The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday sent Congress a $41.2 billion request for discretionary spending in FY ’16, 4 percent more than the $39.7 billion Congress is prepared to fund in FY’15 if it is able to get beyond the current continuing resolution fueling the department and pass an appropriations bill acceptable to the Obama administration, which has threatened a veto if it contains measures to block immigration reform actions the president announced last November.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said that before Congress acts on the FY ’16 request it needs to “fully fund DHS for the rest of this fiscal year, as the current continuing resolution is disruptive, creates uncertainty, and impedes efficient resource planning and execution.”
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement that President Barack Obama’s overall budget request for the federal government seeks to increase funds for DHS without identifying ways to pay for it.
“I am deeply disappointed the president has decided to play numbers games rather than propose a realistic budget for DHS, particularly at a time when we face urgent terrorist threats to the U.S. homeland,” McCaul said.
The department is seeking $1 billion for Coast Guard acquisition projects, $200 million less than Congress is recommending in FY ’15. The request includes $533.9 million for Coast Guard vessels, nearly $270 million less than requested a year ago when production funds for the eighth and final high-endurance National Security Cutter (NSC) were sought.
The FY ’16 budget calls for $340 million for six Fast Response Cutters (FRC), which would be built under the second phase of the program that requires a recompetition. Bollinger Shipyards, the current FRC contractor, is expected to eventually be under contract for 32 of the vessels if Congress appropriates funds in FY ’15 for the last two short-endurance cutters to be constructed in phase one of the program.
Bollinger is currently under contract for 30 FRCs and has delivered 12 of the 154-foot vessels to the Coast Guard. The company has received about $1.7 billion for the FRCs under contract and is expected to receive $110 million in option money for the final two vessels in phase one.
A Request for Proposals for the second phase of the FRC competition is expected to be released this year with the production award slated for FY ’16, a Coast Guard spokesman told Defense Daily. The Coast Guard’s requirement is for 58 FRCs so the second phase of the program would likely see 26 of the vessels built.
The Coast Guard’s request also includes $18.5 million to allow review and analysis of the current preliminary and contract design (PC&D) contracts for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC), which will be the service’s next major procurement. The service wants 25 OPCs to replace its current fleet of medium-endurance cutters.
Bollinger, General Dynamics [GD] and Eastern Shipbuilding Group each have PC&D contracts for the OPC, which is potentially worth close to $11 billion through construction. The Coast Guard plans to select one contractor for construction. Affordability has been the key concern moving forward with the OPC.
The Coast Guard expects to complete the first phase of the PC&D effort in FY ’16 and the request includes a “general provision permitting a transfer to the OPC project if the program is ready to award the next phase of vessel acquisition in FY 2016,” according to DHS budget documents.
The NSC program, which is under contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII], would get $91.4 million under the request to for a dry-dock availability and post delivery activities for the last four vessels of the eight-ship buy. The company has delivered four of the vessels and has a production contract for the seventh and a long-lead material contract for the final ship.
While the Coast Guard’s overall request for vessels would plummet in FY ’16, the service is seeking $200 million for its aircraft fleet, $132 million more than it requested in FY ’15. Most of the funds, $102 million versus $15 million requested a year ago, would go toward converting C-27 aircraft the Air Force is transferring to the Coast Guard to the HC-27J configuration. The C-27Js will fill the maritime patrol aircraft gap left open by the service’s decision to halt production of the Airbus Group HC-144A aircraft at 18 planes, which is half the requirement.
The Coast Guard’s HC-130J long-range maritime patrol aircraft would receive $55 million in FY ’16 versus $8 million in FY ’15, with the funds going to purchase initial spares to activate the second operational HC-130J unit. Funds include accepting missionized HC-130J aircraft seven and eight. Lockheed Martin [LMT] builds the C-130.
Overall, the Coast Guard is seeking $8.1 billion in discretionary spending in FY ’16.
For cyber security, DHS is seeking about 7 percent more for various cyber efforts within the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) than it did in FY ’15, $818.3 million versus $764.4 million. The largest spike would be for the National Security Deployment project line, which includes the EINSTEIN intrusion detection, information sharing, and intrusion prevention hardware and software to protect the federal government from cyber attacks.
The National Security Deployment effort is seeking $479.8 million in FY ’16 versus $377.7 million requested in FY ’15, to include sustainment and expansion of the EINSTEIN3 Accelerated (E3A) program, which will help the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team in DHS “identify, triage and analyze cyber activity, and rapidly develop and disseminate mitigation and risk mitigation strategies.”
The expansion of the program will enable EINSTEIN capabilities to provide more active defenses to federal networks.
The Continuous Diagnostics & Mitigation cyber acquisition being managed within NPPD would receive $102.7 million in FY ’16 versus $142.6 million requested in FY ’15. The program is aimed at helping federal agencies identify priority network security issues.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is seeking $11.6 billion in discretionary spending for FY ’16 versus a request of $10.9 billion in FY ’15 and would include $373.5 million for the border security, fencing an information technology program along the northern and southern borders, $11 million more than requested in FY ’15.
The budget request for the border security efforts include increases for the re-use of Defense Department equipment, increased Mobile Surveillance Capability (MSC) and Mobile Surveillance deployments to the southwest border. The Integrated Fixed Tower program, which will be installed by Israel’s Elbit Systems [ESLT], would receive $11.1 million in FY ’16. The General Dynamics-built Remote Video Surveillance System would get $22 million, the Northern Border RVSS would get $8.4 million, the MSC $24.4 million, and the Tethered Aerostat Radar System effort, which provides aerial surveillance on the southern border, $35.5 million.
Also within CBP the Office of Air and Marine would see a plus up versus the FY ’15 request, $747.4 million versus $708.7 million, with the operations and maintenance account getting the bulk of the additional funds, $395.2 million in FY ’16. The procurement account would decrease in the request to $46 million in FY ’16 versus $53 million requested in FY ’15.
Air and Marine’s budget request includes funds for two additional Sierra Nevada Corp.-modified King Air KC-350 special mission aircraft and 15 additional crews for unmanned aircraft systems.
CBP’s Non-Intrusive Inspection program, which consists of X-ray screening systems for cargo and containers at land, air and seaport of entry would see a healthy gain in FY ’16 with $209.3 million being requested versus $123.7 million in FY ’15.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is requesting $4.8 billion in discretionary funds in FY ’16 versus $4.2 billion in FY ’15. The request includes $97.3 million for checkpoint support, about a $6.2 million reduction from the FY ’15 request, and $83.4 million for procurement and installation of explosive detection systems (EDS) used to screen checked baggage, level with the FY ’15 request. On top of the discretionary EDS funds are $250 million from a mandatory Aviation Security Capital Fund that helps go to the purchase and installation of EDS systems. TSA plans to purchase 53 medium-speed EDS in FY ’16. These systems are currently built by France’s Safran Group and L-3 Communications [LLL].
The checkpoint support request includes $33.2 million for technology purchase, testing and installation, $37.7 million for emerging technology and engineering initiatives, and $26.4 million for program operations and management.
The agency is requesting $280.5 million for screening technology maintenance.
Elsewhere in DHS, the department is seeking $779 million for its Science and Technology Directorate, more than $300 million less than the $1.1 billion requested in FY ’15 due to a hefty cut in laboratory facilities funding. Spending for the research, development and innovation account would remain relatively level at $435 million.
The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office is seeking $357.3 million in FY ’16 versus $304.4 million in FY ’15, with the increases mainly for additional radiological and nuclear detection equipment and expanding the Securing the Cities radiological and nuclear detection program to four urban regions and selection of a fifth region.