; and (2) shall streamline the background check and security clearance procedures that apply to veterans so appointed. 7. Southern borderlands public safety communications grant program (a) In general The Secretary of Homeland Security may make competitive grants for public-private partnerships that finance equipment and infrastructure to improve the public safety of persons who are residents of rural areas of the United States near the international border with Mexico, by enhancing access to mobile communications for such persons who do not currently have access to reliable mobile communications networks. (b) Focus areas In making grants under this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall focus on projects that improve mobile communications in areas impacted by the illegal smuggling and trafficking of people and drugs from Mexico into the United States. (c) Eligible applicants Persons eligible for grants under this section include States, counties, municipalities, organizations representing agricultural producers and other rural Americans, and telecommunications providers. (d) Authorization of appropriations For grants under this section there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $10,000,000 for the three-fiscal-year period following the date of the enactment of this Act. (e) Funding offset To offset amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (d), the International Forestry Cooperation Act of 1990 ( 16 U.S.C. 4501 et seq. ) is repealed. 8. Community impact aid grants (a) In general The Secretary of Homeland Security shall make grants to sheriffs’ departments along international border between the United States and Mexico for the purpose of hiring additional deputies, including for salaries, benefits, training, uniforms, patrol vehicles, and arms. (b) Grant calculation formula Except as provided in subsection (c), a grant made pursuant to subsection (a) shall be in an amount equal to 30 percent of an eligible sheriff’s department’s fiscal year 2010