House Report 113-481 - DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2015

[House Report 113-481]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

113th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 113-481

======================================================================

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2015

_______

June 19, 2014.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
state of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______

Mr. Carter of Texas, from the Committee on Appropriations,
submitted the following

R E P O R T

together with

ADDITIONAL VIEWS

[To accompany H.R. 4903]

The Committee on Appropriations submits the following
report in explanation of the accompanying bill making
appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2015.

INDEX TO BILL AND REPORT

Page number

Bill Report
TITLE I--DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
Office of the Secretary and Executive Management... 2
7
Office of the Under Secretary for Management....... 3
19
DHS Headquarters Consolidation..................... --
22
Office of the Chief Financial Officer.............. 4
23
Office of the Chief Information Officer............ 4
27
Analysis and Operations............................ 5
29
Office of Inspector General........................ 5
30
TITLE II--SECURITY, ENFORCEMENT, AND INVESTIGATIONS
U.S. Customs and Border Protection................. 6
32
Salaries and Expenses...................... 6
34
Automation Modernization................... 7
43
Border Security Fencing, Infrastructure,
and Technology......................... 8
43
Air and Marine Operations.................. 8
45
Construction and Facilities Management..... 9
48
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement........... 10
49
Salaries and Expenses...................... 10
50
Automation Modernization................... 13
59
Construction............................... --
59
Transportation Security Administration............. 13
60
Aviation Security.......................... 13
60
Surface Transportation Security............ 18
70
Intelligence and Vetting................... 18
71
Transportation Security Support............ 18
73
Federal Air Marshals....................... 18
74
Coast Guard........................................ 20
74
Operating Expenses......................... 20
74
Environmental Compliance and Restoration... 22
77
Reserve Training........................... 22
77
Acquisition, Construction, and Improvements 22
78
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation 27
82
Medicare Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund
Contribution........................... --
82
Retired Pay................................ 28
82
United States Secret Service....................... 28
83
Salaries and Expenses...................... 28
83
Acquisition, Construction, Improvements,
and Related Expenses................... 32
86
TITLE III--PROTECTION, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY
National Protection and Programs Directorate....... 33
87
Management and Administration.............. 33
87
Infrastructure Protection and Information
Security............................... 33
88
Federal Protective Service................. 33
94
Office of Biometric Identity Management.... 34
95
Office of Health Affairs........................... 34
96
Federal Emergency Management Agency................ 35
98
Salaries and Expenses...................... 35
98
State and Local Programs................... 36
100
Firefighter Assistance Grants.............. 39
103
Emergency Management Performance Grants.... 39
104
Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program 40
104
United States Fire Administration.......... 40
104
Disaster Relief Fund....................... 41
105
Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis..... 46
107
National Flood Insurance Fund.............. 46
108
National Predisaster Mitigation Fund....... 48
109
Emergency Food and Shelter................. 48
110
TITLE IV--RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND SERVICES
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. 49
110
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center............ 50
113
Salaries and Expenses...................... 50
113
Acquisitions, Construction, Improvements,
and Related Expenses................... 51
113
Science and Technology............................. 52
114
Management and Administration.............. 52
114
Research, Development, Acquisition, and
Operations............................. 52
114
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.................. 53
119
Management and Administration.............. 53
119
Research, Development, and Operations...... 54
119
Systems Acquisition........................ 54
120
TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Act........................................... 0
121
Compliance with House Rules................ 0
132
Tables..................................... 0
152
Summary of the Total Bill.................. 0
00

The accompanying bill contains recommendations for new
budget (obligational) authority for fiscal year 2015 for the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The following table
summarizes these recommendations and reflects comparisons with
the budget, as amended, and with amounts appropriated to date
for fiscal year 2014:

[In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget House compared with
New budget estimates of -------------------------------
(obligational) new
Title authority, (obligational) Recommended by New budget Budget
fiscal year authority, the House authority, estimate,
2014 fiscal year fiscal year fiscal year
2015 2014 2015
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title I: Departmental Management $1,037,448 $1,171,749 $966,727 -$70,721 -$205,022
and Operations.................
Title II: Security, Enforcement, 32,336,840 31,404,277 32,540,463 +203,623 +1,261,560
and Investigations.............
Title III: Protection, 11,578,190 12,048,420 12,340,236 +762,046 +291,816
Preparedness, Response, and
Recovery.......................
Title IV: Research, Development, 1,878,086 1,770,591 1,801,308 -76,778 +30,717
Training, and Services.........
Title V: General Provisions..... -474,178 -49,000 -540,315 -66,137 -491,315
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Total................. 46,356,386 46,346,037 47,108,419 +752,033 +887,756
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, Net Discretionary.... $39,270,000 $38,332,244 $39,220,000 -$50,000 +$887,756
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: The above amounts are discretionary only and do not include OCO/GWOT funding.

References

The Committee report refers to the Implementing
Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, Public Law
110-53, as the 9/11 Act. References to the ``Committees''
refers to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate, unless otherwise noted. The
Committee also refers to ``full-time equivalent'' positions as
``FTE''; ``Program, Project, Activity'' line items as ``PPA'';
the ``Office of Management and Budget'' as ``OMB''; and the
``Government Accountability Office'' as ``GAO''.

Summary of Major Recommendations in the Bill

The Committee recommends $39,220,000,000 in discretionary
funding for DHS for fiscal year 2015, +$887,756,000, or +2.32
percent, above the amount requested and -$50,000,000, or -0.13
percent, below fiscal year 2014 enacted levels (when excluding
requested, but unauthorized increases to fee collections).
Funding for the Coast Guard's support of the Global War on
Terrorism/Overseas Contingency Operations is not included in
the bill nor is it addressed in any way by the Committee in
this report since the President has yet to submit a request for
such funds. The Committee does not include requested funding
for increases to civilian pay; should the President provide a
civilian pay increase for 2015, it is assumed that the cost of
such a pay increase will be absorbed within other amounts
appropriated for fiscal year 2015.

The President's Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Request for the Department of
Homeland Security

As proposed to Congress, the President's budget request for
fiscal year 2015 would result in the following reductions as
compared to fiscal year 2014 enacted levels:
A reduction of -3,461 detention beds, or a
-10.2 percent reduction to U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement's (ICE) detention capacity;
A -2 percent reduction to ICE's
investigative capacity;
A nearly -18 percent reduction to ICE's
transportation capacity;
A reduction of -12 percent to U.S. Customs
and Border Protection's (CBP) Air and Marine
Operations, including a more than -30 percent reduction
to flight hours;
A reduction of approximately -483 Coast
Guard military billets; multiple, accelerated
decommissionings of operational assets; and an
estimated -27 percent reduction in Coast Guard
recapitalization programs;
A reduction of -$294.5 million, or -13.2
percent, to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's
(FEMA) first responder grants; and
An abrupt end to the Department's support
for investigations into missing and exploited children.
Beyond these proposed resource reductions, further analysis
reveals that the President's fiscal year 2015 budget request
for DHS would have the following performance impacts:
The lowest level of drug interdiction
effectiveness in the past five years;
The inability of the Coast Guard to fulfill
its patrol boat mission requirements;
A substantial reduction in operating
capabilities of CBP aviation assets along our borders
and coastlines;
An inability of ICE to sustain detention
capacity, which also prevents ICE from fully complying
with statutory mandates to detain criminal immigration
law violators and detaining all other aliens in removal
proceedings who are likely to abscond or pose threats
to community safety;
A significant deterioration of ICE's
capacity to investigate severe transnational crimes,
such as illegal weapons exportation, narcotics
trafficking, human trafficking and smuggling,
intellectual property theft, and cyber crime, including
child exploitation;
No explicitly requested resources to address
the dramatic increase of unaccompanied alien children
(UACs) transiting the Southwest border (which,
according to both DHS and the Department of Health and
Human Services, is up ten-fold since 2011 and is
estimated to exceed 66,000 children in fiscal year 2014
and 145,000 children in fiscal year 2015); and
No investigative or financial support to
long-standing, authorized programs that address missing
and exploited children.
In sum, the fiscal year 2015 budget request for DHS
proposes to not only reduce the current resources of the
Department's most critical frontline components, but also to
substantially and perhaps irreparably diminish the long-term
security and enforcement capabilities of our Nation.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Committee
categorically rejects yet another flawed DHS budget request
from the current Administration.

Priorities in the Bill

This fiscal year 2015 appropriations bill for DHS
reallocates scarce funding towards our Nation's security
priorities and rectifies the President's ill-considered and
imbalanced budget proposal for the Department. The funding
recommendations and oversight requirements contained in this
bill and report are intended to prioritize operations and
frontline staffing to rectify the Administration's repeated,
proposed reductions to border security, border enforcement,
immigration enforcement, maritime security, state and local
preparedness, and counternarcotics capabilities. Therefore, the
bill is constructed upon four principles:
Providing sufficient resources to support
essential mission requirements;
Compelling fiscal discipline and efficiency;
Administering greater oversight and
accountability; and
Instilling long overdue reforms.
In particular, the bill includes targeted increases
directly related to current threats, including recent domestic
and international security events. These increases above the
request include:
A more than +$471 million enhancement to ICE
resources to overcome proposed, but unjustified,
reductions and enable the agency to fulfill its mission
of enforcing our Nation's customs and immigration laws,
including increases above the request to the following:
fugitive operations, visa overstay investigations and
enforcement, detention capacity, investigative
operations, 287(g) training, legal proceedings, and
necessary transportation capabilities related to
detainees and unaccompanied alien children;
A more than +$297.5 million increase to
Coast Guard operations and recapitalization resources
to enable the agency to adequately perform its
statutory missions and substantially address unfunded
priorities. This increase above the request is
primarily targeted at restoring the Coast Guard's
counternarcotics and interdiction capabilities;
A +$50 million increase in border security
technology for immediate, substantial enhancement of
situational awareness along the Southwest border,
primarily targeted toward areas associated with the
greatest threats and highest number of border
incursions;
A +$79.2 million increase to CBP's Office of
Air and Marine to provide immediate enhancements in
support of the Border Patrol's border security and
interdiction operations; and
Restoration of $294.5 million to FEMA's
first responder grants to sustain the amount provided
in fiscal year 2014.
In addition, the bill further supports essential security
activities by:
Highlighting the critical, cross-cutting
functionality of the Air and Marine Operations Center
(AMOC);
Restoring the proposed reductions to the
Secret Service's investigative operations, including
the investigations of cyber crimes and support for the
prevention of child exploitation;
Adding $5.0 million for additional
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) canine
enforcement teams, fully funding the training pipeline
for canine teams through fiscal year 2016;
Fully funding all viable cybersecurity
activities, including federal network security and
deployment;
Fully funding the Department's efforts to
consolidate and categorize disparate classified and
unclassified data to maximize information sharing while
ensuring appropriate access controls and privacy
protections;
Continuing to fully fund E-Verify; and
Fully funding the completion of the National
Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF).

FISCAL DISCIPLINE

The Committee rejects any false ``tradeoff'' between
security and spending restraint. The Committee's
recommendations are intended to require the Department to make
informed investment decisions with scarce resources and limited
overhead, which will ultimately deliver better capabilities and
improved security results. The Committee will not tolerate
programs that are underperforming or failing to achieve
required outcomes, which is why the bill makes responsible and
targeted reductions to programs that are not producing results.
Moreover, the Committee makes recommendations to instill
fiscal discipline at DHS over the long term by rejecting poorly
justified aspects of the budget request; substantially reducing
bureaucratic overhead through no less than a 15 percent
reduction in the Department's administrative offices; and
requiring the Department to revisit costly acquisitions to
ensure better value to taxpayers. The bill also compels the
Department to more clearly link funding requests to mission
requirements and to provide a better accounting of results
before seeking additional funding for programs with a
questionable or deficient track record.

OVERSIGHT

The bill includes decisive action to improve
accountability, including the explicit reduction of funds from
the Department's managerial and administrative offices due to
the submittal of deficient budget justification materials and
the failure of the Department's leadership to submit all
statutorily required reports due at the time of the President's
fiscal year 2015 budget proposal. The Department has been
repeatedly late in responding to congressional direction and
the Committee can no longer tolerate such poor responsiveness
and failure to comply with the law. The investment plans,
obligation and expenditure plans, reports, and justifications
outlined by the Committee are essential for supporting the
Department's mission and living up to the exacting standards of
fiscal responsibility demanded by the taxpayers. By flouting
congressional requirements, the Department is effectively
disregarding the taxpayers' right to see whether their scarce
dollars are spent wisely. Additional reductions to Departmental
components are recommended to demonstrate the seriousness of
compliance and to compel DHS leadership to develop greater
responsiveness to statutory requirements and congressional
requests.
For fiscal year 2015, the Committee recommends continuation
of major reforms put in place since fiscal year 2012, and also
recommends new actions to streamline and strengthen the
Department. The bill rejects the unauthorized reform proposal
for FEMA's first responder grants submitted in the budget, and
instead the Committee recommends continuing existing reforms
and placing emphasis upon federal dollars being allocated to
states and localities facing the greatest risks. The Committee
maintains its stringent oversight of FEMA's Disaster Relief
Fund by continuing annual and monthly reporting and information
dissemination requirements. The Committee continues to press
reform of inefficient budgeting for Coast Guard acquisitions by
aligning funding to requirements based on the fiscal year of
need. Furthermore, the Committee recommends better alignment
between mission and budget for specific Department functions,
such as CBP's flight hour program, rationalization of pay for
ICE Enforcement and Removal Officers performing similar
functions, and continued reform of biometric identity
management efforts, including compliance with statutory
requirements on biometric exit.

CONCLUSION

The Committee's intention with this bill, in contrast to
the wholly inadequate budget request, is to prioritize funding
for frontline security operations. Therefore, the Committee
designed the bill to enable DHS to rapidly and aggressively
address current threats; support the rapid, but responsible
acquisition of much needed operational capabilities; address
long-standing federal computer network security
vulnerabilities; compel the Department to set clear and well-
reasoned priorities that align to stated mission requirements;
and require the Department to practice sound financial and
program management that aligns resources to missions and
results in improved security. The Committee remains deeply
committed to helping the Department confront long-standing and
emergent homeland security threats, and sincerely appreciates
the hard work and dedication of the thousands of agents,
officers, Coast Guard military personnel, watchstanders, and
mission support staff who make it their business every day to
enforce federal laws, work to keep the Nation safe from
terrorist threats, and improve the Nation's resiliency to
disasters.

TITLE I--DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

Office of the Secretary and Executive Management

Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $122,350,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 128,769,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 100,493,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -21,857,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -28,276,000
Mission

The mission of the Office of the Secretary and Executive
Management (OSEM) is to provide efficient leadership and
services to DHS and to support the Department's efforts to
achieve its strategic goals, as outlined in the Quadrennial
Homeland Security Review.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $100,493,000 for OSEM, $28,276,000
below the amount requested and $21,857,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. This includes no more than
$40,000 for official representation and reception allowances,
$5,000 below the request.
Unless otherwise noted, funding recommendations include
reductions needed to offset significant shortfalls in the
President's budget request for DHS due to: (1) assumed
increases in aviation passenger fee collections that have yet
to be authorized and that are not under the jurisdiction of the
Committee on Appropriations; (2) detrimental, unjustified
proposals to severely reduce the Department's essential
frontline operations; and (3) the repeated failure to comply
with statutory requirements. In addition, the reductions
reflect Committee dissatisfaction with inconsistent or
incomplete responses by the Department to the Committee's
requests for factual information, as specifically noted
elsewhere in this report.
Due to the Department's chronic, unacceptable delays in
submitting statutorily required reports and plans, the
Committee recommends none of the requested restorations to
prior year reductions, specifically recommends no funding for
the Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA), and recommends
constraining the entire appropriation to below current levels.
The Committee notes that as of 60 days after the submission of
the President's budget request, the Department still has not
submitted several statutorily required reports and plans that
were due with the submission of the budget proposal. The
Committee will not tolerate the Department's repeated failures
to comply with the law and will not reconsider reductions to
OSEM, or a restoration for funding to support OLA, until the
Department complies with all statutory requirements and submits
a responsible budget proposal that adequately supports
essential mission requirements for frontline operations.
The Committee recommends the following funding levels for
each sub-office as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Immediate Office of the Secretary. $3,950,000 $3,583,000
Immediate Office of the Deputy 1,751,000 1,583,000
Secretary........................
Office of the Chief of Staff...... 2,112,000 1,875,000
Executive Secretary............... 7,719,000 6,510,000
Office of Policy.................. 38,470,000 26,998,000
Office of Public Affairs.......... 8,741,000 7,640,000
Office of Legislative Affairs..... 5,583,000 - - -
Office of Intergovernmental 2,429,000 1,904,000
Affairs..........................
Office of General Counsel......... 21,310,000 16,726,000
Office for Civil Rights and Civil 22,003,000 22,000,000
Liberties........................
Citizenship and Immigration 6,428,000 4,662,000
Services Ombudsman...............
Privacy Officer................... 8,273,000 7,012,000
-------------------------------------
Total......................... $128,769,000 $100,493,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Office of Policy

The Committee recommends $26,998,000 for the Office of
Policy, $11,472,000 below the amount requested and $9,502,000
below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee
expects the Office of Policy to serve as the Department's
central location for establishing, tracking progress of, and
implementing DHS strategic planning and policy guidance across
the entire spectrum of homeland security missions. Regrettably,
it is apparent to the Committee that the Office of Policy, as
it is currently configured, is failing to meet such a standard.
Information recently provided to the Committee from the Office
of Policy regarding border security, enforcement activities,
and human smuggling and trafficking has failed to meet the
Committee's requirements for timeliness, accuracy, and
completeness. Therefore, in addition to other specified
reductions noted above, the budget for the Office of Policy is
reduced below the request by $3,000,000. This reduction shall
be proportionally applied to the Office of International
Affairs (OIA) and the Office of Policy Integration and
Implementation.
The Committee understands the Department is conducting a
review of the Office of Policy's structure and attempting to
implement reforms to enable the office to be more mission-
oriented and responsive. The Committee strongly supports these
internal oversight efforts and believes they may correct the
deficiencies noted in the preceding paragraph. The Department
is directed to keep the Committee informed of its reform
efforts for the Office of Policy and to provide an updated
expenditure plan for the current fiscal year should the Office
be re-organized prior to the end of fiscal year 2015.
The Office of Policy shall submit its fiscal year 2016 plan
for obligation and expenditure in accordance with the
requirement for a Department-wide plan for obligation and
expenditure contained within Title V of this Act. This
obligation and expenditure plan shall include and clearly
display the $3,000,000 reduction directed above. In addition,
to improve oversight of operations and priorities of the Office
of Policy, the Committee directs the Department to report not
later than December 1, 2014, on fiscal year 2014 travel by
political employees of the Office of Policy, listing the
following information per trip: dates, destinations, purpose,
costs, mode of travel, and the purpose and total number of
government personnel accompanying the political appointees.
The Committee directs the Department to ensure that the
Office of Policy is a full participant in interagency
discussions on visa policy matters, consistent with DHS
authorities.

