Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2024 Provisions

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2024 Provisions

Department of Homeland Security
May 23, 2024
Appropriations: FY2024 Provisions
William L. Painter
Through appropriations legislation, Congress provides not only budget authority for federal
Specialist in Homeland
agencies and departments to operate, but also legally binding direction on how that budget
Security and
authority can (or cannot) be used. Sometimes enacted appropriations measures include
Appropriations
authorizing (or “legislative”) provisions as well.

These directions may appear in three places in an appropriations act:

1. in the language of individual appropriations;
2. in administrative provisions at the end of a title; and
3. in general provisions at the end of a bill (or division, in the case of a consolidated measure).
Some of these directions directly relate to the management of budget authority enacted in the measure, while others relate to
policy or operational matters. As with any facet of legislation, these provisions are not constant. Due to the passage of time or
other legislative developments, a provision may require adjustment or lose its relevance. Provisions enacted in appropriations
legislation are also a focus of negotiations between the parties and between the chambers during the appropriations process,
so provisions can evolve through negotiations until a compromise is worked out in the final measure.
Rather than reciting the entire catalog of more than 100 administrative and general provisions in the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act, 2024, this report focuses on the substantive changes in directions provided
from FY2023 to FY2024. It includes changes from the provisions in the DHS Appropriations Act, 2023, reflected in
• the detailed proposals for administrative and general provisions made in the Administration’s FY2024
appropriations request for DHS;
• the administrative and general provisions in House Appropriations Committee-reported H.R. 4367, as well
as amendments approved by the House of Representatives during floor consideration;
• the administrative and general provisions in Senate Appropriations Committee-reported S. 2625; and
• those enacted in P.L. 118-47, Division C.

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Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Scope and Methodology .................................................................................................................. 1
Security, Enforcement, and Investigations Administrative Provisions (Title II) ............................. 2
Administration-proposed Changes ............................................................................................ 3
Administration-proposed Deletions .................................................................................... 3
Administration-proposed Modifications ............................................................................. 4
Administration-proposed Additions .................................................................................... 4
Other Changes ........................................................................................................................... 5
Deletions ............................................................................................................................. 5
Modifications ...................................................................................................................... 5
Additions ............................................................................................................................. 6
Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Administrative Provisions (Title III) .............. 6
Administration-Proposed Changes ............................................................................................ 7
Administration-proposed Deletions .................................................................................... 7
Administration-proposed Modifications ............................................................................. 7
Administration-proposed Additions .................................................................................... 8
Other Changes ........................................................................................................................... 9
Deletions ............................................................................................................................. 9
Research, Development, Training, and Services Administrative Provisions (Title IV) .................. 9
Administration-Proposed Changes ............................................................................................ 9
Departmental Management, Intelligence, Situational Awareness and Oversight
Administrative Provisions (Title I) ............................................................................................. 10
Administration-Proposed Changes .......................................................................................... 10
Administration-proposed Deletions .................................................................................. 10
Administration-proposed Additions ................................................................................... 11
Other Changes .......................................................................................................................... 11
Deletions ............................................................................................................................ 11
General Provisions (Title V) .......................................................................................................... 12
Administration-Proposed Changes .......................................................................................... 12
Administration-proposed Deletions .................................................................................. 12
Administration-proposed Additions .................................................................................. 15
Other Changes ......................................................................................................................... 15
Deletions ........................................................................................................................... 15
Modifications .................................................................................................................... 15
Additions ........................................................................................................................... 16
Rescission Provisions (and Others Reducing the Score of the Act) ........................................ 16

Tables
Table 1. CBP PC&I Appropriations Allocation in Administrative Provisions ................................ 6
Table 2. FY2024 DHS Rescission Proposals ................................................................................. 17

Table C-1. Tally of General and Administrative Provisions, FY2015-FY2024 ............................ 27
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Appendixes
Appendix A. Glossary of Abbreviations ........................................................................................ 20
Appendix B. Changes to Appropriations Language in P.L. 118-47 ............................................... 21
Appendix C. Evolution of Administrative and General Provisions in the DHS
Appropriations Act ..................................................................................................................... 22

Contacts
Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 27

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Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2024 Provisions

Introduction
Through appropriations legislation, Congress provides not only budget authority for federal
agencies and departments to operate, but also legally binding direction on how that budget
authority can (or cannot) be used. Sometimes enacted appropriations measures include
authorizing (or “legislative”) provisions as well.
These directions may appear in three places in an appropriations act:
1. in the language of individual appropriations;
2. in administrative provisions at the end of a title; and
3. in general provisions at the end of a bill (or division, in the case of a consolidated
measure).
Some of these directions directly relate to the management of budget authority enacted in the
measure, while others relate to policy or operational matters. As with any facet of legislation,
these provisions are not constant. Due to the passage of time or other legislative developments, a
provision may require adjustment or lose its relevance. Provisions are also a focus of negotiations
between the parties and between the chambers during the appropriations process, so provisions
will evolve through negotiations until a compromise is reached and included in the final measure.
While other appropriations reports focus on funding levels provided in the bill, this report focuses
on these administrative and general provisions under consideration in the FY2024 appropriations
process for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It describes the substantive changes in
administrative and general provisions from those enacted in FY2023 reflected in the
Administration’s FY2024 budget request for DHS, and in the House-passed and Senate
committee-reported FY2024 DHS appropriations bills.
• For more information on the President’s DHS budget request for FY2024, see
CRS Report R47496, DHS Budget Request Analysis: FY2024.
• For more information on the funding levels proposed in the DHS appropriations
measures for FY2024, see CRS Report R47678, Comparing DHS Component
Funding, FY2024: In Brief.
• For more information on the current status of DHS appropriations for FY2024,
see CRS Report R47688, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations:
FY2024 State of Play.
• For information on DHS structure, component missions, and longer-term staffing
and funding history, see CRS Report R47446, The Department of Homeland
Security: A Primer.
Scope and Methodology
This report focuses on administrative and general provisions included in:
• the detailed proposals for administrative and general provisions made in the
Administration’s FY2024 appropriations request for DHS;
• the administrative and general provisions in House Appropriations Committee-
reported H.R. 4367, as well as amendments approved by the House of
Representatives during floor consideration;
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• the administrative and general provisions in Senate Appropriations Committee-
reported S. 2625; and
• those enacted in P.L. 118-47, Division C.
Rather than listing all the administrative and general provisions in those three proposals, this
report uses the administrative and general provisions of the enacted DHS Appropriations Act,
2023,1 as a basis for comparison, and notes changes from that starting point.
For each title of the bill, a list of the components funded in the title and a tally of provisions
included in the DHS Appropriations Act, 2023 is provided. This is followed by sections analyzing
the Administration, House Appropriations Committee, and Senate Appropriations Committee
proposals for FY2024, with subsections describing proposals to not include prior-year provisions,
substantive changes to provisions being carried forward from FY2023 (ones that would alter the
practical effects of the prior year’s provisions), and new provisions. It also notes provisions added
during consideration of the bill on the House floor in September 2023.
Given the amount of funding provided in the title and the number of administrative provisions,
the report starts with Title II, then moves to the other operational components in Title III, the
support components in Title IV, and the headquarters components in Title I. The final section in
the report deals with general provisions in Title V.
To avoid confusion between differing section numbers in various versions of acts and bills,
sections of the FY2023 act are referred to as “FY2023 Sections,” those of H.R. 4367 are referred
to as “HAC Sections” or “House Sections,” those of S. 2625 are referred to as “SAC Sections,”
and those of P.L. 118-47, “FY2024 Sections.”
Appendices include a glossary of abbreviations, notes on other language changes from FY2023 to
FY2024, and a brief discussion of the longer-term history of the general and administrative
provisions in the DHS appropriations act.
Security, Enforcement, and Investigations
Administrative Provisions (Title II)
Title II of the annual DHS appropriations measures typically covers appropriations for
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP);
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE);
• the Transportation Security Administration (TSA);
• U.S. Coast Guard (USCG); and
• U.S. Secret Service (USSS).
There were 36 administrative provisions included at the end of Title II of the FY2023 act.2 The
FY2024 act includes 31: six provisions from FY2023 were not included, two were substantively

