Comparing DHS Component Funding, FY2019: In Brief

(TO BE SUPPRESSED) Generally, the homeland security appropriations bill includes all annual appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), providing resources to every departmental component. The Tables and Figure show DHS’s new discretionary budget authority enacted for FY2018 and requested by the Administration for FY2019, as well as the House and Senate committee-reported response and ultimately enacted FY2019 annual appropriation, broken down by component. They also show information on DHS funding from two enacted supplemental appropriations measures: P.L. 116-20, a disaster relief supplemental, and P.L. 116-26, a supplemental appropriations bill funding operations at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Department of Homeland Security DHS budget Appropriations FY2018, FY2019 funding analysis baseline comparison components

Comparing DHS Component Funding, FY2019: In Brief

Updated July 9, 2019 (R45262)

Generally, the homeland security appropriations bill includes all annual appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), providing resources to every departmental component.1 This report reviews the budget authority provided to DHS for FY2018,2 requested by the Trump Administration for FY2019, as well as the funding levels proposed in Senate and House Appropriations Committee-reported legislation for FY2019 and enacted in P.L. 116-6, which included the FY2019 DHS Appropriations Act as Division A. It also includes information on DHS funding from two enacted supplemental appropriations measures: P.L. 116-20, a disaster relief supplemental, and P.L. 116-26, a supplemental appropriations bill funding humanitarian and security operations at the U.S.-Mexico border. The report examines net discretionary annual appropriations for DHS—a perspective on the net impact of legislation funding DHS on congressionally tracked budget totals—and also provides a more inclusive look at the resources available to DHS components to perform their missions.

DHS Net Discretionary Annual Appropriations

Table 1 shows congressional action on net discretionary annual FY2019 appropriations for DHS distributed by departmental component.

Each grouping of three lines in Table 1 presents an analysis of a component's net discretionary annual appropriations.3 Lines below each component name indicate two baselines commonly used to make comparisons of appropriations—the FY2019 requested funding level and the FY2018 enacted funding level in thousands of dollars of net discretionary budget authority. To the right of each component name is the funding level reported by the Senate and House Appropriations Committees and enacted for FY2019. Below each bold number is first the difference between that bold number and the two baselines. The dollar difference is also expressed as a percentage in the next column to the right. The components are ordered from largest to smallest by FY2018 enacted annual funding level.

Supplemental appropriations are not reflected in Table 1, as the purpose of the table is to provide comparative perspectives on annual appropriations levels at various stages of the process, as well as to improve understanding of comparative annual appropriations levels across the department.4

Table 1. Department of Homeland Security Net Discretionary Budget Authority in Annual Appropriations by Component, FY2018-FY2019

(thousands of dollars)

Component

 

FY2019

Senate Committee-Reported S. 3109

FY2019

House Committee- Reported H.R. 6776

FY2019

Enacted
P.L. 116-6

Baseline

Baseline Value

$

change v. baseline

%

change v. baseline

$

change v. baseline

%

change v. baseline

$

change v. baseline

%

change v. baseline

Customs and Border Protection

14,256,394

 

17,776,257

 

14,959,548

 

FY2019 Request

14,225,132

31,262

0.2%

3,551,125

25.0%

734,416

5.2%

FY2018 Enacted

14,017,522

238,872

1.7%

3,758,735

26.8%

942,026

6.7%

U.S. Coast Guard

10,194,567

 

9,282,857

 

10,276,077

 

FY2019 Request

9,698,357

496,210

5.1%

-415,500

-4.3%

577,720

6.0%

FY2018 Enacted

10,268,607

-74,040

-0.7%

-985,750

-9.6%

7,470

0.1%

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

7,210,273

 

7,403,510

 

7,587,712

 

FY2019 Request

8,817,130

-1,081,257

-13.0%

-888,020

-10.7%

-703,818

-8.5%

FY2018 Enacted

7,075,874

134,399

1.9%

327,636

4.6%

511,838

7.2%

Federal Emergency Management Agency

4,812,461

 

5,118,808

 

4,892,633

 

FY2019 Request

4,368,699

443,762

10.2%

750,109

17.2%

523,934

12.0%

FY2018 Enacted

4,984,039

-171,578

-3.4%

134,769

2.7%

-91,406

-1.8%

Transportation Security Agency

4,842,678

 