Office of International Affairs

The Committee directs OIA to continue to include explicit
costs and locations of all DHS secondment positions within the
annual budget request and denies the use of funding for any
further secondment positions in fiscal year 2015. This funding
restriction is not meant to hamper best practice exchanges.

Office of Public Affairs

The Committee directs the Office of Public Affairs to
clearly post on the DHS website all Departmental activities
related to the ''If You See Something, Say
Something''^TM campaign. This posting shall include
the associated costs of all such activities.

Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

The Committee recommends $22,000,000 for the Office for
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (OCRCL), of which $2,394,000
is for necessary oversight of Secure Communities and the 287(g)
program. OCRCL shall submit its plan for obligation and
expenditure in accordance with the requirement for a
Department-wide plan for obligation and expenditure contained
within Title V of this Act and, within that plan, shall
document its planned expenses related to funding specified for
oversight of Secure Communities and the 287(g) program. OCRCL
shall provide to the Committee, upon request, copies of
memoranda or other reports making recommendations to DHS
components. OCRCL shall ensure that all individuals whose
complaints are investigated by OCRCL receive information, as
appropriate, regarding the outcome of their complaints,
including findings of fact, findings of law, and remedies
available, within 30 days of completion of the investigation.
In fiscal year 2014, the Congress directed OCRCL, in
conjunction with the DHS Privacy Officer, to conduct a joint
review of CBP efforts to ensure the use of unmanned aircraft
systems complies with all existing laws and applicable privacy
and civil liberty standards. The Committee is disappointed by
the failure to submit this report as directed. The Department
shall provide the required report not later than July 15, 2014.

Unaccompanied Alien Children

The Committee is extremely concerned about the escalating
and seemingly uncontrollable phenomenon of UACs transiting the
Southwest border. According to data provided by CBP and ICE,
DHS encountered approximately 6,600 UACs along the Southwest
border in fiscal year 2011. In fiscal year 2014, the number of
UACs transiting the border is expected to surpass 66,000, and
the projection for fiscal year 2015 is more than 145,000
unaccompanied children. The Committee believes this issue
demands vigorous Department-wide engagement by all relevant
operational components and the Office of Policy, as well as a
whole-of-government approach given the necessary diplomatic
involvement of the Department of State and the legal
obligations of the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-ORR) to care for
these children and reunite them with their families.
Regrettably, the Committee has found the Administration, and
notably the DHS Office of Policy, to be unwilling or unable to
fully acknowledge both the resource requirements and the causal
factors surrounding these skyrocketing UAC encounters. Not only
does this growth suggest an enormously profitable enterprise
for transnational criminal organizations that are facilitating
the smuggling of UACs, it also represents a true humanitarian
crisis whose victims are among the most vulnerable of
populations. To make matters worse, CBP and ICE personnel are
being increasingly obliged to divert their attention away from
their ongoing border enforcement and investigative duties to
transport UACs to HHS-ORR locations and to care for these
children until such transportation can be arranged.
On May 14, 2014, the Secretary declared a Level IV
condition of readiness, which means the current flows of UAC
border crossings on the Southwest border has exceeded CBP's and
ICE's ability to effectively manage such flows with current
fiscal year 2014 resources. This declaration was not preceded
by a request for the reprogramming of funds to enable the
direction of more resources to the problem, as permitted by
section 503 of Division F of Public Law 113-76, nor the use of
the immigration emergency funding authority contained within
section 548 of Division F of Public Law 113-76. Furthermore,
the Secretary's announcement did not include a budget amendment
or other strategy to correct the glaring funding deficiencies
within the ICE and CBP budget proposals to address the
anticipated additional expansion of UAC flows for fiscal year
2015.
The Committee notes that the Administration failed to
properly budget for the expected costs of caring for UACs
crossing the Southwest border during fiscal year 2015. The
challenge was made more difficult by the untimely submission of
a letter by OMB identifying significant additional UAC funding
requirements for the coming year, including $166 million
required for the Department above the budget request. The OMB
letter, which came two days after Subcommittee consideration of
the bill, provided no analytical justification and offered no
recommendations for offsets within the budget request. As a
result, the Committee was forced to find additional reductions
throughout the Subcommittee reported bill to help offset the
additional funding requirement for UACs.
To sufficiently address the resources necessary to manage
the estimated flows of UACs in fiscal year 2015, the
Subcommittee reported bill recommended $76,900,000 above the
request for ICE's transportation costs. However, given the
updated information presented to the Committee, the Committee
recommends modifying the Subcommittee reported bill, as
detailed in the following table, to fully account for the
current estimate of necessary costs incurred by both CBP and
ICE associated with UACs.

Fiscal Year 2015 Shortfall for Costs Associated With UACs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CBP costs.............................................. ................. $76,942,000 .................
ICE costs.............................................. ................. 87,605,00 .................
-------------------
Total estimated shortfall as of May 30, 2014 (as ................. 164,547,000 .................
provided by DHS OCFO).............................
UAC funding included in Subcommittee-reported bill ................. 76,900,000 .................
(ICE, Transportation).................................
Remaining shortfall (total estimated shortfall less ................. 87,647,000 .................
funding currently included in bill)...................
Recommended Offsets (relative to Subcommittee-reported
funding levels)
Subcommittee Recommended Revised
Reported Level Offsets Recommendation
--------------------------------------------------------
Office of the Secretary and Executive Management....... 110,493,000 -10,000,000 100,493,000
Under Secretary for Management, Office of the Chief 21,007,000 -2,000,000 19,007,000
Human Capital Officer.................................
Under Secretary for Management, Human Resources 7,800,000 -7,800,000 - - -
Information Technology................................
Under Secretary for Management, Office of the Chief 29,066,000 -2,000,000 27,066,000
Readiness Support Officer.............................
Under Secretary for Management, Nebraska Avenue Complex 4,400,000 -4,400,000 - - -
(NAC).................................................
DHS Office of the Chief Financial Officer.............. 44,306,000 -5,000,000 39,306,000
CBP, Headquarters, Management, and Administration...... 1,165,613,000 -5,000,000 1,160,613,000
ICE, Headquarters, Management, and Administration...... 340,430,000 -5,000,000 335,430,000
DHS Financial Systems Modernization.................... 39,500,000 -9,500,000 30,000,000
Recission, FEMA Disaster Relief Fund................... -351,564,000 -36,947,000 -388,511,000
--------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, recommended offsets...................... ................. -$87,647,000 .................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Committee asserts that OMB and the Department must
approach the spiraling growth of UACs transiting the border
holistically and forthrightly in terms of necessary actions to
better manage and deter the growing influx as well as the
associated costs of such actions. The Committee also believes
the Department must improve its budget estimates for known and
projected operations and includes a new provision in Title V of
this Act requiring DHS to incorporate all projected costs
associated with UACs within the budget justification documents
that accompany the annual DHS budget request. Finally, the
Committee directs the Department to use existing budgetary
tools and authorities, as necessary, to sufficiently address
this issue in the current fiscal year. The Department shall
keep the Committee informed of changes to its UAC inflow
estimates and associated costs.

ICE Detainers

The Committee is troubled by the number of jurisdictions
that are not honoring ICE detainers, particularly those
refusing to honor detainers on aliens who have been convicted
of aggravated felonies or two or more felonies (Level I
criminal aliens) and detainers on aliens who have been
convicted of at least one felony or three or more misdemeanors
(Level II criminal aliens). Not later than 30 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Department shall disseminate
to all federal law enforcement agencies and federal grant
making entities within DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ)
all relevant data regarding state and local jurisdictions that
are not honoring ICE detainers.

Joint Operations

The Committee is aware of efforts by the new Departmental
leadership to examine and reform joint operations within DHS
and with other federal agencies to better leverage security and
enforcement capabilities as well as reduce costs. The Committee
strongly supports such efforts and believes such joint activity
to be one of the fundamental pillars on which DHS was
established. The Department is directed to keep the Committee
informed on such efforts and to clearly display efficiencies
and budgetary savings achieved from any joint operations, as
applicable, within required obligation and expenditure plans
and budget justification materials.

Joint Requirements and Aviation Commonality

Currently, the Department's Aviation Governance Board is
developing a database for both CBP and Coast Guard that
consolidates their respective inventories and data on
operations and maintenance for the purpose of determining the
viability of whether: (1) similar mission requirements should
drive the acquisition of common airframes; and (2) forfeiture
or transfer of assets should be treated as acquisitions,
subject to the same oversight processes as purchased aircraft--
to include programs with existing waivers from acquisition
documentation required in Management Directive 102-01. Building
on this initiative, the Committee directs DHS to review joint
requirements and the potential to leverage depot level
maintenance facilities for use across the Department. Further,
the Committee directs the Department to develop a common flying
hour program for the Coast Guard and CBP that leverages
existing capabilities and models, includes the number of hours
and associated costs by asset type and model to attain and
maintain readiness and achieve definable mission requirements,
and justifies the need for additional assets based on
utilization of existing aircraft and potential maintenance
issues. The Department shall brief the Committee not later than
July 15, 2015, on the status of the joint requirement review
and development of a common flying hour program, including
timelines for implementation.

Operational Resources in the U.S. Caribbean

The Committee remains concerned about vulnerabilities in
border control and high levels of violent crime occurring in
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Committee is
especially concerned with the pervasively high homicide rates
occurring in the U.S. Caribbean and that such crime is directly
linked to the smuggling of illegal narcotics and goods into
United States Territories. The Committee recognizes the
successes to date of Operation Caribbean Resilience, which is a
joint initiative of the Department's component agencies
launched in 2012 and expanded in 2013 to disrupt and dismantle
criminal organizations in and around Puerto Rico. This
initiative entailed a short-term, temporary surge of additional
Departmental resources and personnel to Puerto Rico to augment
local law enforcement efforts, with the principal contributions
coming from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The
Committee believes such surge operations should be replicated,
as necessary, to stem the flow of contraband into the United
States, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and
to counter the reach and growth of organized criminal
enterprises throughout the Caribbean basin. The Committee
directs the Secretary to report to the Committee not later than
December 31, 2014, on the Department's plans to address
operational needs in the source and transit zones and
throughout the Caribbean basin, specifically in and around
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, either as part of
surge operations or on a more permanent basis. The Committee
robustly addresses resource needs for counternarcotics and
security operations in the source and transit zones in the CBP,
ICE, and Coast Guard sections of this bill and report.

State and Local Surge Operations on the Border

The Committee recognizes the notable efforts by the Texas
Department of Public Safety to surge state public safety and
law enforcement assets to and near the U.S. border regions of
Texas to mitigate illegal border incursions and criminal
activity. The Committee understands that the show of force
provided by state law enforcement officers made a discernable
difference in the flow of illegal border incursions. The Office
for State and Local Law Enforcement, within the DHS Office of
Policy, serves as the primary liaison between DHS and non-
federal law enforcement agencies and is encouraged to work with
Southwest border states to address the applicability of similar
efforts in their states.

Situational Awareness of Illegal Border Activity

A common operating picture that provides full and
persistent situational awareness of illegal activity between
ports of entry along the Southwest border and in the associated
maritime environment is required to accurately determine the
effectiveness of border security operations, and will require
collaboration among CBP, AMOC, ICE, and Coast Guard. Because
technology can be a critical force multiplier and enabler in
gaining this capability, CBP, ICE, and Coast Guard are directed
to consult with the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to
fully develop a strategy and plan for attaining a common
operating picture that is based on full and persistent
situational awareness.
In addition, the Committee directs CBP, AMOC, ICE, Coast
Guard, and S&T to carry out a review of how current border
situational awareness can be enhanced; technical capabilities
planned for acquisition by CBP, AMOC, ICE, or Coast Guard; and
other technologies, resources, and capabilities that will be
needed in the future for maintaining and improving full and
persistent situational awareness. The Secretary, in conjunction
with CBP, AMOC, ICE, Coast Guard, and S&T, is directed to
submit to the Committee, within 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the results of the technical review, and
a draft plan for developing situational awareness using a
common operating picture.

Cross-Border Working Group

The Department continues to face difficult challenges in
securing the Southwest border while also facilitating the
efficient flow of commerce between the United States and
Mexico. The Committee believes that efforts to address these
challenges could be strengthened through a more formal
engagement between the Department and appropriate Mexican
authorities to develop common or complementary approaches in
areas of mutual interest, including border infrastructure;
immigration enforcement; facilitating the flow of low-risk
cargo and passengers; and cross-border violence and criminal
networks. The Committee encourages the Department, in
cooperation with the Department of State, to explore new
opportunities for cooperation with Mexican authorities, such as
through a cross-border working group.

Coastal Surveillance System Pilot with S&T and AMOC

Increasingly, criminals are using small vessels to smuggle
illicit materials into the United States. These vessels,
including go-fasts, pangas, and self-propelled semi-submersible
and fully submersible vessels, are purposely built for stealth
by transnational criminal organizations and provide an ideal
platform for smuggling. The vessels are difficult to detect
with existing sensors, and it is very challenging to
distinguish between the bad actors and those engaged in
legitimate pleasure and commercial boating.
Another challenge for the agencies responsible for guarding
our maritime borders is how to effectively patrol the vast
maritime approaches to the U.S. using limited resources (ships,
boats, planes, helicopters). The only way to do this
effectively and efficiently is to dramatically increase
situational awareness in the maritime domain to provide
actionable information that helps leverage the use of our
limited interdiction assets.
The Committee is encouraged by S&T's development of a
Coastal Surveillance System (CSS), which is designed to
integrate information from existing and new data sources and
sensors to improve maritime domain awareness by tracking
vessels in real time to facilitate the interdiction of vessels
through the identification of anomalous or suspicious behavior.
After its initial introduction at AMOC in 2012 for a
preliminary technical evaluation, S&T and AMOC entered a pilot
phase of evaluation in November 2013. The Committee directs S&T
and component agencies to brief the Committee within 30 days
after the date of enactment of this Act on the CSS pilot;
current and new data feeds to be tested; planned installations
of additional CSS nodes for CBP and Coast Guard platforms; and
planned service upgrades.

Weapons Commonality

The Committee is concerned that there is no apparent
overarching Departmental leadership or strategy for procuring
weapons, including firearms and non-lethal weapons. To address
this concern, the Secretary shall review current and specific
weapons requirements to ensure the Department is creating joint
requirements, as appropriate, and maximizing DHS's buying
power. Further, as required by a new provision contained within
Title V, the Secretary shall provide a report with the
submission of the fiscal year 2016 budget on the quantity of
weapons in inventory by type and model at the end of the
preceding fiscal year; the number of weapons planned for
procurement in fiscal years 2015 and 2016; a description of how
such quantity and purchases align to each component's mission
requirements; and details on all contracting practices applied
by the Department, including comparative details for other
contracting options.

Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime

The Committee has been closely monitoring the Department's
application of administratively uncontrollable overtime (AUO)
and was pleased to see the internal memorandum from the Deputy
Secretary dated May 23, 2014, regarding improvements to AUO
administration throughout DHS. The Committee assertively
addresses AUO under CBP and NPPD in this report, and has
reduced certain accounts due to expected budgetary savings from
improvements to AUO oversight and management. The Committee
directs DHS to submit to the congressional committees of
jurisdiction, not later than 15 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the results of the DHS Office of General
Counsel's AUO review and the results of the Office of Special
Counsel's investigations, as applicable. Furthermore, the
Committee directs DHS to report to the congressional committees
of jurisdiction, not later than 15 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, on the compliance plans and internal
controls and safeguards developed pursuant to the Deputy
Secretary's AUO memorandum.

S&T Reforms

The Committee is pleased that DHS and S&T have developed a
definition of research and development (R&D), but continues to
be concerned about the lack of a comprehensive strategy for R&D
conducted by the Department. There is still no formal process
or guidance across the Department for setting R&D priorities,
defining R&D requirements, or setting R&D goals and milestones.
In order to ensure that effective R&D guidance is established
and maintained, the Department is directed to issue a
management directive, not later than 180 days following
enactment of this Act, that includes: a process for ensuring
the Department's resources are allocated to projects that
address its highest priorities; the definition of R&D; a
process for identifying capability gaps; the methodology for
determining when R&D is an appropriate response to such gaps;
and an outline of the requisite steps for performing R&D. The
directive shall also include a Department-wide policy for
regular, comprehensive reviews by S&T of component technical
plans to assure that the plans are technically achievable and
complement, but do not overlap with other S&T or component
activities. S&T shall submit a report to the Committee within
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act on S&T's
assessment as to the technical achievability of the component
plans, recommended changes to improve the performance of the
plans, and a detailed overview of how the plans complement
ongoing S&T activities.
The Committee has also expressed concerns regarding the
lack of permanent mechanisms for S&T to regularly solicit input
and receive constructive feedback from each component. To
facilitate such communication, S&T is encouraged to increase
opportunities for its staff to gain first-hand understanding of
DHS operations through the establishment of a liaison program
that embeds S&T technical subject matter experts in the field
with the operational elements of DHS components. S&T should
also explore the utility of placing detailees from the field-
elements of the components within S&T to enrich the
requirements generation process. The Department is directed to
include, as part of the required management directive, guidance
requiring each component to establish a permanent mechanism for
interaction with S&T. Such mechanism should ensure that
components are routinely apprised of the Directorate's ongoing
development of technology and knowledge products, and should
enable the components to effectively communicate their needs
and capability gaps to S&T.

Developmental Test and Evaluation

The Secretary, working with the Under Secretary for Science
and Technology, is directed to establish policies and
procedures to coordinate and monitor test and evaluation (T&E)
activities across the DHS acquisition framework through S&T's
Developmental Test and Evaluation (DT&E) function. The
Committee remains concerned that acquisition programs continue
to falter across the Department and that S&T is not as engaged
as it should be across the spectrum of T&E activities. It is
the Committee's expectation that S&T be involved in all aspects
of T&E, including setting policy and guidance for and
overseeing DT&E, approving the DT&E plan supporting decisions
to begin initial production, and integrating DT&E with
operational T&E.

Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Process
Improvements

The Committee is encouraged by the efforts of DHS
leadership to improve the rigor of its PPBE process. In
particular, the Committee commends the Department's efforts to
create a more robust strategy for the requirements planning
process that ensures acquisitions and other investment
decisions directly link to mission and performance outcomes.
This linkage is vital to ensuring program executability and
affordability in the near-term, in the intermediate performance
period outlined in the Future Years Homeland Security Program
(FYHSP), and in the long-term for major capital asset
acquisitions. To that end, DHS is directed to brief the
Committee on the requirements process that is being implemented
by July 15, 2014, and regularly thereafter. The briefing shall
include, as applicable, lessons learned from using the new
processes in formulating the President's fiscal year 2016
budget request and changes that will be incorporated into the
process for developing the President's fiscal year 2017
request.

Travel

The Committee commends the Department for reducing
executive travel costs over the past few fiscal years. Travel
by Department leadership and senior staff is necessary when it
supports critical DHS missions, advances national policy
interests, or serves fundamental oversight and management
purposes. However, as noted by the Committee over the past
several years, some travel by Department officials has failed
to meet the test of being both necessary and efficient.
The Committee directs the Department to provide a quarterly
travel report to the Committee not later than 30 days after the
end of each fiscal quarter, beginning with the end of the first
quarter after the date of enactment of this Act. The report
shall detail all costs of official and nonofficial travel by
the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary (both direct and
indirect), delineated by each trip for that quarter within all
DHS appropriations.

Bonuses and Performance Awards

The Department is directed to include within the
President's budget request for fiscal year 2016 the amounts
estimated, by component, for bonuses and performance awards for
fiscal year 2016 and the standards and criteria that will be
applied to the use of such awards and bonuses.

Reception and Representation Allowances

Within OSEM, the Committee recommends no more than $40,000
for official reception and representation expenses, $5,000
below the amount requested. Within this total, not more than
$15,000 shall be for international programs within the Office
of Policy and necessary activities related to the Visa Waiver
Program. The Department is directed to track its reception and
representation expenses in enough detail to explain how these
funds were used as the Committee conducts its oversight efforts
next year. The Committee expects the Department to review
representation allowances for all DHS agencies to ensure the
equitable alignment of funds with responsibilities, and to
submit any proposed changes as part of the fiscal year 2016
budget request.

Conferences and Special Events

For fiscal years 2013 and 2014, Congress mandated new,
strict oversight requirements for conferences and special
events. The Committee continues this stringent oversight and
expects DHS to fully comply with such statutory requirements
for fiscal year 2015.
Furthermore, not later than 30 days after the end of fiscal
year 2015, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) shall report
to the Committee on the Department's event-related spending,
including an assessment of whether DHS is in compliance with
all applicable laws and regulations and describing in detail
the total costs to the government associated with events. In
addition, the report shall include the number of conferences
held, the amount of funds obligated, and expenses by
appropriation or other source of funding, including costs by
budget account and subaccount.

Over-Classification of Information

The Committee is concerned with the number of reports,
briefings, and responses to requests for information that are
designated by the Department as ``For Official Use Only''
(FOUO), often without a consistent and appropriate review as to
why information requires such a classification. As a
consequence, both the Committee and the Department have wasted
substantial staff resources deliberating over what information
can and could be publicly disclosed. The Committee directs that
all reports, briefings, or responses to requests for
information provided to the Committee that are classified as
FOUO include the name(s) and title(s) of the personnel that
made the designation and the specific reasons for the
classification based on requirements detailed in DHS Management
Directive 11042.1, which provides guidance for safeguarding
sensitive but unclassified FOUO information.

Employee Morale and Workforce Innovation

The Committee is very concerned with recent, persistent
findings of low morale and a weak environment for innovation
across the Department. Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Department is directed to update the
relevant committees of jurisdiction on its corrective action
plan to address and improve low employee morale and the poor
climate for workplace innovation. This update must examine root
causes and establish metrics of success within the action plan
that are clear and measurable.

Universal Complaint System

The Committee directs DHS to assess the feasibility, cost,
and benefits of implementing a universal complaint system to
operate across the Department that ensures all complaints are
addressed, promptly responded to, and that results inform
future training and policy, by: (a) developing one online
multilingual portal to file any DHS complaint; (b) creating a
Department-wide toll-free number to allow individuals to file
complaints; and, (c) displaying in multiple languages both the
web address and phone number at all detention facilities, ports
of entry, and interior checkpoints. DHS is directed to report
to the Committee on its assessment within six months of the
date of enactment of this Act.

Wildlife Trafficking

The Committee is aware that illegal wildlife trafficking is
one of the largest international criminal enterprises and is
deeply concerned by the growing evidence that wildlife poaching
and trafficking, particularly of African elephant ivory, is
being used as a source of funding by terrorist organizations,
extremist militias, and transnational criminal organizations.
The Committee is also aware that the National Strategy for
Combating Wildlife Trafficking states the Administration's
intent to ensure that U.S. intelligence activities are
appropriately integrated with domestic and international
enforcement efforts. The Committee supports this goal and, to
the extent practicable, encourages the Department to work with
U.S. and international law enforcement and partner countries to
share information and analysis on illegal wildlife trafficking.

Office of the Under Secretary for Management

Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $196,015,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 195,286,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 175,124,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -20,891,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -20,162,000
Mission

The Office of the Under Secretary for Management's (USM)
primary mission is to deliver quality administrative support
services for human resources; manage facilities, property,
equipment, and other material resources; ensure safety, health,
and environmental protection; and identify and track
performance measurements relating to the responsibilities of
the Department. This office is also charged with implementing a
mission support structure for DHS administrative services,
while eliminating redundancies and reducing support costs.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $175,124,000 for USM, $20,162,000
below the amount requested and $20,891,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014*. Within the amount provided, no
more than $2,000 is for official reception and representation
expenses.
Unless otherwise noted, recommendations include reductions
to offset significant shortfalls in the President's budget
request for DHS due to: (1) assumed increases in aviation
passenger fee collections that have yet to be authorized and
that are not under the jurisdiction of the Committee on
Appropriations; (2) detrimental, unjustified proposals to
severely reduce the Department's essential frontline
operations; and (3) the repeated failure to comply with
statutory requirements.
The Committee recommends the following funding levels for
individual offices within USM:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Immediate Office of the Under $2,757,000 $2,683,000
Secretary for Management*........
Office of the Chief Security 63,597,000 63,033,000
Officer..........................
Office of the Chief Procurement 64,036,000 63,335,000
Officer..........................
Office of the Chief Human Capital
Officer:
Salaries and Expenses......... 21,253,000 19,007,000
Human Resources Information 9,878,000 - - -
Technology...................
-------------------------------------
Subtotal.................. 31,131,000 19,007,000
Office of the Chief Readiness
Support Officer:
Salaries and Expenses......... 29,272,000 27,066,000
Nebraska Avenue Complex....... 4,493,000 - - -
-------------------------------------
Subtotal.................. 33,765,000 27,066,000
=====================================
Total................. $195,286,000 $175,124,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*The recommendation and comparisons reported here exclude the
headquarters consolidation project at St. Elizabeths.

Immediate Office of the Under Secretary for Management

The Committee recommends $2,683,000 for the Immediate
Office of the Under Secretary for Management, $74,000 below the
amount requested and $17,000 below the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014. The Committee directs this office to resume
its efforts to compel the Department to adopt a zero-based
budgeting approach to formulate its annual budget request and
present its budget justification documents.

Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

The Committee recommends $63,335,000 for the Office of the
Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO), $701,000 below the amount
requested and $1,665,000 below the amount provided in fiscal
year 2014. The Committee continues statutory language in the
corresponding section of the bill requiring the submittal of a
Comprehensive Acquisition Status Report (CASR) and subsequent
quarterly updates, and expects the Department to comply with
those requirements in terms of both content and schedule. In
addition to the information currently included in the report,
the Department shall include all level 1, 2, and 3 programs
with a breakout by appropriation and PPA. Further, the report
shall be provided to Congress and published on the Department's
public-facing website (with the exception of specific sensitive
but unclassified information).

Contract Closeout

The closeout of complex contracts is a labor intensive and
time consuming effort for the Department. The CPO has briefed
the Committee that a backlog of contracts exists, awaiting
final closeout and disposition. Meticulous attention to detail
is required in this task to ensure the government satisfies its
liabilities to its contractors and, in turn, that the
contractors do not in some way take advantage of the
government. Beginning in fiscal year 2010, the Department of
Defense (DoD) commenced a pilot program, in conjunction with
the Ability One Services program, in which wounded veterans
were trained and utilized to conduct this task. Thus far,
millions of dollars have been recouped and thousands of
contracts have successfully been closed out. Conservative
estimates from DoD show that the program may achieve a 10:1
return on investment as a result of the deobligation of funds.
The Committee is extremely supportive of this initiative and
strongly encourages the CPO to review the applicability of this
program within DHS.

Program Accountability and Risk Management

With the submission of the fiscal year 2016 budget request,
proposed funding for the Office of Program Accountability and
Risk Management (PARM) shall be identified through a distinct
PPA under USM in lieu of the current practice of including
PARM's funding within the PPA for the OCPO. Because PARM is a
direct report to the Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO) as the
CAO's Executive Agent for overseeing acquisition program
management, a distinct PPA for PARM better aligns funding to
mission.

Enterprise-wide Talent Management System

The Committee denies the request for $1,143,000 to fund the
Enterprise-wide Talent Management System. The Committee regrets
that funding for this type of human capital initiative is
simply unavailable when Congress is presented with such a
flawed budget request that includes glaring, irresponsible gaps
in necessary financial support for frontline operations. The
Committee believes essential operations must be sufficiently
supported and prioritized before additional funding can be
considered for such administrative initiatives.

Unit End Item Definition

The Secretary of Homeland Security, through the Office of
the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) and the OCPO, is directed to
develop definitions of ``expense item'' and ``investment
items'' that mirror the definitions used by other federal
agencies, including DoD.

Procurement of Secure Document Products and Services

The Committee notes there is an ongoing Government
Accountability Office (GAO) study regarding the production of
secure credentials across the government. Prior to the
completion of the GAO study, the Committee seeks additional
information to understand how DHS procures secure document
services. To that end, the Committee directs OCPO to notify the
Committee in writing 15 days prior to contracting with a
private entity or signing an agreement with a government agency
to requisition secure document services or secure document
component services. If DHS procures secure documents from a
government source the agency is to provide justification for
that decision and an analysis showing how the security of the
products or services will be equal to or greater than that of
products that could be procured from private industry at a
substantially similar cost, as part of the 15 day notice.

Document Security

The Committee remains concerned over the need to protect
classified information, especially as to methods used to secure
paper forms, which can be scanned, faxed, copied, or otherwise
stolen or compromised. Existing, off-the-shelf commercial
technologies can be used to monitor document access and alert
security personnel when sensitive documents are at-risk. The
Committee directs the Department to report to the relevant
committees of jurisdiction, within 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, on the measures currently being used to
ensure hard copy document security.

First Responder Land Mobile Radio Communications Interoperability

DHS has encouraged the development of multi-band handheld
land mobile radio (LMR) systems that can operate on more than
one of the public safety LMR communications bands. Further, DHS
has subsidized multi-band LMR technology development through
grant funding, conducted multi-band technology pilot programs,
and published the results of these pilot programs. The
Committee expects logical, measured, and cost-effective steps
to complement the actions DHS has already undertaken to advance
first responder communications interoperability. Accordingly,
the Committee directs DHS to take steps to enhance
communications interoperability among local, state, and federal
first responders.
The Committee specifically notes the findings of the
Department's 2012 Multi-Band Radio Pilot Assessment that: (a)
multi-band radios are a valuable tool in bridging the
communications interoperability gap between local, state, and
federal agencies regardless of the radio band in use; (b)
multiple manufacturers offer dual-band and multi-band radios;
and (c) the cost of a multi-band radio is now comparable to the
cost of a similar high end, single-band radio. The Committee
directs DHS, within 120 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, to brief the Committee on the steps it will take to:
(a) transition DHS component agencies to multi-band LMRs in
future procurements unless their mission does not require full
local, state, and federal interoperability; (b) issue guidance
to non-DHS federal law enforcement agencies on transitioning to
multi-band LMRs, as appropriate; and (c) issue guidance for DHS
grant programs that support state and local interoperable
communications to make interoperability an important criterion
for grant-funded LMR procurements.

DHS Headquarters Consolidation

Appropriation, fiscal year 2014*...................... $35,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 73,000,000
Recommended in the bill............................... - - -
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -35,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -73,000,000*Provided in sec. 544 of Public Law 113-76.

Recommendation

Given the constraints of the current budget environment and
the flawed and unjustified reductions to the Department's
operational components and frontline personnel within the
President's fiscal year 2015 budget request for DHS, no funding
is included for further development of the headquarters
consolidation project or for associated mission support of the
project. The Chief Readiness Support Officer is directed to
update the Committee not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this Act on the plan for obligation and
expenditure of prior year appropriations for this project and
provide an updated analysis of alternatives for the project
that fully considers the costs and benefits of its scope within
a fiscal environment that is substantially constrained.
The Committee understands that the Department, through USM,
is actively exploring options to modify or consolidate current
leases, with the expectation that a permanent headquarters
construction site will be significantly delayed or amended. The
Committee encourages the Department to continue this effort and
to inform the Committee of its progress not later than 30 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, including revised
schedules and cost estimates.

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $46,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015*..................... 94,626,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 39,306,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -6,694,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -55,320,000*Includes funding for Financial Systems Modernization efforts.

Mission

The primary responsibilities and functions of OCFO include
budget execution and oversight; performance analysis and
evaluation; oversight of the Department's financial management
system; oversight of the Department's business and financial
management systems across all agencies and directorates; and
oversight of credit card programs and audit liaisons.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $39,306,000 for OCFO, $55,320,000
below the amount requested and $6,694,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. Funding for the Financial Systems
Modernization (FSM) program is not recommended under this
heading and is instead addressed within Title V of this bill
and report. As noted above, reductions to the core offices of
OCFO are made to offset the severe flaws of the budget request,
including reliance upon unauthorized fee increases and the
proposed, but unjustified, reductions to the Department's
operational components. The recommended reduction is also due
to the Department's chronic inability to comply with statutory
reporting requirements.

Unrealistic Budgeting Practices and Assumptions

As in prior years, the President's budget unjustifiably
assumes that new revenue will be authorized for the coming
fiscal year. In this case, the budget request was built upon
the assumption that $570,000,000 in new aviation security fee
revenue will be authorized in fiscal year 2015. Furthermore,
the President's budget proposal relies upon proposed, but
unauthorized, fee increases under CBP to offset increased costs
of operations and fund 2,000 additional CBP officers. However,
as in the past, such proposals depend on enactment of new
legislative authority that is outside the jurisdiction of the
Committee. As this Committee has underscored repeatedly over
the past several Congresses, such an approach to budgeting is
unrealistic and requires the Committee to take drastic measures
to offset the inflicted gaps in funding needed to adequately
support frontline operations. The Committee reiterates its
message and wholly rejects such budgetary gaucherie. The
consequences, in terms of pervasive reductions to the
Department's requests, are therefore evident throughout this
bill.
If and when such proposals are enacted into law, the
Committee will take them into account as it drafts legislation,
and the Department should keep the Committee informed of any
progress in this regard. However, until such actions occur,
these unauthorized proposals cannot be treated as relevant to
the Committee's appropriation work. While the Administration is
certainly free to propose new sources of revenue as part of its
budget, future budget requests should not be constructed on the
assumption that such offsetting revenue will be forthcoming.

Department-Wide Common Appropriations Structure

The Committee recognizes that DHS components have disparate
appropriation structures, which hinders the Department's
ability to carry out mission planning, programming, budgeting,
execution, and performance measurement in an integrated
fashion. This has occurred as a result of legacy appropriation
structures that components brought with them when DHS was
formed and differences across appropriation structures for
components created even after DHS was established. In order to
provide the Department and the Committees increased visibility,
comparability, and information on which to base resource
allocation decisions, particularly in the current fiscal
climate, the Committee believes DHS would benefit from the
implementation of a common appropriation structure across the
Department. OCFO is directed to work with the components, OMB,
and the Committee to develop a common appropriation structure
for the President's fiscal year 2017 budget request.
In the interim, OCFO is directed to provide a report to
accompany the President's budget request for fiscal year 2016
that outlines a notional framework for a common appropriation
structure, contains appropriation crosswalks for each component
demonstrating the format of the new structure and comparisons
with the current structure, and details any assumptions,
particularly regarding proposed changes to reprogramming
authorities, that would be required to make the new structure
work efficiently. In order to ensure this new structure is
ready for implementation in the fiscal year 2017 budget cycle,
it is critical that this project remain on schedule. To that
end, OCFO is directed to brief the Committee on the status of
this project by July 15, 2014, and regularly thereafter.

Obligation and Expenditure Plans

In prior appropriations Acts and reports, the Committee has
directed the submission of obligation and expenditure plans for
various programs on an ad hoc basis. To formalize this process
across the Department, the Committee includes a new general
provision that directs the submission of reports for specified
programs detailing the planned obligation and expenditure of
funds. The reports shall reflect enacted appropriations;
include the allocation of undistributed appropriations among
and within PPAs; and incorporate completed reprogramming
actions (pursuant to section 503 of this Act and previous
appropriations Acts for DHS), including funds that have been
reprogrammed below the reprogramming notification threshold.
Funding in the reports shall be broken out according to PPA
and cost code by quarter, and shall include the amount of funds
planned to be carried over into the next fiscal year. For
multi-year appropriations, the reports shall detail the status
of each appropriation by source year. In addition, the reports
shall identify the current numbers of onboard personnel by PPA,
along with delineations of the numbers of personnel newly hired
or lost to attrition since the beginning of the fiscal year or
since the most recent report, as appropriate. These reports
shall be provided 45 days after the date of enactment of this
Act. Certain additional reports shall be submitted on a
quarterly basis after these initial reports to compare actual
obligations against the initial plans.

