DHS Announces $1.6 Billion in Grants to Fight Terrorism, Bolster Election Security

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times Header

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced $1.6 billion in grants to help state and local officials prepare for and respond to a range of hazards, including acts of terrorism and threats to election security.

The funding will be distributed among eight so-called โ€œpreparedness grant programsโ€ in fiscal year 2022, across six priority areas, including cybersecurity, soft targets and crowded places, intelligence and information sharing, and domestic violent extremism.

The threat landscape facing the nation has evolved since the DHS was established nearly two decades ago, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

โ€œAs the threats to our nation continue to evolve, our grant programs must evolve with them,โ€ Mayorkas said, noting that two new priority areas have been designated this year for the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) and Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant programs: community preparedness and resilience, and election security.

The state homeland program will receive $415 million and the urban area program will be given $615 million, with specific allocations based on statutory minimums and an assessment of relative risk.

For both the state homeland and urban area grants, 30 percent of the funds must be designated for law enforcement activities meant to prevent acts of terrorism. Another 30 percent must address the six priority areas, including election security.

Election security concerns have featured more prominently on the DHS agenda in recent times, with the agency announcing it was establishing the Disinformation Governance Board, partly to fight against election interference.

Critics have derided the board as a threat to free speech. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called the Disinformation Governance Board a โ€œmonstrosityโ€ and said he initially thought it was โ€œsatire.โ€ Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called it โ€œOrwellian,โ€ while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed it would be used as a cudgel against political opponents.

Mayorkasย has dismissedย concerns about the operation of the Disinformation Governance Board, insisting its work will not infringe on free speech, civil liberties, or civil rights.

Byย Tom Ozimek

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

Was Texas Storm Manmade?

Another โ€œ1-in-100 yearsโ€ weather event in Kerr County happened next to a Texas designated โ€œWeather Modification Map of Rain-Enhancement Projects in Texasโ€.

The America Party Will Harm Democrats The Most

Elon Musk formed the America Party after an X poll asking his followers if they wanted โ€œindependence from the two-party system!

Democrats Exhibit the Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE)

โ€œThe Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with low ability at a task overestimate their competence, while those with high ability underestimate their competence.

250 Countdown

Those 56 intrepid men who signed put their very lives, honor and fortunes on the line. There was no auto-quill to accommodate their signatures.ย 

How the Senate Parliamentarian Changed the OBBB

An unelected bureaucrat does a important job in the U.S. Senate. Elizabeth MacDonough enforces senate rules on Trumpโ€™s โ€œOne Big Beautiful Billโ€.

Man Killed After Opening Fire at Border Patrol Facility in Texas

27-year-old man armed with a rifle was killed after opening fire outside Border Patrol facility in McAllen, TX, prompting shootout with feds and local police.

Amazon Prime Day Set to Lift US Online Sales by $23.8 Billion

Online spending in the United States is expected to surge by $23.8 billion during Amazonโ€™s expanded Prime Day event from July 8 to July 11.

Nigerian National Pleads Guilty to Defrauding 400 Victims Including Elderly Americans

Nigerian national has pleaded guilty to running a transnational inheritance fraud scheme defrauding many elderly and vulnerable people in US, DOJ) said.

Trump Administration Ends Deportation Protections for 76,000 From Honduras, Nicaragua

Mondayโ€™s decision is the latest in several temporary protected...

Trump to Extend Tariff Deadline to Aug. 1, Keep Rates at 10 Percent During Talks

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump will sign the order to move the deadline to Aug. 1 from its current date of July 9.

DOJ, FBI Find Epstein Committed Suicide, Had No โ€˜Client Listโ€™

Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide and had no โ€œclient list,โ€ according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI.

National Weather Service Fully Staffed During Deadly Texas Flooding: White House

White House press sec. Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the National Weather Service had a full staff on hand to handle the Central Texas flooding.

US Removes Terrorist Designation for Al Qaeda Affiliate in Syria

The State Department has removed from its list of foreign terrorist organizations Al Qaedaโ€™s affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra.
spot_img

Related Articles