4,648,161

 

4,930,462

 

FY2019 Request

4,046,173

796,505

19.7%

601,988

14.9%

884,289

21.9%

FY2018 Enacted

4,925,355

-82,677

-1.7%

-277,194

-5.6%

5,107

0.1%

U.S. Secret Service

2,179,715

 

2,167,186

 

2,248,159

 

FY2019 Request

2,151,624

28,091

1.3%

15,562

0.7%

96,535

4.5%

FY2018 Enacted

2,006,524

173,191

8.6%

160,662

8.0%

241,635

12.0%

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agencya

1,949,622

 

1,934,562

 

1,681,757

 

FY2019 Request

1,821,151

128,471

7.1%

113,411

6.2%

-139,394

-7.7%

FY2018 Enacted

1,911,402

38,220

2.0%

23,160

1.2%

-229,645

-12.0%

Science and Technology Directorate

813,116

 

802,159

 

819,785

 

FY2019 Request

583,283

229,833

39.4%

218,876

37.5%

236,502

40.5%

FY2018 Enacted

840,943

-27,827

-3.3%

-38,784

-4.6%

(21,158)

-2.5%

Management Directorate

872,095

 

920,177

 

1,303,302

 

FY2019 Request

1,083,318

-211,223

-19.5%

-163,141

-15.1%

219,984

20.3%

FY2018 Enacted

784,211

87,884

11.2%

135,966

17.3%

519,091

66.2%

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office

335,440

 

0

 

 

 

FY2019 Request

0

335,440

n/a

0

n/a

0

n/a

FY2018 Enacted

335,440

0

0.0%

-335,440

-100.0%

(335,440)

-100.0%

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

362,243

 

254,774

 

328,819

 

FY2019 Request

382,134

-19,891

-5.2%

-127,360

-33.3%

(53,315)

-14.0%

FY2018 Enacted

254,000

108,243

42.6%

774

0.3%

74,819

29.5%

Intelligence, Analysis, and Operations Coordination

254,476

 

259,253

 

253,253

 

FY2019 Request

253,253

1,223

0.5%

6,000

2.4%

0

0.0%

FY2018 Enacted

245,905

8,571

3.5%

13,348

5.4%

7,348

3.0%

Office of the Inspector General

168,000

 

168,001

 

168,000

 

FY2019 Request

138,369

29,631

21.4%

29,632

21.4%

29,631

21.4%

FY2018 Enacted

168,000

0

0.0%

1

0.0%

0

0.0%

Office of the Secretary and Executive Management

132,904

 

128,110

 

141,381

 

FY2019 Request

128,860

4,044

3.1%

-750

-0.6%

12,521

9.7%

FY2018 Enacted

139,602

-6,698

-4.8%

-11,492

-8.2%

1,779

1.3%

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

131,919

 

131,919

 

142,526

 

FY2019 Request

131,919

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

10,607

8.0%

FY2018 Enacted

132,513

-594

-0.4%

-594

-0.4%

10,013

7.6%

Office of Health Affairs

121,569

 

0

 

 

 

FY2019 Request

0

121,569

n/a

0

n/a

0

n/a

FY2018 Enacted

121,569

0

0.0%

-121,569

-100.0%

-121,569

-100.0%

Office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction

0

 

434,266

 

434,897

 

FY2019 Request

429,266

-429,266

-100.0%

5,000

1.2%

5,631

1.3%

FY2018 Enacted

0

0

n/a

434,266

n/a

434,897

n/a

Sources: CRS analysis of P.L. 115-141, its explanatory statement as printed in the Congressional Record of March 22, 2018, pp. H2544-H2608, S.Rept. 115-283, H.Rept. 115-948, and H.Rept. 116-9.

Notes: For notes on data, including supplemental appropriations not reflected in this table, see Table 2.

a. Formerly known as the National Protection and Programs Directorate.

