Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2019

This report provides an overview and analysis of FY2019 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The primary focus of this report is on congressional direction and funding provided to DHS through the appropriations process. It includes an Appendix with definitions of key budget terms used throughout the suite of Congressional Research Service reports on homeland security appropriations. It also directs the reader to other reports providing context for specific component appropriations.

As part of an overall DHS budget that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) estimated to be $74.88 billion, the Trump Administration requested $47.43 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority through the appropriations process for DHS for FY2019. The request amounted to a $0.29 billion (0.6%) decrease from the $47.72 billion in annual appropriations enacted for FY2018 through the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141, Division F).

The Administration also requested discretionary funding for DHS components that does not count against discretionary spending limits and is not reflected in the adjusted net discretionary budget authority total. The Administration requested an additional $6.65 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in disaster relief funding, as defined by the Budget Control Act (P.L. 112-25; BCA), and in the budget request for the Department of Defense (DOD), $165 million in Overseas Contingency Operations designated funding (OCO) from the Operations and Maintenance budget of the U.S. Navy.

On June 21, 2018, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported out S. 3109, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019, accompanied by S.Rept. 115-283. Committee-reported S. 3109 included $48.33 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for FY2019. This was $901 million (1.9%) above the level requested by the Administration, and $611 million (1.3%) above the enacted level for FY2018.

On July 26, 2018, the House Appropriations Committee marked up H.R. 6776, its version of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019. H.Rept. 115-948 was filed September 12, 2018. Committee-reported H.R. 6776 included $51.44 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority.

As some of the annual appropriations for FY2019 remained unfinished, a consolidated appropriations bill that included a continuing resolution was passed by Congress and signed into law on September 28, 2018. The resolution, which covered DHS along with several other departments and agencies, continued funding at a rate of operations equal to FY2018 with some exceptions. This continuing resolution was extended through December 21, 2018, after which point annual appropriations lapsed. A partial government shutdown ensued for 35 days until continuing appropriations were resumed January 25, 2019, by P.L. 116-5.

P.L. 116-6, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, was passed by Congress on February 14, 2019, and signed into law the following day. Division A of the act included the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019, which included $49.41 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority, $12 billion designated for the costs of major disasters, and $165 million in OCO funding for the Coast Guard.

In addition to annual appropriations, DHS received supplemental appropriations in FY2019. P.L. 116-20 included $526 million for the U.S. Coast Guard, and P.L. 116-26 included $1.34 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2019

Updated August 7, 2019 (R45268)
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Contents

Summary

This report provides an overview and analysis of FY2019 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The primary focus of this report is on congressional direction and funding provided to DHS through the appropriations process. It includes an Appendix with definitions of key budget terms used throughout the suite of Congressional Research Service reports on homeland security appropriations. It also directs the reader to other reports providing context for specific component appropriations.

As part of an overall DHS budget that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) estimated to be $74.88 billion, the Trump Administration requested $47.43 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority through the appropriations process for DHS for FY2019. The request amounted to a $0.29 billion (0.6%) decrease from the $47.72 billion in annual appropriations enacted for FY2018 through the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141, Division F).

The Administration also requested discretionary funding for DHS components that does not count against discretionary spending limits and is not reflected in the adjusted net discretionary budget authority total. The Administration requested an additional $6.65 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in disaster relief funding, as defined by the Budget Control Act (P.L. 112-25; BCA), and in the budget request for the Department of Defense (DOD), $165 million in Overseas Contingency Operations designated funding (OCO) from the Operations and Maintenance budget of the U.S. Navy.

On June 21, 2018, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported out S. 3109, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019, accompanied by S.Rept. 115-283. Committee-reported S. 3109 included $48.33 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for FY2019. This was $901 million (1.9%) above the level requested by the Administration, and $611 million (1.3%) above the enacted level for FY2018.

On July 26, 2018, the House Appropriations Committee marked up H.R. 6776, its version of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019. H.Rept. 115-948 was filed September 12, 2018. Committee-reported H.R. 6776 included $51.44 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority.

As some of the annual appropriations for FY2019 remained unfinished, a consolidated appropriations bill that included a continuing resolution was passed by Congress and signed into law on September 28, 2018. The resolution, which covered DHS along with several other departments and agencies, continued funding at a rate of operations equal to FY2018 with some exceptions. This continuing resolution was extended through December 21, 2018, after which point annual appropriations lapsed. A partial government shutdown ensued for 35 days until continuing appropriations were resumed January 25, 2019, by P.L. 116-5.

P.L. 116-6, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, was passed by Congress on February 14, 2019, and signed into law the following day. Division A of the act included the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019, which included $49.41 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority, $12 billion designated for the costs of major disasters, and $165 million in OCO funding for the Coast Guard.

In addition to annual appropriations, DHS received supplemental appropriations in FY2019. P.L. 116-20 included $526 million for the U.S. Coast Guard, and P.L. 116-26 included $1.34 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.


Introduction

This report describes and analyzes annual appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2019. It compares the enacted FY2018 appropriations for DHS, the Donald J. Trump Administration's FY2019 budget request, and the appropriations measures developed and considered by Congress in response to it. It also includes information on supplemental appropriations enacted for DHS for FY2019. This report identifies additional informational resources, reports, and products on DHS appropriations that provide context for the discussion, and it provides a list of Congressional Research Service (CRS) policy experts with whom clients may consult on specific topics.

The suite of CRS reports on homeland security appropriations tracks legislative action and congressional issues related to DHS appropriations, with particular attention paid to discretionary funding amounts. These reports do not provide in-depth analysis of specific issues related to mandatory funding—such as retirement pay—nor do they systematically follow other legislation related to the authorizing or amending of DHS programs, activities, or fee revenues.

Discussion of appropriations legislation involves a variety of specialized budgetary concepts. The Appendix to this report explains several of these concepts, including budget authority, obligations, outlays, discretionary and mandatory spending, offsetting collections, allocations, and adjustments to the discretionary spending caps under the Budget Control Act (BCA; P.L. 112-25). A more complete discussion of those terms and the appropriations process in general can be found in CRS Report R42388, The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction, coordinated by James V. Saturno, and the Government Accountability Office's A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process.1

Describing DHS Funding: Terminology

The annual DHS budget proposal is complex, including a variety of funding mechanisms.2 The funding provided through these mechanisms can be totaled in several different ways to summarize what is in the bill. These methods have evolved to answer slightly different questions: how the bill fits into the budget process, the level of resources provided to the agency, and the net cost of the bill to the U.S. government.

  • Discretionary appropriations include all the discretionary budget authority charged against the appropriations subcommittee's allocation.3 It excludes specially designated funding (like emergency funding) and mandatory spending.
  • Discretionary funding is a term used in appropriations committee tables and in this report to indicate a broader total which includes discretionary appropriations, plus specially designated funding (i.e., emergency, overseas contingency operations, or disaster relief designations)—representing a more comprehensive total of the resources provided through appropriations measures. This is the definition of the term as it is used in this report.4
  • When these terms are described as net, they are totals net of offsets (such as any offsetting collections and fees)—shifting the description to better reflect the impact on the balance sheet of the U.S. government of a given act rather than the actual level of resources provided by Congress in a given act.

In a departure from the practices of many other agencies, in DHS budget documents, the term net discretionary budget authority does not take into account the impact of rescissions—only offsets through collections. Instead, DHS documents refer to adjusted net discretionary budget authority to indicate discretionary appropriations net of both offsetting collections and rescissions. This is the total that counts against discretionary spending limits, and it is the total used most commonly in congressional debate about the size of appropriations legislation. To avoid confusion when readers interpret DHS documents, CRS reporting on DHS appropriations uses the latter term to describe that total, rather than the more common usage.

Note on Data and Citations

All amounts contained in the suite of CRS reports on homeland security appropriations represent budget authority. For precision in percentages and totals, all calculations in these reports used unrounded data, which are presented in each report's tables. However, amounts in narrative discussions are rounded to the nearest million (or 10 million, in the case of numbers larger than 1 billion), unless noted otherwise.

Data used in this report for FY2018 amounts are derived from the explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 115-141, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017—Division F of which is the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2018.5 The explanatory statement also includes data on FY2018 supplemental appropriations for DHS enacted prior to the development of the consolidated appropriations act for FY2018. Data for the FY2019 requested levels and enacted levels of annual appropriations are drawn from H.Rept. 116-9, the explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 116-6. Data on the Senate Appropriations Committee recommendation are drawn from S.Rept. 115-283, and data for the House Appropriations Committee recommendation are drawn from H.Rept. 115-948. As committee reports are not available for FY2019 supplemental appropriations, data on FY2019 supplemental appropriations are drawn directly from the enacted legislation (P.L. 116-20 and P.L. 116-26).

Scoring methodology is consistent across this report, relying on data provided by the Appropriations Committees that has been developed with Congressional Budget Office (CBO) methodology. CRS does not attempt to compare this data with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) data because technical scoring differences do not allow precise comparisons.

Legislative Action on FY2019 DHS Appropriations

This section provides an overview of the process of enactment of appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for FY2019, from the Administration's initial request, through committee action in the House and Senate, continuing appropriations (and their lapse), and enactment of the consolidated appropriations bill that contained DHS annual appropriation.

