Updates

Fact Sheet: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Announces Six Percent Increase In Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Request

Press Releases   President Bush’s fiscal year 2007 budget request for the Department of Homeland (DHS) Security represents $42.7 billion in funding, an increase of 6 percent over the previous year. The request reflects recent organizational reforms and program changes to ensure that the department’s policies, operations, and structures remain mission-focused and well-aligned to meet evolving threats. The proposed budget request supports Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff’s agenda for a department that is organized around mission, eliminates duplication, and disciplined in risk management. Central to the department’s budget are five themes:  increasing overall preparedness, and strengthening the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); strengthening border security and reforming immigration; enhancing transportation security through more efficient and secure system controls; improving information sharing; and strengthening the department’s organization in order to maximize performance. Increase overall preparedness, particularly for catastrophic events, and strengthen FEMA.  
  • An increase of $50 million for the National Preparedness Integration Program provides funding to execute medical preparedness coordination, catastrophic planning, emergency communications improvements, and command and control alignment.                                                                                                      
  • An increase of $294.6 million for the Targeted Capability Grants Program for a total of $1.4 billion to further the department’s national preparedness goals. The department will work with federal, state, local, and tribal entities, private sector and non-governmental partners, and the public, to strengthen prevention, response and recovery preparedness capabilities to minimize impact on lives, property and the economy.                                                                                                                                                      
  • An increase of $60.5 million in funding is requested for the U.S. Coast Guard to manage the National Capital Region Air Defense program. This funding will provide air intercept response to potential threats in the National Capital Region airspace, helping to protect the District of Columbia.                                                                                                                                                                       
  • A total of $17.7 million in funding will support the Radiological and Nuclear Attribution and Forensics initiative. The request will enable the department to combine information on potential capabilities of terrorist organizations and develop and deploy threat agents with laboratory-based forensics techniques that determine the source of nuclear and radiological materials or devices.        
  • An increase of $29 million in funding will support FEMA’s initiative to Strengthen Operational Capability and reinforce essential support functions within its Readiness, Mitigation, Response, Recovery, and National Security programs. The increase will upgrade capital infrastructure and information technology support services.                                                                                                             
  • An enhancement of $5 million will fund Procurement Staff Increases for FEMA in support of the department’s initiative to strengthen procurement capability. Additional staffing will enhance FEMA's ability to effectively deliver disaster response and recovery services by efficiently and properly processing procurement requests during routine and extraordinary operating periods.                             
  • An increase of $5 million will fund FEMA’s Emergency Alert System (EAS) upgrade. The EAS provides a convenient and reliable means of emergency communications when other national communications resources have been damaged or compromised. This funding will be used to improve system coverage, reliability, survivability, and security by providing a two-way, national-level EAS satellite capability to link federal, state, and U.S. Territory Emergency Operations Centers.            
  • An increase of $3 million for the Office of the Chief Medical Officer is requested to bring cutting-edge science, technology, and intelligence to the department’s policy-making process. Resources will be used to develop policy-driven initiatives to ensure that the nation’s critical infrastructure is medically prepared for catastrophic events.                                                                                                        
  • An increase of $10 million to establish the Chemical Security Office, which will conduct outreach with the chemical industry on potential or enacted regulations, rulemakings, and related items, as well as review and verification of initial facility consequence screening and vulnerability assessments.
Strengthen border security and interior enforcement, and reform immigration processes.  
  • A request for $458.9 million providing an increase of 1,500 new Border Patrol Agents, bringing the total number of agents added to 3,000 since 2005. This represents a 42 percent increase in the Border Patrol Agent workforce since 9/11.                                                                                                            
  • A request for $100 million for Border Technology that will enhance electronic surveillance and operational response capability. This funding will provide significant procurement investments needed to begin an aggressive deployment plan that began in the previous fiscal year.                          
  • A request for $30 million to complete construction of the San Diego Border Infrastructure System project that includes multiple fences and patrol roads to enable quick enforcemen response.               
  • A request for $410.2 million for an additional 6,700 Detention Bed Spaces. A key element of SBI is eliminating “catch and release” with a “catch and return” policy, which requires increased bed space. New bed space will also be used to return criminal aliens upon release from state and local prisons, and to target the population of alien absconders defying orders of removal. This bed space request will support the detention and removal of an additional 100,000 apprehended aliens each year.                                                                                                                                                                                 
  • A request for $41.7 million for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to strengthen Worksite Enforcement. A more robust worksite enforcement program will send a strong deterrence message to employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, reduce economic incentive for illegal immigration, and help restore the integrity of employment laws.                                                                    
  • A request for $60 million to increase ICE Fugitive Operations teams by 18, reaching a total of 70 teams nationwide dedicated to catching the estimated 450,000 absconders nationwide.                       
  • An increase of $62.9 million for total funding of $399.5 million is requested for US-VISIT. This increase will enhance access for border personnel to immigration, criminal, and terrorist information. Included in the US-VISIT initiative is $60 million in new resources to increaseentification interoperability. The initiative will provide the most complete information to decision-makers regarding eligibility, admissibility and investigative follow-up for fingerprint matches that do not occur in real-time.                                                                                                                                               
  • The budget requests $139 million for the Container Security Initiative (CSI) to pre-screen inbound cargo at more than 40 foreign ports and $55 million for Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) to review and enhance the security of partner organizations throughout the cargo supply-chain. CSI and C-TPAT are critical in the prevention and deterrence of weapons of mass destruction and other dangerous or illegal materials.                                                                           
  • The request includes $135 million to expand the current Employment Verification pilot program to support a national electronic employment authorization verification system requirement. The current basic pilot program is a voluntary electronic authorization program enabling an employer to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.