Discretionary Spending
Function 300 - Natural Resources and Environment
Limit the Number of Cities Receiving Urban Areas Security Initiative Grants
CBO periodically issues a compendium of policy options (called Options for Reducing the Deficit) covering a broad range of issues, as well as separate reports that include options for changing federal tax and spending policies in particular areas. This option appears in one of those publications. The options are derived from many sources and reflect a range of possibilities. For each option, CBO presents an estimate of its effects on the budget but makes no recommendations. Inclusion or exclusion of any particular option does not imply an endorsement or rejection by CBO.
This option would limit the cities receiving Urban Areas Security Initiative grants to the 10 cities at highest risk, as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. Cities use the grants for efforts to prevent terrorism and recover from it. Provided that federal appropriations were reduced accordingly, the option would save $1.2 billion through 2028, CBO estimates. Those savings are uncertain and depend on various factors, including the risk of terrorism in cities across the country.