Summary Report: FY2014 Supplemental
Appropriations
William L. Painter
Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy
July 30, 2014
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R43666
Summary Report: FY2014 Supplemental Appropriations
Summary
On July 8, 2014, the Administration requested $4,346 million in FY2014 supplemental
appropriations to address two issues: the surge in both unaccompanied and escorted children
illegally crossing the southwest border, and a shortfall in federal funding to pay the costs of
wildfires. The appropriations were requested to be designated as emergency funding, meaning the
requested funds would not count against the discretionary budget caps for FY2014.
On July 23, 2014, the Senate introduced S. 2648, which included $3,571 million in supplemental
appropriations for the Administration’s requested purposes as well as providing funding for
defense assistance to Israel. S. 2648 would designate the appropriations as an emergency,
meaning they would not count against the discretionary budget caps for FY2014.
On July 29, 2014, the House introduced H.R. 5230, which included $659 million in supplemental
appropriations to address the situation at the southwest border. The legislation included $659
million in rescissions that would offset the budgetary impact of the bill.
The primary focus of this report is the Administration’s request for supplemental appropriations,
and the appropriations legislation considered in response to that request. Other policy-related
provisions of the legislation will be analyzed in other CRS materials.
This report will be updated as events warrant.
Congressional Research Service
Summary Report: FY2014 Supplemental Appropriations
Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 2
Supplemental Request...................................................................................................................... 4
S. 2648 ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Transfers and Transfer Authority ............................................................................................... 5
H.R. 5230 ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Offsets ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Tables
Table 1. FY2014 Supplemental Appropriations ............................................................................... 2
Contacts
Author Contact Information............................................................................................................. 6
Congressional Research Service
Summary Report: FY2014 Supplemental Appropriations
Introduction
On July 8, 2014, the Administration requested $4,346 million in FY2014 supplemental
appropriations to address two issues:
• the federal costs of managing the surge of both unaccompanied alien children
(UAC) and escorted alien children illegally crossing the southwest border, and
• a projected shortfall in federal funding to pay the costs of wildfires.
The Senate Appropriations Committee conducted a hearing July 10, 2014, focusing on the border
security and immigration aspects of the Administration’s request.1 In addition, the following
hearings on the issues involved in the supplemental request were held between the submission of
the request and the introduction of the respective bills:
• Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, July 9 and 16,
2014, “Challenges at the Border: Examining the Causes, Consequences, and
Responses to the Rise in Apprehensions at the Southern Border,”2 and
“Challenges at the Border: Examining and Addressing the Root Causes Behind
the Rise in Apprehensions at the Southern Border”;3
• Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, July 15, 2014, “Wildfire
Preparedness and Forest Service 2015 Fiscal Year Budget”;4 and
• Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, July 17, 2014, “Dangerous Passage:
Central America in Crisis And the Exodus of Unaccompanied Minors.”5
On July 23, 2014, the Senate introduced S. 2648, which included $3,571 million in supplemental
appropriations for those purposes as well as providing funding for defense assistance to Israel.
The legislation would designate the appropriations as an emergency requirement, meaning the
funding would not count against the discretionary budget caps for FY2014.6
On July 29, 2014, the House introduced H.R. 5230, which included $659 million in supplemental
appropriations to address the situation at the southwest border. The legislation included $659
million in offsets that would reduce the net impact of the legislation on the budget deficit.
1 Hearing materials available at http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings-and-testimony/full-committee-review-
presidents-supplemental-request.
2 Hearing materials available at http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/challenges-at-the-border-examining-the-causes-
consequences-and-responses-to-the-rise-in-apprehensions-at-the-southern-border.
3 Hearing materials available at Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/
challenges-at-the-border-examining-and-addressing-the-root-causes-behind-the-rise-in-apprehensions-at-the-southern-
border.
4 Hearing materials available at http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings-and-business-meetings?ID=
8bc0c590-80e0-4465-aaa2-0a7f4decfc9d.
5 Hearing materials available at http://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/dangerous-passage-central-america-in-crisis-
and-the-exodus-of-unacompanied-minors-7-17-14.
6 The caps on discretionary spending were put into place as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 and
subsequently modified by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. For more
information, see CRS Report R43411, The Budget Control Act of 2011: Legislative Changes to the Law and Their
Budgetary Effects, by Mindy R. Levit.
