U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) today announced that Las Vegas has been awarded a $5 million grant, an increase of $2.13 million from last year, through the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) program within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that helps Las Vegas and other cities protect themselves against terror attacks. Heller has worked extensively to see that Las Vegas has adequate resources from this program to protect itself from attacks, and he secured a commitment from DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen that she will work with him on this issue.

Heller has repeatedly urged DHS to reconfigure its UASI grant program, which was established to ensure the safety of high-risk urban areas, and reassess the “Risk Profile” for the Las Vegas area to ensure it has the adequate resources to preempt and protect against terror attacks, which have the potential to shatter Southern Nevada’s tourism economy. Most recently, Heller led a letter sent to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen that made the case as to why the UASI grant program formula should be reconfigured.

“I have made it one of my top priorities to ensure that Las Vegas has the resources that it needs to protect its residents, visitors, and its tourism economy, and that’s why I am pleased to announce that Las Vegas will receive $5 million through the Urban Area Security Initiative program. This is nearly double the amount in funding that Las Vegas received last year,” said Heller. “For years, I have pushed the Department of Homeland Security to reconfigure its formula so that Las Vegas receives adequate funding to preempt and protect against threats. I’m pleased that Nevada’s needs were recognized, and I will continue to work to ensure that Las Vegas continues to receive the critical resources necessary to keep our community safe.”

The president recently signed legislation, which Heller supported, that provides a boost in funding for the UASI  program.

Heller’s previous work to increase UASI funding for Las Vegas:

• Senator Heller has repeatedly worked to help deliver UASI funding for Las Vegas, just this fall DHS notified Heller that for 2017 the city was awarded $2.8 million.
• However, the Senator has been asking DHS to reconfigure its formula to direct more federal funds under the UASI program to Las Vegas as it is a major tourism city, which FEMA doesn’t currently account for in its risk profile formula. Las Vegas saw nearly 43 million visitors last year. 
• Heller wrote a letter to former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson on the issue in January 2016.
• In June 2017 Heller sent a letter to then DHS Secretary John Kelly.
• Shortly after the Oct. 1 shooting, Heller sent a letter to Acting Secretary Elaine Duke following the Las Vegas tragedy expressing once again his strong concerns with the formula.
• Heller also spoke with the President about how critical the funding is, and the need to change the formula while onboard AF1 when the President visited Las Vegas after the tragedy.