H.R. 2017 (112^th): Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012

GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/112/1/hr2017.

Summary

According to CBO, H.R. 2017 would provide $40.85 billion in general purpose discretionary budget authority for programs funded through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Fiscal Year 2012.  When $258 million in emergency budget authority for the Coast Guard’s effort to support the global war on terror (GWOT) is excluded, the bill provides $40.6 billion in budget authority for DHS.  According to CBO, general purpose discretionary budget authority in the bill would be $2.72 billion or 6.3 percent below the President’s request.  Funding authority in the bill would be $811 million or 2 percent below FY 2011 funding levels contained in H.R. 1473, the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011.  H.R. 2017 would contribute to an overall level of discretionary budget authority of $1.019 trillion for FY 2012, a reduction of $30.3 billion below FY 2011.

H.R. 2017 would provide funding for a number of agencies, including the Secret Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The following is a summary of the spending highlights and other provisions in the bill.

TITLE I—DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

H.R. 2017 provides a total of $1.1 billion in budget authority for DHS management and operations.  The funding total for this title is approximately $300 million or 20 percent below the President’s request.  

Office of the Secretary:  Provides $127 million for the Office of the Secretary of Homeland Security, which is a reduction of $16 million or 11 percent below the President’s request.                                                       

Undersecretary for Management:  Provides $235 million for the Undersecretary for Management of DHS, which is $14 million or 6 percent below the President’s request.  The undersecretary provides administrative support and human resources services for DHS.

Chief Financial Officer:  Provides $51 million for the Chief Financial Officer of DHS, which is $11 million or 18 percent below the President’s request.                                                 

Chief Information Officer:  Provides $261 million for the Chief Information Officer of DHS, which is $17 million or 6 percent below the President’s request, to oversee all DHS information technology.

Analysis and Operations:  Provides $344 million for DHS Analysis and Operations, which is $11 million or 3 percent below the President’s request.  This provides funding for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis and the Directorate of Operations Coordination, which collect and evaluate intelligence information.

TITLE II—SECURITY, ENFORCEMENT, AND INVESTIGATIONS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Expenses:  Provides a total of $8.77 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) salaries and expenses, which is $44 million or less than one percent above the President’s budget request.  CBP is responsible for preventing and deterring threats along U.S. borders or at ports.  The CBP’s main focus is stopping terrorists, weapons, drugs, or other contraband from entering the U.S.  Funding for salaries and expenses supports border security administration, inspections, cargo screening, detection technology, border security staff, and training.  CBP received $8.18 billion for salaries and expense in FY 2011.

In addition to $8.7 billion for salaries and expense, the bill provides funding for other CBP programs as follows:

• $334 million for Automation Modernization to update information technologies, $30 million or 8 percent below the President’s request.
• $500 million for Border Fencing, Infrastructure, and Technology, $28 million or 5 percent below the President’s request.
• $500 million for Air and Marine Border Protection, $29 million or 6 percent above the President’s request.
• $234 million for CBP facilities management, $50 million or 17 percent below the President’s request.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement:  Provides a total of $5.5 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) salaries and expenses, which is $25 million or less than 1 percent below the President’s request.  ICE is the lead federal agency responsible for immigration and customs law and enforcement.  The bill provides $24 million for ICE automation modernization and removes a rescission of $16 million from ICE construction.  In total, the bill would provide $5.46 billion for ICE, $51 million above the President’s request.

Transportation Security Administration:  Provides $3.19 billion for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Aviation Security, which is an increase of $104 million or 3.4 percent above the President’s request.  The funding provides for screening personnel, training and equipment.

In addition to aviation security, the bill provides funding for other transportation security programs as follows:

• $130 million for Surface Transportation Security, $5 million or 3 percent below the President’s request.
• $184 million for Transportation Threat Assessment, the same amount as the President’s request.
• $1.03 billion for Transportation Security Support, $81 million 7 percent below the President’s request.
• $961 million for Federal Air Marshals, $30 million or 3 percent below the President’s request.

Coast Guard Expenses:  Provides $6.47 billion for the U.S. Coast Guard's nondefense operating expenses, which is $7 million or less than 1 percent below the President’s request.  Funding for salaries and expenses provides for Coast Guard administration, pay and allowance, health care, recruitment, maintenance, training, and ongoing operations.