1 P.L. 107-328, Div. F.
2 Descriptions of these provisions can be found in the FY2023 consolidated appropriations measure’s explanatory
statement, as printed in “Explanatory Statement Submitted by Mr. Leahy, Chair of the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, Regarding H.R. 2617, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023,” Senate, Congressional Record, vol.
168, no. 198, Book II (December 20, 2022), pp. S8564-S8565. (Hereinafter, “FY2023 Explanatory Statement.”)
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changed, and one that had not appeared in FY2023 was added. The other 28 remained essentially
unchanged.3
Administration-proposed Changes4
Administration-proposed Deletions
The Administration had proposed deleting five provisions that had been included in the FY2023
enacted measure:
• FY2023 Section 211: This one-time administrative provision provided for a
transfer of up to $785 million from CBP’s Operations and Support appropriation
to FEMA’s Federal Assistance appropriation for a new Shelter and Services Grant
program.
• Neither committee-reported bill included the provision.
• This provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• FY2023 Section 212: Included since FY2018 in annual appropriations,5 this
administrative provision delimited the use of part of CBP’s Procurement,
Construction and Improvements appropriation.
• This provision was included as FY2024 Section 211, and the changes are
described in the “Modifications” subsection on page 5 of this report.
• FY2023 Section 222: This one-time administrative provision extended by two
years the authority for a pilot program for screening of passengers outside of an
existing primary passenger terminal screening area.
• Neither committee-reported bill included the provision.
• This provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• FY2023 Section 231: Included since FY2022,6 this administrative provision
restricted the USCG from charging a fee for inspecting certain towing vessels
until the USCG determines whether the costs of towing vessel inspections done
by the USCG differ from those of third-party inspectors, and adjusts its fees to
reflect its costs.7
• House-passed H.R. 4367 included the provision as Section 236.
• SAC-reported S. 2625 included the provision as Section 228.
• This provision was included as FY2024 Section 227.

3 The text of these provisions and their descriptions can be found in the committee print of the Further Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2024. (U.S. Congress, House Appropriations Committee, Further Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2024 [Legislative Text and Explanatory Statement], committee print, prepared by Committee on Appropriations,
U.S. House of Representatives, 118th Cong., 2nd sess., May 6, 2024, 55-008 (Hereinafter, “FY2024 Committee Print”);
provisions on pp. 527-532, descriptions on pp. 580-582.)
4 CRS analysis of Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal Year 2024 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix,
March 11, 2024, pp. 533-534, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2024-APP/pdf/BUDGET-2024-
APP.pdf (hereinafter, FY2024 Appendix); and P.L. 117-328, Division F.
5 P.L. 115-141, Div. F, Section 230. A variant of this provision was carried in P.L. 115-31, Div. F, Title VI, where
direction was provided in a supplemental appropriation for CBP’s Procurement, Construction, and Improvements
account (131 Stat. 433).
6 P.L. 107-103, Div. F, Section 231.
7 P.L. 115-282.
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• FY2023 Section 236: This one-time administrative provision authorized the
USSS to make a $23 million grant or cooperative agreement from its Operations
and Support appropriation for existing National Computer Forensics Institute
Facilities used for cybersecurity incident and threat investigation and training.
• Neither committee-reported bill included the provision.
• This provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
Administration-proposed Modifications
The Administration proposed alterations to two provisions, neither of which was included in any
of the FY2024 measures:
• FY2023 Section 210: Included since FY2020, this provision has restricted the
ability to reduce CBP’s “anticipated or planned” vetting operations at existing
locations unless specifically authorized by statute. The Administration has
proposed dropping “anticipated or” from the provision, a request they first made
in FY2023.
• FY2023 Section 221: Included since FY2020, this provision required the
Administrator of the TSA to submit to certain congressional committees a single
report that fulfils the requirements of a Capital Investment Plan, a five-year
technology investment plan, and an Advanced Integrated Passenger Screening
Technologies report within a certain amount of time. The Administration
proposed dropping language that had been added to the description of the Capital
Investment Plan in the FY2023 act that required it to be “both constrained and
unconstrained.”8
Administration-proposed Additions
The Administration proposed three new administrative provisions in the budget request for
FY2024. All three had been proposed by the Administration for FY2023 and were not enacted at
that time:
• authorization for CBP to use unobligated balances of its Procurement,
Construction, and Improvement appropriations from FY2020-FY2021 for other
specified border management purposes;
• removal of previously enacted restrictions on the types of border barrier that
could be constructed that had been carried in the FY2020 DHS appropriations
act; and
• authorization for DHS to transfer up to $225 million in unobligated CBP
Procurement Construction, and Improvement appropriations from prior years to
the Department of the Interior (including any agency or bureau within the
Department of the Interior) or the Forest Service “for the execution of
environmental and other mitigation projects or activities ... related to the
construction of border barriers on the southwest border.”

8 TSA Administrator David P. Pekoske, in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee, described an
unconstrained capital investment plan as one “that describes an ideal future state in which TSA is able to buy down
more risk to the transportation sector with additional resources.” The text of his full testimony is available at
https://www.tsa.gov/news/press/testimony/2023/03/29/fiscal-year-2024-presidents-budget-request-transportation-
security.
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None of these proposed new provisions were included in any of the FY2024 measures, either.
Other Changes9
Deletions
The FY2024 measure did not include three provisions from FY2023 that the Administration had
proposed carrying forward:
• FY2023 Section 219: This provision, first carried in FY2009 as a direction
within the TSA Aviation Security appropriation, required TSA to award grants for
deployment of explosive detection systems on the basis of “risk, the airport’s
current reliance on other solutions, lobby congestion resulting in increased
security concerns, high injury rates, airport readiness and increased cost
effectiveness.”
• FY2023 Section 224: This provision allowed greater flexibility for the USCG to
reprogram up to $10 million in its Operations and Support appropriation to or
from its Military Personnel funding category and between its Field Operations
funding subcategories. The former flexibility was first provided in FY2014, and
the latter was added in FY2022.
• FY2023 Section 226: This provision, included in some form since FY2010,10
initially allowed the USCG to allocate funding within its operations appropriation
designated as being for “Overseas Contingency Operations / Global War on
Terror” (a special budgetary designation that made it easier to provide under
budget limitations) to be allocated among various activities without regard to the
reprogramming11 restrictions in the bill’s general provisions. Although the special
designation fell out of use, this flexibility was maintained over the years, most
recently for funding “for defense-related activities … that are used for enduring
overseas missions in support of the global fight against terrorism.”
Modifications
• FY2024 Section 211: Included in annual DHS appropriations measures since
FY2018, this administrative provision has delimited the use of CBP’s annual
Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I) appropriation. The
provision distributes the $850 million appropriation as follows:

9 CRS analysis of P.L. 117-328, Division F; H.R. 4367; S. 2625, and P.L. 118-47, Division C.
10 Prior to FY2018, this flexibility was included in the language of USCG’s Operating Expenses appropriation.
11 Reprogramming is the action of shifting budget authority from one program, project, or activity to another.
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Table 1. CBP PC&I Appropriations Allocation in Administrative Provisions
Program, Project, or
FY2024
House-Passed
SAC-Reported
P.L. 118-47,
Activity
Request
H.R. 4367
S. 2625
Division C
Acquisition and deployment of
$0
$2,104,000,000
$0
$0
physical barriers
Acquisition and deployment of
229,568,000
276,000,000
263,300,000
283,500,000
border technologies
Trade and travel assets and
305,400,000
305,400,000
644,296,000
380,900,000
infrastructure
Facility construction and
83,768,000
119,768,000
69,654,000
92,114,000
improvements
Integrated operations assets
82,732,000
123,232,000a
134,100,000
75,983,000
and infrastructure
Mission support and
17,673,000
37,253,000
41,179,000
17,673,000
infrastructure
Total
$719,141,000
$2,965,653,000
$1,152,529,000
$850,170,000
Sources: CRS analysis of U.S. Customs and Border Protection FY2024 Congressional Justification; House-passed H.R.
4367, Section 211; SAC-reported S. 2625, Section 211; and P.L. 118-47, Division C, Section 211.
a. An amendment by Representative Houlahan to this amount to raise the issue of reforms of programs to
counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems was included in an en bloc amendment that passed by voice vote, but it
did not change the overall amount for this activity.
• FY2024 Section 218: This provision, first carried as a proviso in the TSA
Aviation Security appropriation in FY2006, blocked certain senior government
officials from being exempted from passenger and baggage screening. In the
FY2024 measure, it was modified to add a subsection barring the use of funds to
carry out legislation modifying those passenger and screening requirements.
Additions
P.L. 118-47 included one new administrative provision:
• FY2024 Section 217: This new administrative provision requires the ICE Chief
Financial Officer to submit to the appropriations committees an obligation plan
for the component within 45 days of enactment.
Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
Administrative Provisions (Title III)
Title III of annual DHS appropriations measures currently covers appropriations for
• the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA); and
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
There were 11 administrative provisions included at the end of Title III of the DHS
Appropriations Act, 2023.12 The FY2024 act included 11 provisions as well: two from FY2023

12 Descriptions of these provisions can be found in “FY2023 Explanatory Statement,” p. S8679.
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were not included, and two that did not appear in FY2023 were added. The other nine provisions
remained essentially unchanged.13
Administration-Proposed Changes14
The Administration proposed 13 Title III administrative provisions for the FY2024 act: not
including one provision enacted for FY2023, substantively changing six others, and including
three that had not appeared in the FY2023 act. The other four provisions remained essentially
unchanged in the request.15
Administration-proposed Deletions
The one FY2023 provision not included in the request was FY2023 Section 302, a new statutory
provision16 that required the Director of CISA to provide quarterly budget and staffing briefings
to the appropriations committees.
• Neither committee-reported bill included the provision.
• This provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
Administration-proposed Modifications
The Administration proposed alterations to five provisions:
• FY2023 Section 301: Included since FY2022, this provision allowed CISA
Operations and Support appropriations to be used to provide cybersecurity threat
feeds to a broader range of CISA’s various partners, fusion centers, and
Information and Analysis Organizations. The Administration proposed reducing
the scope of allowable uses of funds from “procuring or providing access to
cybersecurity threat feeds” to simply “providing access” to such feeds.
• House-passed H.R. 4367 did not include the entire provision. SAC-reported
S. 2625 did not include the modification, but included the base provision as
Section 301.
• The modification was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• FY2023 Sections 303, 304, and 305: The Administration modified these
administrative provisions to reflect its preferred structuring of the grant
programs, presenting the Nonprofit Security Grant Program as a carveout within
the State Homeland Security Grant Program and Urban Area Security Initiative,
rather than as a separate program. The Administration thus proposed dropping
language in the first section that specified that the restriction also applied to state
recipients for the administration of Nonprofit Security Grants, and renumbered
paragraph references in the other two.

13 The text of these provisions and their descriptions can be found in “FY2024 Committee Print”; provisions on pp.
536-537, descriptions on pp. 588-589.
14 CRS analysis of Appendix, pp. 518-520; and P.L. 117-328, Division F.
15 Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, March 11, 2024
(Washington, DC: GPO, 2024), pp. 533-534. (Hereinafter, “Appendix.”)
16 The requirement had originally been laid out in the explanatory statement accompanying the FY2022 DHS
Appropriations Act. The administrative provision put the requirement in law, and curtailed certain CISA funding unless
the briefings were provided within a certain time frame.
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• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bill included these
modifications.
• This provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• FY2023 Section 306: Included since FY2017, this administrative provision
required FEMA to brief the appropriations committees on the award of certain
preparedness grants at least five business days prior to the public announcement
of the award. In FY2023, the provision was modified to add a reduction of the
FEMA Operations and Support appropriation should FEMA announce such grant
awards without meeting that requirement. In addition to paragraph renumbering
similar to Sections 304 and 305 above, the Administration proposed not including
the reduction in the FY2024 act.
• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bill included these
modifications.
• This provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
Administration-proposed Additions
The Administration proposed three new administrative provisions in the budget request for
FY2024:
• A provision authorizing CISA to use certain funds for a cybersecurity
competition.17
• Neither committee-reported bill included the provision.
• This provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• A provision allowing any prior-year unobligated balances in the Pre-disaster
Mitigation Fund to be merged with funding for the Building Resilient
Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program.18
• House-passed H.R. 4367 did not include this provision, but S. 2625 included
it as SAC Section 312.
• This provision was included in the FY2024 enacted measure as Section 310.
• A provision allowing prior-year separate appropriations for the FEMA “Flood
Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis” account to be transferred to and merged
with the FEMA Federal Assistance appropriation to carry out the purposes of the
program.
• House-passed H.R. 4367 did not include this provision, but S. 2625 included
it as SAC Section 313.
• This provision was included in the FY2024 enacted measure as Section 311.

