Homeland Security Department: FY2012 Appropriations

William L. Painter, Coordinator
Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy

Jennifer E. Lake, Coordinator
Section Research Manager

This report describes the FY2012 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested a total appropriation (mandatory and discretionary) of $45,015 million in budget authority for FY2012. This amounts to a $1,610 million, or a 3.7%, increase from the $43,405 million enacted for FY2011 through the continuing resolution (P.L. 112-10). Total budget authority, including appropriations, fee revenues, and trust funds in the Administration’s budget request for DHS for FY2012 amounts to $57,079 million as compared to $55,783 million enacted for FY2011.

Net requested appropriations for major agencies within DHS were as follows: Customs and Border Protection (CBP), $10,372 million; Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $5,494 million; Transportation Security Administration (TSA), $5,514 million; Coast Guard, $8,677 million; Secret Service, $1,699 million; National Protection & Programs Directorate, $1,268 million; Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), $6,789 million; Science and Technology, $1,176 million; and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, $332 million.

The House Committee on Appropriations reported its version of the FY2012 DHS Appropriations bill on May 26, 2011, by a vote of 27-20. The House bill as drafted by the subcommittee recommended a net discretionary appropriation of $40,592 million for DHS for FY2012, not including $258 million for the global war on terrorism. This amounted to a $2,984 million decrease compared to the Administration’s request, and $1,072 million less than the $41,664 million provided under P.L. 112-10, the FY2011 concurrent resolution. An amendment in full committee markup added $1 billion in emergency funding for disaster relief.

On June 2, the House passed H.R. 2017, an amended version of the House bill, by a vote of 231- 188. Increases made to DHS activities include $320 million for grant programs for firefighters and $10 million for CBP to improve cellular communications along the southern border. Several amendments used management accounts as offsets, leaving funding for those activities 44% below the requested level.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations reported its version of the FY2012 DHS Appropriations bill on September 7, 2011, by a vote of 28-2. The Senate bill as approved by the committee recommended a net discretionary appropriation of $41,000 million for DHS for FY2012, not including $258 million for the global war on terrorism, and $4,200 million in funding for FEMA disaster relief that would be paid for by adjustments to the discretionary cap under the Budget Control Act. With those exclusions, the Senate-reported bill was $2,533 million below the Administration’s request, and $667 million below the amount provided under P.L. 112-10.

On September 30, 2011, the President signed into law a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to continue funding for government operations through October 4, 2011, and then a second CR that runs through November 18, 2011. Both resolutions funded operations at the FY2011 rate, less 1.503% in order to accommodate the budget caps implemented by the Budget Control Act (P.L. 112-25). The resolutions included $2.65 billion to replenish the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) which had been depleted through responding to multiple significant events in FY2011. The shortterm CR was passed as an amendment replacing the text of H.R. 2017, the Homeland Security Appropriations bill. This procedure interrupted the process for creating a stand-alone Homeland Security Appropriations bill to send to the President.


Date of Report: November 2, 2011
Number of Pages: 93
Order Number: R41982
Price: $29.95

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