House of Representatives increases DHS's budget by 7 percent
The bill doubles the funding for airports to purchase explosives detection systems, bringing it to $1.1 billion; the report accompanying the bill expresses concerns that many funds appropriated in earlier years have yet to be drawn down
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill giving DHS $44 billion, a 7 percent increase in its funding, the Washington Post’s Andrew Taylor reports. “The House homeland security measure would fund more than 20,000 border patrol agents, about double the number employed before the 2001 terrorist attacks. It also provides $10 billion for the Coast Guard, including $242 million in funding for operations in the Persian Gulf and against pirates off the coast of Somalia.”
The bill, H.R. 2892, also doubles the funding for airports to purchase explosives detection systems, bringing it to $1.1 billion, according to the report.
The House report on the bill (House Report 111-157) issued by the Appropriations Committee before the House vote highlighted various concerns, such as that many funds appropriated in earlier years have yet to be drawn down. Given that fact, “TSA and FEMA are also meeting with transit agencies to spur faster draw-down of previously appropriated funds. They are to report back to the Committee by August 2009 on their findings,” says the report.
It notes further:
The Committee is pleased to note that, in general, the budget request for 2010 did not continue the disingenuous practice of leaving funding voids where the Administration knows Congress has strong interests, such as with State and local grants. In doing so, the Department made some hard decisions about investments that cannot move forward at this time because of technical problems, such as advanced spectroscopic portal monitors. Or it took a more pragmatic approach to solving complex problems, for example by requesting no additional funding for implementation of a biometric exit program under US-VISIT, at least until technical, regulatory and diplomatic issues can be resolved.
Additionally, the report cites problems with how well the U.S. Coast Guard has spent funds. Therefore, “this year’s budget request includes several initiatives to improve internal oversight, including $20,000,000 to modernize the Coast Guard’s financial management structure.”
The bill now goes to the Senate.
