DHSEM Issues Notfication on Federal Grant Funding Impacts to Emergency Management Agencies
Loss of Emergency Management Performance Grant Program likely to impact state and county staffing and programs.
Centennial, Colo. – The Colorado Division of Homeland Security Emergency Management (DHSEM) issued notices to staff and external stakeholders regarding the potential loss of funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program and what that means for our agencies and the work we do together.
The FEMA EMPG award is approximately $6M and supports 24 DHSEM FTE staff positions and 55 county emergency management programs through a 50% cost share.
DHSEM Division Director Kevin Klein notified the division’s external stakeholders and EMPG subrecipient grantees about the impacts. His email states,
“Given the current state of affairs, we may not receive the EMPG grants we’ve relied on to support local emergency management programs. The extreme uncertainty over federal funding caused us to significantly change our local EMPG awards to protect our future options… Even though the FEMA FY25 EMPG award has not been made, DHSEM can provide funding for EMPG grants to local governments through September 2025 due to DHSEM cost savings. DHSEM will provide a modified local EMPG grant award for the 2025 county fiscal year. The grant award will run from January 1 to September 30, 2025. After that, there will be no additional EMPG funding for local jurisdictions unless a new federal grant is awarded.
We understand that this situation is very difficult for all of our partners. We continue to work with the Governor’s Office, the Attorney General, Colorado’s Congressional Delegation, and a variety of professional organizations to restore funding to our critical public safety operations. We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide further updates as soon as they become available.
Klein also provided DHSEM staff updates on the status of EMPG funding through an email and a town hall on Monday. “We are currently exploring every possible option to mitigate the impact of the potential loss of federal funding. This includes identifying alternative funding sources, reprioritizing resources, and advocating for continued support where possible....We don’t have all the answers yet, but I want to remain transparent with you. We promise to keep you informed every step of the way. We will share updates as soon as we have them and provide support to those who may be affected….Thank you for your continued dedication during this challenging time. Your service makes a real difference, and we are deeply grateful for your work,” Klein stated.
The division will continue to share updated information with both staff and external stakeholders through town halls and written notifications as verified information is received.
Last month BRIC grant recipients received notice of the program’s cancellation.
Background Information on Federal Grant Funding
Trump administration froze our FY21 through FY24 grant funding on January 27, 2025. The freeze impacted the following grant programs:
- Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG)
- Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) - SHSGP and UASI
- Non-Profit Security Grant Program (NSGP)
- Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant (TVTP)
- Homeland Security, State, and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP)
- Emergency Operations Center Grant Program (EOCGP)
- Hazard Mitigation Programs
- The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)
We aggressively pursued litigation to get the funding we were awarded. On January 28, 2025, Colorado and twenty-one other states filed a lawsuit against President Trump and the U.S. Treasury Department. The suit sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt the administration's freeze on federal aid, arguing it was unconstitutional and unlawful. On January 31, 2025, Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. granted the TRO, effectively blocking the Trump administration's federal aid freeze. The court found that the states demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits and that immediate relief was necessary to prevent irreparable harm. We were granted our Motion to Enforce the Preliminary Injunction and the funds were released. The appeal has been dismissed. (Full details are online at https://www.courtlistenhttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69585994/state-of-new-york-v-trump/er.com/docket/69585994/state-of-new-york-v-trump/ )
In addition, separate lawsuits were filed on May 12 and 13 concerning the new terms and conditions of federal awards. Colorado signed on to both lawsuits. (Full details are at https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70251276/state-of-illinois-v-federal-emergency-management-agency/ and https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70251998/state-of-california-v-united-states-department-of-transportation/. )
For FY25, Congress passed a continuing resolution in February 2025, which included appropriations for the FY25 preparedness grants at FY24 funding levels and authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to issue the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). At this time, FEMA has not yet released any NOFOs for FY25, and provided no indication that they intend to provide the FY25 funding Congress authorized.
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