Senate panel approves $47.1B funding bill for Homeland Security

A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday approved a $47.1 billion bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard and other agencies in fiscal 2016.

The base portion of the bill contains $40.2 billion in spending, which is $543 million more than 2015 and $1.18 billion less than President Obama’s request.

“This bill supports a wide range of critical operations at DHS to secure our nation, from mitigating the impacts of natural disasters to securing our borders and airports,” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the bill.

The legislation includes $160 million in emergency funds for the Coast Guard and $6.7 billion for a disaster relief fund operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Secret Service are among the agencies that would receive funding in the bill.

{mosads}Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the sub-panel, suggested the bill has the right priorities despite adhering to the sequestration budget ceilings that will return in October.

“While I strongly disapprove of the overall budget that this bill conforms to, this is a bipartisan product that makes good use of the funds provided. I appreciate that the legislation has not reduced important state and local grants, and am especially pleased that there’s significant funding for local fire department grants,” she said.

Under the measure, the Secret Service would receive a $258 million funding boost, which would support activities related to the 2016 campaign as well as detail for Obama when he leaves office. The bill allocates funding that a panel recommended in reviewing the Secret Service’s internal problems.

It also includes language directing the Department of Homeland Security to maintain 34,000 detention beds next year, which Democrats say would limit the government’s ability to respond to immigration challenges in the United States.

Funding for Homeland Security has been the most controversial funding bill over the last year.

After President Obama unveiled his sweeping executive orders on immigration last November, congressional Republicans attempted to defund those actions through the Homeland Security spending bill. The GOP stumbled over those efforts and abandoned that plan in February as a partial government shutdown loomed.

The House Appropriations Committee has not yet released its version of the bill. The lower chamber has now passed half of the dozen spending bills.

They all will hit a dead-end in the Senate, however, because Democrats are threatening to block all twelve appropriations bills unless sequestration limits are eased.

Congress must pass new government spending by Oct. 1 to avoid a shutdown.