Homeland Security Grant Program: An Analysis of the Determinants of Federal Homeland Security Funding to States

Ever since the devastating attacks of 9/11, America has made terrorism prevention a top priority, and the Department of Homeland Security has transferred billions of dollars to states in Domestic Preparedness and Anti-Terrorism programs. However, there has been much debate on how these funds are allocated, many speculating that some states receive more funding than others as “pork.” Basing an analysis of funding on a variety of determinants, it can be concluded that this speculation might very well be the case. An analysis of allocation of federal Homeland Security funds to states was conducted, hypothesizing the following variables were determinants of funding: population, gross domestic product (GDP), level of threat, if the political party of the state’s elected Governor matches that of the sitting President, whether the state’s Electoral College Representatives voted for the winning President, whether the state Homeland Security Office is paired with the Division of Emergency Management (or Public Safety), and if the state has representatives on an Appropriations Subcommittee for Homeland Security. The results conclude that population, GDP, being paired with Emergency Management, a state’s Electoral College Representatives voting for the winning president, and a state having Representatives on a Subcommittee of Appropriations on Homeland Security influence federal funding. Threat, however, has no influence on funding allocation, a finding that can raise a lot of questions