Annual Appropriations

Trump Administration FY2019 Request

On February 12, 2018, the Trump Administration released its budget request for FY2019. The enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123) three days before had established discretionary spending limits for FY2018 and FY2019, replacing the limits prescribed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25). The Administration chose to submit an addendum to their request in a letter accompanying the formal request documentation, which included additional requests for resources for DHS and several other departments and agencies.6

The Trump Administration requested $47.43 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for DHS for FY2019, as part of an overall budget that the Office of Management and Budget estimated to be $74.88 billion (including fees, trust funds, and other funding that is not annually appropriated or does not score against discretionary budget limits). The request amounted to a $0.29 billion (0.6%) decrease from the $47.72 billion in annual appropriations enacted for FY2018 through the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141, Division F).

The Trump Administration also requested discretionary funding for DHS components that does not count against discretionary spending limits set by the Budget Control Act (BCA; P.L. 112-25) and is not reflected in the above totals. The Administration requested an additional $6.65 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in disaster relief funding, as defined by the BCA, and in the budget request for the Department of Defense, $165 million in Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terror designated funding (OCO), to be transferred to the Coast Guard.7

Senate Committee Action

On June 21, 2018, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported out S. 3109, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019, accompanied by S.Rept. 115-283. Committee-reported S. 3109 included $48.33 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for FY2019. This was $901 million (1.9%) above the level requested by the Administration, and $611 million (1.3%) above the enacted level for FY2018. The Senate committee-reported bill also included the Administration-requested levels for disaster relief funding, and $163 million in OCO-designated funding directly for the Coast Guard, as had been done in FY2018, rather than as a transfer, as had been requested by the Administration. This bill was never taken up for action on the Senate floor.

House Committee Action

On July 26, 2018, the House Appropriations Committee marked up H.R. 6776, its version of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019. H.Rept. 115-948 was filed September 12, 2018. Committee-reported H.R. 6776 included $51.44 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority. The House committee-reported bill included the Administration-requested levels for disaster relief funding, but unlike S. 3109, did not include the OCO funding for the Coast Guard. This bill did not see action on the House floor.

Continuing Resolutions and Lapse in Annual Appropriations

At the end of FY2018, five regular appropriations measures for FY2019 had become law and the activities funded under the remaining seven regular appropriations bills were funded under a continuing resolution (CR). The first, Division C of P.L. 115-245, lasted through December 7, 2018, and continued funding for DHS at a rate of operations equal to that of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2018, with some exceptions.8 A second continuing resolution extended appropriations through December 21, 2018.

In the Senate, a third CR for FY2019, lasting until February 8, 2019 (H.R. 695) was passed by voice vote on December 19, 2018. The House subsequently considered and amended the bill the following day, adding additional funding for border barriers and a disaster relief supplemental discussed below. The amended measure passed the House by a vote of 217-185, and was sent back to the Senate for further consideration. On December 21, the Senate agreed to a motion to proceed to the consideration of the House-passed bill by a vote of 48-47, with Vice President Pence casting the tie-breaking vote. In the absence of a 60-vote majority to invoke cloture, H.R. 865 was not considered further, and the House and Senate adjourned later that day. When the second CR, providing funding for the agencies, programs, and activities covered by the remaining seven appropriations bills expired at midnight on December 21, annual appropriations for unfunded portions of the federal government (including DHS) lapsed and a partial government shutdown ensued for the next 35 days.9

Continuing appropriations were restored at the FY2018 rate of operations with the enactment of P.L. 116-4 on January 25, 2019.

Enactment

On February 14, 2019, the House took up H.J.Res. 31, a consolidated appropriations bill that included eight annual appropriations bills. Division A, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019, included $49.41 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority, $1.69 billion (3.5%) more than had been provided for FY2018, and $2.04 billion more than had been requested by the Administration in February 2018. In addition to that total, the bill included $12 billion designated for the costs of major disasters—$5.35 billion (80.4%) more than had been requested, and the requested $165 million in OCO funding appropriated for the Coast Guard operating budget, rather than a transfer from the Navy. The bill passed the House by a vote of 300-128, and the Senate that same day by a vote of 83-16. The President signed it into law the next day.10

Supplemental Appropriations

FY2019 Disaster Supplemental Appropriations (P.L. 116-20)

Unlike most supplemental appropriations legislation, the FY2019 disaster relief and recovery supplemental appropriations legislation was developed without a supplemental appropriations request from the Trump Administration. As was noted above, in the closing days of the 115th Congress, the House included a $7.8 billion disaster relief and recovery supplemental appropriation in a broader amendment to H.R. 695, a continuing resolution covering the seven annual appropriations bills that were yet to be enacted. The amended measure included $244 million for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in the disaster supplemental, and $5.71 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection for construction of border barriers as a part of the continuing resolution. As noted above, H.R. 695 passed the House, but did not advance further in the Senate before the end of the 115th Congress.

On January 8, 2019, House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey introduced H.R. 268, a measure that would have provided disaster relief supplemental funding and would have temporarily resolved the ongoing partial government shutdown by providing for a continuing resolution through February 8. The bill included $524 million for the USCG—an amount that remained consistent across proposals through the remaining consideration of FY2019 disaster supplemental appropriations. The House took up the bill on January 16, 2019, and, after adopting several amendments, passed the bill by a vote of 237-187 that same day.11 CBO estimated the discretionary spending in the supplemental appropriations proposal for FY2019 as $14.19 billion.

The Senate proceeded to consideration of the bill by unanimous consent, but could not invoke cloture on amendments by the leadership of both parties offering alternative proposals.

The Senate later returned to consideration of H.R. 268 after the lapse in regular annual appropriations was resolved. On March 28, Chairman Shelby offered a substitute amendment (S.Amdt. 201), providing $13.45 billion for disaster relief.12 Attempts to invoke cloture on both S.Amdt. 201 and H.R. 268 on April 1, 2019, were unsuccessful.13

On April 9, 2019, Chairwoman Lowey introduced H.R. 2157, a supplemental appropriations bill, to provide funding for previous disasters as well as additional disasters that had occurred since the earlier House passage of H.R. 268. CBO estimated the bill as introduced included $17.31 billion in discretionary spending, a figure which grew to $19.26 billion through floor action. The bill passed the House on May 10, 2019, by a vote of 257-150.14

A bipartisan, bicameral agreement on FY2019 disaster funding was negotiated prior to Senate consideration. On May 23, Senator McConnell offered S.Amdt. 250 to H.R. 2157 as a substitute on behalf of Senator Shelby. The amendment was agreed to by unanimous consent, and the amended bill was passed, 85-8.15 The House subsequently considered the bill under suspension of the rules on June 3, and voted 354-58 to approve the measure.16 The bill was signed into law as P.L. 116-20 on June 6, 2019.

For a more detailed legislative history, as well as discussion of the broader content of P.L. 116-20 and the issues surrounding supplemental appropriations, see CRS Report R45844, FY2019 Disaster Supplemental Appropriations: Overview.

FY2019 Border Supplemental Appropriations (P.L. 116-26)

On May 1, 2019, the Trump Administration requested just over $4.51 billion in emergency-designated budget authority to pay for humanitarian needs and security operations at the U.S.-Mexico border, pursuant to a surge of children and family units seeking asylum in the United States.17 The request included $1.10 billion for DHS, divided between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).18 House Republicans attempted to respond to the request through motions and amendments to a variety of other legislative vehicles to provide some of the requested funding, but these motions and amendments were not adopted.

On June 19, 2019, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up S. 1900, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act. The bill, a bipartisan compromise reported out of committee with a single dissenting vote, included almost $4.59 billion in emergency-designated budget authority, including more than $1.3 billion for DHS—$1.10 billion for CBP, $209 million for ICE, and $30 million for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

A House version of the bill, H.R. 3401, was introduced on June 21, 2019, and taken up by the House on June 25. H.R. 3401 included $4.54 billion in emergency-designated budget authority, including $1.49 billion for DHS—$1.30 billion for CBP, $128 million for ICE, and $60 million for FEMA. H.R. 3401 was brought to the House floor on June 25 under a structured rule. Representative John Rutherford (R-FL) offered a motion to recommit with instructions that would have added almost $65 million for ICE. The motion was not agreed to by a vote of 205-218,19 and the bill passed the House 230-195.20

The Senate took up the House bill June 26, voting it down 37-55.21 Senator Richard Shelby offered the text of S. 1900 as an amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill, and after an amendment by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) to offset the cost of the bill was tabled 77-15,22 the Shelby amendment was agreed to by a vote of 84-8.23 The bill was subsequently agreed to by an identical margin.24

The House of Representatives originally considered a rule (H.Res. 466) on June 27 that would have set up consideration of a further amendment to the bill. However, the rule was withdrawn and amended, allowing the House to vote to agree to the Senate-amended bill later that day by a vote of 305-102.25 The President signed the bill into law on July 1, 2019, as P.L. 116-26.

Summary of DHS Appropriations

Generally, the homeland security appropriations bill includes all annual appropriations provided for DHS, allocating resources to every departmental component.26 Discretionary appropriations27 provide roughly two-thirds to three-fourths of the annual funding for DHS operations, depending how one accounts for disaster relief spending and funding for overseas contingency operations.28 The remainder of the budget is a mix of fee revenues, trust funds, and mandatory spending.

Appropriations measures for DHS typically have been organized into five titles.29 The first four are thematic groupings of components, while the fifth provides general direction to the department, and sometimes includes provisions providing additional budget authority.

Prior to the FY2017 act, the legislative language of many appropriations included directions to components or specific conditions on how the budget authority it provided could be used. Similarly, general provisions provided directions or conditions to one or more components. In the FY2017 act, a number of these provisions within appropriations and component-specific general provisions were grouped at the ends of the titles where their targeted components are funded, and identified as "administrative provisions."30 This practice has continued in subsequent years.

