FEMA Is Holding Up $2.4 Billion in Grants to Fight Terrorism, States Say

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has disbursed billions of dollars in grants to state and local governments to help with security and prevent terrorism.

This funding has helped Everett, Wash., bolster its water and wastewater plants’ cybersecurity infrastructure. It paid for automated license plate readers in New Jersey and the salaries of state employees who, according to court documents, “provide cybersecurity training, plan risk mitigation efforts and combat domestic violent extremism.”

And in New York, the grants have paid for National Guard members to patrol the subway, an increased law enforcement presence at the northern border, and 12 F.B.I.-certified bomb squads across the state.

But the flow of funds is now being imperiled by FEMA officials, who are nearly two months behind in posting the latest application guidelines for the grants.

The new application is expected to reflect additional requirements for cities and states to demonstrate compliance with President Trump’s priorities on immigration enforcement and dismantling diversity programs. But no one has seen the application, leaving longtime funding recipients in limbo and feeling increasingly anxious.

In a letter last month to Kristi Noem, President Trump’shomeland security secretary, a coalition of associations that represent local and state officials wrote that the delay hurts “response and recovery capabilities across the country, and puts critical infrastructure at risk.”