Some of the changes reflected in Table 1 are the result of different approaches to funding specific missions of the department or restructuring of components, rather than simple reductions or increases in funding relative to the request or prior-year enacted levels. For example, the Administration chose to reorganize the Office of Health Affairs and Domestic Nuclear Detection Office into the new Office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Senate Appropriations Committee elected to fund those activities in the un-reorganized structure, as the authorizing committees had not ratified the reorganization at the time the bill was marked up, while the House Appropriations Committee recommended funding the reorganized structure. P.L. 116-6 funded the reorganized structure.

In addition, the enacted level for the newly renamed Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Protection Agency is lower due to a transfer of the Office of Biometric Identity Management to the Management Directorate. Enacted P.L. 116-6 would fund the DHS Office of Inspector General wholly through appropriations, rather than including a $24 million transfer from the Disaster Relief Fund, as had been requested by the Administration.

For the first time in DHS annual appropriations, committee-reported legislation funds activities of certain components with unobligated balances of prior appropriations transferred from other components. As can be seen in Table 2, the Senate Appropriations Committee funded some FEMA and Management Directorate activities with transfers from unobligated balances in the Disaster Relief Fund, while an amendment adopted in House Appropriations Committee full committee markup would fund Coast Guard acquisitions with unobligated balances from the Science and Technology Directorate. P.L. 116-6 funded a portion of the Disaster Relief Fund with $300 million of its unobligated balances.

DHS: Beyond Net Discretionary Appropriations

While the total net discretionary budget authority, when adjusted for the effect of rescissions, provides the "score" that is measured against the bill's discretionary spending allocation, it does not represent the total budget authority provided to DHS. "Net" discretionary appropriations are the net balance of discretionary appropriations minus any offsetting collections. Such collections are addressed in the appropriations legislation, and provide significant resources to some components of DHS, such as the Transportation Security Administration and National Protection and Programs Directorate. They do not include mandatory spending, resources derived directly from fee collections without annual congressional action, or resources covered by adjustments to the discretionary spending limits.5 Congress controls the reprogramming of these resources through detailed tables provided in appropriations committee reports, conference reports, and statements of managers.

Figure 1 uses the data drawn from these detailed tables to provide a more complete picture of the resources available to eight DHS components:6 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Secret Service (USSS), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)—the seven operational components—and the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), which was renamed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is considered by some to have an operational role. These are also the largest eight components of DHS in terms of gross discretionary budget authority.

In Figure 1, these eight components are listed along the bottom axis. Each component's funding level as a section of the figure has five bars, representing the different phases of the appropriations process: prior-year enacted, current year requested annual appropriations, Senate committee action, House committee action, and enacted. The bottom segment of each bar represents net discretionary budget authority—the same amount for each as represented in Table 1.

On top of these bases are several other segment types, representing fee revenues, offsetting collections, mandatory spending,7 funding from unobligated balances directed by the appropriations measure, and funding covered by adjustments to discretionary spending limits under the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25) in annual appropriations.8 Unlike in Table 1, supplemental appropriations are reflected in Figure 1—although those provided for FY2018 are too large to be accommodated at the same scale as the rest of the figure. Therefore, the full length of this bar is truncated, but labeled with its actual value. A small inset graphic shows the scale of supplemental appropriations relative to the other appropriations.

Figure 1 allows for a visual comparison of changes in individual component funding, and provides a more complete description of each component's overall resource level than a review of net discretionary appropriations. Among the changes it illuminates are the significance of the size of the emergency supplemental appropriations provided for FY2018; the inclusion of border barrier funding in the House bill in excess of what was initially requested by the Administration, the opposition of the Senate Appropriation Committees to proposed reductions in funding to the Coast Guard, as well as House and Senate Appropriations Committee opposition to proposed cuts to FEMA; and an increase in discretionary spending to support the TSA's budget in the absence of the Trump Administration's proposed fee increase.

The table also reflects supplemental appropriations provided for disaster relief and border operations in P.L. 116-20 and P.L. 116-26 respectively. It does not reflect the Administration's supplemental request for border operations, as the public documentation of the request does not provide complete information at the component level. No formal public request was made by the Administration for FY2019 disaster relief and recovery funding.