The DHS Common Appropriations Structure

When DHS was established in 2003, components of other agencies were brought together over a matter of months, in the midst of ongoing budget cycles. Rather than developing a new structure of appropriations for the entire department, Congress and the Administration continued to provide resources through existing account structures when possible.

At the direction of Congress, in 2014 DHS began to work on a new Common Appropriations Structure (CAS), which would standardize the format of DHS appropriations across components. In an interim report in 2015, DHS noted that operating with "over 70 different appropriations and over 100 Programs, Projects, and Activities ... has contributed to a lack of transparency, inhibited comparisons between programs, and complicated spending decisions and other managerial decision-making."31

After several years of work and negotiations with Congress, DHS made its first budget request in the CAS for FY2017, and implemented it while operating under the continuing resolutions funding the department in October 2016. For FY2017 and FY2018, all DHS components requested appropriations under the CAS except for the Coast Guard, due to constraints of its financial management system. For FY2019, all the components' requests generally conformed to the CAS.

A visual representation of the FY2019 requested funding in this new structure follows in Figure 1. On the left, CAS appropriations categories are listed next to a black bar representing the total FY2018 funding levels requested for DHS for each category. A catch-all "other" category is included for budget authority associated with the legislation that does not fit the CAS categories. Colored lines flow to the DHS components listed on the right, showing how the amount of funding for each appropriations category is distributed across DHS components. Wider lines indicate greater funding levels, so it is possible to understand how components may be funded differently. For example, while Customs and Border Protection (CBP) gets most of its funding from Operations and Support appropriations, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receives most of its discretionary funding from the Disaster Relief Fund appropriation.

Figure 1. FY2019 Requested Annual Appropriations in the Common Appropriations Structure

(adjusted net discretionary budget authority and disaster relief-designated funding)

Source: CRS analysis of DHS FY2019 Budget-in-Brief.

Note: Disaster relief-designated funding makes up a portion of the Disaster Relief Fund element on the left side of the figure, which includes the cost of a variety of Stafford Act activities unrelated to major disasters.

Abbreviations: CBP, Customs and Border Protection; FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency; USCG, U.S. Coast Guard; ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; TSA, Transportation Security Administration; USSS, U.S. Secret Service; NPPD, National Protection and Programs Directorate; MD, Management Directorate; ST, Science and Technology Directorate; CWMD; Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office; FLETC, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; AO, Analysis and Operations; OIG, Office of the Inspector General; USCIS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and OSEM, Office of the Secretary and Executive Management.

DHS Appropriations: Summary by Title

The following sections present textual and tabular comparisons among FY2018 enacted appropriations, FY2019 requested appropriations, the FY2019 appropriations bills developed by the appropriations committees, and the final enacted annual appropriations in Division A of the FY2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-6), P.L. 116-20, and P.L. 116-26. The structure of the appropriations reflects the organization outlined in the detail table of the explanatory statement accompanying the act (H.Rept. 116-9).

The tables summarize enacted appropriations for FY2018, annual appropriations requested by the Administration for FY2019, the appropriations committee-developed legislation in response to the request, and the enacted appropriations for FY2019.

  • Only the formal request for FY2019 annual appropriations is reflected in the "Request" column.
  • The tables include data on enacted annual and supplemental appropriations.
  • Instances where appropriations are provided for a title's components in other parts of the bill (such as in general provisions or by transfer) are shown separately. Supplemental appropriations provided with an emergency designation for a given component in FY2018 or FY2019 are displayed after the subtotal of annual appropriations.
  • Following the methodology used by the appropriations committees, totals of "appropriations" do not include resources provided by transfer or under adjustments to discretionary spending limits (i.e., for emergency requirements, overseas contingency operations for the Coast Guard or the cost of major disasters under the Stafford Act for the Federal Emergency Management Agency). Amounts covered by adjustments are included with discretionary appropriations in a separate total for "discretionary funding."
  • A subtotal for each component of total estimated budgetary resources that would be available under the legislation and from other sources (such as fees, mandatory spending, and trust funds) for the given fiscal year is also provided at the end of each component section.
  • Totals at the bottom of each table indicate the total net discretionary appropriation for the title on its own, the total net discretionary funding from the annual appropriations bill and any supplemental appropriations (when such were provided), and the projected total estimated budgetary resources for each phase in the appropriations process shown in the table.

Title I—Departmental Management and Operations

Title I, Departmental Management and Operations, the smallest of the component-specific titles, contains appropriations for the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management, the Management Directorate,32 Analysis and Operations (A&O), and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). For FY2018, these components received $1.36 billion in net discretionary funding through the appropriations process, including $25 million in FY2018 supplemental appropriations.

  • The Trump Administration requested $1.60 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for components included in this title.33
  • In addition, $24 million was requested as a transfer from the FY2019 appropriation for the Disaster Relief Fund to the OIG.
  • Not including the transfer, the appropriations request was $241 million (17.7%) more than the amount provided for FY2018.
  • Senate Appropriations Committee-reported S. 3109 included $1.47 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for the components funded in this title.
  • This was $137 million (8.6%) less than requested by the Trump Administration and $103 million (7.6%) more than the amount provided for FY2018.
  • S. 3109 included $72 million in discretionary budget authority drawn from unobligated prior-year balances from the DRF, but did not include the proposed transfer of FY2019 DRF resources to the OIG. As a result, the gross budgetary resources provided to components funded in Title I was $89 million (5.5%) less than the request, and $176 million (12.9%) more than provided in FY2018.
  • House Appropriations Committee-reported H.R. 6776 included $1.48 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for the components funded in this title.
  • This was $119 million (7.4%) less than requested by the Trump Administration and $122 million (8.9%) more than the amount provided for FY2018.
  • H.R. 6776, like the Senate committee-reported bill, did not include the proposed transfer of FY2019 DRF resources to the OIG. As a result, the gross budgetary resources provided to components funded in Title I were $143 million (8.8%) less than the request, and $122 million (8.9%) more than provided in FY2018.
  • P.L. 116-6 included a total of $1.88 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for the components funded in this title.
  • This included $51 million in a general provision for financial systems modernization, controlled by the management directorate.
  • The total was $513 million (37.7%) more than was provided in FY2018, and $248 million (15.2%) more than was requested by the Administration, if one included the Administration's proposed transfer of $24 million from the Disaster Relief Fund to the Office of the Inspector General.
  • No supplemental appropriations were provided for these components in FY2019.

Table 1 shows these comparisons in greater detail. As resources were requested or provided for the Management Directorate and Office of the Inspector General in some cases from outside Title I, separate lines are included for each of those components showing a total for what is provided solely within Title I, then the individual items funded outside the title, followed by the total annual appropriation for the components.

Table 1. Budgetary Resources for Departmental Management and Operations Components, FY2018 and FY2019

(budget authority in thousands of dollars)

 

FY2018

FY2019

Component/Appropriation

Enacted

Request

Senate Committee-Reported

S. 3109

House Committee-Reported

H.R. 6776

Enacted P.L. 116-6

Office of the Secretary and Executive Management

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

139,602

128,860

132,904

139,926

141,381

Total Discretionary Appropriations

139,602

128,860

132,904

139,926

141,381

Total Discretionary Funding

139,602

128,860

132,904

139,926

141,381

Total Budgetary Resources

139,602

128,860

132,904

139,926

141,381

Management Directorate

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

710,297

834,704

824,479

845,528

1,083,837

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

29,569

246,069

117,071

74,920

175,920

Research and Development

2,545

2,545

2,545

2,545

2,545

Title I Discretionary Appropriations

742,411

1,083,318

944,095

922,993

1,262,302

Appropriations drawn from DRF unobligated balances

0

0

72,000

0

0

Title I Net Discretionary Appropriations

742,411

1,083,318

872,095

922,993

1,262,302

Financial Systems Modernization (Title V)

41,800

0

39,000

0

51,000

Total Net Discretionary Appropriations

784,211

1,083,318

911,095

922,993

1,313,302

Total Net Discretionary Funding

784,211

1,083,318

911,095

922,993

1,313,302

Total Budgetary Resources

784,211

1,083,318

983,095

922,993

1,313,302

Analysis and Operations

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

245,905

253,253

254,476

259,253

253,253

Total Discretionary Appropriations

245,905

253,253

254,476

259,253

253,253

Total Discretionary Funding

245,905

253,253

254,476

259,253

253,253

Total Budgetary Resources

245,905

253,253

254,476

259,253

253,253

Office of the Inspector General

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

168,000

138,369

168,000

162,639

168,000

Title I Discretionary Appropriations

168,000

138,369

168,000

162,369

168,000

Transfer from FEMA's DRF [Title III]a

0

24,000

0

0

0

FY2018 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support (emergency, P.L. 115-123)

25,000

0

0

0

0

Total Discretionary Appropriations

168,000

138,369

168,000

162,369

168,000

Total Discretionary Funding (all sources, except transfers)

193,000

138,369

168,000

162,369

168,000

Total Budgetary Resources

193,000

162,369

168,000

162,369

168,000

Total Net Discretionary Appropriations: Title I

1,295,918

1,603,800

1,427,475

1,484,541

1,824,936

Total Net Discretionary Funding (all sources, except transfers)

1,362,718

1,603,800

1,466,475

1,484,541

1,875,936

Projected Total Gross Budgetary Resources: Title I Components

1,362,718

1,627,800

1,538,475

1,484,541

1,875,936

Sources: CRS analysis of the DHS FY2019 Budget-in-Brief, P.L. 115-141 and 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: FEMA = Federal Emergency Management Agency; DRF = Disaster Relief Fund. Appropriation subtotal lines are shaded, numbers in italics do not contribute separately to appropriation subtotals, numbers in bold represent appropriations plus emergency, disaster relief, and overseas contingency operations-designated funding, numbers in bold italics represent totals of all funding tracked in appropriations committee tables.

a. The Administration requested a $24 million transfer from FEMA's DRF to pay for oversight of disaster-related activities of the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that are reflected in the last line of this section and table.