17 A similar provision was included in the FY2022 act (P.L. 117-328, Div. F, Section 301).
18 This had been proposed in the FY2023 budget request as well.
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Other Changes19
Deletions
The FY2024 measure did not include one provision from FY2023 that the Administration had
proposed carrying forward:
• FY2023 Section 304: This new Administrative provision, carried only in
FY2023, allowed funds provided for the Nonprofit Security Grant program not to
be included in total SHSGP grant funding. This was important in the calculations
of allocations, and because states have to make available 80% of their total
SHSGP grant to state and local governments within 45 days of receiving it.
• House-passed H.R. 4367 did not include this provision, but S. 2625 included
it as SAC Section 304.
• This provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
Research, Development, Training, and Services
Administrative Provisions (Title IV)
Title IV of annual DHS appropriations measures currently covers appropriations for
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services;
• Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC);
• the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T); and
• the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.
There were seven administrative provisions included at the end of Title IV of the DHS
Appropriations Act, 2023.20 Likewise, the FY2024 act also included seven provisions at the end
of Title IV, with no additions, deletions, or substantive changes.21
Administration-Proposed Changes22
The Administration requested a single additional provision: an administrative provision repealing
the termination date for the DHS Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.23
• Neither committee-reported bill included this provision.
• The provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.

19 CRS analysis of P.L. 117-328, Division F; H.R. 4367; S. 2625, and P.L. 118-47, Division C.
20 Descriptions of these provisions can be found in the “FY2023 Explanatory Statement,” p. S8582.
21 The text of these provisions and their descriptions can be found in the “FY2024 Committee Print”; provisions on pp.
590-540, descriptions on p. 594.)
22 CRS analysis of Appendix, p. 544; and P.L. 117-328, Division F.
23 See 6 U.S.C. §591(e).
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Departmental Management, Intelligence,
Situational Awareness and Oversight
Administrative Provisions (Title I)
Title I of annual DHS appropriations measures currently covers appropriations for
• the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management;
• the Management Directorate;
• Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness; and
• the Office of Inspector General.
There were eight administrative provisions included at the end of Title I of the FY2023 act.24 The
FY2024 enacted measure included six provisions, as two provisions from FY2023 were not
carried forward into FY2024.25
Administration-Proposed Changes26
The Administration proposed six administrative provisions: not including three provisions,
substantively changing none, and including one provision that had not appeared in FY2023. The
other five provisions remained essentially unchanged in the request.
Administration-proposed Deletions
The Administration proposed not including three provisions:
• FY2023 Section 106: Carried since FY2022, this administrative provision
required the Under Secretary for Management to provide quarterly a briefing to
the appropriations committees on DHS’s major acquisition programs,27 as well as
copies of each acquisition memorandum as they are approved. The requirement
would have covered all acquisition programs costing more than $300 million
over their lifecycle on the DHS Master Acquisition Oversight List.28 All such
programs from the point that a program manager had begun to review approaches
to meeting a capability need to full operational capability were to be included,
including those programs removed from the list in the preceding quarter. In
FY2023, additional parameters were added for the cost estimates.
• Both the House-passed and Senate committee-reported bills included the
provision without substantive changes as Section 105.

24 Descriptions of these provisions can be found in “FY2023 Explanatory Statement,” p. S8556.
25 The text of these provisions and their descriptions can be found in the “FY2024 Committee Print”; provisions on pp.
520-523, descriptions on p. 566.)
26 CRS analysis of FY2024 Appendix, pp. 494-495, and P.L. 117-328, Division F.
27 The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines a major acquisition as “a capital project that requires special
management attention because of its: (1) importance to an agency’s mission; (2) high development, operating, or
maintenance costs; (3) high risk; (4) high return; or (5) significant role in the administration of an agency’s programs,
finances, property, or other resources.”
28 A list of all DHS major acquisitions developed by the DHS Office of Program Accountability and Risk Management.
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• This provision was included in the FY2024 enacted measure as Section 105
as well.
• FY2023 Section 107: Carried since FY2022, this administrative provision
required reporting from the DHS Under Secretary for Management to the
appropriations committees before DHS could obligate money from the act for
pilot or demonstration programs. To trigger the reporting, the program would
need to use more than 10 full-time equivalents (FTE) or $5 million, with some
exceptions provided for IT contract work and programs specifically directed by
Congress.
• Both the House-passed and Senate committee-reported bills included the
provision without substantive changes as Section 106.
• This provision was included in the FY2024 enacted measure as Section 106
as well.
• FY2023 Section 108: This provision allowed $14 million to be transferred from
the supplemental appropriation provided for the Disaster Relief Fund to the DHS
Office of Inspector General for oversight of that appropriation.
• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bills included the
provision.
• The provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
Administration-proposed Additions
The Administration also proposed a new general provision to establish a “Department of
Homeland Security Southwest Border Contingency Operations Fund,” through which the
Secretary could provide CBP, ICE, and FEMA up to $4.7 billion in total emergency-designated
appropriations, contingent on the cumulative number of migrant encounters at the border each
quarter.29
• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bills included the
provision.
• The provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
Other Changes30
Deletions
The FY2024 measure did not include one provision from FY2023 that the Administration had
proposed carrying forward:
• FY2023 Section 103: This provision, carried since a FY2007 supplemental
appropriations measure,31 required DHS to link any and all award fees in their
contracts to specific successful acquisition outcomes.

29 For more details on this proposal, see CRS Report R47496, DHS Budget Request Analysis: FY2024, p. 2 on the type
of appropriation, and pp. 9-10 on the triggers.
30 CRS analysis of P.L. 117-328, Division F; H.R. 4367; S. 2625, and P.L. 118-47, Division C.
31 P.L. 110-28, §3502, after which it was picked up as a general provision in FY2008 annual appropriations measure
(P.L. 110-161, §556) and moved to an administrative provision in FY2017 (P.L. 115-31, §104).
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• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bills included the
provision.
• The provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
General Provisions (Title V)
As noted earlier, Title V of the annual DHS appropriations act has historically contained general
provisions, the impact of which may reach across the government, apply to the entire department,
affect multiple components, or focus on a single activity. Title V often includes provisions that
make additional appropriations and others that make rescissions—cancellations of previously
provided budget authority.32
Some Provisions Are More General Than Others
There are general provisions not included in this report that affect DHS; their effect is so broad they cover the
entire federal government. Title VII of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act
includes these broadest general provisions, which address a range of issues.
There were 49 general provisions included in Title V of the DHS Appropriations Act, 2023. The
FY2024 enacted measure included 51 provisions: nine provisions from FY2023 were not
included, four were substantively changed, and 11 that had not appeared in FY2023 were
added—four of which did not pertain to DHS, but provided modifications to previously enacted
appropriations measures. The other 36 remained essentially unchanged.33
Rescissions are cancellations of previously appropriated but unobligated budget authority. They
reduce the net budget authority provided by the bill, lowering its “score” against budget
allocations and statutory budget limits. Traditionally, they are found at the end of Title V of the
DHS Appropriations Act. As they are distinct in form and function from the policy provisions of
Title V, those five FY2024 provisions (two of which appeared in the FY2023 bill, and three of
which did not) are addressed separately at the end of the section.
Administration-Proposed Changes34
The Administration proposed 37 general provisions for the DHS Appropriations Act, 2024: it
proposed not including 13 provisions (one of which was a rescissions provision), substantively
changing one (another rescissions provision), and including one that had not appeared in FY2023.
The other 36 provisions remained essentially unchanged.
Administration-proposed Deletions
The Administration’s FY2024 request did not carry forward the following provisions that had
been included in the FY2023 act:
• FY2023 Section 530: This general provision included grant funding for FEMA
to reimburse extraordinary law enforcement or other emergency personnel costs
directly related to any residence of the President that is secured by the U.S.