Timely Obligation of Appropriated Funds

The Committee is increasingly concerned with the slow rate
of obligation and languishing balances in multi-year
appropriation accounts. With fiscally constrained budget
toplines, the Committee cannot afford to appropriate funding
that will not be obligated in a timely fashion or could be
appropriated in future budgets. Funds should only be requested
that are anticipated to be obligated in the first year of an
appropriation, with the exception of legal requirements such as
antecedent liabilities. Understanding that delays do occur, it
is the expectation of the Committee that at least 80 percent of
the funds requested in multi-year accounts should be obligated
in the first year of an appropriation. When programs fail to
obligate funds, it is an indication to the Committee that they
might be falling behind schedule or may not be able to
effectively utilize allotted budget authority. The Department
is directed to provide budget guidance to components that their
budget submissions request only the funds that have a bona fide
need during the first year of an appropriation.
For single year accounts, the Committee is troubled with
the practice of obligating a significant portion of funds in
the last quarter of a fiscal year. Other Departments and
agencies have statutory language limiting to less than 20
percent the amount available for obligation in the last two
months of a fiscal year. Not only do fourth quarter obligations
overwhelm contracting staff, it can be argued that funds that
do not obligate until the fourth quarter could just as easily
be slipped into the next fiscal year for funding. The Committee
urges the Department to address this situation.

Congressional Budget Justifications

The Committee directs the Department to submit all of its
fiscal year 2016 budget justifications on the first Monday in
February, 2015, concurrent with the official submission of the
President's budget to Congress as mandated by law. The detail
contained within the justification documents should reflect the
requirements set forth under this heading in the explanatory
statement accompanying Public Law 113-76, with the exception
that the references to prior year funding information should
relate to fiscal years 2014 and 2015, as applicable. The
Committee further directs the Department to make appropriate
and necessary preparations for an overhaul of the format of its
budget justification documents to be included with the fiscal
year 2016 budget request. This reformatting should include a
presentation of financial data that is similar to the CASR, but
shall also include financial detail per PPA and include far
less narrative and superfluous content than the current
justification documents. OCFO is directed to meet regularly
with the Committee, as necessary, to carry out this
reformatting in preparation for the submittal of the fiscal
year 2016 budget request.
Further, for each DHS component, the fiscal year 2016
budget justification material shall be submitted for all DHS
investment items over $250,000 per investment item, including
research and development and capital assets such as real
property and equipment. By appropriation and PPA, the material
and supporting documentation shall include a project
description, justification, and scope to include the
capabilities to be fielded; key events for the prior year,
current year, and budget year; funding delineated by year of
appropriation (prior year; current year; budget year; budget
year plus one; budget year plus two; budget year plus three;
budget year plus four and beyond); total cost; the actual or
estimated appropriations, obligations, unobligated authority,
planned expenditures, and planned increment and/or units to be
procured; available funding budget plan (projected obligations
by year appropriated) broken out by cost category; and contract
information and status. The justification material shall be
displayed in the same format as the CASR. Consistent with
section 874 of Public law 107-296, the Department shall submit
a FYHSP as part of the fiscal year 2016 budget justification,
reflecting anticipated spending for fiscal years 2016 through
2020. It shall be in unclassified form so as to be accessible
to the public.
The Committee also directs that the Department ensure, for
all appropriations requested in fiscal year 2016 and for which
a proposal is made to increase or decrease funding for an
activity within a PPA category, that it informs the Committee
of the base funding level for such activity--and not simply the
total activity or PPA funding level.

Monthly Reporting Requirements

The Committee continues bill language requiring a Monthly
Budget Execution and Staffing report within 30 days after the
close of each month. The Committee directs the Department to
modify this report to include the amounts of unobligated and
unexpended balances of appropriations by source year and to
display the status of balances at both the appropriations
account level and the PPA level where the latter are reflected
in the explanatory statement accompanying enacted
appropriations. The source year and other information required
in the modified report will assist the Committee in better
evaluating program implementation and budget execution by the
agencies. The unobligated balances for the Disaster Relief Fund
are exempt from the requirement to show the source year of
appropriations.

Working Capital Fund

As in prior years, the Committee directs the Department to
include a separate justification for the Working Capital Fund
(WCF) in the fiscal year 2016 budget request. This should
include a description of each activity funded by the WCF; the
basis (including a sufficient business case analysis) for
pricing; the number of full-time federal employees funded in
each activity; a list of each Departmental organization that is
allocating funds to the activity; and the funding each
organization is providing in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, and
what is estimated to be provided in 2016. If a project
contained in the WCF is a multi-year activity with a defined
cost, scope, and schedule, the estimated costs and schedule
shall be clearly delineated.
As directed in the explanatory statement accompanying
Public Law 113-76, the Department is directed to base inclusion
or exclusion of an activity in the WCF on a thorough business
case that justifies the efficiency or effectiveness of such
inclusion or exclusion; the Department is not required to
formally provide justifications to the Committees identifying
initiatives or activities that are not included in the WCF.
Consistent with fiscal year 2014, section 504 of this Act does
not include a requirement from prior years that the WCF be
subject to the reprogramming requirements contained in section
503 of this Act, but instead directs quarterly reporting on
obligations, expenditures, and the projected annual operating
level for each WCF activity. In addition, the Department shall
notify the Committees when an initiative or activity is added
to or removed from the WCF. This approach provides increased
flexibility for the Department while also providing the
Committees with insight into the real-time operations of the
WCF that is necessary to conduct robust oversight.
The Department shall not fund any activities through the
WCF that the House or Senate Committees on Appropriations have
disapproved either in report language or in their responses to
reprogramming requests.

Notification of Structural Pay Reform Initiatives

The Committee expects to be kept informed of the
Department's structural pay reform initiatives. Therefore, the
Committee includes a new provision in Title V of this Act
requiring an official and comprehensive notification at least
30 days prior to implementation of any such initiatives.

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $257,156,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 256,343,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 257,068,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -88,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +725,000
Mission

The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) has
oversight of information technology (IT) projects in the
Department and is responsible for implementing the programs
necessary to align DHS's IT personnel, resources, and assets,
including all systems and infrastructure, to support
Department-wide missions and activities. OCIO provides DHS and
its partners with the IT services required to lead a unified
national effort to prevent and deter terrorist attacks as well
as protect against and respond to threats and hazards.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $257,068,000 for OCIO, $725,000
above the amount requested and $88,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014, including an increase of
$6,976,000 for Sharing and Safeguarding Classified Information,
as requested. At this funding level, DHS will be able to
continue to improve information security while also providing
necessary protections across the Department's classified
networks. The activities associated with Sharing and
Safeguarding Classified Information will protect DHS data and
resources from unauthorized disclosures and preserve the
ability of all users of DHS classified systems to access
classified resources from partner departments and agencies in
all classified domains. Unless otherwise noted, the
recommendation reflects reductions to partially offset
significant shortfalls in the President's budget request for
DHS due to: (1) assumed increases in aviation passenger fee
collections that have yet to be authorized and that are not in
the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations; (2)
unjustified reductions to essential frontline operations; and
(3) the repeated failure of the Department to comply with
statutory requirements.
OCIO is directed to brief the Committee, not later than 90
days after enactment of this Act, on the cost and schedule
details of all large or multi-agency projects such as the
Homeland Secure Data Network (HSDN) and the Identity,
Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) program, as well as
other steps being taken to safeguard classified information.
A comparison of the budget request to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Salaries and Expenses............. $95,444,000 $93,169,000
Information Technology Activities. 38,627,000 40,627,000
Infrastructure and Security 52,140,000 53,140,000
Activities.......................
Homeland Secure Data Network...... 70,132,000 70,132,000
-------------------------------------
Total, Chief Information $256,343,000 $257,068,000
Officer......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Information Technology Activities

The Committee recommends $40,627,000 for Information
Technology Activities, $2,000,000 above the amount requested
and $6,627,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014,
including an increase of $2,000,000 to support the DHS Data
Framework.

Infrastructure and Security Activities

The Committee recommends $53,140,000 for Infrastructure and
Security Activities, $1,000,000 above the amount requested and
$8,140,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
increase of $1,000,000 is to be applied for cyber remediation
tools. OCIO is directed to update the Committees--in
coordination with other Departmental components, as necessary--
not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act
on Department-wide efforts to combat ``insider threats'' in the
cyber domain, including, but not limited to, an overview of:
(1) the extent of the Department's ability to monitor the
unauthorized removal of sensitive, unclassified and classified
material from DHS information systems; (2) any new restrictions
on access to DHS information systems and databases, both
internally and for external stakeholders; (3) any recent
restrictions placed on DHS users by external, interagency
stakeholders on access to certain databases and an assessment
of the operational impact of such restrictions; and (4) plans
to improve the DHS information security architecture and
policies to preclude breaches at DHS.

Data Center Migration

The Committee continues the requirement to be briefed
quarterly on the status, cost, and schedule of its data center
migration efforts and all relevant details associated with this
activity.

Analysis and Operations

Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $300,490,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 302,268,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 274,343,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -26,147,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -27,925,000
Mission

Analysis and Operations houses the Office of Intelligence
and Analysis and the Office of Operations Coordination and
Planning, which together collect, evaluate, and disseminate
intelligence information, as well as provide incident
management and operational coordination.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $274,343,000 for Analysis and
Operations, $27,925,000 below the amount requested and
$26,147,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
The Committee reduces funding for the Office of Operations
Coordination and Planning, primarily due to an inadequate
justification and the inability to clearly align the budget
request and management-intensive billet structure to mission
requirements. This reduction is also recommended to offset
severe flaws within the Department's budget request for
frontline operations and enforcement. The Committee expects the
Department to reform the Office of Operations Coordination and
Planning such that its budget and staffing requirements clearly
and justifiably align to mission requirements and strategic
goals.
The Committee also denies the requested decrease to the
Border Intelligence Fusion Section (BIFS) and restores funding
for this function. Additional direction on funding for this
appropriation is included within the classified annex
accompanying this report.

DHS Operations Centers

The Department is required to submit to the Committee not
later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act a
comprehensive inventory of all operations centers across DHS.
This inventory shall be subdivided by Departmental component
and shall include: the mission of each operations center; the
staffing associated with each operations center; the annual
operating costs of each operations center; any other relevant
details pertaining to resources for each operations center; and
an explanation of connectivity of each operations center to
other Departmental and federal operations centers, as
applicable, and including the DHS National Operations Center.

Classified Programs

Recommended adjustments to classified programs and more
detailed oversight of funding for the Office of Intelligence
and Analysis are addressed in the classified annex accompanying
this report.

Office of Inspector General

Appropriation, fiscal year 2014*...................... $139,437,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015*..................... 145,457,000
Recommended in the bill*.............................. 144,393,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +4,956,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -1,064,000*Includes a directed transfer of $24,000,000 from the FEMA Disaster
Relief Fund.

Mission

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 established an OIG in DHS
by amendment to the Inspector General Act of 1978. This office
was established to provide an objective and independent
organization that would be effective in: (1) preventing and
detecting fraud, waste, and abuse in Departmental programs and
operations; (2) providing a means for keeping the Secretary and
the Congress fully and currently informed of problems and
deficiencies in the administration of programs and operations;
(3) fulfilling statutory responsibilities for the annual audit
of the Department's financial statements; (4) ensuring the
security of DHS information technology pursuant to the Federal
Information Security Management Act; and (5) reviewing and
making recommendations regarding existing and proposed
legislation and regulations to the Department's programs and
operational components. According to the authorizing
legislation, the Inspector General is to report dually to the
Secretary of Homeland Security and to the Congress.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends a total of $144,393,000 for OIG,
$1,064,000 below the budget request and $4,956,000 above the
amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee continues
the practice in fiscal year 2015 of transferring $24,000,000
from the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) to the OIG for
disaster-related audits and investigations. This recommendation
includes $3,552,000 to fully fund the requested workforce
development initiative, and also supports the request for a net
adjustment of +44 FTE for increased oversight capability.
The OIG is directed to submit a plan for obligation and
expenditure as per the direction contained within Title V of
this bill and report. This plan shall include all DRF transfers
(which shall satisfy the requirements for notification of DRF
transfers under section 503 of this Act). Furthermore, the OIG
is directed to clearly display the distribution of all FTE,
including the additional +44 FTE supported by the recommended
funding level and the workforce development initiative training
efforts within the required plan for obligation and
expenditure.

Border Corruption Investigations

The Committee remains concerned about the efficacy of OIG
communications with the Committee regarding border corruption
investigations, particularly related to the coordination of
these investigations with ICE and CBP. The Committee directs
the OIG to include within the plan for obligation and
expenditure, noted above and required within Title V of this
bill and report, an explicit plan for all fiscal year 2015
obligations and expenditures for integrity oversight in
coordination with CBP and ICE.

Management and Efficiency Oversight

The Committee strongly supports efforts by the OIG to
identify and correct instances of fraud and waste affecting
Departmental activities, and therefore directs the OIG to
provide a semi-annual briefing to the Committees on
Appropriations regarding such efforts, with particular focus on
procurement, grant administration, and travel.

Conferences and Special Events

As noted in the OSEM section of this report, the Committee
continues the requirement for the OIG to report to the
Committees not later than 30 days after the end of fiscal year
2015 on DHS spending on conferences, ceremonies, and similar
events, based on quarterly reporting to the OIG. The report
shall substantiate DHS compliance with all applicable laws and
regulations and describe in detail the total costs to the
government associated with events. It shall include the number
of conferences held, the amount of funds obligated, and
expenses by appropriation or other source of funding, including
budget accounts and subaccounts used to pay for events.

287(g) Material Violation Appeals

Within 60 days of the date of enactment of this Act, and in
regard to the tenth proviso in the bill under ICE, Salaries and
Expenses, the OIG shall establish an appeal process for
jurisdictions found to be in material violation of the terms of
a 287(g) agreement with ICE.

TITLE II--SECURITY, ENFORCEMENT, AND INVESTIGATIONS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Mission

The mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection is to
enforce laws regarding the admission of foreign-born persons
into the United States, to facilitate the flow of legitimate
trade and travel, and to ensure all persons and cargo enter the
U.S. legally and safely through official checkpoints at ports
of entry
Given this critical mission, the Committee's recommendation
supports the goals of: securing and managing the borders;
preventing terrorism and enhancing security by screening,
targeting, and vetting cargo and passengers; developing a
structured, integrated network to reduce transnational crime
and terrorism; enforcing immigration laws with effective
deterrence; and developing a process linking mission
requirements to the budget request.

Unaccompanied Alien Children

Glaringly absent from the President's budget proposal are
funds required to cope with skyrocketing numbers of children
crossing the borders alone. Though only 6,000 unaccompanied
children crossed the border illegally in fiscal year 2011, CBP
projects at least 66,000 children will do so in fiscal year
2014 and as many as 145,000 in fiscal year 2015. More
distressing is the fact that these numbers reflect only the
known cases. The number of children who do not make it to the
U.S. border because they were killed, died of deprivation
during the journey, or were abused and sold into slavery,
remains unknown.
The Committee understands that many of these children are
confronted with conflict, discord, and economic strife in their
home countries, and that it is difficult to separate the
decision to migrate from the dangers and economic crises they
face at home. While a partial explanation, the Committee also
understands that immigration enforcement policies, like
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the Morton
Memos, that emphasize the application of immigration laws to
criminal aliens illegally present in the United States, are
also part of the problem. As noted by the CBP Commissioner
during hearing testimony, a likely contributing factor to the
current rise of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) crossing
the Southwest border is that illegally present parents or
guardians feel secure enough to send for the children left
behind when they entered the U.S. years earlier. More
disturbing to the Committee is the sure knowledge that these
children are smuggled through Mexico to the U.S. border by the
Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) that effectively
control the Mexican side of the border, and that are also
engaged in the trafficking of drugs, other contraband, and
people. Beyond any concerns about the integrity of U.S.
immigration law, this is an unacceptably dangerous situation
for these children, and no one--including the parents or
guardians of these children--should consider it to be a safe or
acceptable option.
Once the children reach the U.S. border and are encountered
by CBP, the humanitarian crisis also becomes a law enforcement
nightmare with real costs to American taxpayers. Children are
held at CBP facilities until they can be transported to the
Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS-ORR), which has the legal responsibility to
care for them. Rather than carrying out their regular duties,
CBP officers and U.S. Border Patrol agents are put into the
position of providing basic child care despite having no
training and little guidance in how to meet the immediate
health needs of UACs. Complicating the situation is the fact
that CBP facilities are not meant to house children, and CBP is
not the appropriate organization to provide nutritious meals
and assist with basic hygiene.
In fiscal year 2013, CBP estimates that the unfunded costs
of the children's food, toiletries, and incidentals reached
almost $342,000. Additional contributions came from the pockets
and good hearts of CBP employees. OMB submitted updated
budgetary estimates to the Committee on June 3, 2014, two days
after the Subcommittee unanimously reported out the fiscal year
2015 bill. According to the new estimates, CBP estimates it
will absorb $225,277,000 in UAC costs in fiscal year 2014, and
that the fiscal year 2015 requirement will escalate to
$506,202,000, of which only $429,260,000 is included in the
budget request.
Despite awareness of the human and monetary costs, the
Administration did not include funds for dealing with the
situation in the fiscal year 2015 budget request, a result that
is indefensible and irresponsible. Consequently, the Committee
directs CBP to immediately submit estimates of the fiscal year
2015 costs related to UACs and also to include such costs in
future budget requests. Furthermore, CBP is directed to work
with ICE and HHS-ORR, to ensure that UACs held in CBP short-
term custody are processed and transferred to ICE for
transportation to HHS-ORR custody (or transferred directly from
CBP to HHS-ORR) in a humane manner and well within the 72 hour
mandate.
CBP shall work with HHS-ORR to identify whether local child
welfare organizations or other appropriate organizations can
assist in screening children for sexual assault, trafficking,
exploitation, or other mistreatment. Interagency protocols
defining roles and responsibilities should be established so
that UACs in CBP custody have necessary medical care;
appropriate clothing and shoes; basic personal hygiene and
sanitary products; a pillow, linens, and sufficient blankets;
adequate nutrition; and are allowed access to consular
officials. Finally, CBP shall provide quarterly briefings to
the Committee on the progress of implementing the interagency
protocols, the average number of hours children stay in CBP
custody by sector and field office, and the costs associated
with UAC apprehensions.

Reports Required

Listed below are reports or briefings the Committee directs
CBP to present. Additional explanation is included at the
appropriate place in the report or in Title V of the bill.
Annual year of execution obligation and
expenditure plans and quarterly updates that include
current staffing levels and unobligated balances;
Budget justification material for all
acquisitions over $250,000;
Semi-annual briefings on the status of
innovations to improve wait times at ports of entry,
implementation and execution of pilots authorized under
section 560 of Public Law 113-6 and section 559 of
Public Law 113-76, and other business transformation
initiatives;
Monthly updates on the number of UACs
encountered, the length of time before notifying HHS-
ORR of the child's presence, the time elapsed between
notification and transfer to HHS-ORR, and the estimated
costs to CBP of caring for the child; and
Annual State of the Border briefing, not
later than 15 days after the budget is submitted, that
integrates equipment requirements and gaps related to
attaining situational awareness at the border.

SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $8,145,568,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 8,326,386,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 8,367,450,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +221,882,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +41,064,000
Mission

The Salaries and Expenses appropriation provides funds for
border security, immigration, customs, agriculture inspections,
regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting
import duties, and enforcing U.S. trade laws. In addition to
appropriations, fee collections are authorized to cover CBP
operations.

Recommendation

For fiscal year 2015, the Committee recommends
$8,367,450,000 for Salaries and Expenses, $41,064,000 above the
amount requested and $221,882,000 above the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014. Included in the total is $3,274,000 derived
from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. The recommendation
promotes strong border security, expands efforts to facilitate
trade and travel, and builds CBP's targeting capabilities.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Headquarters, Management, and
Administration:
Commissioner.................. $27,245,000 $21,606,000
Chief Counsel................. 45,663,000 44,570,000
Congressional Affairs......... 2,514,000 2,454,000
Internal Affairs.............. 140,141,000 136,690,000
Public Affairs................ 13,064,000 12,748,000
Training and Development...... 71,926,000 70,146,000
Technology, Innovation and 25,374,000 24,770,000
Acquisition..................
Intelligence/Investigative 61,512,000 61,005,000
Liaison......................
Administration................ 386,793,000 377,134,000
Rent.......................... 409,490,000 409,490,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Headquarters, 1,183,722,000 1,160,613,000
Management, and
Administration...........
Border Security Inspections and
Trade Facilitation:
Inspections, Trade, and Travel 2,830,872,000 2,853,024,000
Facilitation at Ports of
Entry........................
Harbor Maintenance Fee 3,274,000 3,274,000
Collection (Trust Fund)......
International Cargo Screening. 69,173,000 68,902,000
Other International Programs.. 25,706,000 25,548,000
Customs-Trade Partnership 40,841,000 40,619,000
Against Terrorism............
Trusted Traveler Programs..... 5,811,000 5,811,000
Inspection and Detection 123,866,000 126,811,000
Technology Investments.......
National Targeting Center..... 70,592,000 79,123,000
Training...................... 33,906,000 33,880,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Border Security 3,204,041,000 3,236,992,000
Inspections and Trade
Facilitation.............
Border Security and Control
between Ports of Entry:
Border Security and Control... 3,882,015,000 3,913,454,000
Training...................... 56,608,000 56,391,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Border Security 3,938,623,000 3,969,845,000
and Control between POEs.
=====================================
TOTAL, Salaries and $8,326,386,000 $8,367,450,000
Expenses.............
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Headquarters, Management, and Administration

The Headquarters, Management, and Administration (HMA) PPA
funds the development of critical policy and operational
guidance, and provides mission support to CBP's operational
components, among other activities. To support these
requirements, the Committee recommends $1,160,613,000 for HMA,
$23,109,000 below the amount requested and $38,317,000 below
the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. A decrease of
$20,484,000 is applied to this account in order to partially
offset shortfalls in operational accounts inexplicably
underfunded or caused by unauthorized fee collections proposed
in the President's request. An increase of $1,000,000 is
included for the Office of Intelligence and Investigative
Liaison (OIIL) for six additional OIIL analysts for the purpose
of assisting the Office of Air and Marine operations.
CBP is commended for developing a leadership development
framework that emphasizes the continual professional growth of
the workforce. The next step is to institutionalize the
framework for all levels of employees, culminating in a
capstone-like training program for the Senior Executive
Service.
The Committee is aware that CBP is engaged in discussions
with the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) related
to disagreements about the use of customs fees collected by CBP
on behalf of USVI, and encourages CBP to work diligently to
amicably resolve these disagreements.

Border Security Inspections and Trade Facilitation

Border Security Inspections and Trade Facilitation is the
appropriation which funds CBP's activities at the Nation's
ports of entry. Customs and Border Protection officers (CBPOs)
are fundamental to these activities as the law enforcement
component responsible for preventing terrorists and contraband
from entering the United States; enforcing customs,
immigration, and agriculture laws and regulations; and securing
and facilitating international trade and travel at 329 ports of
entry and 16 preclearance locations.
For the Border Security Inspections and Trade Facilitation
account, the Committee recommends $3,236,992,000, an increase
of $32,951,000 above the amount requested and $21,148,000 above
the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.

Inspections, Trade, and Travel Facilitation at Ports of Entry

A total of $2,853,024,000 is for Inspections, Trade, and
Travel Facilitation at Ports of Entry, $22,152,000 above the
amount requested and $3,549,000 below the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014. As proposed by the President, the
recommendation includes funds sufficient to support a base of
23,775 CBPOs, which includes the costs associated with the
2,000 CBPOs added in fiscal year 2014; $8,300,000 for the CBP
Mobile Program; and $11,800,000 to develop and expand the
Arrival and Departure Information System. In addition,
$42,000,000 is included to offset the reduction caused by the
Congressional Budget Office's re-estimate of Consolidated
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) fee receipts
collected under the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion
Agreement Implementation Act of 2011.
Citing the findings of the CBP Workload Staffing Model,
which projects more than 472 million land, sea, and air
passengers traveling to the U.S. in 2015, and trade volumes
exceeding more than 24,000,000 cargo containers, the President
proposed adding a second installment of 2,000 CBPOs in fiscal
year 2015. To pay for the accompanying costs, the President
assumed an increase of $2.00 to both COBRA commercial aircraft
and vessel fees and the Immigration User Fee.
Though cognizant that increasing the number of CBPOs would
mitigate congestion and lengthy passenger wait times at major
ports of entry caused by increasing trade and travel volumes
and stacked airline arrivals schedules, the Committee has not
adopted the President's proposal for the following reasons.
First, increasing immigration fees requires the passage of
legislation to amend the underlying statute, an action which is
outside the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations.
Second, because CBP is already engaged in a two-year initiative
to hire 2,000 new CBPOs funded in fiscal year 2014, the agency
has made clear that it would be unable to begin another hiring
initiative until 2016, at the earliest. Third, timesaving
innovations like automated passport control kiosks, pre-travel
authorizations like the Electronic System for Travel
Authorization, automation of customs forms like the I-94 and I-
418, and Trusted Traveler/Trade Programs, have not been fully
deployed and could reduce future CBP staffing requirements.
Moreover, CBP has yet to develop and publish performance
metrics and airport operations plans, as required in fiscal
year 2014, that would enable the Committee to determine whether
additional officers are having the desired effect of reducing
wait times. Until that evidence is presented, the Committee
believes it is prudent to wait on funding more CBPOs until
performance metrics are established, and data proves
categorically that the recommendations of the Workload Staffing
Model result in a better travel experience.
In addition, the Committee expects CBP to continue to
reassess and improve its staffing model to ensure that it
fairly and efficiently allocates CBPOs to ports, including
those currently without a full time CBPO presence, based on the
full panoply of workload factors, and that it appropriately
takes into account seasonal variation, the percentage of non-
U.S. citizens entering the country, secondary screening rates,
and other dynamic workload conditions.
The Committee is aware that legislation related to CBP
preclearance operations is under review by the House Committee
on Homeland Security. Pending action by the Committee on
Homeland Security in this area, Title V of the bill continues a
provision, identical to section 564 of the Fiscal Year 2014
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, that places
limitations on CBP's ability to establish additional
preclearance operations. The Committee directs CBP to submit an
official report--in classified and unclassified form--to the
Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Homeland
Security, with results of current preclearance operations,
including information about national security benefits to the
United States and, as appropriate, consult with the Department
of Transportation on how to fully assess the travel benefits to
passengers and the economic impacts on the U.S. airline
industry. The unclassified version of the report shall be
published on DHS's website.
CBP is directed to provide to the Committee and the
Committee on Homeland Security, a report on all non-staff
innovative technologies that CBP has employed to improve
customs processing times, including the effectiveness of those
innovations, the locations where they have been implemented,
and locations CBP would prioritize for additional systems.
The recommendation includes funds for continuing Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative/Land Border Integration efforts,
including the expansion of innovative technologies and
processes at the land border. These investments both reduce
inspection time and enhance security by increasing CBP's
ability to vet travelers through national security and law
enforcement databases.
Resources included in the recommendation are sufficient for
CBP to exercise necessary oversight of the U.S. Foreign Trade
Zone's new Alternative Site Framework.
Instances of transshipment and other forms of customs duty
evasion continue to cost U.S. companies and the U.S. Treasury
billions of dollars each year. The Committee strongly
encourages CBP to implement a process to open, pursue, and
close investigations regarding transshipment and duty evasion
in a timely way, with the goal of eliminating these forms of
unfair trade practices.
Finally, CBP is directed to maintain textile transshipment
enforcement activities at levels consistent with, or greater
than, recent years, and to provide an update on these
activities not later than 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act.
The Committee directs the Commissioner to post the National
Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline email address, text
messaging number, and website information at all U.S. ports of
entry in English and in Spanish.
Illegal wildlife trafficking has become one of the largest
illicit trades in the world with links to organized crime and
terrorism. Consistent with the National Strategy for Combating
Wildlife Trafficking, the Committee encourages CBP to give
greater priority to enforcing federal law related to wildlife
trafficking and, where practicable, support the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, and other law enforcement agencies to better
investigate, arrest, and prosecute offenders.
The Committee is pleased with the manner in which CBP is
supporting the Beyond the Border Action Plan to identify
threats as early as possible while facilitating the legitimate
movement of people, goods, and services across the shared
border between the U.S. and Canada. Two phases of the Cargo
Pre-Inspection pilot have been developed and are being tested
in three locations. The Committee directs CBP to provide a
report on how the initiative is reducing wait times and
streamlining the flow of cross-border trade that is vital to
both countries' economies by not later than December 1, 2014.

International Cargo Screening

A total of $68,902,000 is recommended for International
Cargo Screening, $271,000 below the amount requested and
$1,441,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
Recently, the Secretary extended by two years a waiver on
implementing the 9/11 Act requirement to scan 100 percent of
maritime cargo originating in foreign ports prior to lading.
The waiver extension reflects the continued technological,
financial, and operational challenges involved in achieving
this important homeland security capability, and the related
difficulty in balancing security with the facilitation of
commerce. Unfortunately, it appears unlikely that the 100
percent scanning requirement will be met within the timeframe
of the current waiver, and potentially not even during
subsequent waiver iterations.
Rather than continuing with a maritime cargo security
requirement that cannot feasibly be met in the near term, the
Committee expects the Department to propose to Congress
aggressive, alternative requirements that build on the layered
security capabilities achieved to date and which could be
realistically achieved within the next two years. In addition,
the Department should propose medium- and long-term goals,
including the expansion of scanning capability at high-risk
foreign ports, along with a plan for achieving those goals.
The Committee is concerned about the risks associated with
cargo theft and counterfeiting. To mitigate these risks, the
Committee urges the Department to continue to evaluate the
overall benefits of utilizing electronic cargo security and
tracking technologies, to include those which track, trace, and
verify in real time the location and chain of custody of cargo
moving throughout the global supply chain, from point of origin
to destination and via intermodal transport.

Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism

The Committee recommends $40,619,000 for the Customs-Trade
Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), $222,000 below the
amount requested and $293,000 below the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014.
CBP employs a multi-layered approach to maritime cargo
security, including the screening of maritime cargo and the
targeting of high-risk cargo for scanning and inspection
through the Container Security Initiative. In addition, through
the C-TPAT program, CBP has certified more than 10,000 shipping
and manufacturing partners that adhere to supply chain security
requirements and are the source of more than 50 percent of the
total value of imports to the U.S.
As initially conceived in 2002, CBP's flagship customs-
business partnership program was aimed at safeguarding the
world's trade industry from terrorists and weapons of mass
effect while expediting the flow of legitimate trade into the
United States. Since its creation in 2002, the program has
expanded to include importer safety compliance through an
Importer Self-Assessment. Despite having made significant
headway, the Committee believes more can be done, especially
with cargo subject to safety inspections required by other
agencies. Consequently, CBP is directed to continue its work
with other agencies, such as the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration and the Consumer Products Safety Commission, to
provide the trade community with clear guidelines for what
constitutes low-risk shippers and shipments, including the
possibility of a certified importer program. Any new pilot
project or program to promote efficient movement of trade must
include a rigorous compliance review component, including
regular audits. CBP is directed to brief the Committee on its
efforts not later than December 1, 2014.

Trusted Traveler Programs

The Committee recommends $5,811,000 for Trusted Traveler
Programs as requested, which is the same as the amount provided
in fiscal year 2014.
CBP is commended for the success of the Global Entry
Program, which is responsible for reducing the time to process
international passengers arriving in the United States. Greater
benefits can be achieved by expanding the program within the
U.S. and at international airports in countries willing to
enter into reciprocal agreements. CBP, in consultation with the
Department of State, is directed to brief the Committee not
later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act on
the Department's efforts to expand international enrollment,
including potential impediments to these efforts.

Inspection and Detection Technology Investments

A total of $126,811,000 is for Inspection and Detection
Technology Investments, $2,945,000 above the amount requested
and $14,807,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
As requested by the President, the recommendation includes
funds sufficient to recapitalize aging large and small scale
Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) systems and to maintain the
existing assets deployed in the field. The Committee directs
CBP to provide an update to the Committee not later than 90
days after the date of enactment of this Act on the
effectiveness of NII technology at ports of entry, including
any seizures resulting from NII exams, and to provide the
anticipated schedule for updating and replacing the NII
technology as it approaches the end of its useful life.
In addition to the request, the Committee recommends
$3,000,000 to support the deployment of a Biometric Exit Mobile
application at two airports in 2015 as part of a demonstration
project. This ground-breaking application should enable
tactical CBPO teams to collect biometrics using handheld
devices from a statistically significant sample of foreign
nationals departing the United States in the airport jet
bridge. Deploying the targeted solution will allow CBP to
augment current outbound hotlist operations, measure
effectiveness of biometric exit systems, and create a deterrent
for overstays, criminals, and imposters. More importantly, the
project will provide significant data to CBP's on-going
biometric research and development efforts, and could result in
an earlier deployment of biometric exit capability.

National Targeting Center

The Committee recommends $79,123,000 for the National
Targeting Center (NTC), $8,531,000 above the amount requested
and $14,017,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
TCOs continue to pose a real threat to our national
security, border security, public safety, and lawful trade and
travel. A more refined and comprehensive approach to defeating
these illicit networks is required to stop them from exploiting
the seams inherent in the world's commercial flows of trade and
travel. Consequently, the Committee recommends $9,000,000 for
an advanced analysis and visualization tool to support counter-
network cells at the NTC and border security efforts in the
field. This increase supports three elements: a focused
analytics office for data science and intelligence analysis; an
advanced analytic tools suite to better understand and define
TCO networks; and hardware and visualization systems to enable
collaborative multi-agency projects to target priority threats.

Training

For Training, the Committee recommends $33,880,000, which
is $26,000 below the amount requested and $6,823,000 below the
amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee expects
CBPOs and Border Patrol agents to act with the utmost
professionalism with the public, and training is critical to
success. Consequently, the Commissioner is instructed to review
training manuals and coursework, incident reporting and
auditing, and complaint review processes to ensure that staff
is trained to perform at the highest levels of professionalism
when working with and responding to the public and local
communities. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, CBP shall provide an update to the Committee on
the findings of this review.

Border Security and Control Between Ports of Entry

The Border Security and Control Between Ports of Entry PPA
provides the funds necessary to enable the Border Patrol to
secure America's borders. This responsibility is accomplished
by preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons, people, and
contraband from entering the U.S. illegally between the ports
of entry, and by disrupting and degrading the activities of
TCOs.
The Committee recommends $3,969,845,000 for Border Security
and Control between Ports of Entry, $31,222,000 above the
amount requested and $239,051,000 above the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014. The amount supports a Border Patrol force of
21,370 agents and the enablers necessary to support their
frontline missions.
The ``risk'' of illegal border incursions is a critical
indicator of assessing border security. To measure risk, the
Border Patrol has developed a methodology that utilizes three
key data sets: intelligence community estimates, risk
indicators and metrics, and situational awareness. The data
gathered is linked to the interdiction effectiveness rate,
which measures the percent of detected illegal entrants who are
apprehended or turned back after illegally entering the U.S.
between ports of entry. After assigning the level of risk to a
region, the Border Patrol is able to make decisions to deploy,
redeploy, or surge resources as threats migrate to other areas.
These decisions inform the Border Patrol's budget
requirements more intelligently. Though refinements to this
methodology continue, the Committee directs CBP to provide a
State of the Border briefing not later than 15 days after the
submission of the President's budget request.

Border Security and Control

The Committee recommends $3,913,454,000 for Border Security
and Control, $31,439,000 above the amount requested and
$238,218,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
recommendation, which is almost entirely pay and compensation,
includes a $15,000,000 decrease due to better management and
oversight of the use of administratively uncontrollable
overtime. As requested, $11,000,000 is included to develop
organic capability to develop and operate the National Border
Geo-Intelligence Strategy, which will enhance situational
awareness of the border. CBP is directed to report to the
Committee not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act on how the data collected from this project assists
CBP, which DoD organizations participate in the program, and
whether future efforts will include other government
organizations. In addition to the request, $499,000 is included
for a Horse Patrol Unit to be targeted at border areas with
significant border activity.
The Committee directs the Department to continue issuing
statistics on the number of individuals held in custody by CBP,
including all Border Patrol stations, checkpoints, and short-
term custody facilities (defined as facilities used to hold
individuals for 72 hours or less). For all individuals detained
at any of the facilities used for short-term custody, these
statistics shall consist of country of origin, age, sex,
detention duration, and the circumstances of release or
transfer from custody, including whether a detainee died in CBP
custody. The Committee directs the Department to publish these
statistics in its annual statistical yearbook. Additionally,
the Committee directs CBP to update the Committee not later
than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act on the
standards governing the conditions of custody and the oversight
mechanisms CBP employs to monitor short-term detention
conditions and lengths of detention. The Committee also directs
CBP to work with ICE to establish efficient procedures for
processing and transferring individuals from short-term custody
to ICE detention.
The Committee directs CBP to report to the Committee within
14 days of the death of any individual in CBP custody or the
death of any individual subsequent to the use of force by CBP
personnel, including relevant details regarding the
circumstances of the fatality. In addition, CBP shall report
annually on the status or results of ongoing investigations
related to such deaths, with the first report due not later
than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
Recognizing that repatriation agreements are bi-lateral in
nature, the Committee expects DHS to repatriate removable
individuals in a manner that ensures their safety. For
instance, CBP and ICE should repatriate incapacitated persons,
unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, and other vulnerable
individuals only during daylight hours, make reasonable efforts
to inform Mexican authorities in advance of repatriating
vulnerable individuals, avoid removing individuals via entry/
exit points on the U.S.-Mexico border where their safety could
be threatened, and, to the extent practicable, avoid separating
family members during the deportation process. The Committee
directs the Department to review its current repatriation
practices and policies, and brief the Committee not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act on the results
of that review, including the need for any additional measures
to ensure that deportations are conducted safely.
The Committee directs the Border Patrol to assure Border
Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue personnel have resources
sufficient to provide necessary medical aid and to reduce the
incidence of deaths. The Committee recommends that CBP work
with civil society organizations in the region to conduct
rescue operations, and construct and maintain rescue beacons to
identify and locate persons in remote areas.
The Committee is aware of concerns about the use of force
by Border Patrol agents and CBPOs. In late 2012, CBP initiated
an internal review of use of force incidents and an external
review of use of force policies by the Police Executive
Research Forum (PERF). Earlier this year, the Department made
public its use of force policies and the Border Patrol
distributed a directive to agents on the use of safe tactics
and techniques with regard to use of force. In addition, the
OIG released a report in September 2013 on CBP's use of force
incidents and policies. The Committee directs CBP, not later
than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, to update
the Committee on its progress in implementing recommendations
from the internal, PERF, and OIG reports.
The Committee notes that, unlike many law enforcement
agencies, CBP officers and Border Patrol agents do not use
dashboard and officer mounted video cameras, such as lapel
video recording devices, to record encounters with the public.
Such recording devices can be useful in discouraging
inappropriate conduct by law enforcement officers and have also
exonerated officers accused of wrongdoing. The Committee is
encouraged by CBP's plans to conduct a pilot program to
evaluate the use of these technologies and directs CBP to
report to the Committee on its findings within 60 days of the
completion of the pilot.