Title II—Security, Enforcement, and Investigations

Title II, Security, Enforcement, and Investigations, contains appropriations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard (USCG), and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). Title II funding represents the majority of DHS's budget, comprising roughly three-quarters of the funding appropriated annually for the department.

For FY2018, these components received $39.52 billion in net discretionary funding, as part of $47.13 billion in projected total budget authority. This included $1.06 billion in supplemental appropriations.

  • The Trump Administration formally requested $38.41 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for components included in this title, as part of a total budget request for these components of $47.08 billion for FY2019.34
  • The funding request was $45 million (0.1%) less than the amount provided for FY2018, setting aside FY2018 supplemental appropriations.
  • Again setting aside FY2018 supplemental appropriations, the total resources proposed for FY2019 was $1.01 billion (2.2%) more than projected for FY2018.
  • The Administration reportedly sought additional funding in this title for construction of border barriers, above the formally requested level. In January 2019, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget sent a letter to congressional leaders officially seeking an additional $4.1 billion.35 Those amounts are not included in these comparative calculations or in the table below.

Senate Appropriations Committee-reported S. 3109 included $38.68 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for the components funded in this title.

  • This was $271 million (0.7%) more than formally requested by the Trump Administration and $227 million (0.6%) more than the amount provided for FY2018, setting aside FY2018 supplemental appropriations.
  • The total budgetary resources projected under S. 3109 were $614 million (1.3%) less than the Administration's request (largely due to rejection of a proposed TSA fee increase), but $391 million (0.8%) more than projected for FY2018, again setting aside FY2018 supplemental appropriations.
  • House Appropriations Committee-reported H.R. 6776 included $41.28 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for the components funded in this title.
  • This was $2.87 billion (7.5%) more than formally requested by the Trump Administration and $2.82 billion (7.3%) more than the amount provided for FY2018, setting aside FY2018 supplemental appropriations.

The total budgetary resources projected under H.R. 6776 were $2.08 billion (4.4%) more than formally requested by the Administration and $3.12 billion (6.8%) more than projected for FY2018, again setting aside FY2018 supplemental appropriations.

H.R. 6776 would have provided $2.59 billion (6.7%) more than S. 3019, largely due to the House Appropriations Committee recommending $3.35 billion more than its Senate counterpart for CBP's Border Security Assets and Infrastructure activity.

  • P.L. 116-6 included $40.00 billion in net discretionary funding for the components funded in this title.
  • The enacted annual appropriations were $1.59 billion (4.1%) more than requested, and $486 million (1.2%) more than the amount provided in FY2018. Setting aside FY2018 supplemental funding, FY2019 enacted net discretionary funding exceeded FY2018 levels by $1.55 billion (4.0%).
  • The total budgetary resources projected for components funded in this title were $47.82 billion, $704 million (1.5%) more than was formally requested by the Administration, and $1.75 billion (3.8%) more than was provided in FY2018, setting aside the FY2018 supplemental funding.
  • Supplemental appropriations were provided for CBP, ICE, and the USCG for FY2019.
  • P.L. 116-20, the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2019, included $524 million for the U.S. Coast Guard. There was no formal request from the Administration for these funds.
  • On May 1, 2019, the Administration requested $1.1 billion for CBP and ICE as part of a broader $4.51 billion supplemental appropriations package to support border security and humanitarian efforts on the U.S.-Mexico border.36 P.L. 116-26, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act, included $1.1 billion for CBP, $209 million for ICE, and $30 million for FEMA (reflected in Table 3).

Table 2 shows these comparisons in greater detail.

Table 2. Budgetary Resources for Security, Enforcement, and Investigations Components, FY2018 and FY2019

(budget authority in thousands of dollars)

 

FY2018

FY2019

Component/Appropriation

Enacted

Request

Senate Committee-Reported
S. 3109

House Committee-Reported
H.R. 6776

Enacted
P.L. 116-6

Customs and Border Protection (Annual)

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

11,485,164

12,119,643

11,963,581

12,002,072

12,179,729

Procurement, Construction and Improvements

2,281,357

1,841,548

2,028,872

5,510,244

2,515,878

CBP Services at User Fee Facilities (Permanent Indefinite Discretionary)

9,001

8,941

8,941

8,941

8,941

Colombia Free Trade Act Collections (Administrative Provision)

242,000

255,000

255,000

255,000

255,000

Reimbursable Preclearance (Administrative Provision)

39,000

39,000

39,000

39,000

39,000

Total Annual Discretionary Appropriations

14,056,522

14,264,132

14,295,394

17,815,257

14,998,548

Offsetting Collection (Reimbursable Preclearance)

39,000

39,000

39,000

39,000

39,000

Total Annual Net Discretionary Appropriations

14,017,522

14,225,132

14,256,394

17,776,257

14,959,548

FY2018 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support (emergency, P.L. 115-123)

104,494

0

0

0

0

Procurement, Construction and Improvements (emergency, P.L. 115-123)

45,000

0

0

0

0

FY2019 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support (emergency, P.L. 116-26)

0

0

0

0

1,015,431

Procurement, Construction and Improvements (emergency, P.L. 116-26)

0

0

0

0

85,000

Total Net Discretionary Funding

14,167,016

14,225,132

14,256,394

17,776,257

16,059,979

Fees, Mandatory Spending, and Trust Funds

2,300,668

2,455,185

2,297,702

2,298,185

2,297,702

Total Budgetary Resources

16,506,684

16,719,317

16,593,096

20,113,442

18,357,681

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

6,993,975

8,221,099a

7,139,842

7,333,079

7,542,153

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

81,899

70,431

70,431

70,431

45,559

Total Annual Discretionary Appropriations

7,075,874

8,291,530

7,210,273

7,403,510

7,587,712

FY2018 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support (emergency, P.L. 115-123)

30,905

0

0

0

0

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (emergency, P.L. 115-123)

33,052

0

0

0

0

FY2019 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support (emergency, P.L. 116-20)

0

0

0

0

208,945

Total Discretionary Funding

7,139,831

8,291,530

7,210,273

7,403,510

7,796,657

Fees, Mandatory Spending, and Trust Funds

376,610

525,600

318,000

318,000

318,000

Total Budgetary Resources

7,516,441

8,817,130

7,528,273

7,721,510

8,114,657

Transportation Security Administration

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

7,207,851

7,075,950

7,302,455

7,167,778

7,410,079

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

167,314

139,629

189,629

129,789

169,789

Research and Development

20,190

20,594

20,594

20,594

20,594

Total Annual Discretionary Appropriations

7,395,355

7,236,173

7,512,678

7,318,161

7,600,462

Offsetting Collections (Operations and Support)

2,470,000

3,190,000

2,670,000

2,670,000

2,670,000

Total Net Discretionary Appropriations

4,925,355

4,046,173

4,842,678

4,648,161

4,930,462

FY2018 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support (emergency, P.L. 115-123)

10,322

0

0

0

0

Total Net Discretionary Funding

4,935,677

4,046,173

4,842,678

4,648,161

4,930,462

Fees, Mandatory Spending, and Trust Funds

490,559

489,855

489,855

489,855

489,855

Total Budgetary Resources

7,896,236

7,726,058

8,002,563

7,808,016

8,090,317

U.S. Coast Guardb

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Supportc

7,488,188

7,593,138

7,792,409

7,620,209

7,808,201

Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) Adjustment—included in Operations and Supportd

163,000

0

165,000

0

165,000

Environmental Compliance and Restoration

13,397

*e

13,429

13,429

*e

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

2,694,745

1,886,750

2,169,260

1,429,750

2,248,260

Transfer from Science and Technology Directorate Unobligated Balances

0

0

0

95,000f

0

Research and Development

29,141

19,109

20,109

19,109

20,256

Health Care Fund Contribution (Permanent Indefinite Discretionary)

204,136

199,360

199,360

199,360

199,360

Coast Guard Continuation of Pay (Administrative Provision)

2,000

0

0

0

0

House Full Committee Amendment

0

0

0

1,000

0

Total Discretionary Appropriations (does not include OCO or transfers)

10,268,607

9,698,357

10,194,567

9,282,857

10,276,077

FY2018 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Operating Expenses

112,136

0

0

0

0

Environmental Compliance and Restoration

4,038

0

0

0

0

Acquisition, Construction, and Improvements

718,919

0

0

0

0

FY2019 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Operating Expenses (emergency, P.L. 116-20)

0

0

0

0

48,977

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (emergency, P.L. 116-20)

0

0

0

0

476,755

Total Discretionary Funding (includes emergency and OCO, but not transfers)