32 Descriptions of these provisions can be found in the “FY2023 Explanatory Statement,” pp. S8582-S8584.
33 The text of these provisions and their descriptions can be found in the “FY2024 Committee Print”; provisions on pp.
540-555, descriptions on pp. 594-599.)
34 CRS analysis of FY2024 Appendix, pp. 544-549; and P.L. 117-328, Division F.
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Secret Service. Similar general provisions have been included in the DHS annual
appropriations acts beginning in FY2017.35
• The House-passed bill included this as Section 528; the SAC-reported bill
did not include it.
• The provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• FY2023 Section 534: This general provision required the DHS Under Secretary
for Management to submit an unfunded requirements list to the appropriations
committees for any activities funded as a part of the defense budget function. A
similar general provision has appeared in DHS annual appropriations acts
beginning in FY2021.36 Both committee-reported bills retained this provision.
• Both the House-passed and Senate committee-reported bills included the
provision without substantive changes.
• The provision was included in the FY2024 enacted measure as Section 531.
• FY2023 Section 535: This general provision required reporting to certain
congressional committees and leadership on providing, extending, or terminating
protection under any authority for former or retired federal officials or
employees. A similar general provision has appeared in DHS annual
appropriations acts beginning in FY2021.37
• Both committee-reported bills retained this provision.
• The provision was included in the FY2024 enacted measure as Section 532.
• FY2023 Section 537: This general provision required the Administration to
identify discretionary offsets when legislatively unauthorized fee increase
proposals are made in the budget request to support current activities, despite the
prospective nature of those additional revenue sources. A similar general
provision has appeared in DHS annual appropriations acts beginning in
FY2017.38
• Both committee-reported bills retained this provision.
• The provision was included in the FY2024 enacted measure as Section 534.
• FY2023 Section 540: This one-time general provision made technical
corrections to Section 205 of the Stafford Act, which allows the FEMA
Administrator to make capitalization grants to states or tribal entities to establish
hazard mitigation revolving loan funds.
• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bills included the
provision.
• The provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• FY2023 Sections 541 and 542: These two one-time general provisions made
technical corrections to a Community Funding Project and a Congressionally
Direct Spending grant, respectively, both of which had been funded in FY2022.
• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bills included the
provisions.

35 P.L. 115-31, Div. F, Section 544.
36 P.L. 116-260, Div. F, Section 537.
37 P.L. 116-260, Div. F, Section 542.
38 P.L. 115-31, Div. F, Section 532.
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• The provisions were not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• FY2023 Section 543: This general provision extended flexibility provided in the
CARES Act39 for DHS employees, detailees, or contractors who are licensed to
perform health care services as part of their duties and can carry out their duties
in any U.S. jurisdiction they are assigned to, unless they are affirmatively
excluded from doing so in any U.S. jurisdiction. A similar general provision has
appeared in DHS annual appropriations acts beginning in FY2022.
• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bills included the
provision.
• The provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• FY2023 Section 544: This general provision prohibited the use of funds for the
transfer or release of certain individuals detained at U.S. Naval Station
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into or within the United States. A similar general
provision has appeared in DHS annual appropriations acts beginning in
FY2012.40
• The House-passed and Senate committee-reported bills included this
provision as Section 538 and Section 537, respectively.
• The provision was included in the FY2024 enacted measure as Section 537.
• FY2023 Section 545: This general provision, new in FY2023, required the
Secretary to develop and share bimonthly estimates on noncitizens anticipated to
arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border, and use those estimates to inform policymaking
and budget processes.
• The House-passed and Senate committee-reported bills included this
provision as Section 539 and Section 538, respectively, with the Senate
broadening the requirement for estimates to be provided with the annual
budget request to include supplemental appropriations and reprogramming
requests.
• The FY2024 enacted measure included this provision as Section 538, adding
that those estimates should be included in supplemental appropriations
requests, not just annual appropriations requests, and that if they were not
included, transfer and reprogramming authority would be restricted until
such estimates are provided to the appropriations committees.
• FY2023 Section 546: This general provision provided emergency-designated
funding for CBP and ICE to address the situation at the U.S.-Mexico Border.41
• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bills included the
provision.
• The provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• FY2023 Section 547: This general provision, new in FY2023, extended through
the end of FY2023 the authority for the Secretary and the Attorney General to
take steps to mitigate threats posed by unmanned aerial vehicles.

39 P.L. 116-136, Div. B, Title VI, Section 16005.
40 P.L. 112-74, Div. D, Section 541. The provision was also carried in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act,
2010 (P.L. 112-10, Div. B) as Section 1112.
41 A related general provision, which also included funding for FEMA, was first included in the FY2022 act: P.L. 117-
103, Div. F, Section 543.
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• The HAC-reported bill did not include this provision, while the SAC-
reported bill included the provision as Section 539.
• The provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
Administration-proposed Additions
The Administration proposed one new general provision: The Administration sought the ability to
transfer up to 5% of any appropriation into the “Information Technology Modernization Fund”
for DHS that was authorized under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2018.42 The Biden Administration first proposed this provision in its FY2022 budget request.
• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bills included the
provision.
• The provision was not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
Other Changes43
Deletions
Two general provisions were not carried forward from the FY2023 to the FY2024 enacted
measure. Neither had been included in the House-passed or the Senate-reported FY2024 bill:
• FY2023 Section 510: In FY2023, this section was an explicit inclusion of a
restriction on the use of funds to pay the salary of a person acting as a contracting
officer’s representative or in a similar role if they have not completed training for
said role. In prior years, this had been included by reference to a prior
appropriations act.44
• FY2023 Section 521: This general provision, carried in the DHS annual
appropriations act since FY2010,45 barred DHS from entering into a contract if it
did not meet the requirements of the Federal Property and Administrative
Services Act of 1949, 10 U.S.C. Chapter 137, and the Federal Acquisition
Regulation, unless it was authorized in statute.
Modifications
Other than rescissions provisions, the FY2024 measure made substantive changes to two general
provisions carried forward from the FY2023 act:
• FY2024 Section 503: The FY2024 measure made a modification to this general
provision, which has regulated the transfer and reprogramming of DHS
appropriations since the FY2004 act. Additions to subsection (d) restrict the
Administration’s ability to reprogram or transfer funds between appropriations
for the purpose of changing funding levels for grant programs or creating a
program, project, or activity not approved by Congress in the enactment of the
annual appropriations act.