AUTOMATION MODERNIZATION
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $816,523,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 812,410,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 810,169,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -6,354,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -2,241,000
Mission

The Automation Modernization appropriation provides funds
for information technology support to CBP frontline personnel.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $810,169,000 for Automation
Modernization, $2,241,000 below the amount requested and
$6,354,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
recommendation sustains funds necessary to maintain information
technology and targeting systems critical to CBP's mission. The
Committee directs semi-annual briefings on the modernization of
TECS and ACE.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology............ $365,700,000 $363,594,000
Automated Targeting Systems....... 109,273,000 109,230,000
Automated Commercial Environment 141,061,000 140,970,000
(ACE)/International Trade Data
System (ITDS)....................
Current Operations Protection and 196,376,000 196,375,000
Processing Support (COPPS).......
-------------------------------------
Total......................... $812,410,000 $810,169,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

BORDER SECURITY FENCING, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND TECHNOLOGY
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $351,454,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 362,466,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 412,466,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +61,012,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +50,000,000
Mission

The Border Security Fencing, Infrastructure, and Technology
(BSFIT) account funds technology and tactical infrastructure
solutions to enhance CBP's situational awareness of the borders
and its ability to respond to and resolve illegal activity.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $412,466,000 for BSFIT,
$50,000,000 above the amount requested and $61,012,000 above
the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. This recommendation
reflects the Committee's strong support of deploying border
security technology that is operationally appropriate, agile,
and cost-effective.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Development and Deployment........ $110,594,000 $138,094,000
Operations and Maintenance........ 251,872,000 274,372,000
-------------------------------------
Total......................... $362,466,000 $412,466,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Development and Deployment

The recommendation includes $138,094,000 for Development
and Deployment, $27,500,000 above the amount requested and
$22,341,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. As
requested, the recommendation includes $90,000,000 for Mobile
and Remote Video Surveillance Systems (MVSS and RVSS), and the
following increases above the request: $7,500,000 for logistics
support for 22 MVSSs; $10,000,000 to plan and make
infrastructure improvements necessary to any deployment of
upgraded RVSS technology; and $10,000,000 for Unattended Ground
Sensors (UGS)/Imaging Sensors, a Cross Border Tunnel Threat
analysis of alternatives, and a communications study. UGS are a
key component of our border security strategy. In September
2012, the Border Patrol proposed a communications study to
assess and resolve frequency saturation issues as well as
infrastructure and communications backhaul issues. The study
was placed on hold due to budgetary constraints. This increase
provides the resources necessary to resume this study to inform
the future state of the UGS program.
CBP is directed to continue providing weekly notifications
on procurement actions related to technology investments until
all initial contract awards have been made.

Operations and Maintenance

For Operations and Maintenance, the Committee recommends
$274,372,000, which is $22,500,000 above the request and
$83,353,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
Included in the recommendation are funds sufficient to maintain
tethered aerostats. CBP is directed to ensure that any data
gathered by the fleet is transmitted to AMOC so it can be used
to provide situational awareness and to support the timely
interdiction of illegal crossings.
In addition to the request, the Committee recommends
$20,000,000 for re-purposed DoD equipment or capabilities,
including various aerostat systems. As part of the obligation
and expenditure plan mandated in Title V, CBP is directed to:
1) describe how the funds will be used; 2) focus on
technologies in areas of the border with the most critical
needs for the technology; and 3) notify Congress within 10 days
of any changes to the obligation and expenditure plan. In
addition, $2,500,000 is recommended to support the increased
operations and maintenance costs of the MVSS fleet.
Ultra-Light Aircraft Detection (ULAD) is a non-
developmental radar system that can detect small, low flying
aircraft. It covers gaps where traditional radars might not
detect threats like ultralights or small, low flying aircraft.
The Committee encourages CBP to retain this one-of-a-kind
system because it provides CBP and DHS with a unique detection
capability against an elusive threat.

AIR AND MARINE OPERATIONS
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $805,068,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 708,685,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 787,849,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -17,219,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +79,164,000
Mission

CBP's Office of Air and Marine (OAM) provides integrated
air and marine forces for air and marine interdiction, law
enforcement, and national border domain security.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $787,849,000 for Air and Marine
Operations, $79,164,000 above the amount requested and
$17,219,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
OAM's mission is critical to the operational success of DHS.
Therefore, the cuts proposed by the President strain credulity
and undermine the Administration's representations that they
have fully funded operational needs. Two areas cause
considerable concern for the Committee.
First, it is inconceivable that OAM operates without a
valid flying hour program and an effective logistics
maintenance system. In a March operations update, OAM revealed
these capability gaps, stating that it would not execute the
107,000 hours for which funds were appropriated in fiscal year
2014. The reasons for the operational slide include:
temporarily grounding three types of aircraft because of
unexpected mechanical failures, bad weather, maintenance, and
supply problems; operating under the uncertainty of a
continuing resolution; and stacking up aircraft for routine
maintenance. Many of these problems could have been averted
with appropriate systems, controls, and training.
To reiterate, OAM's mission is critical to the success of
DHS; consequently, the organization must be resourced and
managed with all necessary tools to be a professional and
operational air support unit. For these reasons, the Committee
directs OAM to work with Under Secretary for Management to
develop a comprehensive flying hour program that enables OAM to
calculate, track, and establish readiness rates for each type
of aircraft in the inventory. The program should be based on
operational requirements and include training and logistics
maintenance strategies that are supported in the budget
request. To the degree appropriate, existing Coast Guard
programs should be used as models to leverage lessons learned
and assure DHS and Congress are able to compare budget
assumptions, requests, and availability/readiness rates.
Second, the Committee considers AMOC to be an asset,
critical to fulfilling the national imperative for an air and
marine domain awareness node that is capable of sharing and
synchronizing information across DHS components, the government
writ large, and appropriate foreign partners. For reasons
rooted in DHS's history, AMOC has been minimalized to such a
point that its budget is not even reflected in CBP's voluminous
and rhetoric-filled budget justifications. To increase the
visibility of AMOC's mission and budget requirements, the
Committee establishes a separate AMOC PPA. Additional guidance
can be found later in this report.
Currently, CBP's UAS fleet utilizes multiple, costly air
and ground assets to meet Federal Aviation Administration
guidance to detect and track all airspace users so a pilot can
perform self-separation maneuvers to remain well clear of other
aircraft and avoid collisions. The Committee recommends that
OAM review whether less costly sense and avoid options can be
incorporated onto the UAS, including commercial-off-the-shelf
products.
In November 2012, the Government Accountability Office
issued a report (GAO-13-56) regarding the circumstances under
which DHS could integrate the Civil Air Patrol into homeland
security missions and objectives, particularly those related to
border security support. DHS's assessment is long overdue.
Consequently, the Committee directs DHS to complete the report
and provide it to the Committee not later than 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act.
The Committee is aware of concerns about encounters between
CBP personnel and general aviation pilots, and is encouraged by
CBP's decision to conduct a comprehensive review of law
enforcement activity related to general aviation flights. CBP
shall brief the Committee on the results of the review upon its
completion. The Committee encourages CBP to continue to work
cooperatively with general aviation stakeholders to ensure open
communication with efforts involving general aviation law
enforcement activities.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Salaries and Expenses*............ $293,016,000 $275,838,000
Operations and Maintenance*....... 362,669,000 393,243,000
Procurement....................... 53,000,000 75,020,000
AMOC.............................. - - - 43,748,000
-------------------------------------
Total......................... $708,685,000 $787,849,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Includes fiscal year 2014 enacted and fiscal year 2015 request for
AMOC.

Salaries and Expenses

The Committee recommends $275,838,000 for Salaries and
Expenses, $17,178,000 below the amount requested and
$10,980,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
Changes to the request include an increase of $3,000,000 for
costs associated with flying additional hours and an
$18,062,000 transfer to the new AMOC PPA. DHS is directed to
provide an analysis of personnel requirements to ensure AMOC is
fully staffed by not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.

Operations and Maintenance

The Committee recommends $393,243,000 for Operations and
Maintenance, $30,574,000 above the amount requested and
$1,243,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. To
fill gaps in the President's request, the recommendation
includes: $24,550,000 to increase flight hours from 73,474 to
95,000; $3,000,000 for Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA)
spare parts; $5,200,000 to support Minotaur systems; $2,360,000
for riverine vessel EO-IR cameras; $2,300,000 for 14 riverine
shallow draft vessels; $4,800,000 for aircraft down-link relay
stations; $2,000,000 to upgrade UAS Ground Control Stations;
$3,000,000 to upgrade Mongoose aircraft; and $1,750,000 to
upgrade UAS facilities. A total of $10,386,000 is transferred
to the new AMOC PPA, and $8,000,000 is rescinded from prior
year appropriations due to under-execution of flying hours.
The Committee notes that training is critical for all UAS
operators, and urges OAM to review the existing training
program for any gaps.

Procurement

The Committee recommends $75,020,000 for Procurement,
$22,020,000 above the request and $51,230,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. As requested, $43,700,000 is
included for two King Air 350CER MEA and $9,300,000 for various
sensor upgrades. In addition to the request, the Committee
recommends a $3,000,000 increase for two C206 Night Owls;
$15,200,000 for 14 additional aircraft sensors; $1,700,000 for
analysts and 100 sensor nodes to enable AMOC to connect to
Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-S) in order to meet
DHS's domestic aviation requirements; and $2,120,000 to outfit
23 riverine vessels with forward looking infrared radar (FLIR).
Before accepting additional UH-60s from the U.S. Army, DHS
and OAM are directed to conduct a business case analysis that
includes a life-cycle cost estimate and an analysis of
alternatives.
Despite initial concerns that the President's request
failed to provide funds needed to complete the buyout of the P-
3 service life extension program, the Committee is assured that
the upgrades on the last two aircraft will be completed with
prior year appropriations. OAM is directed to update the
Committee on progress toward completing this program.

Air and Marine Operations Center

The Committee recommends $43,748,000 for AMOC, $15,300,000
above the amount requested. Increases include: $5,900,000 to
boost air surveillance operations from 60 percent to 95
percent; $7,000,000 for necessary communication system upgrades
that will ensure AMOC can connect with OAM air and marine
assets; $1,100,000 for upgrades to and maintenance of various
surveillance systems, circuits, and equipment, including the
Air and Marine Operations Surveillance System (AMOSS); and
$1,300,000 for PED Cell and AMOSS enhancements. This
recommendation also fills a critical and surprising capability
gap for SIPRnet hardware to enable AMOC to receive classified
feeds and air tracks from other governmental organizations.
Using advanced technologies and surveillance capabilities,
AMOC unifies data from state of the art law enforcement radars
into a common operating picture of the air, land, and maritime
domains that can be shared with federal, state, and local law
enforcement organizations. As such, AMOC is truly a national
asset and, if properly resourced and empowered, can provide
actionable intelligence and information to a range of partners
across the U.S. government and overseas.
For years, AMOC's charter has languished in unnecessary DHS
bureaucracy. Despite its critical mission to establish
comprehensive domain awareness, AMOC has been chronically
under-funded and its mission remains unchartered. Currently, a
proposed charter institutionalizing AMOC's missions and
establishing its roles and responsibilities is in the
Secretary's office waiting for a final decision. If the charter
is not signed within 60 days of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary is directed to provide a report to the Committee that
describes viable options with the same level of capability of
the AMOC, the associated costs of the options, and the length
of time it will take to study and implement them. The report
shall be provided to the Committee not later than 60 days after
the date of enactment of this Act.

CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $456,278,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 482,205,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 484,487,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +28,209,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +2,282,000
Mission

The Construction and Facilities Management account provides
resources for critical facilities associated with
infrastructure and personnel, including Border Patrol stations,
checkpoints, temporary detention facilities, mission support
facilities, training facilities, and CBP-owned ports of entry.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $484,487,000 for Construction and
Facilities Management, $2,282,000 above the amount requested
and $28,209,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
The Committee encourages CBP to work with real estate and
finance experts before releasing its plan for moving forward
with public-private partnership projects by not later than July
16, 2014.
On an annual basis, CBP is directed to submit an inventory
of real property describing the physical condition of each
facility and recapitalization plans. As a component of the
budget justifications, CBP is directed to provide a description
of each actual or planned construction and major renovation
project, a cost estimate of the initiatives, a description of
existing conditions and how the project will eliminate or
ameliorate them, and the estimated costs of routine
maintenance. To the extent practicable, CBP is urged to
consider recommendations about construction design from
existing, border-proximate businesses. Finally, CBP is directed
to work with the General Services Administration (GSA) to
prioritize funds for projects critical to improving border
security and facilitating trade and travel into and out of the
United States.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Facilities Construction and $385,137,000 $388,700,000
Sustainment......................
Program Oversight and Management.. 97,068,000 95,787,000
-------------------------------------
Total......................... $482,205,000 $484,487,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Recommendation

The Committee's recommendation promotes the goals of:
enforcing immigration and customs laws; investigating and
dismantling transnational criminal organizations, including
those that traffic and smuggle narcotics, weapons, people--
especially children, and other contraband into the United
States; ascertaining facts about the composition of the
detained and non-detained alien population, their legal claims,
and the length of time required to resolve their immigration
cases; screening 100 percent of visa applications; right-sizing
the investigative and enforcement workforces; and encouraging
the development of an effective deterrence program.

Reports Required Annually

The Committee directs ICE to provide the following reports.
Additional explanation of the required contents of each
submission can be found at the appropriate place in the report
or in Title V of the bill.
Annual obligation and expenditure plans and
quarterly updates;
Budget justification material for all
acquisitions over $250,000;
Comprehensive quarterly updates on
investigative and enforcement operations, to include
the following information and providing for each
category a comparison of current year-to-date activity
with year-end totals and year-to-date activity from the
prior year:
Arrests, indictments, and
convictions, including prior removal cases (8
U.S.C. 1326); and removals and returns;
Worksite enforcement activity,
indictments, I-9 inspections, final orders, and
fines collected;
Seizures of narcotics, weapons,
ammunition, currency, and of goods in violation
of intellectual property rights (IPR);
Indictments and convictions for
narcotics smuggling, IPR violations, and
harboring illegal aliens;
Visa overstays by country and visa
type, including the number identified and
targeted for enforcement as posing a public
safety and/or national security threat;
Demographic information on the
detained, Alternatives to Detention (ATD),
fugitive, and non-detained populations of
aliens in removal proceedings, including a
description of the level of criminality (Level
I, II, or III) or non-criminal enforcement
priority category, and average length of time
in each form of detention or non-detention;
ATD compliance rates segmented by
full service and electronic monitoring; and
Removals of parents of U.S. citizen
minors;
A quarterly update on jurisdictions that
fail to honor ICE detainers, the number of detainers
not honored by each such jurisdiction during the
quarter, and the level of criminality or non-criminal
enforcement priority category of the resulting
fugitives;
Monthly reports on the average daily
population in detention and ATD, including detail
regarding the level of criminality or non-criminal
enforcement priority;
Immediate notification of any death of an
individual in ICE custody, including details regarding
the circumstances of the death; and
Notifications when individuals are released
from detention due to budgetary reasons.

SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $5,229,461,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 4,988,065,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 5,454,826,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +225,365,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +466,761,000
Mission

ICE is responsible for enforcing immigration and customs
laws by investigating, detaining, and prosecuting criminals and
aliens who violate customs or immigration laws and pose a risk
to national security and public safety.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $5,454,826,000 for Salaries and
Expenses, $466,761,000 above the amount requested and
$225,365,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
recommendation restores funds for activities related to a
continued requirement in the bill to maintain a level not less
than 34,000 detention beds, rectifies a longstanding disparity
in workforce pay that has gone unaddressed since ICE was formed
by the merger of Immigration and Naturalization Service and
Treasury staff, and starts to rebalance the ratio of special
agents to investigative support staff.
In 2013, 36,007 aliens with criminal records were released
from ICE detention and placed on bond, order of recognizance,
order of supervision, ATD, or parole. These releases were
either at the discretion of ICE officers based on assessments
of flight risk and risk to public safety; as a result of an
order from an immigration judge from the Executive Office for
Immigration Review at DOJ; or because a release was required
under the Zadvydas Supreme Court decision, which applies to
long-term detainees with removal orders for whom ICE can find
no country willing to accept them.
Despite numerous congressional inquiries, however, ICE has
still not been able to provide details regarding the specific
circumstances of each of these releases from detention.
ICE is directed to expeditiously provide a report of its
official findings regarding the circumstances of each of these
releases from detention and to post the findings on its public-
facing website. The Committee also directs ICE to immediately
evaluate its oversight mechanisms for release determinations to
ensure that ICE uses its discretion to release criminal aliens
from detention only under appropriate legal and policy
circumstances, and that such releases pose no significant risks
to the community. In addition, DHS is directed to work with DOJ
to develop a means of publishing the results of their
respective dispositions and making them available to the
public, and to provide a joint briefing on progress within 60
days of enactment of this Act.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Headquarters Management and
Administration
Personnel Compensation and $198,602,000 $188,030,000
Benefits, Services, and Other
Costs........................
Headquarters Managed IT 150,927,000 147,400,000
Investment...................
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Headquarters 349,529,000 335,430,000
Management and
Administration...........
Legal Proceedings................. 214,731,000 216,393,000
Investigations
Domestic Investigations....... 1,644,552,000 1,720,000,000
International Investigations
International Operations.. 101,228,000 105,545,000
Visa Security Program..... 31,854,000 59,228,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, 133,082,000 164,773,000
International
Investigations.......
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Investigations.. 1,777,634,000 1,884,773,000
Intelligence...................... 77,045,000 76,479,000
Enforcement and Removal Operations
Custody Operations............ 1,791,913,000 2,006,036,000
Fugitive Operations........... 131,591,000 154,462,000
Criminal Alien Program........ 322,407,000 364,892,000
Alternatives to Detention..... 94,106,000 94,477,000
Transportation and Removal 229,109,000 321,884,000
Program......................
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Enforcement and 2,569,126,000 2,941,751,000
Removal Operations.......
-------------------------------------
Total, Salaries and $4,988,065,000 $5,454,826,000
Expenses.............
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Headquarters Management and Administration

The Committee recommends $335,430,000 for ICE Headquarters
Management and Administration, $14,099,000 below the amount
requested and $287,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year
2014. A reduction of $6,991,000 is recommended to partially
offset significant shortfalls in the President's budget request
caused by unauthorized increases in various fees accounts,
unjustified reductions to essential frontline operations, and
repeated failures to comply with statutory requirements.

Legal Proceedings

The Committee recommends $216,393,000 for Legal
Proceedings, $1,662,000 above the amount requested and
$10,809,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. As
requested, the recommendation includes funds to hire 12 full-
time personnel to process the current and projected workload
associated with Freedom of Information Act requests. The
recommendation also increases the PPA by $3,500,000 above the
request to hire 26 additional attorneys to help expedite the
immigration court docket.

Investigations

The Committee recommends $1,884,773,000 for Investigations,
$107,139,000 above the request and $81,271,000 above fiscal
year 2014.

Domestic Investigations

Domestic Investigations enforces trade and immigration laws
by investigating activities, persons, and events that may pose
a threat to the safety or security of the United States and its
people. The program also investigates illegal trafficking in
weapons (including weapons of mass destruction), the smuggling
of narcotics and other contraband, human smuggling and
trafficking, money laundering and other financial crimes,
fraudulent trade practices, identity and benefit fraud, child
exploitation, and health and public safety dangers.
The Committee recommends $1,720,000,000 for Domestic
Investigations, $75,448,000 above the request and $47,780,000
above fiscal year 2014. The increase includes $5,750,000 to
annualize the costs of the congressionally mandated increase to
HSI for fiscal year 2014 and $82,139,000 to stem current
personnel attrition rates and begin re-balancing the ratio of
investigators to investigative support staff.
During testimony on the fiscal year 2015 budget request,
ICE officials reported that personnel attrition since fiscal
year 2013 has resulted in lower overall investigative hours,
and that the trend is expected to continue because of repeated
failures by the Administration to annualize prior year funding
increases for additional agents and support staff, and by ICE's
hesitance to enhance staffing levels when the budget request
for the coming year does not support annualizing new personnel
costs. The Committee reminds ICE, DHS, and OMB that failure to
spend funds in the manner and for the purpose appropriated by
Congress is a de facto impoundment, prohibited by law. Future
failures to meet legal obligations will result in severe
consequences. To that end, ICE is directed to submit a fiscal
year 2016 budget request that includes funds sufficient to
annualize the cost of prior year enhancements.
The recommended appropriation level will result in an
estimated 328,556 more investigative hours and 2,366 additional
enforcement actions. Critical mission areas like child
exploitation, human trafficking, counter-proliferation, and
gang enforcement will receive increased attention and, though
enforcement outcomes cannot be accurately projected, criminal
arrests, indictments, and/or convictions should increase
significantly. ICE is directed to develop a workforce model to
better inform requirements for agents and mission support.
Within the increase recommended, ICE shall allocate not
less than $20,000,000 above the current levels for child
exploitation investigation activities at ICE's Cyber Crime
Center, including the Victim Identification Program and the
Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) Child-Rescue Corps,
and for the Angel Watch program. The Committee directs ICE to
provide a plan for expenditure of these funds in accordance
with the requirement for a Department-wide plan for obligation
and expenditure contained within Title V of this Act.
To support the Committee's goals of eradicating human
smugglers and traffickers, especially those who trade in
children, ICE is directed to continue to implement its Illicit
Pathway Attack Strategy to combat networks facilitating these
heinous crimes. ICE should focus on organizations and networks
that present the greatest risk to national security, including
criminal organizations that smuggle special interest aliens and
vulnerable populations.
Not less than $15,000,000 is provided for the National
Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (NIPRCC). The
Committee notes and commends the enforcement work by ICE and
the NIPRCC to crack down on the illegal sale and distribution
of counterfeit goods and unauthorized copyrighted content on
the internet. CBP and ICE are directed to jointly brief the
Committees about ongoing efforts to improve commercial trade
enforcement and protect IPR through the work of the NIPRCC.
The Committee directs the ICE Director to work jointly with
the Attorney General to assess cross-border violence and
performance measures collected by inter-agency task forces,
particularly along the Southwest border. Not later than 60 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, ICE is directed to
brief the Committee on the findings of this assessment and
provide recommendations for additional resources needed to
track and investigate cross-border violence.
ICE is directed to maintain textile transshipment
enforcement activities at levels consistent with, or greater
than, recent years, and to provide an update on these
activities not later than 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act.

International Investigations

The Office of International Affairs (OIA) represents the
Department's largest investigative law enforcement presence
abroad and helps protect the Nation beyond its borders with 75
offices in 48 countries. Through International Investigations
and the Visa Security Program (VSP), OIA works with foreign
counterparts to identify and combat criminal organizations
before they can adversely impact the United States.
The Committee recommends $164,773,000 for International
Investigations, $31,691,000 above the request and $33,491,000
above fiscal year 2014. Within the PPA, $105,545,000 is for
International Operations and $59,228,000 is for VSP. To cover a
shortfall caused by an increase in State Department service
fees, the recommendation includes an additional $7,113,000.
Additionally, $24,000,000 is included to expand the VSP to 12
high threat countries and $3,500,000 is included to support
deployment of the PATRIOT system for visa vetting.
The VSP protects the U.S. against terrorists and criminal
organizations by preventing foreign nationals who pose a threat
to national security from entering or residing within the
United States. Using the PATRIOT system to screen every visa
application, ICE agents identify and close vulnerabilities in
existing immigration and customs processes. Current resources
only cover screening for one million of the approximately 12.5
million visa applications submitted annually. The
recommendation will increase the number of visas screened to an
estimated 2.5 million, with the goal of eventually screening
100 percent of all visa applications.

Intelligence

The Committee recommends $76,479,000 for the Office of
Intelligence, $566,000 less than the amount requested and
$2,181,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.

Enforcement and Removal Operations

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is responsible for
enforcing our Nation's immigration laws by identifying,
apprehending, detaining, and removing aliens who have been
adjudicated or otherwise determined to be removable from the
United States.
The Committee recommends $2,941,751,000 for ERO,
$372,625,000 above the amount requested and $156,655,000 above
the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
Included in the recommendation is an additional $61,558,000
to support a unified career path and pay parity in the ERO
workforce for frontline law enforcement positions.

Custody Operations

The Committee recommends $2,006,036,000 for Custody
Operations, $214,123,000 above the request and $12,266,000
above fiscal year 2014. As requested, the recommendation
includes $1,400,000 above fiscal year 2014 to allow ICE to
continue training and stakeholder outreach related to the
Prison Rape Elimination Act and implementation of the 2011
Performance Based National Detention Standards. An increase of
$171,000,000 is included to support ICE's statutory obligation
to maintain 34,000 detention beds at an estimated daily cost of
$121.38 per bed. ICE is encouraged to utilize facilities in
locations that have a cost per detainee that is below the
average of the previous fiscal year and that have made
modifications and improvements based on ICE guidance. ICE
should refrain from developing additional facilities until the
current inventory of available detention beds is filled.
Finally, ICE is directed to notify the Committee prior to
releasing any illegal immigrants in custody due to budgetary
reasons, including an explanation of the rationale for such
release.
Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act
authorizes ICE to enter into memoranda of understanding (MOUs)
with state and local law enforcement entities, through which
ICE delegates limited federal authority to enforce immigration
laws within their jurisdictions under ICE's direct supervision.
Currently, ICE supports 287(g) MOUs with 37 jails around the
country. These agreements serve as an extension of the ICE
Criminal Alien Program (CAP) by directly supporting ICE's
efforts to determine the immigration status of individuals
taken into custody by local law enforcement in the course of
their normal law enforcement duties.
Included in the recommendation is full funding to support
all existing 287(g) MOUs. At this time, only 12 of these
locations have on-site ICE program managers. Funds are included
under CAP to support ten additional program managers and
unfunded training requirements for 287(g) officers.
Unfortunately, the 287(g) program has become a lightning
rod for stakeholders on both sides of the immigration debate,
who often do not have a full appreciation for both the value
and the limits of the program. Consequently, the program's
primary goal--to leverage local law enforcement to provide
limited but important support to ICE in enforcing immigration
law, particularly with regard to serious criminal offenders--
has been lost in the rhetoric. The Committee encourages ICE to
consider how the program can be improved and potentially
expanded to better meet its mission, taking into consideration
the need for substantial training, careful legal guidance, and
strong oversight.

Fugitive Operations

The Committee recommends $154,462,000 for Fugitive
Operations, $22,871,000 above the request and $25,660,000 above
fiscal year 2014. In addition to the request, $22,100,000 is
provided for additional officers to focus on reducing the
fugitive alien backlog of 471,329 fugitives, including criminal
aliens, and to re-apprehend violent offenders released from
jurisdictions that do not honor ICE detainers.
Gaps exist between the CBP system that tracks visa
overstays and ICE's system to target fugitive operations.
Bridging this gap is an imperative for the Committee. In the
fiscal year 2016 budget request, ICE is directed to include a
proposal and cost estimate to develop an interface between
CBP's Automated Targeting System and ICE's Enforcement
Integrated Database.

Criminal Alien Program

The Committee recommends $364,892,000 for CAP, $42,485,000
above the amount requested and $70,737,000 above the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. As requested, this amount
reflects the transfer of Secure Communities to CAP and
enhancements to improve the process for data-sharing between
the U.S. and international law enforcement partners through the
Criminal History Information Sharing program.
The Committee is alarmed that more and more state and local
law enforcement organizations, as detailed in the table below,
are choosing not to honor ICE detainers, resulting in the
release of violent criminals that are otherwise deportable from
the United States. The Committee recommends an increase of
$15,000,000 to mitigate this potential public safety concern.
In addition, ICE is directed to develop a means of segmenting
the released population by level of criminality and make it
available on its website so communities are aware when
deportable criminals with violent criminal histories are
released onto the streets by local law enforcement
organizations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Criteria for Honoring
Jurisdiction (AOR) Enacted Detainer
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Denver County, Colorado (Denver). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer unless
accompanied by a
criminal warrant or
some other form that
gives legal authority
to hold the individual.
Grand County, Colorado (Denver).. 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer.
Jefferson County, Colorado 4/2014 Will not honor
(Denver). ICE detainer.
Routt County, Colorado (Denver).. 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer.
Mesa County, Colorado (Denver)... 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer unless
criminal charges are
pending.
San Miguel County, Colorado 4/2014 Will not honor
(Denver). ICE detainer unless ICE
files an arrest warrant
signed by a federal
magistrate explaining
why an individual
should be held.
Boulder County, Colorado (Denver) 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer unless ICE
has an arrest warrant
for an individual.
Thurston County, Washington 4/2014 Will not honor
(Seattle). ICE detainer.
Kitsap County, Washington 4/2014 Kitsap County
(Seattle). Jail will not honor ICE
detainer unless shown
an order of deportation
signed by a judge.
Walla Walla County, Washington 4/2014 Will not honor
(Seattle). ICE detainer.
Baltimore, Maryland (Baltimore).. 4/2014 Baltimore City
Detention Center will
honor detainers when an
individual:
0 Has a prior felony
conviction or has
been charged with a
felony offense.
0 Has three or more
prior misdemeanor
convictions.
0 Has a prior
misdemeanor
conviction or has
been charged with a
misdemeanor for an
offense that
involves violence,
threats, or
assaults; sexual
abuse or
exploitation;
driving under the
influence of alcohol
or a controlled
substance; among
other crimes.
0 Otherwise poses a
significant risk to
national security,
border security, or
public safety.
0 Has an order of
deportation or
removal from the
United States.
Wallowa County, Oregon (Seattle). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Curry County, Oregon (Seattle)... 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Yamhill County, Oregon (Seattle). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Union County, Oregon (Seattle)... 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Tillamook County, Oregon 4/2014 Will not honor
(Seattle). ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Malheur County, Oregon (Seattle). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Linn County, Oregon (Seattle).... 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Jefferson County, Oregon 4/2014 Will not honor
(Seattle). ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Josephine County, Oregon 4/2014 Will not honor
(Seattle). ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Grant County, Oregon (Seattle)... 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Douglas County, Oregon (Seattle). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Coos County, Oregon (Seattle).... 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Umatilla County, Oregon (Seattle) 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Springfield Police Department, 4/2014 Will not honor
Oregon (Seattle). ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Polk County, Oregon (Seattle).... 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Lincoln County, Oregon (Seattle). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Lane County, Oregon (Seattle).... 4/2014 Lane County
Jail will not honor ICE
detainer without a
court order or warrant.
Jackson County, Oregon (Seattle). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Douglas County, Oregon (Seattle). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Crook County, Oregon (Seattle)... 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Wheeler County, Oregon (Seattle). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainers for
individuals in Northern
Oregon Regional
Corrections Facility
(NORCOR) which has
decided to no longer
honor detainers.
Sherman County, Oregon (Seattle). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainers for
individuals in NORCOR
which has decided to no
longer honor detainers.
Gilliam County, Oregon (Seattle). 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainers for
individuals NORCOR
which has decided to no
longer honor detainers.
Wasco County, Oregon (Seattle)... 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainers for
individuals in NORCOR
which has decided to no
longer honor detainers.
Hood River County, Oregon 4/2014 Will not honor
(Seattle). ICE detainers for
individuals in NORCOR
which has decided to no
longer honor detainers.
Marion County, Oregon (Seattle).. 4/2014 Will not honor
ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Deschutes County, Oregon 4/2014 Will not honor
(Seattle). ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Clackamas County, Oregon 4/2014 Will not honor
(Seattle). ICE detainer unless
there is probable cause
for such detention.
Washington County, Oregon 4/2014 Will not honor
(Seattle). ICE detainer without
court order or warrant
Sheriff's office will
now only send a daily
roster of foreign-born
individuals in county
custody instead of
notifying ICE of each
person individually.
Multnomah County, Oregon 4/2014 Will not honor
(Seattle). ICE detainer without
court order or warrant.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 4/2014 Has a prior
(Philadelphia). conviction for a first
or second degree felony
offense involving
violence and the
detainer is accompanied
by a judicial arrest
warrant.
Order also
prohibits notice to ICE
of the pending release
of subjects of interest
to ICE unless the above
criteria is met.
Alameda County, California (San January Is in line with
Francisco). 2014 AB 4's criteria.
Miami-Dade County, Florida December Require
(Miami). 2013 agreement from ICE
reimbursing costs in
honoring detainer; and
0 Convicted of
Forcible Felony, as
defined in Florida
state statute; or
0 Is in jail pending
a charge of a non-
bondable offense.
Kings County, Washington December Convicted of a
(Seattle). 2013 homicide at any time in
the past.
Convicted of a
violent, serious, sex,
or serious traffic
offense within the past
10 years.
Released from
prison after serving
sentence for violent,
serious, sex, or
serious traffic offense
conviction, among other
criteria.
San Francisco, California (San November Convicted of a
Francisco). 2013 violent felony within
seven years of request;
and
0 Determined by
magistrate that
there is probable
cause to believe the
individual is guilty
of a violent felony
and magistrate
ordered the
individual to
answer.
Law enforcement
has discretion based on
evidence of
individual's
rehabilitation and
evaluation of public
safety risk.
Orleans Parish, Louisiana (New August 2013 Charged with
Orleans). first or second degree
murder, aggravated
rape, aggravated
kidnapping, treason, or
armed robbery with the
use of a firearm.
Newark, New Jersey (Newark)...... July 2013 Will not honor
ICE detainer requests.
New York City, New York (New York May 2013 Convicted of a
City). covered crime which is
a misdemeanor or felony
charge except when such
charge relates to the
patronizing of a
prostitute or certain
vehicle and traffic
laws.
Is a defendant
in a pending covered
criminal case which is
a felony or misdemeanor
charge involving a
firearm, among other
criteria.
Has an
outstanding criminal
warrant.
Identified as
known gang member.
Is a match in
the terrorist screening
database.
Los Angeles, California (Los December Arrested for
Angeles). 2012 felony crimes and other
serious offenses.
Has a prior
conviction for a felony
offense.
Identified as
known gang member
Berkley, California (San October Arrested for a
Francisco). 2012 serious or violent
felony.
Convicted of a
homicide crime or a
serious or violent
felony within 10 years
of the request.
Released after
having served a
sentence for a serious
or violent felony
within five years of
the request.
Washington, DC (Washington DC)... July 2012 Require written
agreement from ICE
reimbursing costs in
honoring detainer; and
0 Convicted of a
dangerous crime;
0 Convicted of a
crime of violence
within the last 10
years;
0 Convicted of a
homicide; or
Released in the
past five years for
these crimes.
Chicago, Illinois (Chicago)...... July 2012 Has an
outstanding criminal
warrant.
Convicted of a
felony.
Is a defendant
in a criminal case
where a judgment has
not been entered and a
felony charge is
pending.
Identified as
known gang member.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Chicago)... June 2012 Convicted of at
least one felony or two
non-traffic misdemeanor
offenses.
Convicted or
charged with any
domestic violence
offense or any
violation of a
protective order.
Convicted or
charged with
intoxicated use of a
vehicle.
Is a defendant
in a pending criminal
case.
Has an
outstanding criminal
warrant.
Identified as
known gang member.
Is a possible
match on the US
terrorist watch list.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: ``Information on
Jurisdictions That Have Implemented Detainer Policies Limiting
Cooperation with ICE''

Alternatives to Detention

The ATD program places low-risk aliens under various forms
of intensive supervision or electronic monitoring, in lieu of
detention, to ensure their appearance for immigration hearings
and for removal.
The Committee recommends $94,477,000 for ATD, $371,000
above the amount requested and $3,033,000 above the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014.
ICE operates two forms of ATD: an intensive case management
program and an electronic monitoring program. The Committee
supports the use of effective alternatives to detention for
appropriate detainee populations. However, better data on the
composition of the ATD population and compliance rates for each
program are needed to ensure the program is being appropriately
managed. ICE is directed to report on compliance rates of both
ATD programs not later than 30 days after the end of the fiscal
year.

