Under the President’s leadership, we have turned our economy around and created 14 million jobs. Our unemployment rate is below five percent for the first time in almost eight years. Nearly 18 million people have gained health coverage as the Affordable Care Act has taken effect. And we have dramatically cut our deficits by almost three-quarters and set our Nation on a more sustainable fiscal path.
Yet while it is important to take stock of our progress, this Budget is not about looking back at the road we have traveled. It is about looking forward and making sure our economy works for everybody, not just those at the top. It is about choosing investments that not only make us stronger today, but also reflect the kind of country we aspire to be – the kind of country we want to pass on to our children and grandchildren.
The Budget makes critical investments in our domestic and national security priorities while adhering to the bipartisan budget agreement signed into law last fall, and it lifts sequestration in future years so that we continue to invest in our economic future and our national security. It also drives down deficits and maintains our fiscal progress through smart savings from health care, immigration, and tax reforms.
The Budget shows that the President and the Administration remain focused on meeting our greatest challenges – including accelerating the pace of innovation to tackle climate change and find new treatments for devastating diseases; giving everyone a fair shot at opportunity and economic security; and advancing our national security and global leadership – not only for the year ahead, but for decades to come.
The Budget includes $40.6 billion in net discretionary funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to carry out its five primary missions: prevent terrorism and enhance security; secure and manage our borders; enforce and administer our immigration laws; safeguard and secure cyberspace; and strengthen national preparedness and resilience. The Department must be agile and vigilant in the face of evolving and emerging threats and other challenges. This budget submission builds on the priorities funded in the FY 2016 Budget, providing the funding to sustain our most critical programs and initiatives, while also providing funding for efforts strengthening DHS Unity of Effort and improving the DHS workforce. The Budget continues to support DHS operations while making critical investments in a centralized cybersecurity program within the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) and frontline border security technology and infrastructure, as well as advancing Unity of Effort initiatives to further mature the Department.
Funding Highlights:
The President’s FY 2017 Budget provides $40.6 billion in net discretionary funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). An additional $6.7 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund is requested separately from discretionary amounts, pursuant to the Budget Control Act of 2011. Resources are aligned to the Department’s five primary missions to:
- Prevent terrorism and enhance security. Protecting the American people by leveraging the intelligence, information sharing, technological, operational, and policy-making elements within our purview to facilitate a cohesive and coordinated effort to secure the United States and prevent attacks.
- Secure and manage our borders. Employing a layered security approach to reduce the flow of illegal migration and illicit contraband and prevent terrorists from entering the country while fostering legal trade and travel. Investments in critical Border Patrol staffing, equipment, and surveillance technology, and continued recapitalization of Coast Guard assets are imperative to enhancing the capabilities of front-line officers and agents.
- Enforce and administer our immigration laws. Focusing on strategies that promote lawful immigration while reducing illegal pathways. The Department has committed resources to unite families entering the country legally while prioritizing the removal of those individuals who fall within the Department’s priorities for enforcement, specifically those who pose a threat to public safety, border security, or national security.
- Safeguard and secure cyberspace. Developing prevention and mitigation strategies that keep pace in a cybersecurity environment with evolving threats. The Budget supports cybersecurity information sharing across the government.
- Strengthen national preparedness and resilience. Collaborating with state, local, and tribal governments, the Department will ensure effective response to and recovery from a variety of emergencies and disasters.
Reforms:
- Countering Violent Extremism (CVE): The Budget enhances government-wide efforts to combat violent extremism through better community partnerships. DHS’s leadership of the newly formed interagency CVE task force, along with its recently created Office for Community Partnerships will strengthen the interface between the Federal government, community organizations, and local officials. DHS will also work to foster greater cooperation with the technology industry’s CVE initiatives, increase philanthropic support for private CVE efforts, and bolster efforts that catalyze and support non-governmental, community-based programs focused on CVE.
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) Consolidation: The Budget supports the consolidation of CBRNE expertise to enhance DHS’ Unity of Effort across the components. This will strengthen coordination across the department, streamline organizational structure, and complement other changes to command and control functions.
- Combating Human Trafficking: The Budget funds the creation of a new program office managing the Blue Campaign, the goal of which is to halt human trafficking through law enforcement training, policy coordination across the Department, governmental and private sector partnerships, and a nationwide public awareness campaign to help communities recognize and report human trafficking.
- Unity of Effort: Initiatives to strengthen DHS business processes continue with the submission of the Budget in a new Common Appropriations Structure that will improve the Department’s planning, programming, budgeting, and execution processes through a common framework of four standardized appropriations.
Prevent Terrorism and Enhance Security
Aviation Security & Screening. The Budget includes $5.1 billion for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for transportation screening operations to ensure the security of our airways as well as the freedom and movement of people and commerce. Through risk-based security initiatives, such as expansion of the TSA Pre✓™ program, we are committed to maximizing security capabilities while expediting the screening process for low-risk travelers.