Figure 1. Department of Homeland Security Budget Authority by Selected DHS Component, FY2018-FY2019

(billions of dollars of budget authority controlled for reprogramming through appropriations committee reports)

Sources: CRS analysis of P.L. 115-141, its explanatory statement as printed in the Congressional Record of March 22, 2018, pp. H2544-H2608, S.Rept. 115-283, H.Rept. 115-948, H.Rept. 116-9, P.L. 116-20, and P.L. 116-26.

Notes: Totals do not reflect the impact of rescissions. Adjustments include emergency, disaster relief, and overseas contingency operations (OCO) designated funding.

Table 2 provides a complete breakdown of the total budget authority outlined in Figure 1 for all DHS components, arranged by FY2018 enacted net discretionary budget authority.

Some DHS components do have access to funding beyond the budget authority controlled for reprogramming through the detailed tables appropriations committee reports. Much of DHS's mandatory spending is not reflected in these tables. This includes spending on flood insurance claims, as well as trust funds for the Coast Guard and the Secret Service. Likewise, the detailed tables do not reflect reimbursements between components for services provided, such as payments from partner agencies to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center for the cost of training programs.

Table 2. Department of Homeland Security Budget Authority by DHS Component, FY2018-FY2019

(thousands of dollars of budget authority controlled for reprogramming through appropriations committee reports)

 

FY2018

FY2019

Component

Funding Aspect

Enacted

Request

SAC- reported

HAC-reported

Enacted

Customs and Border Protection

16,506,684

16,719,317

16,593,096

20,113,442

18,396,681

Net Discretionary Funding

14,017,522

14,225,132

14,256,394

17,776,257

14,959,548

Offsetting Collections

39,000

39,000

39,000

39,000

39,000

Fees

2,300,668

2,455,185

2,297,702

2,298,185

2,297,702

Emergency Supplemental

149,494

0

0

0

1,100,431

U.S. Coast Guard

12,942,817

11,438,201

11,934,411

11,127,701

12,541,653

Net Discretionary

10,268,607

9,698,357

10,029,567

9,282,857

10,111,077

Funded From Prior-Year Unobligated Balances

0

0

0

95,000

0

Mandatory

1,676,117

1,739,844

1,739,844

1,739,844

1,739,844

Budget Control Act Adjustment (OCO)

163,000

0

165,000

0

165,000

Emergency Supplemental

835,093

0

0

0

525,732

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

7,516,441

8,817,130

7,528,273

7,721,510

8,114,657

Net Discretionary

7,075,874

8,291,530

7,210,273

7,403,510

7,587,712

Fees

376,610

525,600

318,000

318,000

318,000

Emergency Supplemental

63,957

0

0

0

208,945

Federal Emergency Management Agency

70,783,529

11,222,390

11,894,152

11,972,499

17,124,786

Net Discretionary

4,984,029

4,368,699

4,812,461

5,118,808

4,592,633

Funded From Prior-Year Unobligated Balances

0

0

228,000

0

300,000

Offsetting Collections

203,500

201,691

201,691

201,691

202,153

Budget Control Act Adjustment (Disaster Relief)

