House Democrats are putting the finishing touches on a new legislative proposal to fund the Department of Homeland Security that would include technological improvements at critical points of entry as well as the Coast Guard’s new heavy icebreaker, House appropriators said Jan. 30.
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security Chairwoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) said the forthcoming proposal would fund various “smart technologies” that would provide security without physical barriers during a Wednesday meeting of bipartisan congressional conferees to negotiate Homeland Security appropriations on Capitol Hill. She did not provide a timeline for when the proposal would be available to the public.
The proposal will include: new imaging technology at the land ports of entry into the United States to improve vehicle scanning for contraband at the border; new equipment at mail processing facilities to target fentanyl and other opioids shipped via international mail; and new “cutting-edge” technology along the border to improve situational awareness, according to a handout presented to reporters.
It would also include funding to expand Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) air and marine operations along the border and in U.S. waters; an expansion of “risk-based targeting” of passengers and cargo entering the United States; and critical repair projects at ports of entry.
The proposal also adds 1,000 new Customs officers and supports measures to improve CBP’s capacity to handle migrants in temporary custody along the border.
Funding for the Coast Guard’s personnel and air and marine fleets, to include a new heavy icebreaker, will be supported in the legislation.
Defense Daily asked in a media briefing with House Democratic conferees after the meeting whether the new proposal would match the $750 million already approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee for the Coast Guard’s forthcoming Polar Security Cutter, the first of three planned new heavy icebreakers. Roybal-Allard said that the Coast Guard has more recently expressed that “that may not be the figure that they need.”
“We’re going to use whatever the latest estimate is that they give us,” she added. “But my understanding is that that figure is no longer a valid figure.” The Coast Guard did not respond to a request for comment by Defense Daily’s deadline Wednesday.
Coast Guard Acquisition Chief Rear Adm. Michael Haycock told Congress last November that the $750 million is required for the service to meet its current schedule for the initial ship. It is currently slated to go under contract for detail design and construction before the end of fiscal year 2019, and any schedule slippage would affect all three ships, he added (Defense Daily, Nov. 29, 2018).
Roybal-Allard noted that the Coast Guard funding would have to be axed if President Trump insists upon including $5.7 billion for border barriers. Proposed investments for the Transportation Security Authority (TSA) to better detect threats at security checkpoints would also be at risk if wall or barrier funding is included, she added.
House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) said during a media briefing that “everything is on the table” when it comes to funding. She added that as negotiations move forward, Democrats plan to “expand” upon the $1.6 billion the party has already included in previous appropriations bills for border security-related programs, noting, “We will do so in a smart and effective way.”
However, the current draft proposal does not include any funding for construction of the border wall, Roybal-Allard said. President Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that the bipartisan committee is “Wasting their time” if a border wall or barrier is not discussed.
Conferees sounded a hopeful note on Wednesday that they would be able to reach a deal before the short-term continuing resolution ends Feb. 15.
“We are cautiously optimistic that we can get a good bipartisan proposal,” Lowey said.
The senators selected to the Homeland Security Appropriations conference include: Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Richard Shelby (R-Ala.); SAC Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.); Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairwoman Shelly Moore-Capito (R-W. Va.); Ranking Member Jon Tester (D-Mont.); SAC-Defense Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.); and Senate Homeland Security Committee Members John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).
The Democratic House members in the conference include Lowey and Roybal-Allard, as well as Reps. David Price (N.C.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Henry Cuellar (Texas) and Pete Aguilar (Calif.). The Republicans selected to the conference include House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Kay Granger (Texas), as well as Reps. Chuck Fleischmann (Tenn.), Tom Graves (Ga.) and Steven Palazzo (Miss.).
Defense Daily reporter Calvin Biesecker contributed to this report.