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Fact Sheet: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Announces
Six Percent Increase In Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Request
February 6, 2006
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 enforcement 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 increase
identification 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.
The request includes a total of $112 million in fee and discretionary
resources within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to
accelerate a comprehensive business transformation that will reform existing
business processes, including the modernization of critically needed
information technology and actions to sustain improvements achieved in
reducing the immigration processing backlog.
Enhance maritime and transportation security, with more efficient and secure
systems.
A total of $4.7 billion is requested to support aviation security efforts.
Of this amount, $692 million will support the deployment and maintenance of
Explosive Detection and Electronic Trace Detection Systems, which provide a
higher probability to detect a wide range of explosives.
A request for $30.3 million to fund the Cargo Advanced Automated Radiography
Systems (CAARS) development initiative. The Domestic Nuclear Detection
Office will execute a program developing advanced active-imaging radiography
systems for cargo inspection at the nation’s ports of entry. The CAARS
program will significantly improve imaging systems designed to identify
concealed nuclear materials. It will eliminate the need for operator
interpretation of radiographic images, and reduce overall inspection time of
five minutes to approximately thirty seconds.
Funding of $157 million for the Radiation Portal Monitor Acquisition
initiative will secure next-generation passive detection portals for
deployment at ports-of-entry to expose nuclear explosive devices, fissile
material, or radiological material concealed in cargo or conveyances.
Consistent with the global nuclear detection architecture, the deployment
strategy will be mutually developed by the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
(DNDO) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
A total request of $934.4 million for the Coast Guard’s Integrated Deepwater
System (IDS) is $10.7 million above previous fiscal year funding. This
request will continue to support the following IDS acquisitions: the fourth
national security cutter replacement, the High Endurance Cutter; the first
Fast Response Cutter patrol boat replacement; additional Maritime Patrol
Aircraft (MPA); and the establishment of a second MPA-equipped air station.
It will also complete the re-engineering of the HH-65 helicopter and
significantly enhance legacy fixed and rotary wing aircraft capabilities.
IDS Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance
and Reconnaissance upgrades to the USCG cutters, boats and aircraft will
enhance maritime domain awareness and are critical to the achievement of an
integrated, interoperable border and port security system.
Enhance information sharing with our partners.
An increase of $36.3 million for information security and infrastructure to
support the IT Infrastructure Transformation Program (ITP). ITP integrates
the IT infrastructures of the 22 components of the department into “One
Infrastructure,” which includes the creation of one secure network; the
establishment of common and reliable e-mail communication; the restructuring
of helpdesks and related services; the reduction in number and
transformation of data centers; the standardization and modernization of the
desktop workstation and site services environment; and voice, video and
wireless infrastructure modernization.
An increase of $45.7 million is requested for the Office of Intelligence and
Analysis (I&A) and the Operations Directorate, which includes funding for
the National Intelligence Program. The department’s intelligence and
information gathering and sharing capabilities are led by I&A, who ensures
that information is collected from relevant field operations and critical
participants in the intelligence community; analyzed with a mission-oriented
focus; and disseminated to the appropriate federal, state, local, and
private sector partners. The Operations Directorate distributes threat
information, ensuring operational coordination department wide; coordinates
incident management activities; uses all resources within the department to
translate intelligence and policy into immediate action; and provides
oversight of the Homeland Security Operations Center, the nation’s 24-hour
nerve center for information sharing and domestic incident management.
Strengthen the department’s organization to maximize mission performance.
An increase of $8.1 million to the Office of Policy, Planning and
International Affairs will provide funding to support the development of the
Secure Border Initiative policy office; establish the Committee on Foreign
Owned Investments in the United States; expand duties of the International
Affairs Office; and enhance capabilities of the Homeland Security Advisory
Committee (HSAC) to work with private sector stakeholders.
An increase of $12.6 million for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer
to increase staff resources to comply with Public Law 108-330, the
Department of Homeland Security Financial Accountability Act; analyze
opportunities for further functional consolidation of segments of
departmental financial management; support the department’s plan to achieve
an unqualified audit opinion with no material weaknesses; and produce
financial data that is timely, reliable, and useful for decision-makers in
their mission to properly allocate resources to protect the nation.
A total of $41.8 million is requested for the Office of the Chief Human
Capital Officer to continue implementation of the Human Resources System
Initiative - MAXHR. The new system is market and performance-based and
rewards employees for their contributions to the mission of the department,
and not simply for longevity.
An increase of $7.8 million for the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer
is requested to improve acquisition operations. The department identified
organizational performance deficiencies in the current procurement process
and will implement comprehensive modifications to prevent fraud and misuse;
and ensure effective delivery of services and proper procurement and
contracting procedures.
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February 6, 2006
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