In fiscal years 2002 and 2003, these grant  programs, administered by DHS, Health and Human Services (HHS), and  Justice awarded about $340 million to the District of Columbia, Maryland,  Virginia, and state and local emergency management, law enforcement,  fire departments, and other emergency response agencies in NCR. This initiative  included a total of $60.5 million to NCR, which was one of seven  metropolitan areas included in the initial round of funding. Consequently, it is difficult for us or ONCRC to determine what  gaps, if any, remain in the emergency response capacities and  preparedness within the NCR. The plan for the $60.5 million allocated funds for  projects, including planning, training, equipment, and exercises to benefit  the region as a whole, as opposed to allocating funds to meet the  individual needs of each NCR jurisdiction separately. This adds to the challenge of developing and  implementing a coordinated plan for enhancing first responder capacity. Effective regional and local management of the large amounts of available  homeland security funding is an important element in improving our  national preparedness. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help ensure that emergency preparedness grants and associated funds  are managed in a way that maximizes their effectiveness, we recommend  that the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security take the  following three actions in order to fulfill the department’s statutory  responsibilities in the NCR:    work with the NCR jurisdictions to develop a coordinated strategic plan to  establish goals and priorities for enhancing first responder capacities that  can be used to guide the use of federal emergency preparedness funds;   monitor the plan’s implementation to ensure that funds are used in a way  that promotes effective expenditures that are not unnecessarily  duplicative; and identify and address gaps in emergency preparedness and evaluate the  effectiveness of expenditures in meeting those needs by adapting  standards and preparedness guidelines based on likely scenarios for NCR  and conducting assessments based on them. To determine what federal funds have been provided to local jurisdictions   for emergency preparedness, for what specific purposes, and from what  sources, we met with officials from the DHS’s Office for National Capital  Region Coordination (ONCRC), ONCRC’s Senior Policy Group, Federal  Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), homeland security advisers for  the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, and first responders from  eight jurisdictions within NCR—the District of Columbia; the city of  Alexandria; and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Montgomery,  and Prince George’s counties. Our review revealed the lack of consistent data  reported by the jurisdictions in the region and the lack of a central source  for such data.
Why GAO Did This Study

Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the National Capital Region (NCR), comprising jurisdictions including the District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia, has been recognized as a significant potential target for terrorism. GAO was asked to report on (1) what federal funds have been allocated to NCR jurisdictions for emergency preparedness; (2) what challenges exist within NCR to organizing and implementing efficient and effective regional preparedness programs; (3) what gaps, if any, remain in the emergency preparedness of NCR; and (4) what has been the role of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in NCR to date.

What GAO Found

In fiscal years 2002 and 2003, grant programs administered by the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Justice awarded about $340 million to eight NCR jurisdictions to enhance emergency preparedness. Of this total, the Office for National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC) targeted all of the $60.5 million Urban Area Security Initiative funds for projects designed to benefit NCR as a whole. However, there was no coordinated regionwide plan for spending the remaining funds (about $279.5 million). Local jurisdictions determined the spending priorities for these funds and reported using them for emergency communications and personal protective equipment and other purchases. NCR faces several challenges in organizing and implementing efficient and effective regional preparedness programs, including the lack of a coordinated strategic plan for enhancing NCR preparedness, performance standards, and a reliable, central source of data on funds available and the purposes for which they were spent. Without these basic elements, it is difficult to assess first responder capacities, identify first responder funding priorities for NCR, and evaluate the effectiveness of the use of federal funds in enhancing first responder capacities and preparedness in a way that maximizes their effectiveness in improving homeland security.