11,266,700

9,698,357

10,194,567

9,282,857

10,801,809

Fees, Mandatory Spending, and Trust Funds

1,676,117

1,739,844

1,739,844

1,739,844

1,739,844

Total Budgetary Resources

12,942,817

11,438,201

11,934,411

11,117,701

12,541,653

U.S. Secret Service

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

1,915,794

2,084,308

2,093,684

2,099,870

2,148,528

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

90,480

64,816

83,531

64,816

97,131

Research and Development

250

2,500

2,500

2,500

2,500

Total Discretionary Appropriations

2,006,524

2,151,624

2,179,715

2,167,186

2,248,159

Total Discretionary Funding

2,006,524

2,151,624

2,179,715

2,167,186

2,248,159

Fees, Mandatory Spending, and Trust Funds

265,000

265,000

265,000

265,000

265,000

Total Budgetary Resources

2,271,524

2,416,624

2,444,715

2,432,186

2,513,159

Total Net Discretionary Appropriations: Title II

38,291,882

38,412,816

38,518,627

41,277,971

39,836,958

Total Net Discretionary Funding: Title II Components (All Sources)

39,513,748

38,412,816

38,683,627

41,277,971

41,837,066

Projected Total Gross Budgetary Resources: Title II Components

47,131,706

47,077,330

46,464,058

49,192,855

49,656,467

Sources: CRS analysis of the DHS FY2019 Budget-in-Brief, P.L. 115-141 and 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: Appropriation subtotal lines are shaded, numbers in italics do not contribute separately to appropriation subtotals, numbers in bold represent appropriations plus emergency, disaster relief, and overseas contingency operations-designated funding, numbers in bold italics represent totals of all funding tracked in appropriations committee tables. Fee revenues included in the "Fees, Mandatory Spending, and Trust Funds" lines are projections, and do not include budget authority provided through general provisions.

a. The detail table in the Senate Appropriations Committee report indicated a $474,000 smaller Operations and Support request for CBP, reflected in the Custody Operations and Office of the Principal Legal Advisor sub-PPAs. The table in this report reflects the number in the detail table in the explanatory statement.

b. FY2019 was the first year that appropriations were requested for the USCG in the Common Appropriations Structure (CAS). This table shows FY2018 annual appropriations redistributed into the CAS.

c. In the FY2019 budget request this appropriation incorporates the former Operating Expenses, Reserve Training, and Environmental Compliance and Restoration appropriations. In the committee-reported bills, Environmental Compliance and Restoration was maintained as a separate appropriation. The table reflects the committee-reported structure.

d. $165,000,000 was requested by the Trump Administration for the Coast Guard from the Navy's OCO Operations and Maintenance appropriation (see pp. 359-366 of Department of the Navy Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Estimates, Justification of Estimates, February 2018, Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) Request, at http://www.secnav.navy.mil/fmc/fmb/Documents/19pres/OCO_BOOK.pdf).

e. $13,429,000 for Environmental Compliance and Restoration was included as part of the Trump Administration's FY2019 request for USCG Operations and Support. After a change was made in the FY2019 USCG authorization, P.L. 116-6 included the requested structure.

f. An amendment adopted in House Appropriations Committee markup provided for $95 million to be transferred from unobligated balances of the Science and Technology Directorate for initial acquisition costs of buying an 11th National Security Cutter for the Coast Guard.

Title III—Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery

Title III, Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, contains appropriations for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA),37 the Office of Health Affairs (OHA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It is the second largest of the component-specific titles.

For FY2018, these components received $7.22 billion in net discretionary appropriations and $7.37 billion in specially designated funding for disaster relief through the annual appropriations process. In addition to that annual funding, $58.23 billion was provided for FEMA in emergency supplemental appropriations in FY2018. Incorporating all these elements, the total net discretionary funding level for all Title III components was $72.61 billion for FY2018.

  • The Trump Administration requested $6.19 billion in FY2019 net discretionary appropriations for components included in this title, and $6.65 billion in specially designated funding for disaster relief as part of a total net discretionary funding level for these components of $12.84 billion for FY2019.38
  • Setting aside the $58.23 billion in FY2018 supplemental appropriations, the appropriations request was $1.54 billion (10.7%) less than the amount provided for FY2018 in net discretionary funding.
  • Senate Appropriations Committee-reported S. 3109 included $13.54 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for the components funded in this title.
  • This was $694 million (5.4%) more than requested by the Trump Administration and $847 million (5.9%) less than the amount provided for FY2018, setting aside supplemental funding.
  • The total budgetary resources projected would be $718 million (3.8%) more than the Administration's request, but $1.29 billion (6.2%) less than projected for FY2018, setting aside supplemental funding.
  • The Senate committee-reported bill included within these totals the requested disaster relief funding of $6.65 billion, and offset $228 million in its Federal Assistance appropriation from unobligated DRF balances.
  • House Appropriations Committee-reported H.R. 6776 included $13.70 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for the components funded in this title.
  • This was $861 million (6.7%) more than requested by the Trump Administration and $681 million (4.7%) less than the amount provided for FY2018, setting aside supplemental funding.
  • The total budgetary resources projected would be $885 million (4.7%) more than the Administration's request, but $1.13 billion (5.4%) less than projected for FY2018, setting aside supplemental funding.
  • The House committee-reported bill included within these totals the requested disaster relief funding of $6.65 billion.
  • P.L. 116-6 included $18.27 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for the components funded in this title.
  • The enacted discretionary funding level was $5.43 billion (42.3%) more than requested, and $3.89 billion (27.1%) more than the amount provided for FY2018, setting aside the historically high level of supplemental appropriations.
  • The total budgetary resources projected for FY2019 was $5.46 billion (29.0%) more than was requested, and $3.44 billion (16.5%) more than was projected for FY2018, setting aside FY2018 supplemental funding.
  • Supplemental appropriations were provided for FEMA for FY2019.
  • On May 1, 2019, the Administration requested $1.1 billion for CBP and ICE as part of a broader $4.51 billion supplemental appropriations package to support border security and humanitarian efforts on the U.S.-Mexico border.39 While there was no formal request from the Administration for FEMA funding, P.L. 116-26, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act, included $30 million for FEMA, as well as $1.1 billion for CBP and $209 million for ICE (reflected in Table 2).

Table 3 shows these comparisons in greater detail. As some annually appropriated resources were provided for FEMA from outside Title III in FY2018, a separate line is included for FEMA showing a total for what is provided solely within Title III, then the non-Title III appropriation, followed by the total annual appropriation for FEMA.

Table 3. Budgetary Resources for Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Components, FY2018 and FY2019

(budget authority in thousands of dollars)

 

FY2018

FY2019

Component / Appropriation

Enacted

Request

Senate Committee-Reported
S. 3109

House Committee-Reported
H.R. 6776

Enacted
P.L. 116-6

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

1,482,165

1,470,340

1,568,718

1,550,112

1,345,802

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

414,111

302,964

369,778

367,964

322,829

Research and Development

15,126

47,847

11,126

16,486

13,126

Federal Protective Service

1,476,055

1,527,110

1,527,110

1,527,110

1,527,110

Total Discretionary Appropriations

3,387,457

3,348,261

3,476,732

3,461,672

3,208,867

Offsetting Collections (Federal Protective Service)

1,476,055

1,527,110

1,527,110

1,527,110

1,527,110

Total Net Discretionary Appropriations

1,911,402

1,821,151

1,949,622

1,934,562

1,681,757

Total Discretionary Funding

1,911,402

1,821,151

1,949,622

1,934,562

1,681,757

Total Budgetary Resources

3,387,457

3,348,261

3,476,732

3,461,672

3,208,867

Office of Health Affairsa

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

121,569

0

121,569

0

0

Total Discretionary Appropriations

121,569

0

121,569

0

0

Total Discretionary Funding

121,569

0

121,569

0

0

Total Budgetary Resources

121,569

0

121,569

0

0

Federal Emergency Management Agency

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

1,030,135

1,036,282

1,054,838

1,057,599

1,066,258

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

85,276

103,349

128,349

103,349

133,830

Federal Assistance

3,293,932

2,644,733

3,272,939

3,356,525

3,094,210

Disaster Relief Fundb

7,900,720

7,234,000

7,234,000

7,210,000

12,558,000

Disaster relief designation

7,366,000

6,652,000

6,652,000

6,652,000

12,000,000

DRF base funding

534,720

582,000

582,000

558,000

558,000

Transfer to DHS Office of Inspector General

0

24,000

0

0

0

Subtotal: Net disaster relief funding

7,900,720

7,210,000

7,234,000

7,210,000

12,558,000

National Flood Insurance Fund (NFIF)

203,500

201,691

201,691

201,691

202,153

Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program

0

3,000

3,000

0c

0c

Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program (Administrative Provisions)

-1,024

-665

-665

-665

-665

Title III Discretionary Appropriations (does not include transfers, emergency or disaster relief-designated funding)

5,146,539

4,570,390

5,242,152

5,276,499

5,053,786

Presidential Residence Protection (Title V)

41,000

0

0

41,000

41,000

Total Annual Discretionary Appropriations

5,187,539

4,570,390

5,242,152

5,317,499

5,094,786

Appropriations drawn from DRF unobligated balances (Federal Assistance)

0

0

228,000

0

300,000

Offsetting Collections (NFIF)

203,500

201,691

201,691

201,691

202,153

Total Annual Net Discretionary Appropriations

4,984,039

4,368,699

4,812,461

5,115,808

4,592,633

FY2018 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support (emergency, P.L. 115-123)

58,800

0

0

0

0

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (emergency, P.L. 115-123)

1,200

0

0

0

0

Disaster Relief Fund (emergency, P.L. 115-56 (FY2017), P.L. 115-72, P.L. 115-123)

42,170,000

0

0

0

0

National Flood Insurance Fund (emergency, P.L. 115-72)

16,000,000

0

0

0

0

FY2019 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Federal Assistance (emergency, P.L. 116-26)

0

0

0

0

30,000

Total Discretionary Funding (includes emergency and disaster relief-designated funding)

70,580,039

11,020,699

11,464,461

11,767,808

16,622,633

Fees, Mandatory Spending, and Trust Funds

4,779,036

4,484,683

4,484,683

4,484,683

4,484,683

Total Budgetary Resources

75,562,575

15,481,382

15,949,144

16,252,491

21,107,316

Total Net Discretionary Appropriations: Title III

7,179,510

6,189,850

6,883,652

7,050,370

6,274,390

Total Discretionary Funding: Title III Components (All Sources)

72,613,010

12,841,850

13,535,652

13,702,370

18,304,390

Projected Total Gross Budgetary Resources: Title III Components

79,071,601

18,829,643

19,547,445

19,714,163

24,316,183

Sources: CRS analysis of the DHS FY2019 Budget-in-Brief, P.L. 115-141 and 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, and P.L. 116-26.

