WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced her Homeland Security funding bill was included in the year-end legislative package. The bill provides $69.1 billion to support the various missions of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Specifically, it makes investments in border security, disaster recovery and prevention, cybersecurity, aviation security, state and local grants, and efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.

Congress is expected to vote on the year-end legislative package soon, which includes this funding legislation and several other provisions that will benefit our nation and West Virginians.

“The Homeland Security funding bill included in the year-end package makes significant investments in areas critical to the safety and security of our country. This bill is the product of bipartisan and bicameral negotiations in partnership with the department and the administration to meet critical security needs and national priorities. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their assistance and support as we negotiated this bill. If passed, this funding measure will ensure that our hardworking DHS employees will not go without a paycheck ahead of the holiday season. The men and women who are working to secure our border, ensure our air transportation system is safe, protect our coasts, and work to combat cyber-attacks deserve this support. I’m thankful to be able to support the work of the Department for the security our states and our country as a whole,” said Chairman Capito.

Chairman Capito included several items in the legislation important to West Virginia, including continued funding for Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) partnership with Marshall University on opioid prevention and dark web monitoring; an increase in funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Dam Safety Grant Program that Chairman Capito previously authorized; funding for IT enhancements at Coast Guard facilities in the Eastern Panhandle; funding for facility expansion and improvements for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Advanced Training Center and Summit Point facilities in West Virginia; and necessary funds to continue FEMA grant programs that are of critical importance to repairing damage created by natural disasters, as well as supporting local first responders, such as volunteer fire departments. Chairman Capito announced FEMA grants for both flood relief and volunteer fire departments this year.


TOPLINE BILL HIGHLIGHTS:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP): Includes $15.03 billion for CBP, including $1.375 billion for 56 miles of border wall system, $62.4 million above the request for border surveillance technology, and an additional $80 million to expand CBP’s air surveillance capabilities. Additional laboratory personnel were provided and funding continued for equipment to strengthen the detection and identification of opioids and other drugs. In addition, the agreement includes $840 million to for law enforcement costs typically covered by fees.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): Includes $8 billion for ICE. The funding supports 34,000 average daily detention beds. It also sustains FY2020 Homeland Security Investigation investments for combatting the opioid epidemic and cyber security investigations on the dark web in addition to increasing overall HSI staffing levels.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA): Includes $7.96 billion in gross discretionary funding for TSA. Funds will be used to support TSA operations with targeted increases to adequately staff checkpoints to mitigate wait times and deploy necessary technologies to ensure aviation security is prioritized at all airports, including small and rural airports.


U.S. Coast Guard (USCG): Includes $12.8 billion in total for the Coast Guard to support their domestic and overseas missions. For Coast Guard procurement and construction, the bill provides necessary funding to continue the ongoing acquisitions for vessel and aircraft recapitalization. In addition, the bill supports significant shore infrastructure, cybersecurity, and IT enhancements.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): Includes $2 billion for CISA. The bill supports cybersecurity efforts, including protection of civilian federal networks and State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) government networks. Included is $716 million to support the National Cybersecurity Protection System and to maintain advances in Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation. In addition, the agreement makes advances towards the shortage of qualified national cybersecurity professionals in the current and future cybersecurity workforce, and includes $160 million for threat hunting and response capabilities in Federal, SLTT, and Critical Infrastructure networks.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): Includes $21.7 billion for FEMA, including $17.1 billion to support the Disaster Relief Fund to ensure funding availability for recent disaster recovery and future events. The bill also provides $3.3 billion in grants, increasing support for SLTT governments, including $610 million for State Homeland Security Grants, $1.1 billion for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER), Assistance to Firefighters (AFG), and Emergency Management Performance (EMPG) grants; and increases for dam safety and regional grants by $2 million each.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): Includes $127.7 million for USCIS, of which $117.7 million supports E-Verify operations and $10 million in funds for the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program.

Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC): Includes $340.3 million for FLETC, including $26 million for FLETC to purchase dormitory space that is presently leased.

Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD): Includes $402.3 million for CWMD and restores funds to the Securing the Cities program.

Science and Technology (S&T): Includes $765.6 million for S&T, including funding for Opioid and Fentanyl Research, Port and Coastal Surveillance, University Programs, as well as the Detection Canine Program, among other important research initiatives. The bill also includes $2 million for the Binational Cooperative Pilot along with language encouraging S&T to establish this pilot as a permanent program.

U.S. Secret Service (USSS): Includes $2.4 billion for the Secret Service, including full funding for protective services; protective countermeasures at the White House complex; and full funding to support National Security Special Events. The recommendation also includes $6 million in grant support for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) investigations, which the USSS has provided to NCMEC since 1997. In addition, the bill makes critical investments in the Secret Services ability to combat cyber-crimes, including enhancements to the Cyber Fraud Task Force program and the National Computer Forensics Institute.

Management: Includes $2.3 billion for the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management (OSEM), Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management (USM), Analysis and Operations (A&O), Federal Protective Services (FPS), and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). $37.1 million is provided to fund the Office of Targeting Violence and Terrorism, including $20 million in grants funds. The bill sustains $7.2 million for the cyber talent management system and cyber internship programs to attract and sustain DHS’s cyber workforce.

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