The president’s $34.6 billion proposed budget for the Department of Homeland Security would slash $1 billion in traditional first-responder grant programs in favor of immigration reform, border security and Coast Guard operations.

In fact, the president proposed cutting $177 million from exercise and training funds, despite the fact that his own advisory council recommended improving exercising and training after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Strengthening homeland security education, exercises and training programs was one of the recommendations outlined in the White House’s Feb. 23 report on the botched federal response to Hurricane Katrina (See related story, CQ Homeland Security, Feb. 23, 2006).

“The administration seems to be turning its back on the response portion of homeland security,” said Barry Kasinitz, director of government affairs for the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). “In the past they have indicated support for some of these broader terrorism specific initiatives,” Kasinitz said, adding that the cuts are extremely disappointing.

First-responder funding for preparedness and response programs for law enforcement, firefighter and emergency response agencies would see a 33.2 percent decrease from what Congress appropriated in fiscal 2007. This figure includes the Firefighter Assistance grants, which the administration would fund at $300 million, instead of the $662 million Congress appropriated this year. Each year the administration proposes cuts to the firefighter grant program and Congress restores funding in its appropriations.

But DHS officials argue there really hasn’t been a cut in first-responder funds. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff points to $1 billion authorized for interoperability grants to be co-administered by DHS and the Commerce Department as a result of spectrum sales. That funding must be spent on programs and projects in the 700 MHz bandwidth.

“We have made tremendous progress in the past year to boost preparedness and integrate the lessons of hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” Chertoff said.

Andy Mitchell, director of operations at the office of Grants and Training, said the amount of funds cut from some of the traditional first-responder programs was used for interoperability anyway. So the $1 billion in Public Safety Interoperability grants will offset those cuts.

But some caution that cutting funds in the future could go in the face of any progress made up to now.

“It’s a comprehensive approach,” said Gene Voegtlin, legislative counsel at the International Association of Chiefs of Police. “You can’t cut one aspect and expect the others to continue to work at the same level.”

Lawmakers are not pleased with the cuts to first-responder programs either.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., said the proposed budget shows the president is not realistic about what it takes to protect Americans from terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

“There has been no evidence to the contrary and plenty of evidence to support the fact that our first-responders and preventers need better training, equipment, and planning resources,” said Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

“Replacing the grant funding for minimum preparedness capabilities with funding targeted at achieving interoperable communications is not adequate,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in an e-mail to Congressional Quarterly. “The end result of just breaking even on the total amount of grants to first-responders should not be the standard that we apply.”

Collins, the ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said achieving interoperability cannot be done at the expense of developing other preparedness capabilities.

“When 9/11 struck, it was the local firefighters, police, and EMTs who were on the frontlines and risked their lives for their nation,” Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in an e-mail to Congressional Quarterly. “ Yet, year after year, the President has taken an ax to the resources that they need to protect us.”

House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman David E. Price, D-N.C., said he too was disappointed with the proposed cuts to first-responder programs. This, combined with Justice Department cuts, is “depriving our communities of the critical support they need to operate in the post-9/11 world,” he said.

Rep. Peter T. King, R-N.Y., said he is pleased with the overall increase for the department, but he has serious concerns about the cuts to first-responder programs. “These brave men and women are on the front lines in our homeland security efforts, and we need to be certain they have the resources they need,” King, the Homeland Security panel’s ranking member, said in an e-mail to Congressional Quarterly. “I plan to examine this issue very closely and work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure our first-responders have the necessary funding to keep our homeland secure.”

Eileen Sullivan can be reached at esullivan@cq.com.