The House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee (HAC HS) on Wednesday evening unanimously approved by voice vote a $39.2 billion discretionary spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in FY ‘15, sending the proposed measure to the full committee to be marked up.
The bill contains $887.8 million in funding above the Obama administration’s request and $50 million less than enacted in FY ’14. A date for the full committee mark up hasn’t been scheduled.
No amendments were discussed during the markup in favor of deferring them until the full committee considers the bill.
The bill provides more funding than requested to several DHS components, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. Funding was added to purchase two more Coast Guard Fast Response Cutters than were requested, additional border security technology, and private screeners at airports.
Some of the cuts to the administration’s request include a 15 percent reduction to DHS headquarters offices and a cut to every component’s management, part of instilling “fiscal discipline,” Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), chairman of the subcommittee, said during Wednesday’s markup. The bill also rejects unauthorized proposals to increase fees on the traveling public, he said.