January 18, 2011
Dear Homeland Security Grantees and Other Interested Parties:
As you may be aware, Congress has not completed the fiscal year 2011 Appropriations bills for the fiscal year that began on October 1, 2010 and expires on September 30, 2011.
A stopgap spending measures (Continuing Resolution or CR) is currently in place that extends government funding until March 4, 2011. Congress has approximately 15 legislative days remaining to complete work on the pending appropriations.
To begin, the House Budget Committee will set spending levels for the rest of the fiscal year (the first 5 months were set in the CR at FY2010 levels). There are a couple of ways for Congress to fund the remaining seven months. They could pass another stopgap measure that encompasses the rest of the year at current rates (the FY2010 level) or less (a cut in spending). They also may separate out a number of funding areas to take up as stand alone legislation for Defense, Homeland Security, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. These areas may require a greater level of specificity and flexibility that could not be accomplished through a Continuing Resolution.
With a slow start and few legislative days remaining before the current CR expires, Congress will be under increasing pressure to finish the FY2011 funding cycle. Adding to the challenge is a divided Congress, led by Republicans in the House and Democrats in the Senate.
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) was funded at $19 million in FY2010. We can expect that $19 million would be our top number in FY2011, or less, as part of overall spending reductions. Once Congress completes its work (on homeland security appropriations) and the President signs the legislation into law, we expect that the next round of the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, at whatever level has been appropriated, will commence within 25 days from enactment.
We look forward to updating you on the legislative front and next steps in the grant process, once pertinent information becomes available to us. We expect that our technical assistance work will ramp up and coincide with the release of Department of Homeland Security’s guidance on the FY11 NSGP program.
Stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Rob Goldberg
Senior Director of Legislative Affairs
