Yesterday, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Christopher Cox (R-California) introduced a bill (H.R. 1544) to provide funding for state and local first responders. The Grant Reform and the Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2005 would guarantee each state 0.25 percent of the first-responder grant, and distribute the remainder based on risk and threat. States with an international border or international port would receive at least 0.45 percent. The Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on the bill tomorrow. The current state minimum for formula grants is 0.75 percent.

Changes to the formula stalled last year because of disagreement with the Senate between high density urban areas and less-populated states. Yesterday, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology held a hearing focusing on homeland security in rural states. State homeland security directors from Missouri, Iowa, and North Carolina testified that a risk/threat based formula for distributing homeland security funding could work only if it considers agricultural and other concerns, and focuses not only on the high density urban areas.

Chairman Cox is also trying to keep his bill from being referred to additional committees since multiple committees have jurisdiction over homeland security funds. Four House chairmen who could ask for referrals have already signed off on the legislation. The text of Cox’s bill can be found here in pdf format.

Over in the Senate, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee is marking up its first-responder funding bill (S. 21) today. S. 21 provides each state with a minimum of 0.55 percent of the first-responder funding pool.