. Tiemann.

CRS Report RS21348, Risk Assessment in the President’s National Strategy for Homeland Security, by Rob Buschmann.

CRS Report RL31266, State and Local Preparedness for Terrorism: Selected Policy Issues, by Ben Canada.

CRS Report RS20071, United States Fire Administration: An Overview, by Len Kruger.

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CRS Report RS21073, Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces: Fact Sheet, by Ben Canada.

Emergency Management and Planning

Emergency Management Institute. Training for state and local emergency response personnel in basic emergency management and terrorism preparedness. The Institute is intended to improve emergency management practices among state and local emergency managers, and federal officials, in response to emergencies and disasters. Programs embody the Comprehensive Emergency Management System by unifying the elements of management common to all emergencies: preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. The Institute offers a wide selection of courses.

Note: Pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296), FEMA and all its component programs, including EMI, will be transferred to the new department.

Agency: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Phone: 800-238-3358

Web site: EMI web site: [http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/]

FEMA regional offices and state emergency management offices: [http://www.fema.gov/regions/index.shtm]

CFDA: 83.527, 83.529, 83.530

CRS Contact: Keith Bea, 7-8672

Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG). Grants to states to develop comprehensive emergency management plans, including plans to manage consequences of terrorist attacks. The program’s goal is to improve overall emergency planning, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery capabilities. FEMA has identified 13 emergency management functions for which states are encouraged, but not required, to use EMPG funds.

These functions are:

 1) laws and authorities;

 2) hazard identification and risk assessment;

 3) hazard mitigation;

 4) resource management;

 5) planning;

 6) direction, control, and coordination;

 7) communications and warning;

 8) operations and procedures;

 9) logistics and facilities;

 10) training;

 11) exercises, evaluations, and corrective actions;

 12) crisis communications, public education, and information; and

 13) finance and administration.

 Note: As FEMA is transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security, this program will also be transferred.

Agency: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Phone: 202-646-3792

Web site: [http://www.usfa.fema.gov/dhtml/inside-usfa/cfda83552.html]

CFDA: 83.552

CRS Contact: Keith Bea, 7-8672

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National Fire Academy. Training for state and local emergency managers to increase the professional level of the fire service and emergency medical service. Courses are offered at the National Fire Academy training facility in Emmitsburg, MD, but also through regional offices and distance learning mechanisms. The Academy offers a wide selection of courses in such areas as professional development, incident management, information management, hazardous materials, fire prevention, and volunteer leadership.

Note: As FEMA is transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security, the Academy will also be transferred.

Agency: U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA)

Phone: 800-238-3358 or 301-447-1035

Web site: [http://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/]

CFDA: 83.009, 83.010

CRS Contact: Len Kruger, 7-7070

Metropolitan Medical Response Systems (MMRS). Funding to metropolitan areas that upgrade and improve their own planning and preparedness to respond to mass-casualty events. Under contracts with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), MMRS participants are required to coordinate and integrate the planning and preparedness efforts of law enforcement, fire, hazmat, emergency medical systems, hospitals, public health, and other local first responders. The participants receive funds in return for delivering to HHS fully integrated plans for training, organization, and response. The funds may be used to buy special equipment and stockpile pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.   

Note: Pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296), all programs administered by the Office for Domestic Preparedness will be transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security.

Note: As FEMA is transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security, this program will also be transferred.

Agency: U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA)

Note: This program, and all ODP programs, will be transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security.

Note: FEMA will be transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security.

Note: As FEMA is transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security, this program will also be transferred.

1) providing state and local law enforcement agencies with knowledge of "political" extremist movements;

2) disseminating information relating to vital elements of law enforcement preparedness for terrorist attacks;

3) providing a general planning orientation to state and local law enforcement pertaining to crisis and consequence management and incident command, including essential elements requisite to conducting criminal investigations and prosecutions of terrorist threats and incidents; and

4) maintaining and enhance a domestic terrorism database.

Note: This program, and all ODP programs, will be transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security.

1) purchasing technology and other equipment directly related to basic law enforcement functions;

2) hiring and training additional law enforcement officers and necessary support personnel;

Community Preparedness

Note: As FEMA is transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security, this program will also be transferred.

Agency: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Phone: Call state official: [http://www.citizencorps.gov/statepoc.html]

Web site: [http://www.citizencorps.gov/]

CFDA: Not listed

CRS Contact: Shawn Reese, 7-0635