Thread: Appropriations Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2019 Homeland Security Funding Bill

Appropriations Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2019 Homeland Security Funding Bill

Bill targets funds to security operations, border and immigration enforcement

Washington, July 25, 2018

The House Appropriations Committee today approved the fiscal year 2019 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill on a vote of 29-22 . The bill targets critical programs such as aviation security, border and immigration enforcement, customs activities, protection against cyberterrorism, natural disaster response, and efforts to stop the smuggling of drugs and people into the U.S.

In total, the legislation directs $51.4 billion in discretionary funding for DHS, an increase of $3.7 billion above the fiscal year 2018 enacted level. In addition, the bill includes $6.7 billion – the same as the President’s request – for major disaster relief and emergency response activities through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The legislation also includes $5 billion for physical barriers and associated technology along the U.S. southern border. This amount provides for over 200 miles of new physical barrier construction. Additionally, the bill includes $223 million for 140 new Customs and Border Protection (CBP) canine teams to initiate a five-year strategy towards achieving 100 percent scanning on the southern border.

“The Committee takes its role in safeguarding our homeland and protecting our citizens seriously. Globalization, cybersecurity, and terrorism are changing our way of life and we need to change with it. This bill fully supports our men and women on the frontline who work tirelessly to keep us safe. The bill also provides the necessary funding for critical technology and physical barriers to secure our borders. It is a balanced approach that enhances our capabilities and preparedness,” Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen said.

Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Yoder also commented on the bill:

“Cartels are trafficking $64 billion a year in drugs and people across our border - and much of it comes through one small stretch at the Rio Grande Valley,” Chairman Yoder said. “This bill takes the largest steps in years toward finally fulfilling our promise to the American people to secure the border. We add funding for more than 200 miles of physical barrier, hundreds of new immigration and customs enforcement agents, and state of the art technology that will give our law enforcement agencies the tools they need to keep us safe. We take concrete steps to keep families together at the border, enforcing our immigration laws humanely and responsibly. This is all in addition to emergency and natural disaster relief grants, critical resources to protect our cyber networks, and tools to defend against terror threats.”

The following amendments to the bill were approved by the full committee today:

Rep. Yoder – The amendment made technical and other noncontroversial changes and additions to the bill and report. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Aguilar – The amendment prohibits funds to deport DACA recipients who also serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Yoder/Rep. Roybal-Allard – The amendment adds report language to support the enforcement of border and immigration laws and the humane treatment of children and families. The amendment also adds funding for health services, alternatives to detention, and family case management services. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Aderholt – The amendment adds bill language prohibiting use of ICE funding to pay for an abortion or require anyone to perform or facilitate an abortion. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 30-20.

Rep. Culberson – The amendment adds bill language amending the Stafford Act to increase access for rental assistance following declared national disasters. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Lee/Rep. Serrano – The amendment adds bill language extending disaster unemployment assistance by one year following the declared national disasters of hurricanes Maria and Irma. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Newhouse – The amendment adds bill language changing the H-2A seasonal agriculture worker program from seasonal to year-round. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Harris – The amendment adds language restoring a two-year “look back” within the H-2B seasonal guest worker visa program, exempting a certain number of return workers from the overall cap. It also sets up a system to allow a proportional number of visas for businesses, instead of all or none, when there is a higher demand for visas than the total number authorized. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Kilmer/Rep. Cole – The amendment prohibits funding to disallow certain Native American tribal members the right to pass the U.S/Canada border. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Moolenaar – The amendment adds report language clarifying polices related to the deportation of certain asylum seekers, such as Chaldean Christians. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz – The amendment adds language providing additional flexibility under the FEMA public assistance statute of limitations. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Yoder – The amendment provides additional flexibility related to the country cap on high-skilled workers under the H1-B visa program. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Palazzo – The amendment allows certain existing, unobligated funds to be used to purchase long-lead time materials for the 12^th National Security Cutter. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Culberson – The amendment adds language preventing ICE from releasing certain criminal detainees back onto U.S. soil. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Price – The amendment expands asylum status definitions to include “credible fear” as an established reason for asylum, which would include threats of gang and domestic violence. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Clark – The amendment adds language prohibiting funds for ICE to use restraints on a pregnant detainee in most circumstances. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Clark – The amendment prohibits funding for the destruction of documents related to sexual abuse or assault on detainees in custody. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Aguilar – The amendment prohibits funding for the removal of noncitizens who are DACA recipients. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.


For a summary, please visit: https://appropriations.house.gov/new...umentID=395381
For the bill report, please visit: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP00/20180725/108623/HMKP-115-AP00-20180725-SD004.pdf
For the text of the bill, please visit: https://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/homeland_sc_bill.pdf

https://appropriations.house.gov/new...umentID=395388

Rep. Price – The amendment expands asylum status definitions to include “credible fear” as an established reason for asylum, which would include threats of gang and domestic violence. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

This completely undermines the policy change AG Jeff Sessions has put into place to cut down on asylum claims!

Excerpt:

​

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) — Trump’s closest ally on immigration in the U.S. Senate — slammed the GOP-majority House Appropriations Committee for trying to “undermine” the asylum reforms that Sessions has made.
Tom Cotton

✔@TomCottonAR


Why is @HouseAppropsGOP voting to undermine AG Sessions's asylum reforms & throw open our borders to fraud & crime? The amendment they adopted today is the kind of thing that will kill the DHS spending bill. I hope the full committee removes it.

https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/07/25/32m-central-americans-right-to-migrate/

The above information was taken from:

https://www.alipac.us/f12/32m-central-americans-would-have-right-migrate-u-s-under-asylum-plan-dems-360989/

Originally Posted by MW

This completely undermines the policy change AG Jeff Sessions has put into place to cut down on asylum claims!

Totally.

Rep. Aguilar – The amendment prohibits funding for the removal of noncitizens who are DACA recipients. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

This looks like DACA Amnesty. If you can't use government resources to remove them, you can't use it to deport them, which means they're here to stay.

Disgusting. GRRRRR!!!

We get 5 billion for a wall----maybe

They get a DACA Amnesty

and

Asylum for 32 million Central Americans

Hopefully the Full Committee will get all this crap out of it.

Wow! only 1 R spoke out against this, and some people think voting R will solve everything.

The only GOP member who spoke out against the easy-migration rules was Texas Rep. John Carter.

You're free of course to vote for Dems and see where that takes you. I think our best chance is to Vote Republican in 2018 and do as well as we can, then see how it all lines up with votes and what is possible in 2019. That's just my opinion.

Republicans members of The House Committee on Appropriations Republicans Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, New Jersey, Chairman Harold Rogers, Kentucky Robert B. Aderholt, Alabama Kay Granger, Texas Michael K. Simpson, Idaho John Abney Culberson, Texas John R. Carter, Texas Ken Calvert, California Tom Cole, Oklahoma Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida Tom Graves, Georgia Kevin Yoder, Kansas Steve Womack, Arkansas Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska Thomas J. Rooney, Florida Charles J. Fleischmann, Tennessee Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington David P. Joyce, Ohio David G. Valadao, California Andy Harris, MD, Maryland Martha Roby, Alabama Mark E. Amodei, Nevada Chris Stewart, Utah David Young, Iowa Evan H. Jenkins, West Virginia Steven Palazzo, Mississippi Dan Newhouse, Washington John R. Moolenaar, Michigan Scott Taylor, Virginia John Rutherford, Florida