The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that narrowing the list of cities eligible for Urban Areas Security Initiative grants is part of larger budget cuts that eliminated more than $780 million in grant money from the last federal budget. New York, Washington and 29 other high-threat urban areas will still receive grants this year.

Texas hit hardest

Texas took the largest hit, with Austin, El Paso and San Antonio being dropped after the cities received a combined $14.5 million in funding last year. DHS officials said Houston - which remains on the department's list of "Tier 1" cities considered at highest risk - would not be among Texas cities that are losing money, and its funding would stay steady at $41.5 million a year.

Ten states were left with no cities receiving funds after New Orleans, Honolulu and Indianapolis were cut.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose city will continue to receive around the same $151.5 million as years past, praised the decision to prioritize the most high-risk cities instead of thinly spreading the money around.

Texas officials were not as pleased.

"Any significant cuts to homeland security funding degrades our ability and capability to protect, respond and recover from terror attacks or natural disasters," said Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the state's top law enforcement agency.

A worrisome time

In El Paso, just across the border from bloody Ciduad Juarez, Mexico, city officials have used about $5 million in grant funds annually to purchase equipment such as chemical detecting equipment, thermal imaging cameras and emergency response vehicles.

Mayor John Cook said he hopes there will be more money to include El Paso again next year.

The grant program was launched in 2003 in response to security threats in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Initially the money was available only to New York City, Washington, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston. But since 2008 more than 60 cities have been awarded the risk-based grants.

The cuts come at a worrisome time for law enforcement. After the killing of bin Laden, U.S. authorities have recovered evidence from his compound in Pakistan that the terror leader was encouraging his followers to target smaller U.S. cities in future attacks.