Updates

Testimony of DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Secretary Janet Napolitano, in Hearings Before the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Homeland Security, on the FY 2010 DHS Budget Request

Rayburn House Office Building (Remarks as Prepared)

Mr. Chairman, Congressman Rogers, and Members of the Subcommittee:

Let me begin by saying thank you for the strong support you have consistently shown the Department, and I look forward to working with you to make certain that we have the right resources to protect the homeland and the American people and that we make the most effective and efficient use of those resources.

I am pleased to appear before the Subcommittee today to present President Obama’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I will also summarize the progress we have made since the start of the new administration along with some of our key accomplishments from last year.

FY 2010 Budget Request

The Department of Homeland Security’s Budget will strengthen current efforts that are vital to the nation’s security, bolster DHS’ ability to respond to emerging and evolving threats, and allow DHS to embrace new responsibilities in order to secure the nation. This Budget puts forward critical investments in the protection of the American people.

DHS and its many component agencies fulfill a broad mandate and conduct many different activities within a single, unified security mission. DHS performs critical tasks from protecting transportation hubs to conducting maritime rescues, from aiding disaster victims to enforcing immigration laws. Within this broad portfolio, the Department aims to secure the American people from all hazards – including terrorist threats and natural or accidental disasters – and to work effectively with its many partners to lead the collaborative effort to secure the nation. DHS undertakes the mission of securing the United States against all threats through five main action areas, each of which is strengthened by this Budget:

  • Guarding Against Terrorism – Protecting the American people from terrorist threats is the founding purpose of the Department and DHS’ highest priority. This Budget expands DHS efforts to battle terrorism, including detecting explosives in public spaces and transportation networks, helping protect critical infrastructure and cyber networks from attack, detecting agents of biological warfare, and building information-sharing partnerships with state and local law enforcement that can enable law enforcement to mitigate threats.
  • Securing Our Borders – DHS prevents and investigates illegal movements across our borders, including the smuggling of people, drugs, cash, and weapons. In March, the Department announced a new initiative to strengthen security on the southwest border in order to disrupt the drug, cash and weapon smuggling that fuels cartel violence in Mexico. This Budget strengthens those efforts by adding manpower and technology to the southwest border. This Budget also funds smart security on the northern border and facilitates international travel and trade. The President’s request also makes targeted investments to reduce security risk across our nation’s vast maritime borders.
  • Smart and Tough Enforcement of Immigration Laws and Improving Immigration Services – DHS welcomes legal immigrants, protects against dangerous people entering the country, and pursues tough, effective enforcement against those who violate the nation’s immigration laws. This Budget contains funding to strengthen our employment eligibility verification systems, target and crack down on criminal aliens and expedite the application process for new legal immigrants.
  • Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Natural Disasters – The Department must aid local and state first responders in all stages of a natural disaster – preparing for the worst, responding to a disaster that has occurred, and recovering in the long run. This budget contains funding to strengthen DHS assistance for local first responders and the communities and families affected by disasters.
  • Unifying and Maturing DHS – DHS is a young department. Its components must further evolve in order to operate as effectively as possible as one agency with a single, unified security mission. This Budget contains funding to initiate consolidation of mission support activities that will remain off-site from the St. Elizabeths campus, reducing the many small and widely scattered leased locations and supporting the goal to build “One DHS.”

DHS is employing several cross cutting initiatives to strengthen activities in each of these mission areas.

First, DHS is working across the board to increase cooperation with its partners – state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, international allies, the private sector, and other federal departments. The effort to secure America requires close coordination and collaboration; this Budget increases resources dedicated to these critical partnerships.

Second, the Department is bolstering its science and technology portfolio. This will lead to the development of new techniques and technologies that will expand DHS’ law enforcement capabilities while minimizing law enforcement’s impact on everyday, law-abiding citizens. This Budget contains important investments in technologies that will allow DHS officers to perform their security tasks more quickly and with greater accuracy.

Third, the Department continually aims for greater efficiency in its operations. Through the Department-wide Efficiency Review Initiative launched in March, DHS is ensuring all its resources are used in the most effective way possible to secure the nation.

The total FY 2010 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security is $55.1 billion in funding; a 5 percent increase over the FY 2009 enacted level excluding supplemental funding. The Department’s FY 2010 gross discretionary budget request (1) is $45.8 billion, an increase of 6 percent over the FY 2009 enacted level excluding emergency funding. The Department’s FY 2010 net discretionary budget request is $42.7 billion.(2)

The following are highlights of the FY 2010 Budget Request:

Guarding Against Terrorism

  • State and Local Fusion Centers: Full support and staffing by the end of FY 2011 are requested for the 70entified State and Local Fusion Centers, facilities where information and intelligence is shared between federal, state, local and tribal authorities. Funding is dedicated to IT maintenance, support, and training.
  • Explosives Detection Systems (EDS) Procurement and Installation: An increase of $565.4 million to accelerate the Electronic Baggage Screening Program (EBSP) at the Nation’s airports to ensure 100 percent of all checked baggage is screened with an in-line explosive detection capability system, or a suitable alternative. This funding will support facility modifications, recapitalization efforts, as well as procurement and deployment of electronic baggage screening technology systems.
  • Bomb Appraisal Officers: $9 million for an additional 109 Bomb Appraisal Officers (BAOs) to provide expertise in the recognition of and response to improvised explosive devices at airports to enhance aviation security. The request will provide BAO coverage at 50 percent more airports including all Category X, I, and II airports, and will provide a BAO in every hub-spoke airport system, and to airports that currently have only one BAO assigned.
  • Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response Teams: An increase of $50 million is requested to fund 15 Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams dedicated to guarding surface transportation. The VIPR teams contain multi-skilled resources, including Transportation Security Inspectors, canine teams, Transportation Security Officers, Bomb Detection Officers, and Federal Air Marshals. These teams enhance the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) ability to screen passengers,entify suspicious behavior, and act as a visible deterrent to potential terrorists in surface transportation environments.
  • Vulnerability Assessments: A $3.0 million increase is requested to provide for new nuclear reactor security consultations with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The budget request will also support vulnerability assessment pilot projects, which provide state and local stakeholders with a comprehensive understanding of vulnerabilities and critical infrastructure resiliency.
  • Bombing Prevention: $4.2 million is requested to enhance improved, coordinated national bombing prevention and improvised explosive device (IED) security efforts. Additionally, this funding will provide resources to enhance national awareness of the threat, facilitate multi-jurisdiction planning, and conduct additional capabilities assessments for 132 high-risk urban area detection, deterrence, response, and search elements. These elements include canine units, bomb squads, SWAT teams, and dive teams.
  • Cybersecurity for the Federal Government: A $75.1 million increase is requested to enable DHS to develop and deploy cybersecurity technologies to counter on-going, real world national cyber threats and apply effective analysis and risk mitigation strategies to detect and deter threats.
  • Explosives Detection Research: Total funding of $120.8 million, an increase of $24.7 million, is requested to support DHS’ Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) in addressing critical capability gaps in detecting, interdicting, and lessening the impacts of non-nuclear explosives used in terrorist attacks against mass transit, civil aviation, and critical infrastructure. Of the $24.7 million, $10.0 million will develop high-throughput cargo screening technology through automated, more efficient equipment. The remaining $14.7 million will build on FY 2009 efforts to counter the threat of hand-carried improvised explosive devices to mass transit systems by detecting all types of explosive threats such as homemade, commercial, and military explosives.
  • Cybersecurity Research: Total funding of $37.2 million, an increase of $6.6 million, is requested to support Science and Technology in addressing critical capability gapsentified in the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). Specifically, this effort will develop technologies to secure the nation’s critical information infrastructure and networks.
  • Transformational Research and Development (R&D): A $7.2 million increase is requested for Transformational R&D to improve nuclear detection capabilities, address enduring vulnerabilities, and reduce the operational burden of radiation and nuclear detection. The increase in FY 2010 will further these efforts to accelerate material optimization and production techniques, and establish a low-rate production capability for these materials. Additional funding could have a tremendous impact on the ability to uncover threats by detecting radiation sources.
  • BioWatch: Total funding of $94.5 million is requested for the BioWatch program in the Office of Health Affairs, which provides the capability for early detection and warning against biological attacks in over 30 of our nation’s highest-risk urban areas through placement of a series of biological pathogen collectors. The request sustains the baseline capability of Gen-1/Gen-2 collectors while moving into the next generation of equipment. The funding would complete field testing for the Gen-3 prototype unit, secure IT architecture to facilitate networking between the biodetection systems, and procure production units to support the Gen-3 operational test and evaluation.
  • Vetting Infrastructure Modernization: An increase of $64 million is requested to modernize vetting infrastructure data management, adjudication workflow, and integration of all vetting systems in the third and final phase of the Vetting Infrastructure Improvement Plan. Modernization will enable a universal fee mechanism that will reduce duplicative background checks and fees for transportation workers, and provide the capability to process new populations using existing enrollment and vetting infrastructure, while continuing to ensure privacy and security.
  • Information Integration and Technology: Total funding of $34 million is requested for U.S. Secret Service information technology. Funding would provide for a secure cross-domain IT application, engineering and architecture activities to modernize and improve Secret Service systems, information-sharing environments, database performance, cyber security, and continuity of operations through robust backup and recovery procedures.
  • Intermodal Security Coordination Office (ISCO): A $10 million increase is requested for the Intermodal Security Coordination Office within DHS Policy to support integrated planning between DHS and the Department of Transportation in the area of maritime transportation, as well as in other homeland security mission areas. The Intermodal Security Coordination Office will develop a strategic plan and metrics to guide development and modernization of intermodal freight infrastructure that links coastal and inland ports to highways and rail networks; an assessment of intermodal freight infrastructure needs and capability gaps; and recommendations to address the needs and capability gaps. The recommendations to address intermodal freight infrastructure needs and capability gaps will be incorporated into DHS’ 5-year programming and budgeting guidance, and tracked to ensure they are achieved.
  • Electronic Crime Task Forces (ECTFs): Total funding of $2.0 million is requested to support the operational costs of 13 ECTFs and DHS-mandated Certification and Accreditation of the Secret Service online reporting system.
  • Train 21: Total funding of $4.1 million is requested for Train 21, a business operations and training transformation initiative that advances the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s mission to provide training for law enforcement personnel.
  • Uniformed Division Modernization: Total funding of $4.0 million is requested to support a restructuring of the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division’s (UD) legal authorities governing pay and compensation to bring the UD in line with the rest of the Federal Government and to more effectively recruit and retain the talent necessary to carry out its protective mission.
  • National Technical Nuclear Forensics: A $2.8 million increase is requested to expand efforts to develop the capability to improve technical nuclear forensics on U.S.-made nuclear and radiological materials. The increase will also expand international collaborative efforts to collect and share relevant nuclear forensics information.

Securing Our Borders

  • Combating Southbound Firearms and Currency Smuggling: An increase of $26.1 million is requested to enhance DHS’ capability to combat southbound firearms and currency smuggling through additional personnel at and between the ports of entry and along the southwest border. This funding will support an additional 44 Border Patrol agents and 8 support staff as well as 65 Customs and Border Protection officers and 8 support staff. Resources are also requested to expand and maintain the Licensed Plate Reader (LPR) program to help establish and maintain effective control of the border. Additionally Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests an additional $70 million to hire 349 positions (specifically Special Ag