DHS 2015 budget$38.2 billion for DHS in FY2015 budget proposal; $1.25 billion in cyber funding

Published 5 March 2014

The administration’s FY 2015 budget proposal, submitted to Congress on Tuesday, requests $38.2 billion in non-disaster funding for DHS, which is nearly a 3 percent reduction relative to FY 2014 allocation, but about the same as FY 2013. The proposal asks for about $1.25 billion – or 3 percent of the requested $38.2 billion – for cyber security funding, up from the $792 million in cybersecurity funding Congress approved for DHS in FY 2014. Of the $1.3 billion, about $1 billion will go for cyber initiatives, including funding for a new voluntary program for critical infrastructure companies and money to bolster civilian network security.

The administration’s FY 2015 budget proposal, submitted to Congress on Tuesday, requests $38.2 billion in non-disaster funding for DHS, which is nearly a 3 percent reduction relative to FY 2014 allocation, but about the same as FY 2013.

The Washington Post and Federal Times report that the budget proposal calls for:

  • 4,000 additional Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers
  • $549 million to protect federal computer networks from cybersecurity threats
  • $1 billion in assistance to state and local governments for firefighters and emergency-management personnel
  • $10 million to help immigrants on the path to citizenship
  • $6.8 billion in disaster-relief funding
  • $3 billion for “major asset acquisitions” which would include a new Coast Guard cutter
  • $124 million to expand and strengthen the E-Verify system
  • $100 million saving in Transportation Security Administration (TSA) budget through the increased use of the agency’s Pre-Check program — more than 35 percent of travelers currently use the Pre-Check program

The 2015 budget request asks for about $1.25 billion – or 3 percent of the requested $38.2 billion – for cyber security funding, up from the $792 million in cybersecurity funding Congress approved for DHS in FY 2014. Of the $1.25 billion, about $1 billion will go for cyber initiatives, including funding for a new voluntary program for critical infrastructure companies and money to bolster civilian network security.

Among the new and on-going cyber initiatives highlighted in the budget proposal:

  • $377.7 million for Network Security Deployment, including the EINSTEIN3 Accelerated (E3A) program. The E3A program detects malicious traffic targeting civilian federal networks and prevent malicious traffic from harming those networks.
  • $143.5 million for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program, which provides civilian agencies with hardware, software, and services to detect and fix security vulnerabilities
  • $173.5 million for cyber and cyber-enabled investigations carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including cyber economic crime, identity theft, theft of export controlled data, and child exploitation
  • $28 million for the Homeland Secure Data Network to strengthen the safeguarding and sharing of  classified information and to combat unauthorized release of that information. The budget proposal increases funding for these initiatives by $6.9 million, allowing DHS to meet administration mandates for defending against insider threats.
  • $8.5 million to establish a voluntary program and an enhanced cybersecurity services capability required by the president’s cybersecurity executive order 13636
  • $3.9 million for U.S. Secret Service Cybersecurity Presidential Protection Measures, enabling the Secret Service to audit, assess, and monitor critical infrastructure and key resources at protective sites that support a presidential visit