42 P.L. 115-91, Div. A, Title X, Section 1077(b)(1).
43 CRS analysis of P.L. 117-328, Division F; H.R. 4367; S. 2625, and P.L. 118-47, Division C.
44 P.L. 110-161, Div. E, Section 520.
45 P.L. 111-83, Section 570.
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• Neither the House-passed nor Senate committee-reported bills included the
modification.
• FY2024 Section 538: See “FY2023 Section 545” above.
Additions
Four non-rescissions provisions affecting DHS that had not been included in the FY2023 measure
were added to the FY2024 act:
• FY2024 Section 539: This new general provision would modify the
authorization for the DHS Nonrecurring Expenses Fund, which had been
established in the FY2022 act to help fund DHS information technology and
facilities improvements through reuse of unobligated balances of expired
appropriations.46 It would require the passage of the full-year appropriation
measure for DHS before resources in the fund could be used in a given year, and
require advance notification to the appropriations committees for the use of fund
resources.
• This provision is a portion of House Section 548, which had been added in
the manager’s amendment in full committee markup.
• No similar provision was included in the Senate-reported bill.
• FY2024 Section 540: This new general provision requires the Secretary of
Homeland Security to make an alternatives analysis and a cost-benefit analysis
before requesting assistance from the Department of Defense for border security
operations, and a report to the appropriations committees on the same. It also
requires quarterly reports on the assistance provided and operational impacts.
• FY2024 Section 541: This new general provision allows Operations and Support
appropriations to DHS components to be used for necessary expenses of
providing an employee emergency back-up care program.
• FY2024 Section 542: This new general provision directs the transfer of not less
than $5 million in FY2024 DHS appropriations to ICE operations and support for
the Blue Campaign—DHS’s public awareness campaign on human trafficking—
for FY2024.
Added Provisions Unrelated to DHS
Four other new general provisions were added to provide corrections for measures in P.L. 118-42
and P.L. 117-328. FY2024 Section 548 corrects a subappropriation in Division E, and Sections
549-551 make corrections to Community Project Funding / Congressionally Directed Spending
projects in P.L. 118-42, Division F and P.L. 117-328, Division L.
Rescission Provisions (and Others Reducing the Score of the Act)
Five separate general provisions are included in the FY2024 appropriations measure that reduce
the overall discretionary “score” of the act, compared to two in FY2023. In all, these provisions
reduced the overall discretionary score of the FY2024 act by almost $1.7 billion. By comparison,
the FY2023 act had $394 million in rescissions.

46 P.L. 107-103, Div. F, Section 538.
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The Administration proposed one such general provision, canceling $56 million in current
unobligated appropriations from previously provided appropriations in 18 different DHS
accounts. A parallel provision in the FY2024 act rescinds $239 million from 22 different DHS
accounts.
Table 2 includes a comparison of the rescission proposal made by the Administration in March
2023, passed by the House in September 2023, made by the Senate Appropriations Committee in
July 2023, and ultimately enacted in March 2024 as FY2024 Section 543.
Table 2. FY2024 DHS Rescission Proposals
(Thousands of dollars of discretionary budget authority)
House-passed
SAC-Reported
P.L. 118-47,
H.R. 4367,
S. 2625,
Div. C,
Designation
Request
Sec. 553
Sec. 545
Sec. 543
OSEM O&S
800
800
—
800
Management Directorate
4,100
4,100
—
4,100
CBP PC&I
1,473
1,473
1,473
1,473
CBP BSFIT
1,842
1,842
1,842
1,842
CBP Air and Marine Interdiction
452
452
452
450
CBP PC&I FY2020
—
1,159,000
—
—
CBP PC&I FY2021
—
945,000
—
—
ICE O&S (expiring in FY2024)
3,000
3,000
1,000
3,000
ICE O&S (not expiring)
2,093
2,093
2,093
782
ICE Automation Modernization
10
10
10
10
TSA O&S
—
154,515
—
—
TSA O&S (not expiring)
—
—
63,591
—
USCG AC&I
22,600
22,600
22,600
22,600
USCG PC&I
—
—
—
150,000
USSS O&S
2,400
—
2,400
2,400
USSS PC&I
4,000
—
4,000
4,000
CISA PC&I
3,500
3,500
3,500
3,500
CISA R&D
2,000
2,000
—
2,000
FEMA PDM Fund
5,821
5,821
—
5,821
USCIS O&S
—
—
—
40
FLETC PC&I
800
800
800
47
S&T O&S
900
900
900
900
CWMD R&D (expiring in
389
389
389
2,000
FY2024)
CWMD PC&I (expiring in
—
—
—
2,900
FY2024)
CWMD PC&I (expiring in
—
—
—
19,700
FY2025)
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House-passed
SAC-Reported
P.L. 118-47,
H.R. 4367,
S. 2625,
Div. C,
Designation
Request
Sec. 553
Sec. 545
Sec. 543
CWMD R&D (expiring in
—
—
—
11,208
FY2024)
CWMD (not expiring)
11
11
11
11
Total Rescissions
56,191
2,308,306
105,061
238,802
Source: CRS analysis of H.Rept. 118-123, S.Rept. 118-72, and P.L. 118-47.
Note: Abbreviations available in Appendix A.
Two more enacted provisions rescinded DHS resources to offset the overall discretionary cost of
the FY2024 act:
• FY2024 Section 544: This general provision, unrequested by the administration,
but similar to ones provided in FY2023 and in previous years, rescinds
unobligated Operations and Support appropriations from DHS components that
were renewed under Section 505. That section allows components to continue to
use 50% of unobligated Operations and Support appropriations from the previous
fiscal year, which would otherwise have expired. FY2024 Section 544 rescinded
$56 million from 13 components. The FY2023 version of the provision rescinded
$46 million from 12 components.
• FY2024 Section 545: This new general provision rescinds $0.7 million from the
DHS Nonrecurring Expenses Fund. As noted above, the fund was established in
the FY2022 act as a means of funding DHS information technology and facilities
improvements through expired appropriations. Although this is the first rescission
from the DHS instance of such a fund, rescissions from similar funds in other
departments are not uncommon.
Two other new enacted provisions used rescissions from other departments and transfers to
accomplish the same kind of reduction:
• FY2024 Section 546: This new general provision rescinds funds provided in four
separate measures for other departments, and directs that two DHS
appropriations be partially funded from unobligated balances in other accounts,
rather than the general fund of the treasury, from which most other appropriations
are drawn. Rescissions included:
• $30 million from an emergency capital investment fund for neighborhoods
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• $88 million from the Department of Health and Human Services
Nonrecurring Expenses Fund.
• $239 million from supplemental appropriations provided in the American
Rescue Plan Act (P.L. 117-2) for:
• various vaccine, testing, treatment, and mitigation activities for COVID-
19 and other emerging infectious diseases;
• support of the public health workforce;
• acquisition of emergency medical supplies under the Defense Production
Act; and
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• funding for health care providers for medical services and lost revenues
related to COVID-19.
• $75 million from the Department of Justice Working Capital Fund.
$320 million of the U.S. Secret Service Operations and Support appropriation was to be
funded from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, and $364 million in the FEMA
Federal Assistance appropriations was to be derived from a transfer from unobligated
FEMA grant funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for dam safety
grants.
• FY2024 Section 547: This new general provision rescinds $287 million from
Department of Education rehabilitation services provided in Division D of P.L.
118-47.

