DHS 2011 budget increased 3 percent, to $43.6 billion

peer underneath a passenger’s clothes, would have detected the explosive powders Abdulmutallab smuggled through security on 25 December.

Harwood notes that explosives detection systems (EDS), which scan baggage for explosives, and explosives trace detection (ETD) technology also rank high on the TSA’s list inside airports because of the Christmas Day plot. DHS wants to spend $374 million on EDS machines and $60 million to purchase 800 portable ETD devices.

An additional $71 million requested would fund 275 more explosive-sniffing K-9 teams at airline check points. The department also wants to increase the number of TSA behavior detection officers by 350 at a price tag of $20.2 million.

As part of the $125 million requested to promote international aviation security, the budget also requests $85 million to increase the amount of federal air marshals on international flights like the one Abdulmutallab boarded on Christmas Day. An additional $40 million would go to strengthen other international programs by increasing the number of personnel “strategically placed in high risk areas such as the Middle East and Africa,” according to DHS budget document.

The budget request was delivered to Congress Monday along with the first ever first ever Quadrennial Homeland Security Review. The document, modeled off of the Quadrennial Defense Review, is a strategic review that will guide DHS’ policies, programs, and missions over the next four years (see analysis of the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review in tomorrow’s HSNW).

According to the Washington Post, which obtained a copy of the document, it “shows the government’s approach to homeland security continues to evolve away from a singular focus on terrorism.” More so than the Bush administration, the Obama administration’s idea of homeland security takes into fuller account the threat of natural disasters to homeland security, the Post reports.

Other FY 2011 budget request highlights include:

  • $4 billion for state and local homeland security grant programs, a quarter of which will go to the Urban Area Security Initiative to protect high-risk cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles
  • $1.4 billion to “recapitalize” the Coast Guard’s fleet, including $538 million to build the fifth National Security Cutter.
  • $379 million to develop the National Cyber Security Division, which will work to protect the .gov and .com domain name systems from cyberattack
  • $103.4 million for E-Verify, which helps employers check whether a prospective employee is a legal citizen
  • $287.8 million to complete and open a new DHS headquarters at the St. Elizabeth’s campus in Washington, D.C.