Funding The Department of Homeland Security For FY 2015 (H.R. 240)

What is H.R. 240?

(Updated April 3, 2017)

This bill was enacted on March 4, 2015

This bill would fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2015. Currently (January 2014), funding for DHS will end in September 2015. 

H.R. 240 would authorize a $400 million increase from the previous DHS budget. Border security, anti-terrorism programs, cybersecurity, and natural disaster preparations and responses are all prioritized in this bill.

Agencies who receive their funding from this appropriations bill are Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

This bill has been discussed by Congressional Republicans as a mechanism by which to restrain DHS from implementing President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. They are still undecided about whether to attach an amendment to this bill preventing the use of funds for that implementation, or pass a stand-alone bill that in essence does the same thing.

UPDATE (3/2/2015):

"The House voted late Friday to stave off a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security for another week, narrowly averting a funding lapse for the agency that has become the battleground over President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

The vote was 357-60. The Senate approved the stopgap measure earlier Friday evening and it was signed by Obama minutes before the midnight deadline when the department’s funding was to expire.

The 11th-hour move came after dozens of House Republicans dealt a humiliating defeat to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other GOP leaders. Conservatives teamed up with Democrats to shoot down a Boehner-backed measure that would have funded DHS for three weeks."

Argument in favor

This is a relatively modest increase in the DHS budget, and would allow the department to carry out its mission of securing U.S. borders and protecting the American people from foreign threats.

Argument opposed

This bill cuts too much in some areas, while spending too much on agencies that would have their budgets reduced under the President’s budget request. Plus, these funds are being used to threaten the President's executive action on immigration.

Impact

Taxpayers, CBP, ICE, TSA, Coast Guard, Secret Service, FEMA, and DHS.

Cost of H.R. 240

According to the House Appropriations Committee, this bill provides $39.7 billion in funding for DHS. This is an increase of $400 million from the previous fiscal year. The TSA, the Coast Guard, and DHS’ Science and Technology division all will receive smaller budgets than the previous year.

Additional Info

In-Depth:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) receives $10.7 billion in funding, which is an increase of $118.7 million from the previous year. It will now have its largest operational force in the agency’s history, with over 21,000 Border Patrol agents and nearly 24,000 CBP officers. Funding for a biometric exit mobile application would be included, and coverage of the air, land, and sea approaches to the U.S. border will be protected by CBP maintaining at least 95,000 operational flight hours.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) receives $5.96 billion, an increase of $689.4 million from the previous year. Of this total, $3.4 billion goes to ICE detention programs that can now sustain 34,000 detention beds, and will increase the number of family detention facilities by 3,732 beds. $1.9 billion goes to domestic and international investigations into human trafficking, child exploitation, cyber-crime, and drug smuggling. This will also expand ICE’s ability to vet travel visas. The bill fully funds E-Verify, which is a program that helps companies check if their employees can legally work in the U.S.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will obtain $4.8 billion in funding, which is a decrease of more than $94 million from the prior year. Funding for passenger security, cargo inspections, intelligence capabilities, canine detection teams, and Federal Flight Deck Officers are prioritized. This bill reclaims over $202 million in unobligated funds from the TSA. Full-time security screening personnel is capped at 45,000 which is a reduction, but emphasizes the TSA’s strategy shift to risk-based screening.

Cybersecurity operations in the National Programs and Protection Directorate will receive $753 million. This funding goes toward improvements for the Federal Security Network and Network Security Deployment programs to fight cyber-attacks and espionage by foreign governments.

The Coast Guard receives $10 billion in funding, which is a decrease of $159 million from the prior year but is nearly $440 million above the President’s budget request. This funding maintains military pay levels for the Coast Guard. Funding increases for specific programs include cutter and aircraft operations, maintenance; acquiring a fifth National Security Cutter; two Fast Response Cutter patrol boats; an additional C-130 and another H-60 helicopter; and upgrading family housing.

Funding for the Secret Service will be $1.7 billion, an increase of $80 million from the previous year. This will help begin preparations for candidate protection during the 2016 presidential election, and addressing security failures at the White House. Funding for cybersecurity investigations, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will continue.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will have its stated requirement of $7 billion for disaster relief fully funded. $2.5 billion will be allotted for first-responder grants. with $1.5 billion for state and local grants, $680 million for Assistance to Firefighter Grants, and $350 million for Emergency Management Performance Grants.

$1.1 billion will be provided for research and development in Science and Technology, $116 million less than the previous year. This will enable DHS to sustain high-priority research, which includes $300 million for the construction of the National Bio- and Agro- Defense Facility (NBAF).

DHS will be required to submit comprehensive spending plans to Congress for the purpose of increasing transparency and congressional oversight over taxpayer dollars. It would be directed to submit reports detailing acquisition efforts throughout DHS.

Media:

House Appropriations Committee Summary

The Hill

National Journal

Fox News

(Photo Credit: Flickr user Elvert Barnes)