Securing the Cities Improvement Act
Key claim: The Securing the Cities Improvement Act requires DHS’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office to establish and track performance metrics for the Securing the Cities program, designate partner jurisdictions based on preparedness capacity and nuclear/radiological threat rather than only FEMA high-risk urban area status, and report to Congress within two years.
Abstract
(HR1374 · 119th Congress) Securing the Cities Improvement Act This bill makes changes to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office’s (CWMD’s) Securing the Cities program, which seeks to detect nuclear or radiological materials to prevent terrorist attacks and other events posing a risk to cities in the United States. Specifically, the bill requires the CWMD to establish performance metrics and milestones for the program and to track performance against them. Also, under current law, in carrying out the Securing the Cities program, the CWMD may only partner with cities that are high-risk urban areas , which are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency under a different program. Instead, the bill requires the CWMD to designate the jurisdictions it may partner with for the program, and the designations must be based on the capability and capacity of the jurisdiction relating to preparedness and response, as well as the relative threat to, vulnerability of, and consequences for, such jurisdiction regarding terrorist attacks and other high-consequence events utilizing nuclear or radiological materials. Additionally, within two years of enactment of the bill, the CWMD must submit a report to Congress regarding participation in the Securing the Cities program, the establishment of metrics and milestones, performance against such metrics and milestones, and plans for any changes to the program. Latest action (2025-03-11): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Why this matters
The Securing the Cities program is DHS’s primary vehicle for equipping and training state and local partners to detect nuclear and radiological threats in high-density urban areas, and its jurisdiction-selection criteria determine which cities receive federal detection capacity. Shifting the designation basis away from FEMA’s high-risk urban area list toward threat- and capacity-based criteria could redirect resources to different metropolitan areas, while formal performance metrics and biennial congressional reporting increase fiscal accountability for a program that has historically lacked clear output measures.