WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, today presided over a subcommittee markup of her FY2020 funding bill, which provides $70.7 billion to support the various missions of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It makes investments in border security, cybersecurity, aviation security, state and local grants, and other programs to improve national security and keep Americans safe. The measure, which the subcommittee approved today, is scheduled for full committee consideration on Thursday.
 
“This carefully and thoughtfully crafted bill provides the Department of Homeland Security and its nearly 250,000 employees with the resources to carry out a broad set of missions that span the entire globe and impact every American,” Senator Capito said. “My highest priority in working on this bill was including what is necessary to secure our borders, and this measure recommends major investments in border security and immigration enforcement. The bill directly funds the investments President Trump and law enforcement professionals have told us they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability—including a border wall system—and I’m confident it will help improve our national security in a number of meaningful ways.”
 
The FY2020 Homeland Security appropriations bill fully funds President Trump’s request for a border wall system while also providing Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the detention capacity needed to enforce immigration laws.  The bill recommends greater support for the operations of the U.S. Coast Guard, enhances our nation’s cybersecurity posture, and continues to carry provisions requiring greater transparency and accountability from the Department of Homeland Security and its components.
 
Bill Highlights

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – $70.7 billion, including $53.18 billion in base discretionary funding to fund DHS missions including border security, disaster relief, transportation security, immigration enforcement, and cybersecurity and over $17 billion for Disaster Relief.

 

  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – $18.1 billion, an increase of $3.2 billion above the FY2019 enacted level, to fully fund the president’s $5 billion request for the border wall system, support 200 new Border Patrol technicians, 119 new CBP officers, equipment, and technology that facilitate legitimate trade and travel at ports of entry and expand border surveillance capabilities along our borders.

 

    • Senator Capito increased funding by $10 million for CBP’s program activities at the Advanced Training Center in Harpers Ferry in the hope of expanding their training capabilities by partnering with Summit Point as they transition away from their training done for the State Department.

 

  • Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) – $8.4 billion, $780 million above the FY2019 enacted level. The bill provides more than 6,800 more immigration detention beds than were funded in FY2019, allowing ICE to keep pace with the influx of illegal border crossings.  It also sustains investments to combat drug and human trafficking and other transnational criminal activity. 

 

  • U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) – $11.6 billion, which provides nearly $294 million above the FY2019 enacted amount for operations and support activities for USCG’S domestic and overseas missions. 

 

    • This bill funds all of the activities of all of West Virginia’s Coast Guard facilities, including a $3 million increase for technology upgrades at the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center.

 

  • Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – $21.8 billion, of which $17.8 billion is for the Disaster Relief Fund, representing an overall increase of $5.2 billion above the FY2019 enacted level.

 

    • Includes $10 million for FEMA High Risk Dam Safety Grant, sustaining FY2019 enacted level which has benefited West Virginia.

 

    • FEMA grants, which have been so impactful to West Virginia communities, are funded at $2.7 billion.

 

  • Funds an increase of $3 million for Homeland Security Investigations which enables them to continue partnerships like the one Senator Capito was able to foster between the DHS and Marshall University.

 
 
Additional information on the legislation is available here.

 

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