Notes: Appropriation subtotal lines are shaded, numbers in [brackets] are subtotals presented for convenience of the reader, numbers in italics do not contribute separately to appropriation subtotals, numbers in bold represent appropriations plus emergency, disaster relief, and overseas contingency operations-designated funding, numbers in bold italics represent totals of all funding tracked in appropriations committee tables. Fee revenues included in the "Fees, Mandatory Spending, and Trust Funds" lines are projections, and do not include budget authority provided through general provisions.

a. The Administration proposed reorganizing the Office of Health Affairs (OHA) and Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) into the Office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD). The Senate Appropriations Committee did not object to the restructuring, but continued to present OHA appropriations in the old structure, as the authorizing committees had not ratified the move. The House Appropriations Committee funded the OCWMD in the structure requested, as did P.L. 116-6.

b. This line is a subtotal of the "Base" line and the "Major Disasters" line (also known as the disaster relief adjustment)—it represents the total resources provided to the DRF. Amounts covered by the disaster relief adjustment (or other adjustments, such as those for emergency requirements or overseas contingency operations) are not included in appropriations totals, but are included in discretionary funding and other budget authority totals, per appropriations committee practice.

c. H.R. 6776 and P.L. 116-6 included $3 million for these purposes as a transfer from the DRF.

Title IV—Research and Development, Training, and Services

Title IV, Research and Development, Training, and Services, the second smallest of the component-specific titles, contains appropriations for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO). In FY2018, these components received $1.57 billion in net discretionary funding, as part of a projected total budget of $5.92 billion. This included $10 million in supplemental appropriations for FLETC.

  • The Trump Administration requested $1.53 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for components included in this title, as part of a total budget for these components of $6.11 billion for FY2018.
  • The funding request was $36 million (2.3%) less than the amount provided for FY2018, setting aside supplemental appropriations, although the overall budget request was $201 million (3.3%) higher than the annual budget projected for FY2018 (again, setting aside supplemental funding). This is due to changes in anticipated fee collections for USCIS and reorganization of most of the Office of Health Affairs and DNDO into the new CWMD component reflected in the request.
  • Senate Appropriations Committee-reported S. 3109 included $1.53 billion in net discretionary funding for components included in this title, as part of a projected total budget of $6.23 billion.
  • This was $115 million (7.5%) more than requested, and $79 million (5.0%) less than the amount provided for FY2018, not including supplemental funding.
  • The total budgetary resources projected under S. 3109 would have been $115 million (1.9%) more than the Administration's request, and $316 million (5.3%) more than projected for FY2018, setting aside supplemental funding.
  • House Appropriations Committee-reported H.R. 6776 included $1.64 billion in net discretionary funding for components included in this title, as part of a projected total budget of $6.21 billion.
  • This was $97 million (6.3%) more than requested, and $60 million (3.9%) more than the amount provided for FY2018, not including supplemental funding.
  • The total budgetary resources projected under H.R. 6776 would have been $97 million (1.6%) more than the Administration's request, and $297 million (5.0%) more than projected for FY2018, setting aside supplemental funding.
  • P.L. 116-6 included $1.62 billion in FY2019 net discretionary funding for the components funded in this title.
  • Enacted FY2019 appropriations were $199 million (3.3%) more than was requested by the Administration, and $163 million (10.4%) more than was provided in FY2018, setting aside FY2018 supplemental funding.
  • Total budgetary resources projected for FY2019 are $199 million (3.3%) more than were requested by the Administration, and $400 million (6.8%) more than was projected for FY2018, setting aside FY2018 supplemental funding.

Table 4 shows these comparisons in greater detail.

Table 4. Budgetary Resources for Research and Development, Training, and Services Components, FY2018 and FY2019

(budget authority in thousands of dollars)

 

FY2018

FY2019

Component/Appropriation

Enacted

Request

Senate Committee-Reported
S. 3109

House Committee-Reported
H.R. 6776

Enacted
P.L. 116-6

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

108,856

109,081

109,081

109,081

109,688

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

22,657

22,838

22,838

22,838

22,838

Federal Assistance

0

0

0

0

10,000

Immigration Authorization Extensions (Administrative Provision)

1,000

0

0

0

0

Total Annual Discretionary Appropriations

132,513

131,919

131,919

131,919

142,526

Total Discretionary Funding

132,513

131,919

131,919

131,919

142,526

Fees, Mandatory Spending, and Trust Funds

4,350,526

4,587,651

4,587,651

4,587,651

4,587,651

Total Budgetary Resources

4,483,039

4,719,570

4,719,570

4,719,570

4,730,177

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

254,000

296,557

275,666

254,774

277,876

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

0

85,577

85,577

0

50,943

Total Annual Discretionary Appropriations

254,000

382,134

361,243

254,774

328,819

FY2018 Supplemental Appropriations

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support (emergency, P.L. 115-141)

5,374

0

0

0

0

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (emergency, P.L. 115-141)

5,000

0

0

0

0

Total Discretionary Funding

264,374

382,134

361,243

254,774

328,819

Total Budgetary Resources

264,374

382,134

361,243

254,774

328,819

Science and Technology

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

331,113

271,803

308,520

304,408

308,520

Research and Development

509,830

311,480

504,596

497,751

511,265

Total Discretionary Appropriations

840,943

583,283

813,116

802,159

819,785

Total Discretionary Funding

840,943

583,283

813,116

802,159

819,785

Total Budgetary Resources

840,943

583,283

813,116

802,159

819,785

Domestic Nuclear Detection Officea

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

54,664

0

54,664

0

0

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

89,096

0

89,096

0

0

Research and Development

145,661

0

145,661

0

0

Federal Assistance

46,019

0

46,019

0

0

Total Discretionary Appropriations

335,440

0

335,440

0

0

Total Discretionary Funding

335,440

0

335,440

0

0

Total Budgetary Resources

335,440

0

335,440

0

0

Office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destructiona

 

 

 

 

 

Operations and Support

0

209,264

0

214,264

187,095

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

0

74,896

0

74,896

100,096

Research and Development

0

80,443

0

80,443

83,043

Federal Assistance

0

64,663b

0

64,663

64,663

Total Discretionary Appropriations

0

429,266

0

434,266

434,897

Total Discretionary Funding

0

429,266

0

434,266

434,897

Total Budgetary Resources

0

429,266

0

434,266

434,897

Total Net Discretionary Appropriations: Title IV

1,562,896

1,526,602

1,641,718

1,623,118

1,726,027

Total Discretionary Funding: Title IV Components (All Sources)

1,573,270

1,526,602

1,641,718

1,623,118

1,726,027

Projected Total Gross Budgetary Resources for Title IV Components

5,923,796

6,114,253

6,114,253

6,210,769

6,313,678

Source: CRS analysis of the DHS FY2019 Budget-in-Brief, P.L. 115-141 and 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: Appropriation subtotal lines are shaded, numbers in italics do not contribute separately to appropriation subtotals, numbers in bold represent appropriations plus emergency, disaster relief, and overseas contingency operations-designated funding, numbers in bold italics represent totals of all funding tracked in appropriations committee tables. Fee revenues included in the "Fees, Mandatory Spending, and Trust Funds" lines are projections.

a. The Administration proposed reorganizing the Office of Health Affairs (OHA) and Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) into the Office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD). The Senate Appropriations Committee did not object to the restructuring, but continued to present OHA appropriations in the old structure, as the authorizing committees had not ratified the move. The House Appropriations Committee funded the OCWMD in the structure requested, as did P.L. 116-6.

b. This request appears to have been left out of the detail table in H.Rept. 116-9.

Title V—General Provisions

As noted above, the fifth title of the FY2019 DHS appropriations act contains general provisions, the impact of which may reach across the entire department, affect multiple components, or focus on a single activity. Rescissions of prior-year appropriations—cancellations of budget authority that reduce the net funding level in the bill—are found in this title.40

For FY2018, Division F of P.L. 115-141 included $489 million in rescissions. For FY2019, the Administration proposed rescinding $300 million in prior-year funding from the DRF. S. 3109 included $137 million in rescissions from other appropriations, but specifically directed the $300 million the Administration had proposed rescinding from the DRF to other activities within DHS. H.R. 6776 did not include any rescissions, although an amendment from Representative Palazzo was passed in full committee markup on a voice vote redirecting unobligated balances from the Science and Technology Directorate to the Coast Guard. Division A of P.L. 116-6 included $303 million in rescissions, and a provision directing that $300 million of DRF unobligated balances be used to offset new DRF appropriations.