In addition to operating expenses, the bill provides funding for other Coast Guard programs as follows:

• $258 million in emergency funding for the Coast Guard’s support of the global war on terrorism as part of the recommended level instead of assuming a transfer, as was requested, from the Department of Defense.
• $10 million for Coast Guard Environmental Compliance and Restoration, $7 million or 41 percent below the President’s request.
• $132 million for Coast Guard Reserve Training, $5 million or 4 percent below the President’s request.
• $1.152 billion for Coast Guard Acquisition, Construction, and Improvements, $270 million or 20 percent below the President’s request.
• $12 million for Coast Guard research, development, tests, and evaluations, $7 million or 37 percent below the President’s request.

Secret Service:  Provides $1.66 billion for Secret Service salaries and expenses, which is $26 million or 1 percent below the President’s request. In addition, the bill provides $7 million for acquisition and construction, which is identical to the President’s request.

TITLE III—PROTECTION, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY

Infrastructure Protection and Information Security:  Provides $891 million for Infrastructure Protection and Information Security (IPIS), $45 million or 5 percent below the President’s request.  The IPIS works within the DHS to reduce infrastructure vulnerability and oversees the National Cyber Security Division.

US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology:  Provides $297 million for the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, U.S.-VISIT, which is an increase of $21 million or 8 percent above the President’s request.  The program attempts to encourage and facilitate travel and trade.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Management and Administration:  Provides $608 million for the nondefense Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) management and administration, which is $108 million or 15 percent below the President’s request.  

FEMA State and Local Programs:  Provides $1 billion for FEMA State and Local Assistance and Grant Programs, which is $1.8 billion or 64 percent below the President’s request.

Firefighter Assistance Grants:  Provides $315 million for Firefighter Assistance Grants that are provided to local fire departments, which is $355 million or 53 percent below the President’s request.  The program received $210 million in supplemental appropriations from the “stimulus” bill.

Emergency Management Performance Grants:  Provides $315 million for the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program, which is $35 million below the President’s request.  The program provides State and local grants for disaster mitigation and preparedness programs.  The program is the only FEMA grant program that requires matching funds from State and local governments.

Disaster Relief Fund:  Provides $2.52 billion for FEMA disaster relief funding, which is an increase of $728 million or 40 percent above the President’s request   According to the House Appropriations Committee, the bill adds funding for FEMA’s disaster relief programs, “offset by funding reductions from the under-performing Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program at the Department of Energy.  The additional FEMA funds are necessary to continue to respond to devastating natural disasters—including the recent tornados and flooding in the Midwest and South.  In contrast, the vehicle loan program at DOE currently has $4.2 billion in unspent funding that has been available since 2008—including at least $2 billion more than the program applicants have applied for.” 

Flood Map Modernization Fund:  Provides $103 million, the same amount as the President’s request, to assist in the modernization of over 100,000 of the nation's flood maps, which are used to calculate risk-based premiums for the National Flood Insurance Program. 

Emergency Food and Shelter:  Provides $120 million, for FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program, which is $20 million or 20 percent above the President’s request.

TITLE IV—RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND SERVICES

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:  Provides $132 million for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is $237 or 64 percent below the President’s request.

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center:  Provides $239 million for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, which identical to the President’s request.  The bill also provides an additional $35 million for Federal Law Enforcement Training Center construction, which is $2 million or 5 percent below the President’s request.

DHS Science and Development:  Provides $539 million for DHS research, development, and acquisitions, which is $637 million or 54 percent below the President’s request.  In addition, the bill appropriates $40 million for DHS science and technology spending, which is $1 million below the President’s request.

Nuclear Detection:  Provides $40 million for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, which is $1 million below the President’s request, and $245 million for Nuclear Detection research and development, which is $39 million or 19 percent above the President’s request.

The following table shows discretionary budget authority in the bill as scored by CBO.  The table does not include every account funded in the bill, but rather a list of notable accounts.  In addition, the table does not necessarily include transfers of funds between inter-agency accounts. Thus, at times the scoring in the table differs slightly from the tables contained in House Report 112-91, which accompanies the bill.  Title totals are taken from CBO and reflect the total amount of budget authority in a given title and not the cumulative total of the accounts included in the table.  In some cases, scoring for this year’s Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1473)—which was used to calculate FY 2011 totals—was not available by title.  

Cost

According to CBO H.R. 2017 would provide $40.85 billion in general purpose discretionary budget authority for programs funded through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Fiscal Year 2012.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.