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Appendix A. Glossary of Abbreviations
BRIC
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
CBP
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
CISA
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
CRS
Congressional Research Service
DHS
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
DRF
Disaster Relief Fund
FEMA
Federal Emergency Management Agency
FLETC
Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers
HAC
House Appropriations Committee
ICE
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
OIG
Office of Inspector General
OMB
Office of Management and Budget
OSEM
Office of the Secretary and Executive Management
O&S
Operations and Support
PC&I
Procurement, Construction, and Improvements
R&D
Research and Development
S&T
Science and Technology Directorate
SAC
Senate Appropriations Committee
TSA
Transportation Security Administration
USCG
U.S. Coast Guard
USSS
U.S. Secret Service

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Appendix B. Changes to Appropriations Language
in P.L. 118-47
Occasionally, the language of the appropriations changes, either for technical reasons, or to
reinforce a message to an agency. From FY2023 to FY2024, a handful of such changes were
made:
• In CBP and ICE Operations and Support appropriations, provisions that incurred
a withholding of $5 million from the Executive Leadership and Oversight
program until certain reports were submitted to the appropriations committee
were not included in the FY2024 enacted measure.
• In CBP’s Operations and Support appropriation, language specifically including
“facility improvements and construction” in the allowable uses of Shelter and
Services Program grant funding was not included in the FY2024 measure.
• In FEMA’s Federal Assistance appropriation, new citations were made for the
Nonprofit Security Grant Program (reflecting its new authorization) and
Congressionally Directed Spending / Community Project Funding. In addition, a
separate subappropriation was no longer made for management and
administration costs of those particular grants.
• In FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund appropriation, a new citation was used for the
allowable adjustment for disaster relief, reflecting the new budget legislation.
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Appendix C. Evolution of Administrative and
General Provisions in the DHS Appropriations Act
The structure of the annual DHS appropriations act has evolved significantly since its initial
development in the FY2004 cycle.
Initial appropriations structures were not consistent across the bill, and departmental
reorganizations shifted parts and responsibilities across the department. Even so, some of the
original general provisions from the FY2004 act are included in the current annual appropriations
act.
The overall structure of the department stabilized with the FY2008 act, and for a decade, the
structure of the bill was relatively stable from year to year. With the enactment of the FY2017 act,
two major changes occurred: a common appropriations structure was applied over almost all of
the DHS components; and directive language was shifted from individual appropriations provisos
and some Title V General Provisions into groups of “administrative provisions” at the end of each
title. The structure of the bill has remained relatively consistent since.
The following appendix looks at each of these years—FY2004, as the first year; FY2008, as the
year of significant reorganization; and FY2017, as the first year of the Common Appropriations
Structure and administrative provisions—to highlight where many of the long-standing provisions
of the DHS appropriations act originated.
The First DHS Appropriations Act: FY2004
The first annual appropriations measure for DHS was passed by Congress a week before the
beginning of its fiscal year. Initial budget justification materials presented to Congress were
minimal, but the bill moved relatively quickly and passed with near-unanimity.
While the titles of the DHS appropriations measure have changed slightly, and several
components have been reorganized, the general structure of the titles of the measure has remained
consistent:
• Title I – Departmental Management and Operations—headquarters functions;
• Title II – Security, Enforcement, and Investigations—law enforcement
operational components;
• Title III – Preparedness and Recovery—FEMA and related functions;
• Title IV – Research and Development, Training, Assessments, and
Services—specialized components; and
• Title V – General Provisions.
Appropriations Titles I-IV
Within the first four titles, however, component appropriations were structured differently. New
components, like DHS headquarters and management functions, and the U.S. Visitor and
Immigrant Status Indicator Technology project received single appropriations. Others, like the
U.S. Coast Guard, received appropriations in structures paralleling what they had received in
FY2003. New major components—U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement—generally followed the structure of legacy Customs Service
appropriations.
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These appropriations included direction to the individual components through provisos within the
statement of appropriations themselves, rather than as administrative or general provisions. Some
of these were statutory directions to use certain amounts for certain activities, such as facilities
improvements, while others were prohibitions on the use of funds, such as prohibitions on
construction of border checkpoints. Some appropriations were withheld until certain conditions
were met, such as providing a spend plan to the appropriations committees that met certain
parameters. Administrative provisions were included in some appropriations measures at the time,
often providing direction across multiple appropriations, but no such provisions appeared in the
initial DHS appropriations act.
In what was standard practice for the time, rescissions, or cancellation of previously appropriated
budget authority, were included immediately after the statement of appropriations for the target
account.
General Provisions
Twenty-one general provisions were included in the initial DHS appropriations act, and eight
continue to be carried forward each year as general provisions in the annual act:
• FY2004 Section 501—Budget authority provided by the act is not available after
the fiscal year unless the bill specifically provides for it (FY2024 Section 501);
• FY2004 Section 502—Budget authority provided in prior acts for activities
funded in this act may be transferred to and merged with funds in the applicable
accounts (FY2024 Section 502);
• FY2004 Section 503—Establishes parameters for reprogrammings and transfers
of budget authority in the bill (a modified version continued as FY2024 Section
503);
• FY2004 Section 504—Authorizes continued availability of up to 50% of
unobligated salaries and expenses balances at the end of the fiscal year to be used
in the following fiscal year (FY2024 Section 505);
• FY2004 Section 508—Deems funding for intelligence programs to be authorized
until an intelligence authorization act for the fiscal year was signed into law (a
modified version continued as FY2024 Section 506);
• FY2004 Section 510—Requires advance notice of grant awards (an expanded
version continued as FY2024 Section 507);
• FY2004 Section 511—Blocks other agencies from building new federal law
enforcement training facilities separate from existing ones without prior approval
of the appropriations committees (FY2024 Section 508);
• FY2004 Section 516—Requires certain construction projects to have an
approved prospectus to be funded (FY2024 Section 509); and
• FY2004 Section 518—No funds in the bill may be used in contravention of the
Buy American Act (a modified version continued as FY2024 Section 511).
Several of these general provisions were one-time provisions that provided authorizations or
restrictions beyond FY2004, or converted structure and functions of formerly independent
components into DHS functions.
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• FY2004 Section 505—Provided flexibility for DHS to use certain funds for
specific types of purchases “in fiscal year 2004 and thereafter, unless otherwise
provided”;47
• FY2004 Section 506—Made the FEMA “Working Capital Fund” account
available to DHS, and renamed it as “Department of Homeland Security Working
Capital Fund”;
• FY2004 Section 507—Made the FEMA “Bequests and Gifts” account available
to DHS, and renamed it as “Department of Homeland Security, Gifts and
Donations”;
• FY2004 Section 513—Required customs declarations to ask “whether the
passenger had been in the proximity of livestock”;
• FY2004 Sections 514 and 515—Blocked funding for certain DHS actions that
would prevent enforcement of certain laws against forced child labor,48 or allow
goods made with such labor to be brought into the country; and
• FY2004 Section 520—Authorized the Secretary to charge fees to pay for
credentialing transportation workers.
Others provided direction to the department or its components:
• FY2004 Section 509—Directed FLETC to establish an accrediting body for
assessing federal law enforcement training programs, facilities, and instructors;49
• FY2004 Section 512—Required the Director of FLETC to ensure all its facilities
are operated at optimal capacity;
• FY2004 Section 517—Blocked regulations requiring airport sponsors to provide
space or services to TSA without compensation other than for security
checkpoints;
• FY2004 Section 519—Blocked deployment of a particular passenger
prescreening system until GAO reported to Congress that the system met certain
thresholds; and
• FY2004 Section 521—Directed the Secretary to get certified systems to inspect
and screen air cargo on passenger aircraft, and until it is online, to use the known
shipper program to prevent high-risk cargo from being carried on passenger
planes.
The Post-Katrina DHS Appropriations Act: FY2008
After several years of reorganization, and the refocusing of departmental priorities through the
Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA), the structure of DHS and its
funding had shifted.
The DHS Appropriations Act, 2008, was enacted in a different fashion than its predecessors. The
FY2004 act was a stand-alone measure, signed into law on the first day of the fiscal year. Each of