In FY2018, funding was also included in Title V for the Financial Systems Modernization initiative and a grant program for Presidential Residence Protection costs, which are reflected in the tables for Title I and Title III, respectively, as those titles fund the components that manage these resources. For FY2019, Title V of S. 3109 only funded the Financial Systems Modernization initiative, and Title V of H.R. 6776 only funded Presidential Residence Protection costs. Title V of P.L. 116-6, Division A, included funding for both the Financial Systems Modernization initiative and Presidential Residence Protection costs.41

The detail table in the back of H.Rept. 115-948 also notes the discretionary cost of several policy changes in H.R. 6776. Four amendments adopted in House Appropriations Committee markup resulted in a net $13 million increase in the score of the bill, which is reflected in the detail table, but not in the tables of this report. No such costs are reflected in the detail table of H.Rept. 116-9.

For Further Information

For additional perspectives on FY2019 DHS appropriations, see the following:

Congressional clients also may wish to consult CRS's experts directly. The following table lists CRS analysts and specialists who have expertise in policy areas linked to DHS appropriations.

Table 5. DHS Appropriations Experts

Component/Issue Area

Name

Background Report

DHS Annual and Supplemental Appropriations, Overall

William Painter

 

Departmental Management, Personnel Issues

Barbara L. Schwemle

CRS Insight IN11035, Department of Homeland Security Human Resources Management: Homeland Security Issues in the 116th Congress

DHS Headquarters Consolidation

William Painter

CRS Report R42753, DHS Headquarters Consolidation Project: Issues for Congress

Analysis and Operations

Lisa Sacco

 

Office of the Inspector General

Kathryn A. Francis

CRS Report R43814, Federal Inspectors General: History, Characteristics, and Recent Congressional Actions

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Audrey Singer

CRS Report R42138, Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Audrey Singer

CRS Report R44627, Interior Immigration Enforcement: Criminal Alien Programs

Transportation Security Administration

Bart Elias

CRS Report R45082, Security of Air Cargo Shipments, Operations, and Facilities; and CRS Report R45500, Transportation Security: Issues for the 116th Congress

U.S. Coast Guard

John Frittelli

CRS Report R44566, The Coast Guard's Role in Safeguarding Maritime Transportation: Selected Issues

U.S. Secret Service

Shawn Reese

CRS Report RL34603, The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Cybersecurity

Chris Jaikaran

CRS In Focus IF10683, DHS's Cybersecurity Mission—An Overview

Infrastructure Protection

Frank Gottron

 

Federal Protective Service

Shawn Reese

CRS Report R43570, Federal Building and Facility Security: Frequently Asked Questions

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Disaster Response

Elizabeth Webster

CRS Report R41981, Congressional Primer on Responding to Major Disasters and Emergencies

Disaster Relief Fund

William L. Painter

CRS Report R45484, The Disaster Relief Fund: Overview and Issues

Mitigation Programs

Diane P. Horn

 

Stafford Act Individual Assistance Program

Elizabeth Webster

CRS Insight IN11054, Disaster Housing Assistance: Homeland Security Issues in the 116th Congress

Stafford Act Public Assistance Program

Natalie Keegan

CRS Report R43990, FEMA's Public Assistance Grant Program: Background and Considerations for Congress

Preparedness Grants

Shawn Reese

CRS Report R44669, Department of Homeland Security Preparedness Grants: A Summary and Issues

Firefighter Assistance Grants

Lennard G. Kruger

CRS Report RL32341, Assistance to Firefighters Program: Distribution of Fire Grant Funding; and CRS Report RL33375, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response: The SAFER Grant Program

 

 

 

Disaster Declarations

Bruce R. Lindsay

CRS Report R42702, Stafford Act Declarations 1953-2016: Trends, Analyses, and Implications for Congress

National Flood Insurance Program

Diane P. Horn

CRS Report R44593, Introduction to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

William A. Kandel

CRS Report R44038, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Functions and Funding

Science and Technology

Daniel Morgan

CRS Report R44786, Science and Technology Issues in the 115th Congress

Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office

Frank Gottron

CRS Report R44786, Science and Technology Issues in the 115th Congress

Appendix. Appropriations Terms and Concepts

Budget Authority, Obligations, and Outlays

Federal government spending involves a multistep process that begins with the enactment of budget authority by Congress. Federal agencies then obligate funds from enacted budget authority to pay for their activities. Finally, payments are made to liquidate those obligations; the actual payment amounts are reflected in the budget as outlays.

Budget authority is established through appropriations acts or direct spending legislation and determines the amounts that are available for federal agencies to spend. The Antideficiency Act42 prohibits federal agencies from obligating more funds than the budget authority enacted by Congress. Budget authority also may be indefinite in amount, as when Congress enacts language providing "such sums as may be necessary" to complete a project or purpose. Budget authority may be available on a one-year, multiyear, or no-year basis. One-year budget authority is available for obligation only during a specific fiscal year; any unobligated funds at the end of that year are no longer available for spending. Multiyear budget authority specifies a range of time during which funds may be obligated for spending, and no-year budget authority is available for obligation for an indefinite period of time.

Obligations are incurred when federal agencies employ personnel, enter into contracts, receive services, and engage in similar transactions in a given fiscal year—which create a legal requirement for the government to pay. Outlays are the funds that are actually spent during the fiscal year.43 Because multiyear and no-year budget authorities may be obligated over a number of years, outlays do not always match the budget authority enacted in a given year. Additionally, budget authority may be obligated in one fiscal year but spent in a future fiscal year, especially with certain contracts.

In sum, budget authority allows federal agencies to incur obligations and authorizes payments, or outlays, to be made from the Treasury. Discretionary funded agencies and programs, and appropriated entitlement programs, are funded each year in appropriations acts.

Discretionary and Mandatory Spending

Gross budget authority, or the total funds available for spending by a federal agency, may be composed of discretionary and mandatory spending. Discretionary spending is not mandated by existing law and is thus appropriated yearly by Congress through appropriations acts. The Budget Enforcement Act of 199044 defines discretionary appropriations as budget authority provided in annual appropriations acts and the outlays derived from that authority, but it excludes appropriations for entitlements. Mandatory spending, also known as direct spending, consists of budget authority and resulting outlays provided in laws other than appropriations acts and is typically not appropriated each year. Some mandatory entitlement programs, however, must be appropriated each year and are included in appropriations acts. Within DHS, Coast Guard retirement pay is an example of appropriated mandatory spending.

Offsetting Collections45

Offsetting funds are collected by the federal government, either from government accounts or the public, as part of a business-type transaction such as collection of a fee. These funds are not considered federal revenue. Instead, they are counted as negative outlays. DHS net discretionary budget authority, or the total funds appropriated by Congress each year, is composed of discretionary spending minus any fee or fund collections that offset discretionary spending.

Some collections offset a portion of an agency's discretionary budget authority. Other collections offset an agency's mandatory spending. These mandatory spending elements are typically entitlement programs under which individuals, businesses, or units of government that meet the requirements or qualifications established by law are entitled to receive certain payments if they establish eligibility. The DHS budget features two mandatory entitlement programs: the Secret Service and the Coast Guard retired pay accounts (pensions). Some entitlements are funded by permanent appropriations, and others are funded by annual appropriations. Secret Service retirement pay is a permanent appropriation and, as such, is not annually appropriated. In contrast, Coast Guard retirement pay is annually appropriated. In addition to these entitlements, the DHS budget contains offsetting Trust and Public Enterprise Funds. These funds are not appropriated by Congress. They are available for obligation and included in the President's budget to calculate the gross budget authority.

302(a) and 302(b) Allocations

In general practice, the maximum budget authority for annual appropriations (including DHS) is determined through a two-stage congressional budget process. In the first stage, Congress sets overall spending totals in the annual concurrent resolution on the budget. Subsequently, these totals are allocated among the appropriations committees, usually through the statement of managers for the conference report on the budget resolution. These amounts are known as the 302(a) allocations. They include discretionary totals available to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations for enactment in annual appropriations bills through the subcommittees responsible for the development of the bills.

In the second stage of the process, the appropriations committees allocate the 302(a) discretionary funds among their subcommittees for each of the appropriations bills. These amounts are known as the 302(b) allocations. These allocations must add up to no more than the 302(a) discretionary allocation and form the basis for enforcing budget discipline, since any bill reported with a total above the ceiling is subject to a point of order. The 302(b) allocations may be adjusted during the year by the respective appropriations committee issuing a report delineating the revised suballocations as the various appropriations bills progress toward final enactment. No subcommittee allocations are developed for conference reports or enacted appropriations bills.

Table A-1 shows comparable figures for the 302(b) allocation for FY2018, based on the adjusted net discretionary budget authority included in Division F of P.L. 115-141, the President's request for FY2019, and the House and Senate subcommittee allocations for the Homeland Security appropriations bills for FY2019.

Table A-1. FY2018 and FY2019 302(b) Discretionary Allocations for DHS

(budget authority in billions of dollars)

FY2018 Comparable

FY2019 Request Comparable

FY2019 House Allocation

FY2019 Senate Allocation

FY2019 Enacted Comparable

47.723

41.194

51.435

48.334

49.410

Sources: CRS analysis of S.Rept. 115-340 Further Revised Allocation to Subcommittees of Budget Totals for Fiscal Year 2019, H.Rept. 115-779, Revised Suballocation of Budget Allocations for Fiscal Year 2019, and H.Rept. 116-9.