7,366,000

6,652,000

6,652,000

6,652,000

12,000,000

Emergency Supplemental

58,230,000

0

0

0

30,000

Transportation Security Administration

7,896,236

7,726,028

8,002,533

7,808,016

8,090,347

Net Discretionary

4,925,355

4,046,173

4,842,678

4,648,161

4,930,462

Offsetting Collections

2,470,000

3,190,000

2,670,000

2,670,000

2,670,000

Fees

240,559

239,885

239,855

239,855

239,885

Mandatory

250,000

250,000

250,000

250,000

250,000

Emergency Supplemental

10,322

0

0

0

0

U.S. Secret Service

2,006,524

2,151,624

2,179,715

2,167,186

2,248,159

Net Discretionary

2,006,524

2,151,624

2,179,715

2,167,186

2,248,159

National Protection and Programs Directorate

3,387,407

3,348,261

3,476,732

3,461,672

3,208,867

Net Discretionary

1,911,402

1,821,151

1,949,622

1,934,562

1,681,757

Offsetting Collections

1,476,005

1,527,110

1,527,110

1,527,110

1,527,110

Science and Technology Directorate

840,943

583,283

813,116

802,159

819,785

Net Discretionary

840,943

583,283

813,116

802,159

819,785

Management Directorate

784,211

1,083,318

983,095

920,177

1,313,302

Net Discretionary

784,211

1,083,318

911,095

920,177

1,313,302

Funded From Prior-Year Unobligated Balances

0

0

72,000

0

0

Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction

0

429,266

0

434,266

434,897

Net Discretionary

0

429,266

0

434,266

434,897

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office

335,440

0

335,440

0

0

Net Discretionary

335,440

0

335,440

0

0

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

264,374

382,134

361,243

254,774

328,819

Net Discretionary

254,000

382,134

361,243

254,774

328,819

Emergency Supplemental

10,374

0

0

0

0

Analysis and Operations

245,905

253,253

254,476

259,253

253,253

Net Discretionary

245,905

253,253

254,476

259,253

253,253

Office of the Inspector General

168,000

138,369

168,000

168,001

168,000

Net Discretionary

168,000

138,369

168,000

168,001

168,000

Office of the Secretary and Executive Management

139,602

128,860

132,904

128,110

141,381

Net Discretionary

139,602

128,860

132,904

128,110

141,381

Office of Health Affairs

121,569

0

121,569

0

0

Net Discretionary

121,569

0

121,569

0

0

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

4,483,039

4,719,570

4,719,570

4,719,570

1,669,636

Net Discretionary

132,513

131,919

131,919

131,919

142,526

Fees

4,350,526

4,587,651

4,587,651

4,587,651

1,527,110

TOTAL BUDGET AUTHORITY, DHSa

115,039,736

54,384,594

55,327,472

58,082,000b

63,743,419

Sources: CRS analysis of P.L. 115-141, its explanatory statement as printed in the Congressional Record of March 22, 2018, pp. H2544-H2608, S.Rept. 115-283, H.Rept. 115-948, H.Rept. 116-6, P.L. 116-20, and P.L. 116-26.

Note: SAC=Senate Appropriations Committee, HAC=House Appropriations Committee. Totals do not reflect the impact of rescissions. Adjustments include emergency, disaster relief, and overseas contingency operations (OCO) designated funding. The "FY2019 Request" column only reflects requests for annual appropriations. Data on supplemental appropriations requests and vehicles for FY2018 can be found in CRS Report R45084, 2017 Disaster Supplemental Appropriations: Overview.

a. Includes net discretionary budget authority, offsetting collections, resources provided from prior-year appropriations, and resources covered by adjustments to discretionary spending limits. Does not include mandatory spending or fees with permanent spending authority.

b. Does not include a net $13 million increase in the discretionary scoring of the bill due to policy changes adopted in House Appropriations Committee markup.

Author Contact Information

William L. Painter, Specialist in Homeland Security and Appropriations ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Footnotes

1.

Under the Trump Administration's FY2019 budget, as in previous years, DHS also received budgetary resources through appropriations in permanent law, as well as reimbursements and transfers from other parts of the federal government. However, the DHS appropriations act is the primary vehicle through which Congress annually funds and directs the financial activities of the department.

2.

P.L. 115-31, Division F.

3.

In accordance with appropriations committee practices, these totals do not include elements of annual funding covered by the disaster relief designation or overseas contingency operations designation.

4.

Details on FY2018 supplemental appropriations for DHS can be found in a number of products, including CRS Report R45084, 2017 Disaster Supplemental Appropriations: Overview, by William L. Painter.

5.

These adjustments, established by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25), include special exemption from discretionary spending limits for emergency requirements, the designated costs of major disasters, or for Overseas Contingency Operations.

6.

Supplemental appropriations measures often do not have their contents reflected in a concurrently produced table—therefore FY2019 supplemental appropriations data are drawn directly from the supplemental appropriations acts.

7.

The mandatory spending reflected here is composed of two elements: Coast Guard retired pay, which is considered mandatory spending but requires congressional action nonetheless; and $250 million from the Aviation Security Capital Fund.

8.

For the DHS appropriations legislation, these have included funding designated as disaster relief and funding designated as supporting Overseas Contingency Operations. For more details about adjustments to discretionary spending limits under the BCA, see CRS Report R41965, The Budget Control Act of 2011, by Bill Heniff Jr., Elizabeth Rybicki, and Shannon M. Mahan.