HR7744-119

What This Bill Does

This bill funds the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2026 and attaches detailed management controls. It gives the House explanatory statement the force of allocation guidance, requires DHS to report noncompetitive grants and contracts to the Inspector General, requires monthly CFO budget and staffing reports, and mandates quarterly briefings on Level 1 and Level 2 acquisition programs showing purpose, users, Acquisition Review Board status, cost baselines, independent validation, contractors, risks, and funding. It also requires DHS to document pilots or demonstrations that use more than 10 full-time-equivalent employees or at least $5 million and to close them out with reports.

The bill funds and directs operational pieces of homeland security. It provides $20 million for body-worn cameras for enforcement agents and officers, authorizes CBP overtime and customs work in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, requires monthly estimates on migrant arrivals and on detained or removed individuals, requires a cost-benefit analysis of alternatives to Defense Department border support, and allows employee emergency back-up care. It transfers $5 million for the Blue Campaign through ICE operations, requires congressional oversight access to detention and housing facilities, and makes FEMA Disaster Relief Fund penalties apply when late final reviews exceed $500. It also requires quarterly plans and reports for Public Law 119-21 obligations and fee collections.

The bill reaches several adjacent accounts. It provides $30 million for Supreme Court salaries and expenses, $140 million for FAA operations tied to a 3.8 percent air traffic controller pay raise and efficiency improvements, and transfers $99.75 million from unobligated CISA Cybersecurity Response and Recovery Fund balances to CISA operations and support. It rescinds unobligated balances from DHS management, CBP, CISA, FEMA, USCIS, Science and Technology, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the DHS Nonrecurring Expenses Fund, while ratifying obligations made under continuing appropriations for life, property, and orderly termination of agency functions.

Who Benefits and How

DHS appropriations committees, the DHS Inspector General, and congressional oversight staff benefit from award, acquisition, pilot, detention-access, fee-collection, and obligation reporting. CBP officers, ICE enforcement programs, DHS enforcement agents wearing body cameras, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands customs operations, and the Blue Campaign receive operating support or transfers. Migrant-detention oversight visitors gain statutory access to DHS detention and housing facilities. FEMA disaster applicants benefit from pressure to complete overdue Disaster Relief Fund final reviews. CISA operations benefit from a $99.75 million transfer into operations and support. Air traffic controllers benefit from funding for a 3.8 percent pay raise if FAA efficiency conditions are met, and Supreme Court operations receive added salaries-and-expenses funding.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The DHS Chief Financial Officer, acquisition executives, component heads, program managers, pilot sponsors, and contracting offices must produce monthly, quarterly, and closeout reports and justify large demonstrations. CBP, ICE, detention-facility operators, and border-support planners face new estimates, access obligations, and cost-benefit analysis requirements. FEMA managers face funding penalties when late disaster-review work remains unresolved. DHS components losing unobligated balances bear budget reductions through rescissions, including Management Directorate, CBP, CISA, FEMA, USCIS, Science and Technology, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the Nonrecurring Expenses Fund.

Key Provisions

• Funds fiscal year 2026 Department of Homeland Security accounts under House explanatory-statement allocation rules.
• Requires DHS Inspector General review of noncompetitive awards and monthly CFO budget and staffing reports.
• Requires quarterly briefings on Level 1 and Level 2 acquisition programs and documentation for large pilot programs.
• Provides $20 million for DHS body-worn cameras and supports CBP overtime, Puerto Rico customs work, and U.S. Virgin Islands customs work.
• Requires migrant-arrival estimates, detained-and-removed estimates, Defense Department border-support alternatives analysis, and congressional access to detention facilities.
• Applies Disaster Relief Fund penalties when FEMA final reviews remain late by more than $500.
• Transfers $99.75 million from the CISA Cybersecurity Response and Recovery Fund to CISA operations and support.
• Provides Supreme Court and FAA funding while rescinding specified unobligated DHS balances.