Notes: These allocations do not include funding designated as an emergency requirement, designated as being for overseas contingency operations, or designated as being for the costs of major disasters under the Stafford Act ("disaster relief").

The Budget Control Act, Discretionary Spending Caps, and Adjustments

The Budget Control Act established enforceable discretionary limits, or caps, for defense and nondefense spending for each fiscal year from FY2012 through FY2021. Subsequent legislation, including the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013,46 amended those caps. Most of the budget for DHS is considered nondefense spending.47

In addition, the Budget Control Act allows for adjustments that would raise the statutory caps to cover funding for overseas contingency operations/Global War on Terror, emergency spending, and, to a limited extent, disaster relief and appropriations for continuing disability reviews and control of health care fraud and abuse.

Three of the four justifications outlined in the Budget Control Act for adjusting the caps on discretionary budget authority have played a role in DHS's appropriations process. Two of these—emergency spending and overseas contingency operations/Global War on Terror—are not limited.

The third justification—disaster relief—is limited. Under the Budget Control Act, the allowable adjustment for disaster relief was determined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), using the following formula until FY2019:

Limit on disaster relief cap adjustment for the fiscal year = Rolling average of the disaster relief spending over the last ten fiscal years (throwing out the high and low years) + the unused amount of the potential adjustment for disaster relief from the previous fiscal year.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 amended the above formula, increasing the allowable size of the adjustment by adding 5% of the amount of emergency-designated funding for major disasters under the Stafford Act, calculated by OMB as $6.296 billion.48 The act also extended the availability of unused adjustment capacity. In August 2018, OMB released a sequestration update report for FY2019 that provided a preview estimate of the allowable adjustment for FY2019 of $14.965 billion49—the second-largest allowable adjustment for disaster relief in the history of the mechanism.50 $12 billion of that adjustment was exercised in P.L. 116-6, Division A, in appropriations for the Disaster Relief Fund. No other annual appropriations used the disaster relief adjustment for FY2019.

Author Contact Information

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

Footnotes

1.

U.S. Government Accountability Office, A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process, GAO-05-734SP, September 1, 2005, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-734SP.

2.

For example, the FY2019 request envisioned an appropriations bill that included discretionary appropriations—budget authority that is provided to the department through appropriations acts; appropriations that are offset by agency collections, such as user fees, resulting in no net effect on the budget; funding that is not subject to the discretionary spending limits due to special designation; transfers of appropriated budget authority between components; appropriations that are considered to be mandatory spending; and rescissions—cancellation of budget authority that otherwise would be available for obligation and thus offsets other spending charged to the bill. Also credited to the discretionary spending in the bill are two elements of "permanent indefinite discretionary spending" that are not included in the actual appropriations bill but are included in the discretionary spending total of the bill because of scorekeeping practices. For a discussion these mechanisms, see the Appendix.

3.

For a discussion of allocations of discretionary budget authority, see the Appendix.

4.

This definition is drawn from the term's usage in the detail tables provided in multiple House Appropriations Committee reports, conference reports, and explanatory statements. It should be noted that this term has also been used as shorthand for the adjusted net discretionary budget authority in some appropriations committee communications. See https://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/03.21.18_fy18_omnibus_-_homeland_security_-_summary.pdf for an example.

5.

The explanatory statement is available in the Congressional Record of March 22, 2018, pp. H2544-H2608.

6.

In addition, as FY2018 annual appropriations had yet to be enacted, the request did not include a comparison of the Administration's proposal to an enacted level for the current fiscal year.

7.

Information on this OCO funding are provided only for reference: annual appropriations provided in other annual appropriations bills for DHS functions is not tracked in the totals or tables for this report.

8.

Sections 125-128 of division C provide special accommodations for disaster relief and recovery activities, operations of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, maintenance of staffing levels at certain components, purchase of armored vehicles for the Secret Service, and management of activities formerly funded through the DHS Working Capital Fund.

9.

For more details, see CRS Report RL34680, Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects, coordinated by Clinton T. Brass.

10.

P.L. 116-6.

11.

Roll No. 39, 116th Congress.

12.

Congressional Budget Office, "Cost Estimate for Divisions A and B of Senate Amendment 201 to H.R. 268, as filed for consideration by the Senate on March 26, 2019," press release, March 27, 2019, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/55086.

13.

Record vote 55, on invoking cloture on S.Amdt. 201 was 44-49, and record vote 56, on invoking cloture on H.R. 268, was 46-48.

14.

Roll No. 202.

15.

Record vote 128.

16.

Roll No. 232.

17.

Letter from Russell T. Vought, Acting Director, Office of Management and Budget, to The Honorable Michael R. Pence, President of the Senate, May 1, 2019, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Pence.pdf.

18.

The request letter and a table released by the White House that same day do not provide adequate detail to calculate a precise level of funding requested for each component, or identify a specific request level for component appropriations.

19.

Roll No. 413.

20.

Roll No. 414.

21.

Record vote 182.

22.

Record vote 183.

23.

Record vote 184.

24.

Record vote 185.

25.

Roll No. 429.

26.

Although most appropriations are available for only one year, not all appropriations are spent in the year they are provided. Some appropriations, such as those for Procurement, Construction, and Improvements, are available for multiple years. Others, such as those for the Disaster Relief Fund, never expire, and are available until they are used or rescinded.

27.

Generally speaking, those provided through annual legislation. For more detail, see the text box above and the Appendix.

28.

These items, which qualify for special designation under the Budget Control Act, provide discretionary budget authority to DHS components but are not included in the "appropriations" total for the bill at the end of the detail tables in the committee reports.

29.

Although the House and Senate have generally produced symmetrically structured bills in the past, additional titles are sometimes added by one of the chambers to address special issues. For example, the FY2012 House full committee markup added a sixth title to carry a $1 billion emergency appropriation for the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). The Senate version carried no additional titles beyond the five described above. For FY2017, the House and Senate committee bills took different approaches to restructuring appropriations and departmental functions, and ultimately, a sixth title was added to provide supplemental appropriations requested by the then-new Trump Administration.

30.

The detail table at the end of the explanatory statement notes the budget authority provided by these provisions, as well as budget authority that scorekeeping rules mandate be included in the act's total spending.

31.

Office of the Chief Financial Officer, A Common Appropriations Structure for DHS: FY2016 Crosswalk, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, February 2, 2015, p. 2.

32.

The Management Directorate includes the Office of the Under Secretary for Management (USM), the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO).

33.

This includes $2 million charged to the discretionary score of the bill for a policy provision regarding expenses of primary and secondary schooling for DHS employee dependents. (The provision was included in the House-passed bill as Division E, Section 530, but not in the Senate draft or enacted FY2018 annual appropriation.)

34.

Other resources that contribute to the budget for these components include mandatory spending, fee revenues, and trust funds. CRS uses the Administration's formally documented budget request as scored by CBO as the basis of these comparisons. President Trump has made public comments referring to a $5 billion request in FY2019 for border barrier construction that he has reportedly made to lawmakers in direct discussions. This would normally be funded through Title II of the DHS appropriations bill, in the Procurement, Construction, and Improvements appropriation for CBP. However, the Administration's formal documented budget request for that particular appropriation for FY2019 includes $1.6 billion for "border wall construction."

35.

Letter from Russell T. Vought, Acting Director, Office of Management and Budget, to The Honorable Richard Shelby, Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, January 6, 2019, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Final-Shelby-1-6-19.pdf.

36.

The Administration's publicly available documentation of the request was not sufficient to break down requested budget authority by component or appropriation.

37.

CISA was formerly known as the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD).

38.

In addition to the appropriations provided in Title III, the appropriation for a FEMA grant program in Title V to help pay the costs of presidential protection, and the funding for disaster relief ($24 million of which was requested to be transferred to the OIG), roughly $1.73 billion is provided through offsetting collections to the Federal Protective Service and FEMA—but as it is funded through offsetting collections, it is not visible in the net discretionary appropriations total. Other resources that contribute to the budget for these components include mandatory spending, fee revenues, and trust funds, including the National Flood Insurance Fund.

39.

The Administration's publicly available documentation of the request was not sufficient to break down requested budget authority by component or appropriation.

40.

As noted elsewhere, general provisions also may provide funding. Incidences where this occurs in the act are reflected in Tables 1-4.

41.

§521 and §531, respectively.

42.

31 U.S.C. §§1341, 1342, 1344, 1511-1517.

43.

Appropriations, outlays, and account balances for various appropriations accounts can be viewed in the end-of-year reports published by the U.S. Treasury titled Combined Statement of Receipts, Outlays, and Balances of the United States Government. The DHS portion of the report can be accessed at https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsreports/rpt/combStmt/cs2017/c18.pdf.

44.

P.L. 101-508, Title XIII.

45.

Prepared with assistance from Bill Heniff Jr., Analyst in American National Government.

46.

P.L. 113-67.

47.

Most of the defense spending in the DHS budget is in the budget for the National Protection and Programs Directorate. Other defense spending is also included in the budgets for the U.S. Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

48.

Letter from Mick Mulvaney, Director, OMB, to the Honorable Patrick Leahy, Vice Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, April 23, 2018.

49.

Executive Office of the President of the United States, OMB Sequestration Update Report to the President and Congress for Fiscal Year 2019, Washington, DC, August 20, 2018, p. 14, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Sequestration_Update_August_2018_House.pdf.

50.

Only the allowable adjustment for FY2015 was higher, at $18.430 billion.