Senate committee votes today on Homeland spending bill
By STEPHEN LOSEY
June 14, 2007

Leading Senate Democrats say President Bush’s proposed fiscal 2008 Homeland Security Department budget isn’t enough, and they want to add $2.2 billion in funding for border security, state and local grants and air cargo security.

But Republican lawmakers such as Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi are worried that the proposed spending increases will prompt a veto from the White House.

The Senate’s proposed $37.6 billion spending bill, which is scheduled to be marked up and voted on by the Senate Appropriations Committee today, would also withhold hundreds of millions of dollars from Homeland Security until the department shows Congress various expenditure and strategic plans.

The Secure Border Initiative — Homeland Security’s $8 billion plan to secure the border with a combination of fencing, more Border Patrol agents, and a network of cameras, sensors and other technology — would not receive half of its $1 billion funding until the department shows the Government Accountability Office a satisfactory expenditure plan. The committee said lawmakers are concerned about the department’s poor track record with multibillion-dollar procurements, such as the Coast Guard’s Deepwater program, and they want to keep a close watch on SBI’s development.

The bill would also dock Homeland Security $1,000 per day for every day it misses grant timelines. The committee said many states and localities did not receive the fiscal 2006 grants until Sept. 29, the last day of the fiscal year.

Cochran disagreed with that proposal, and said the bill needs to acknowledge that factors beyond Homeland Security’s control could delay grant payments.

“I think we’ve overdone it,â€