Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014
The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 is an appropriations bill that was introduced into the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress. The bill would appropriate money to various government agencies related to the United States Department of Homeland Security. This funding would be used during fiscal year 2014, which ends September 30, 2014. The United States House Committee on Appropriations recommended "$38,993,000,000 in discretionary
funding for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2014, $34,885,000, or.09 percent, below the amount requested and $613,205,000, or 1.55 percent, below fiscal year 2013 enacted levels."
The bill was later incorporated as of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 which was enacted in January 2014.
Provisions/Elements of the bill
This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source.The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 would make appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for FY2014. It is divided into five separate titles.
Title I is entitled "Departmental Management and Operations." It makes appropriations for: the Office of the Secretary of Homeland Security and executive management, the Office of the Under Secretary for Management, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, intelligence analysis and operations coordination activities, and the Office of the Inspector General.
Title II is entitled "Security, Enforcement, and Investigations." It makes appropriations for: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including for border security fencing, infrastructure, and technology; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including to reimburse other federal agencies for the costs associated with the care, maintenance, and repatriation of smuggled aliens unlawfully present in the United States, to identify and remove from the United States aliens convicted of a crime once they are judged deportable, and for detention and removal operations; the Transportation Security Administration, including for aviation security, surface transportation security, screening programs of the Office of Transportation Threat Assessment and Credentialing, transportation security support and intelligence, and the Federal Air Marshals; the Coast Guard, including funding derived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for prevention, removal, and enforcement related to oil discharges, funding for environmental compliance and restoration functions, and funding for the Coast Guard Reserve; and the U.S. Secret Service.
Title II also would require the Border Patrol to maintain an active duty presence of not less than 21,370 full-time equivalent agents protecting U.S. borders in FY2014.
Title III is entitled "Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery." It makes appropriations for FY2014 for: the Office of the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs and the Offices of the Assistant Secretaries for the DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate, including for the Federal Protective Service and the Office of Biometric Identity Management; the DHS Office of Health Affairs, including for BioWatch operations; and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including for grants for state and local programs, firefighter assistance grants, emergency management performance grants, the United States Fire Administration, disaster relief, the flood hazard mapping and risk analysis program, the National Flood Insurance Fund, the predisaster mitigation grant program, and the emergency food and shelter program.
Title IV is entitled "Research and Development, Training, and Services." It makes appropriations for FY2014 for: United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, including for the E-Verify program; the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; the Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, including for construction of the National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility; and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.
Title V is entitled "General Provisions." It lists off a variety of rules, requirements, and limitations on how the money appropriated to the various agencies can or cannot use the funds.
Procedural history
House
The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 was introduced on May 29, 2013, by the United States House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Rep. John Carter. It was reported alongside . This 184-page report includes an explanatory summary, minority views from several members, and a variety of charts comparing FY 2013 funding with the proposed FY 2014 funding. On June 3, 2013, the bill was placed on the Union Calendar, calendar 64. On June 5, 2013, the House resolved itself in the Committee of the Whole to debate the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 with Rep. Phil Roe as the designated chairman. The Committee of the Whole debated the bill and various amendments until 12:30am on June 6 before adjourning. On June 6, 2013, at 11:13am, the bill passed in with a vote of 245–182.Senate
The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 was received in the United States Senate on June 7, 2013, and then referred to the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations.Presidential response
On June 3, 2013, President of the United States Barack Obama and his Administration released a statement on H.R. 2217. The statement explains the President's reactions to specific aspects of the funding in the bill. The most important statement, however, is that "unless this bill passes the Congress in the context of an overall budget framework that supports our recovery and enables sufficient investments in education, infrastructure, innovation and national security for our economy to compete in the future, the President’s senior advisors would recommend that he veto H.R. 2217 and any other legislation that implements the HouseRepublican Budget framework." Thus, the President has threatened to veto this bill unless certain requirements or concessions are met. The President also threatened to veto the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014 on the same day. Despite this threat, the House passed the bill three days later.