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Summary Report: FY2014 Supplemental Appropriations
Overview
Table 1 below outlines the Administration’s request for supplemental funding for FY2014, and
the proposed new budget authority provided in response to those requests. All figures are in
millions of dollars of budget authority, and like all numbers in this report, are rounded to the
nearest million.
The figures in the table below are presented thematically between the issue areas: (1) the
southwest border crisis, (2) wildfires, and (3) aid to Israel.
Headers in bold italics note the theme. Under each theme, appropriations are listed by department
and subtotaled. The left column notes the department or agency and the funded activity by
appropriation. The Administration’s request is in the next column, in millions of dollars of budget
authority, followed by the appropriations that would be provided under the Senate bill and the
House bill.
The table only reflects new budget authority that would be provided in the legislation: transfers,
rescissions, and redirection of appropriated funds are not included in the table. A brief narrative
description of the request and each bill follows, which explores those issues, as well as the
potential budgetary impact of each proposal.
Table 1. FY2014 Supplemental Appropriations
(millions of dollars of new budget authority)
S. 2648
H.R. 5230
Administration
(as
(as
Recipient
Request
introduced)
introduced)
Southwest Border Crisis
Department of Justice (DOJ)
General Administration
Administrative Review and Appeals
63
123
22
Legal Activities
Salaries and Expenses, General Legal Activities
1
1
0
Total DOJ
64
125
22
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Office of the Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General
0
1
0
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Salaries and Expenses
394
321
71
Air and Marine Operations
39
22
US. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Salaries and Expenses
1,104
763
334
Total DHS
1,537
1,106
405
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Summary Report: FY2014 Supplemental Appropriations
S. 2648
H.R. 5230
Administration
(as
(as
Recipient
Request
introduced)
introduced)
Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS)
Administration for Children and Families
Refugee and Entrant Assistance
1,830
1,200
197
Total HHS
1,830
1,200
197
State Department and Foreign Operations
Department of State
Administration of Foreign Affairs
Diplomatic and Consular Programs
5
2
0
Broadcasting Board of Governors
International Broadcasting Operations
0
1
0
Bilateral Economic Assistance
Economic Support Fund
295
213
0
International Security Assistance
International Narcotics Control and Law
Enforcement 0
85
0
Total State Department and Foreign Operations
300
300
0
Department of Defense (DoD)
Military Personnel
National Guard Personnel, Army
0
0
12
National Guard Personnel, Air Force
0
0
2
Operation and Maintenance
Operation and Maintenance, Army National
Guard 0
0
16
Operation and Maintenance, Air National
Guard 0
0
5
Total DoD
0 0
35
Total Southwest Border Crisis
3,731
2,731
659
Wildland Fire
USDA Forest Service
Wildland Fire Management
615
615
0
Total Wildland Fire
615
615
0
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Summary Report: FY2014 Supplemental Appropriations
S. 2648
H.R. 5230
Administration
(as
(as
Recipient
Request
introduced)
introduced)
Aid to Israel
Department of Defense
Procurement
Procurement, Defense-wide
0
225
0
Total Aid to Israel
0
225
0
Total 4,346
3,571
659
Source: CRS analysis of Administration’s supplemental request, S. 2648 as introduced, and H.R. 5230 as
introduced.
Notes: Does not include transfers, rescissions, or redirection of appropriated funds. Numbers may not total
due to rounding.
Supplemental Request
The Administration requested $4,346 million in supplemental appropriations to address two
issues: the surge in unaccompanied and escorted children illegally crossing the southwest border,
and a shortfall in federal funding to pay the costs of wildland fires.
Of the request, $3,731 million was for the southwest border crisis to be distributed through
appropriations that would fall under four appropriations subcommittees:
• Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (2% of the border funding);
• Homeland Security (42%);
• Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (49%); and
• State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (8%).
The request included a general provision allowing up to $250 million of this amount to be
transferred among applicable appropriations, which would give the Administration additional
flexibility in how these funds may be used. The Administration also requested expanded transfer
authority specifically for supplemental funds appropriated to DHS.
The request included $615 million to cover wildland fire suppression and emergency
rehabilitation activities. Similar to the Administration’s request, the bill would also create a new
adjustment to statutory spending limits to accommodate a portion of spending subsequently
provided for “wildfire suppression operations,” formulated with the intent of minimizing any
additional spending beyond what is allowed under current law by tying it to the existing disaster
relief cap adjustment.