Targeting Programs. The Budget invests $292.0 million for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) targeting programs, including support for the National Targeting Centers (NTC) for passengers and cargo. The NTCs maximize the effectiveness of highly advanced technology and information, intelligence, databases, and domestic and international partnerships, to effectively screen, review, identify, and prioritize travelers, cargo, and agriculture across all international modes of transportation, inbound and outbound. Effective targeting and interdiction prevent high-risk passengers and cargo, as well as agriculture/bioterrorism threats from reaching U.S. ports of entry.
Radiological and Nuclear Detection. The Budget includes $103.9 million to purchase Radiological and Nuclear Detection equipment enabling the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) Office and the DHS operating components, including the U.S. Coast Guard, CBP, and TSA, to keep the homeland safe and secure by detecting and interdicting illicit radioactive or nuclear materials.
Enhance U.S. Secret Service Capabilities. The Budget provides $108.2 million to enhance White House security, which includes support for the U.S. Secret Service’s (USSS) Operational Mission Support initiative to enhance protection at fixed and temporary sites and advanced protective countermeasures.
Secure and Manage Our Borders
Border Security. The Budget includes $7.0 billion for the salaries and benefits of 21,070 Border Patrol agents and 23,821 CBP officers, and $197.5 million to sustain inspection and enforcement efforts abroad, which include the Immigration Advisory Program, created by CBP in 2004 to prevent terrorists and high-risk or improperly-documented travelers from boarding commercial aircraft destined for the United States.
Invest in the 21st Century Coast Guard. The Budget provides $1.1 billion for Coast Guard recapitalization efforts, including $150.0 million for acquisition activities for a new polar icebreaker; $100.0 million to complete evaluation of detailed design and for long lead time material for the Offshore Patrol Cutter; $130.0 million to convert C27J aircraft for Coast Guard use; and $240.0 million for production of four Fast Response Cutters.
Unaccompanied Children and Adults with Children. The Budget provides $319 million to cover the costs associated with the temporary care and transportation of up to 75,000 unaccompanied children (UAC). The Budget also provides $126 million for Alternatives to Detention, which provides the capacity to meet needs associated with adults traveling with children. The Budget requests additional contingency budget authority to support agency operations in the event of a surge in UAC apprehensions.
Non-Intrusive Inspection and Recapitalization Program. The Budget includes $173.8 million for the Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Equipment program. The NII systems allow for passive radiation scanning and X-ray/gamma-ray imaging of cargo and conveyances. NII equipment is a critical force multiplier at ports of entry. Large scale NII systems perform 7.2 million examinations per year at the ports of entry or an average of 19,726 examinations per day.
Enforce and Administer our Immigration Laws
Prioritizes Removal. The Budget provides $2.2 billion to enable U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to maintain nearly 31,000 detention beds for individuals presenting a flight risk, a risk to public safety or national security, or who are subject to mandatory detention.
Criminal Alien Program. The Budget also includes $347.5 million for the Criminal Alien Program to support the apprehension and removal of both at large and incarcerated convicted criminals, including efforts under the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP). This funding level will enable ICE to hire an additional 100 officers to support additional State and local participation in PEP.
Alternatives to Detention. The Budget includes $126.0 million for 53,000 average daily participants in the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program for those individuals who are not considered a threat to our communities. The ATD program places low-risk individuals under various cost-effective forms of intensive supervision or electronic monitoring rather than in higher-cost detention.
Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace
Federal Cybersecurity. The Budget provides $471.1 million for the National Cybersecurity Protection System that will maintain currently deployed EINSTEIN capabilities, and invest in new capabilities for analytics, information sharing, and intrusion prevention. Also included in the Budget is $274.8 million for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program which provides hardware, software, and services designed to support activities that strengthen the operational security of federal “.gov” networks. DHS is also continuing to work with the Congress to reorganize and transition NPPD to become an operational component.
Strengthen National Preparedness and Resilience
Disaster Resiliency. The Budget provides $7.3 billion in Disaster Relief Fund resources to provide immediate and long-lasting assistance to individuals and communities stricken by emergencies and major disasters. The Budget also includes $54.0 million in pre-disaster grant funding to mitigate the impact of future hazards.
State and Local Grants. The Budget includes a total of $2.0 billion in grants funding to prepare state and local governments to prevent, mitigate, protect against, respond to, and recover from incidents of terrorism and other catastrophic events. These funds also include Firefighter and Emergency Management Performance Grants that support local first responders in achieving their missions and grants targeted at Countering Violent Extremism and supporting State and local government efforts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergent threats from violent extremism and complex, coordinated terrorist attacks.
For more information, visit http://www.dhs.gov/dhs-budget.
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