The House Appropriations Committee on Monday released a proposed $50.7 billion funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security that eliminates funding for new Border Patrol agents and border barriers while recommending increases in other areas including border security technology, cyber security, Coast Guard acquisition, and disaster relief.
The plus up for border security technology overall is $531.5 million above the request, and includes $190 million for non-intrusive imaging (NII) technology, $190 million for border security technology, $86 million for three Multirole Enforcement Aircraft (MEA), $45 million for innovative technology, and $20 million for port of entry technology, according to a summary of the bill. The overall recommendation by the committee for border security technology is $687.5 million, which includes $642.5 million in the procurement account and $45 million for operations and support.
The summary doesn’t provide line item detail but the additional funding for NII equipment comes on top of around $600 million that Congress previously appropriated for Customs and Border Protection to significantly expand scanning of cargo and vehicles entering the U.S. at ports of entry. The agency plans to purchase the NII equipment over the next few years.
Sierra Nevada Corp. builds the MEAs for CBP.
The HAC HS would also rescind nearly $1.4 billion from CBP’s FY ’20 procurement account due to President Trump’s reprogramming of Defense Department funding for the border wall.
The HAC Homeland Security Subcommittee will markup its version of the fiscal year 2021 DHS spending bill Tuesday morning. The Trump administration is requesting about $49.7 billion for DHS.
The Trump administration is requesting nearly $2.3 billion in CBP’s procurement account, of which $2 billion is toward continued installation of a wall along portions of the southern border.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also fares well in the proposed HAC HS budget, receiving nearly $2.3 billion, $497 million more than requested. Increases above the request include $240.9 million to reverse proposed programmatic reductions and to sustain prior year investments, $51.5 million for cybersecurity mission system engineering, $32.6 million for cyber defense education and training, $25.1 million for Next Generation Network Priority Services, $19.4 million for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, $18 million for supply chain risk management, $11.6 million to establish a Joint Cyber Center for National Cyber Defense, $10 million for vulnerability management infrastructure, $8.1 million for cyber technical assistance to state, local, tribal and territorial governments, and $6 million for hunt and incident response teams.
The committee would provide nearly $2.2 billion for Coast Guard acquisition programs, more than $500 million above the administration’s request and in line with the service’s needs for at least $2 billion in annual procurement funding to maintain the pace of its modernization efforts.
The committee’s recommendation includes $555 million for a second Polar Security Cutter, which is being built by VT Halter Marine, and $546 million for the third and fourth Offshore Patrol Cutters, which are under contract to Eastern Shipbuilding Group. Both funding proposals match the request.
The HAC HS also provides $260 million for four Fast Response Cutters (FRC), which are built by Bollinger Shipyards. The administration didn’t request FRC funds in FY ’21.
The Coast Guard’s budget would also provide $120 million for one HC-130J maritime patrol aircraft, and $312.9 million for shore facilities and aids to navigation, which includes $166.2 million more than requested for shore facilities and housing.
The operations and support account is funded at nearly $8.6 billion by the committee, $182.5 million more than requested, including an additional $78 million for operational and asset readiness such as cyber, satellite and other communications upgrades, and $26.9 million for C5I systems.
The committee also recommends increasing funding for new checkpoint carry-on baggage screening technology being acquired by the Transportation Security Administration. The spending bill would provide $75 million for the computed tomography (CT) systems, $46.1 million more than requested.
Smiths Detection is currently providing CT systems to TSA and the agency is planning a new round of competition for additional systems.
The bill would also provide $55 million for Credential Authentication Technology (CAT) and standoff detection technology. IDEMIA is providing CAT systems to TSA.
The committee also recommends $755.3 million for the DHS Science and Technology organization, $111.6 million more than requested with part of the increase for University Centers of Excellence.
The bill provides $395.3 million for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, $18.1 million more than requested.
“With the nation facing threats ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to terrorism and targeted violent extremism, our bill provides DHS with the funding it needs to protect American communities, including vital investments in disaster preparedness, secure seaports and borders, safety for air travelers, and cyber security,” Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the HAC HS, said in a statement. “Our bill fights for a more humane immigration approach, including the more restricted use of civil detention, expanded alternatives to detention, and the phase-out of family detention this year. We also include new measures to keep the administration accountable and transparent, including a prohibition on diverting any new money for President Trump’s racist border wall boondoggle.”