The Administration requested the supplemental funding be designated as an emergency under the
budget laws. Funding with the designation would not count against the discretionary spending
caps for FY2014, and an offset would not be needed to avoid violating those caps.
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Summary Report: FY2014 Supplemental Appropriations
S. 2648
S. 2648 has four titles, one each for border issues, wildfire, and aid to Israel, as well as a title of
general provisions that apply broadly across the bill. It would provide a billion dollars less than
the Administration requested for managing the situation on the southwest border, and $225
million in funding for military assistance to Israel that the Administration had not formally
requested. The bill would provide the requested wildfire funding, and includes an amendment
sought by the Administration to make it easier to fund federal costs for fighting wildland fires.
The Senate bill would provide almost double the supplemental funding requested for DOJ to
speed the adjudications of those taken into custody along the border, appropriating $125 million.
It would provide 28% less than requested for DHS—just over $1.1 billion—and would provide
roughly two-thirds of the requested level of funding for HHS—$1.2 billion. The Senate bill
would appropriate $300 million for the State Department and foreign operations work to address
the flow of migrants, the same overall amount as requested by the Administration, but would
reprioritize some of the funding.
Title II of the bill would provide the requested $615 million for wildland fire costs, and the
amendment sought by the Administration to create a new adjustment to discretionary spending
limits for wildfire suppression operations and emergency restoration. Title III of S. 2648 would
provide $225 million, through the Department of Defense, to the Government of Israel for the
procurement of the Iron Dome defense system to counter short-range rocket threats.
All funding in the bill would be designated as emergency funding, as the Administration
requested.
Transfers and Transfer Authority
The Senate bill’s southwest border title includes a number of provisions that would require a total
of $3 million of the funding be transferred to various inspectors general to oversee the use of
funds that would be provided in the bill.7 Under the appropriation for the Economic Support
Fund, funds are also designated to be transferred to the Inter-American Foundation for youth
training programs ($5 million) and DOJ efforts “to build investigative and prosecutorial capacity”
in source countries ($10 million).8
There are three provisions in the same title that would allow for transfer and reprogramming of
funds. Funding for DHS in S. 2648 could be transferred between appropriations accounts or
reprogrammed within them without limitation, and up to $250 million could be transferred
between appropriations in other parts of the southwest border title with the approval of the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Use of either authority would require advance
notification to the appropriations committees—a common practice. The bill would also allow
HHS to transfer funds for medical response expenses to the Public Health and Social Services
Emergency Fund.
7 As Table 1 indicates, it also includes a $1 million appropriation to support similar oversight efforts by the DHS OIG.
8 S. 2648, p. 10.
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Summary Report: FY2014 Supplemental Appropriations
H.R. 5230
The House bill has two divisions: the first is a five-title appropriations act; the second has three
titles that would modify immigration laws, provide a framework for National Guard deployment
to the southwest border, and provide exemptions from certain environmental laws for border
security activities. The third title of the second division also includes a sense of Congress
statement regarding the housing of undocumented minors on military installations. The analysis
of this report only focuses on the first division of the House bill.
Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill would provide funding only for the southwest border
crisis—no supplemental funding is included for wildland fire management or aid to Israel. Its
$659 million in new budget authority is $3.1 billion less than the request for the southwest border
crisis, and over $2 billion less than the amount the Senate bill would provide for those activities.
The House bill would provide $22 million for DOJ to speed the adjudications of those taken into
custody along the border—$41 million less than the request. The House bill would provide $405
million (74% less than requested) for DHS, and $197 million (89% less) for HHS. The House bill
would not provide any new budget authority for the State Department and foreign operations
work to address the flow of migrants, but would allow $40 million of previously appropriated aid
for Central America to be made available for “repatriation and reintegration activities.”9
No transfers or additional transfer or reprogramming authority would be provided in the House
bill.
Offsets
Unlike the Senate bill, which includes an emergency designation for the funding it would provide,
the House bill is fully offset. The bill would provide $659 million in new budget authority, which
would be offset by the following permanent rescissions of $659 million:
• $405 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief
Fund;
• $35 million from Department of Defense-wide operations and maintenance;
• $22 million from the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund; and
• $197 million from international bilateral economic assistance through the
Economic Support Fund.
Author Contact Information
William L. Painter
Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy
wpainter@crs.loc.gov, 7-3335
9 H.R. 5230, Sec. 401.
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