47 Future appropriations measures restated some of these authorities in different fashions: therefore, these should not be
considered enduring authorities.
48 As defined under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §1307).
49 This body, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Accrediting Board, was established, and has continued to receive
direction from the administrative provisions under Title IV in the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations
Act.
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the next three years, the bill was enacted as a stand-alone measure within the first month of the
fiscal year. The FY2008 act was signed into law as a division of a consolidated appropriations
measure almost three months into the fiscal year. Some observers note this as an indicator of
increasing challenges in passing the measure.
Appropriations Titles I-IV
The FY2008 Act included several components that had not appeared in the first DHS
appropriations act, as well as a reconstituted FEMA. New components are noted below, but the
general structure of the titles of the measure remained, with slight changes to the names of Titles
III and IV:
• Title I – Departmental Management and Operations—headquarters functions,
now including specific appropriations for the Office of the Chief Financial
Officer, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, Analysis and Operations, and
Office of the Federal Coordinator of Gulf Coast Rebuilding;
• Title II – Security, Enforcement, and Investigations—law enforcement
operational components;
• Title III – Protection, Preparedness, Response and Recovery—the new
National Protection and Programs Directorate, the Office of Health Affairs, and
the reconstituted FEMA;
• Title IV – Research and Development, Training, and Services—specialized
components, including the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office;50 and
• Title V – General Provisions
The structure of direction through appropriations provisos remained unchanged. However,
rescissions now were included in the general provisions in Title V, in part because the evolved
structure of the appropriations themselves did not necessarily align with the desired rescissions,
which by their nature, come from prior year accounts.
General Provisions—Title V
Seventy-three general provisions were included in the FY2008 DHS appropriations act. They
included several sections of significant length making changes to the U.S. Code, including
legislation on the secure handling of ammonium nitrate (Section 563), modifications to the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Section 564), and modifications
to the International Registered Traveler Program (Section 565). In addition, a sixth title was
included in the act, containing the “Border Infrastructure and Technology Modernization Act of
2007.”
Several other general provisions that are still part of the current structure of the DHS
appropriations act appeared in FY2008:
• FY2008 Section 514—Barred funding in the bill from being used to amend the
Oath of Allegiance (FY2024 Section 512);
• FY2008 Section 515—Blocked funding for privatization of certain jobs at
USCIS (a modified version appears in the FY2024 act as Section 402);

50 The Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate, which had appeared in this title in FY2004, was
reorganized into Analysis and Operations and the National Protection and Programs Directorate, and no longer
appeared in this title in the FY2008 Act.
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• FY2008 Section 526—Required a monthly budget and staffing report (a
modified version appears in the FY2024 act as Section 102);
• FY2008 Section 529—Classifies FLETC instructor staff positions as inherently
governmental functions (FY2024 Section 407);
• FY2008 Section 537—Blocks alteration of operations withing the Civil
Engineering Program of the Coast Guard absent prior legislative authorization (a
modified version appears in the FY2024 act as Section 225);
• FY2008 Section 539—Blocked obligation of funding from DHS headquarters
accounts for grants or contracts not awarded under full and open competition,
with some exceptions, which require reporting (a modified version appears in the
FY2024 act as Section 101, requiring reporting on such contract awards);
• FY2008 Section 541—Blocked the use of funding for “any position designated
as a Principal Federal Official” for Stafford Act-declared incidents (a modified
version appears in the FY2024 act as Section 530);
• FY2008 Section 546—Blocked the Secretary’s authority to reorganize the
Department under Section 872 of the Homeland Security Act (FY2024 Section
513);
• FY2008 Section 548—Blocked reductions of the Coast Guard’s Operations
Systems Center mission or its staffing levels (a modified version appears in the
FY2024 act as Section 223);
• FY2008 Section 549—Blocked funding for privatization of certain jobs at USCG
National Vessel Documentation Center (FY2024 Section 224);
• FY2008 Section 558—Blocked CBP from preventing private individuals from
importing certain prescription drugs for their personal use (FY2024 Section 205);
and
• FY2008 Section 567—Blocked the use of funds “for planning, testing, piloting,
or developing a national identification card” (FY2024 Section 514).
The Common Appropriations Structure DHS Appropriations Act:
FY2017
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.
This would be the most significant restructuring of DHS appropriations since its establishment. 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.”51

51 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.
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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 2016.52 Part of the restructuring of the appropriations included
the addition of administrative provisions, shifting instructions that had been included in language
of specific appropriations or in general provisions into sections at the end of each title. Table C-1
shows total general provisions and administrative provisions for the last ten enacted DHS
appropriations acts.
Table C-1. Tally of General and Administrative Provisions, FY2015-FY2024
(Annual appropriations measures)
General

Provisions
Administrative Provisions
Fiscal Year
Title V
Title I
Title II
Title III
Title IV
Total
2015
78

78
2016
75

75
2017
44
8
28
12
9
101
2018
45
7
31
8
8
99
2019
40
6
31
9
8
94
2020
40
5
36
7
7
95
2021
42
6
35
11
7
101
2022
48
8
36
11
8
111
2023
49
8
36
11
7
111
2024
51
6
31
11
7
106
Source: CRS analysis of enacted DHS appropriations.
Note: Administrative provisions first appeared in DHS annual appropriations in the FY2017 act (P.L. 115-56,
Division F).

Author Information

William L. Painter

Specialist in Homeland Security and Appropriations

52 The Coast Guard, due to limitations of its financial management system, did not implement the system until FY2019.
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Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
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copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

Congressional Research Service
R47663 · VERSION 6 · UPDATED
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