In the wake of the Pulse nightclub attack, Rep. John Mica is asking why the federal government downgraded the terror risk in Orlando two years ago.

  • Mica wants to know if more could have been done to protect Orlando
  • Homeland Security downgraded Orlando's terror risk 2 years ago
  • Central Florida law enforcement in DC to testify at Mica's hearing

The decision stripped hundreds of thousands of dollars from Central Florida law enforcement for counter-terrorism measures.

"We have now been probed, which makes us more of a target,” said Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings at a congressional hearing Friday. He was joined by Orlando Police Chief John Mina.

Mica called the hearing on the Urban Area Security Grant, which the Department of Homeland Security uses to disburse funds to local governments across the country for counter-terrorism measures.  

Mica says for the third straight year, Orlando is set to not receive federal terrorism funding because Central Florida's terror risk level is not high enough. It's something he says that needs to be corrected immediately.

A lack of funding has prevented the expansion of a video surveillance program in Orlando's tourist corridor, as well as forced a reduction in the number of intelligence analysts at a center made up of Central Florida law enforcement agencies, Demings said.

"One credible attack in Central Florida to a theme park will be disastrous for our economy,” Demings said.

Mica said while Orlando was dropped from the program, other places in the country were not using the money properly.

"We found expenditures that were not justified in this program. Michigan bought 13 snow cone machines,” Mica said.

But Mina explained past terrorism funding has been money well spent in Orlando.

"The funding has provided us with much needed training for our response and much needed equipment," he said. "But training skills perish, equipment needs to be replaced.”

“So just looking at the Pulse incident, there's so much more equipment that I would have liked. There's thermal imaging to see where the suspect was behind those walls,” Mina said.

Orlando was left off the list for the grant in 2015 and 2016 because of changes in how funds are distributed based on rankings.

Brian Kamoie, an official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the rankings are determined by an area's relative risk of a terrorist threat based on past plots.

In 2015, Orlando was No. 32 on the list. The 28 highest-ranked metro areas got funds. In 2016, Orlando was No. 34.

Mica said he wants another look at how funds are allocated. He said the Pulse attack shows Orlando was susceptible.

"We missed the mark dramatically in Orlando… they're hitting soft targets,” Mica said.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.