Transportation and Removal Program

The Transportation and Removal Program (TRP) provides for
safe, secure transportation of aliens in ICE custody and
removal of aliens from the United States.
The Committee recommends $321,884,000 for TRP, $92,775,000
above the amount requested and $44,959,000 above the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. Included in the recommendation is
an increase of $26,000,000 to support the requirement to
maintain 34,000 detention beds, and funds to expedite the
transfer of CBP-apprehended and detained individuals in high-
volume areas along the border.
Also included in the recommendation is an increase of
$66,831,000 to fund transportation costs associated with the
145,000 UACs that are projected to enter the United States
illegally in fiscal year 2015. In addition to the humanitarian
concerns for the skyrocketing number of UACs being smuggled
across the border, the Committee is concerned about the impact
this escalating crisis has on ICE's ability to conduct its
critical enforcement duties, as thousands of agent hours are
diverted from investigating crimes to transporting children to
the nearest available HHS-ORR facility--often hundreds or
thousands of miles from the point of apprehension. To address
this significant and growing problem, ICE is directed to
contract for the transportation services required to transfer
UACs to HHS-ORR custody. ICE and CBP are directed to work
collaboratively with HHS to develop a joint plan to ensure the
HHS-ORR shelter care locations are optimally located near the
areas of highest need--currently along the Southwest border--
and to brief the Committee on this plan not later than 15 days
after the date of enactment of this Act.
The Committee expects DHS to repatriate removable
individuals in a manner that ensures their safety. CBP and ICE
should make every effort to repatriate incapacitated persons,
unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, and other vulnerable
individuals during daylight hours, make reasonable efforts to
inform Mexican authorities in advance of repatriating
vulnerable individuals, avoid removing individuals via entry/
exit points on the U.S.-Mexico border where their safety could
be threatened, and, to the extent practicable, avoid separating
family membersduring the deportation process. The Committee
directs the Department to review its current repatriation
practices and policies and brief the Committee within 180 days
of enactment of this Act on the results of that review,
including the need for any additional measures to ensure that
deportations are conducted safely.

AUTOMATION MODERNIZATION
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $34,900,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 26,000,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 31,100,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -3,800,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +5,100,000
Mission

The Automation Modernization account funds major
information technology projects and operations for ICE.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $31,100,000 for Automation
Modernization, $5,100,000 above the amount requested and
$3,800,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. An
increase of $5,100,000 is recommended for planning and cleaning
up financial data in preparation for ICE's planned transition
to a consolidated financial management solution.

TECS Modernization

The Committee directs CBP and ICE to continue semi-annual
briefings on TECS modernization efforts.

CONSTRUCTION
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................ $5,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015............... - - -
Recommended in the bill........................ - - -
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014............ -5,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015........... - - -
Mission

The Construction account supports maintenance of ICE's
owned and directly leased facilities.

Recommendation

As requested, the Committee recommends no funding for
Construction, $5,000,000 below fiscal year 2014. ICE should use
available balances to perform critical repairs and alterations
to maintain ICE-owned facilities.

Transportation Security Administration

AVIATION SECURITY
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014*...................... $4,982,735,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015**.................... 5,683,304,000
Recommended in the bill**............................. 5,462,240,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +479,505,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -221,064,000*The Federal Air Marshals appropriation was funded as a separate
account, outside of Aviation Security, in fiscal year 2014.
**Includes the realignment of the Federal Air Marshals appropriation
into a single PPA within the Aviation Security appropriation in fiscal
year 2015.

Mission

Aviation Security is focused on protecting the air
transportation system against terrorist threats, sabotage, and
other acts of violence through deployment of passenger and
baggage screeners; detection systems for explosives, weapons,
and other contraband; and other, effective security
technologies.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $5,462,240,000 for Aviation
Security, $221,064,000 below the amount requested and
$479,505,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014,
after accepting TSA's proposal to realign the Federal Air
Marshal Service (FAMS) appropriation into a single PPA within
TSA's Aviation Security appropriation. The recommendation
includes the following reductions to the President's budget
request: $26,328,000 from Screener Personnel, Compensation, and
Benefits, including the realignment of $3,618,000 to Privatized
Screening to support the Screener Partnership Program (SPP);
$6,491,000 from Airport Management and Support; and
$200,214,000 from FAMS. Funds within the Aviation Security
account are partially offset through the collection of security
user fees paid by aviation travelers.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aviation Security:
Privatized Screening.......... $154,572,000 $160,000,000
Screener Personnel, 2,952,868,000 2,926,540,000
Compensation and Benefits....
Screener Training and Other... 226,290,000 224,969,000
Checkpoint Support............ 103,469,000 103,402,000
EDS Procurement and 84,075,000 83,933,000
Installation.................
Screening Technology 294,509,000 294,509,000
Maintenance..................
Aviation Regulation and Other 348,653,000 352,571,000
Enforcement..................
Airport Management and Support 591,734,000 585,243,000
Federal Flight Deck Officer & 20,000,000 24,730,000
Flight Crew Training.........
Air Cargo..................... 106,920,000 106,343,000
Federal Air Marshals.......... 800,214,000 600,000,000
[Mandatory Aviation Security [250,000,000] [250,000,000]
Capital Fund\1\].............
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Aviation $5,683,304,000 $5,462,240,000
Security.................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\The Aviation Security Capital Fund is not included in the Subtotal
for Aviation Security because its budget authority is not provided
through annual appropriations and its resources come entirely from
user fees.

Aviation Security Fees

For fiscal year 2015, the Committee applies the CBO
estimate for the collection of $2,080,000,000 in aviation
security user fees, $570,000,000 below the amount proposed in
the budget request, and $40,000,000 below the fiscal year 2014
collection estimate. These fees will be collected from aviation
passengers and will partially offset or supplement the annual
appropriation for Aviation Security. The Committee estimate
does not reflect implementation of the Administration's
proposed increase in aviation security fees, which represented
$570,000,000 in illusory offsets in the budget request, because
necessary new authorization legislation has not been enacted--
legislation that is not under the jurisdiction of the
Committee. Because of the Administration's chronic reliance
upon fee revenue that is unlikely to be authorized, the
Committee has again been forced to reduce the funding for
management and administrative offices across Departmental
functions. While the Administration is free to propose new
sources of revenue as part of its budget, future budget
requests should not be constructed on the assumption that such
offsetting revenue will be forthcoming.
The Committee is aware of the aviation industry's concerns
regarding TSA's implementation and collection of the Passenger
Civil Aviation Security Service Fees (September 11th Security
Fees). Public Law 113-67 simplified the structure of the
September 11th Security Fees by requiring that airline
passengers be charged on a per-one-way trip basis rather than a
per-enplanement basis and it required that changes be
implemented by July 1, 2014. The Committee notes that this
legislation did not originate within the Committee nor was it
enacted via an appropriations bill. Furthermore, any new
authorization legislation related to the September 11th
Security Fees is outside the jurisdiction of the Committee. The
Committee expects TSA to engage its stakeholders and work with
the appropriate authorizing committees before implementing
these changes.

Privatized Screening

The Committee recommends $160,000,000 for privatized
screening, $5,428,000 above the amount requested and $1,810,000
above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee
has increased funding to ensure adequate resources are
available for the SPP and to encourage TSA to make greater use
of the valuable program. Private contract screeners play an
important part in TSA's mission to protect the Nation's
transportation systems and the Committee continues to believe
that TSA has not utilized the SPP to the extent Congress
directed. The Committee expects TSA to more proactively utilize
the SPP and to expeditiously approve applications of airports
seeking to participate in the SPP that meet legislatively
mandated criteria. The time taken by TSA to approve
applications, issue contract solicitations, and make contract
awards is unacceptable. Accordingly, TSA is directed to award
applicable SPP contracts not later than 12 months from the date
of receipt of such airport applications. Further, the Committee
remains concerned with TSA's use, as it is currently construed,
of a Federal Cost Estimate (FCE). Using a FCE that utilizes
faulty methodology and ignores significant costs to the federal
government is unacceptable. The Committee expects TSA to
implement generally accepted accounting methodologies for cost
and performance comparisons, as described in Public Law 113-76,
which includes, but is not limited to, proper, comprehensive,
and accurate comparisons of federal employee retirement costs
and the administrative overhead associated with federal
screening services. TSA is directed to continue providing the
Committees semi-annual reports on its execution of the SPP and
processing of applications for participation.

Screener Personnel, Compensation, and Benefits

The Committee recommends $2,926,540,000 for Screener
Personnel, Compensation, and Benefits (Screener PC&B),
$26,328,000 below the budget request, and $106,986,000 below
fiscal year 2014; because of efficiencies associated with risk-
based screening, the amount provided is sufficient to sustain
the current services level.
The Committee continues to support dedicated TSA screener
personnel as they strive to ensure the safety of the traveling
public and our civil aviation system. The Committee is pleased
that TSA has complied with the Committee's direction and
included within the budget request for Screener PC&B a
reduction of $85,896,000 from the fiscal year 2014 funding
level, as a result of savings related to risk-based security
measures, and a reduction of $21,910,000 from savings related
to the installation of new in-line baggage screening systems.
The Committee commends TSA for successfully implementing these
congressionally-directed efforts to better focus its resources,
improve the passenger experience, and reduce staffing
requirements through risk-based security measures. Growth in
staffing for checkpoint and related security operations has
been effectively tempered by the use of improved technology and
more rational, risk-based approaches. As such, a long-standing
provision is continued in the bill to limit screener staffing,
but is adjusted downward to reflect the staffing efficiencies
reflected in the budget request. The Committee encourages TSA
and the Department to continue optimizing the balance between
technology, risk-based passenger management techniques, and
screener personnel.
The Committee was disappointed to learn that the
Administrator recently made a decision to pursue structural pay
reform within the Screener PC&B PPA before notifying the
Committee. The cost associated with this structural reform is
estimated by TSA to be approximately $20,000,000 in fiscal year
2014, with a projected annual cost of $76,000,000 in fiscal
year 2015 and each year beyond. TSA believes that these amounts
can be accommodated within the base resources for fiscal year
2014 and the requested appropriation for fiscal year 2015
through cost efficiencies related to risk-based security
measures and expedited screening processes. While the Committee
credits TSA for achieving efficiencies in fiscal year 2014, it
is unclear how savings can be accurately projected for a fiscal
year 2015 funding level that has not yet been appropriated. The
Committee expects the agency to submit a technical correction
to the budget justification reflecting such efficiencies and
articulating their impact on the budget request.
Accordingly, and to account for carryover anticipated from
fiscal year 2014 resulting from risk-based security measures,
the Committee rescinds $20,000,000 from Screener PC&B from
fiscal year 2014 funds and withholds an additional $76,000,000
from obligation for Screener PC&B in fiscal year 2015, until
the Administrator submits, not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the following to the Committees
on Appropriations of the House and the Senate: a post hoc
technical correction to the fiscal year 2015 budget
justification with revised justification for Screener PC&B
which includes greater visibility on the total estimated
savings associated with risk-based security measures; the
metrics and analytics used to measure and tabulate such
savings; and a proper and comprehensive explanation of the
proposed structural pay reform, including revised FTE
calculations and a total accounting of the anticipated costs
associated with structural pay reform within the Screener PC&B
PPA in fiscal year 2015 and the following three fiscal years.
The Committee emphasizes that the rescission of fiscal year
2014 PC&B funds will not be reconsidered until the above
withholding conditions are fulfilled.
The Committee notes that reductions to Screener PC&B are in
part offset by increases to the SPP program, reflecting the
Committee's belief that there must be a better balance between
public and private capabilities.

Exit Lanes

Public Law 113-67 provided that TSA is responsible for
monitoring passenger exit points from the sterile areas of
airports at which TSA provided such monitoring as of December
1, 2013. A general provision is included in the bill to affirm
this requirement, stating that no funds may be used to require
airport operators to provide airport-financed staffing to
monitor exit points from the sterile area of any airport at
which TSA provided such monitoring as of December 1, 2013.
Further, TSA is directed to work closely with its airport
stakeholders to actively examine new technologies that provide
lower-cost solutions for exit lane security.

Screener Training and Other

The Committee recommends $224,969,000 for Screener Training
and Other, $1,321,000 below the amount requested and $1,888,000
below fiscal year 2014. As the Committee has noted before,
given the known threats to aviation security, the Committee
expects TSA's Office of Inspection and the DHS OIG to enhance
their periodic red team investigations to better emulate the
latest threats and identify vulnerabilities to improve screener
training and the use of screening technology. TSA must ensure
its screeners are trained against the most current threats, and
therefore, training should be calibrated to measurably reduce
operational and technological vulnerabilities identified by red
teams and improve the productivity of screener operations
overall. Within the Screener Training and Other PPA, the
Committee provides $98,400,000 for Transportation Security
Officer Training, $1,200,000 below the budget request and
$3,200,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014,
reflecting a reduction for Behavior Detection Officer (BDO)
Training.

Behavior Detection Officers

The Committee believes that questions remain over the value
of the BDO program, which has not been sufficiently validated
and for which few measures have been developed to prove its
intrinsic value to the aviation security environment. In
November 2013, GAO recommended that Congress limit future
funding for the BDO program, concluding, among other things,
that available evidence does not support whether the behavioral
indicators used in TSA's Screening of Passengers by Observation
Techniques (SPOT) program can be used to identify persons who
may pose a risk to aviation security. Accordingly, to help
ensure that security-related funding is directed to programs
that have demonstrated their effectiveness, the bill withholds
$25,000,000 from obligation for Headquarters Administration
until TSA submits to the Committee, not later than 90 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, a report providing
evidence demonstrating that behavioral indicators can be used
to identify passengers who may pose a threat to aviation
security and the plans TSA will put into place to collect
additional performance data.

Passenger Screening

The Committee is aware that parents and guardians traveling
with young children present a unique challenge to TSA when a
personal search is required of either adults or their minor
children. It is particularly important that TSA, while carrying
out any pre-boarding inspections of passengers, not separate
children from their parents or guardians. The Committee directs
TSA to respect the civil rights and privacy of individuals,
with particular sensitivity to children traveling with their
parents and guardians.

Uniforms

The Committee directs TSA to provide a report not later
than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act describing
in detail how it is complying with the Buy American Act,
including what measures it is taking to ensure compliance and
the total number of uniforms and screener consumables purchased
in fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014.

Checkpoint Support

The Committee recommends $103,402,000 for Checkpoint
Support, $67,000 below the amount requested and $93,000 above
the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee notes
that since its inception, TSA has struggled to deploy
technologies at passenger screening checkpoints in an effective
and efficient manner. In the case of TSA's Advanced Imaging
Technology (AIT) systems, GAO reported in January 2012 that TSA
did not fully follow DHS acquisition policies when acquiring
AIT, which resulted in DHS approving AIT deployment without
full knowledge of TSA's revised specifications for the
equipment (GAO-12-644T). On March 31, 2014, GAO published a
follow-up report, in which it recommended that TSA not purchase
next-generation AIT machines until it, among other things,
develops a realistic performance schedule, conducts additional
testing and data analysis, better measures system
effectiveness, and clarifies which office is responsible for
overseeing the IED screening checkpoint drills operational
directive (GAO-14-357).
The Committee is concerned that GAO continues to find
significant flaws in TSA's AIT program. The Committee notes
that H.R. 2719, the Transportation Security Acquisition Reform
Act, which passed the House of Representatives on December 3,
2013, would require TSA to implement acquisition best
practices, increase industry engagement, and improve
transparency with regard to TSA technology acquisition programs
such as AIT. The fiscal year 2015 bill prohibits funds from
being used to procure AIT systems and withholds $25,000,000
from obligation for Headquarters Administration until TSA
submits to the Committee, not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, a report addressing each of the
recommendations outlined in GAO's March 2014 report and
describing the steps TSA is taking to implement acquisition
best practices, increase industry engagement, and improve
transparency with regard to TSA technology acquisition
programs.

Explosives Detection Systems Procurement and Installation

The Committee recommends $83,933,000 for Explosives
Detection Systems (EDS) Procurement and Installation, $142,000
below the budget request and $10,088,000 above the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee retains bill
language added in fiscal year 2012 to permit funds in the
Aviation Security Capital Fund to be used for acquisition of
new and replacement EDS. The Committee expects TSA will ensure
there are sufficient balances in the Aviation Security Capital
Fund to support currently known and validated needs for
facility build out. Including the existing mandatory Aviation
Security Capital Fund of $250,000,000, the total amount
available (both mandatory and discretionary) for the
procurement and installation of EDS is $333,933,000 for fiscal
year 2015.
The Committee is aware of TSA's work with airports on the
optimization of electronic baggage screening systems to enhance
safety and security, improve performance, increase efficiency,
and reduce costs associated with in-line EDS, and understands
the potential for significant cost savings from the next
generation of high-speed EDS. In previous years, the Committee
has encouraged TSA to utilize industry best practices and
processes and to consider incorporating next generation high-
speed EDS that are achieving certain milestones into multi-year
design plans, when it is proven to enhance security and reduce
long-term costs in the aviation sector. However, the
prohibition TSA put in place in August 2013 prevents funding
for the design and construction of checked baggage inspection
systems using EDS equipment not yet on TSA's Qualified Products
List. The Committee directs TSA to lift this prohibition for
airports that are more than 12 months from construction and are
able to demonstrate, through a cost benefit analysis, that
high-speed EDS would be more efficient and result in long term
cost savings compared to medium-speed systems.
The Committee also encourages TSA to pursue the development
and deployment of systems that will increase security at the
checkpoint while offering passengers the benefit of reduced
divestment, including the development of better EDS and more
capable AIT systems with lower false alarm rates, more
effective resolution, improved privacy protections, and a means
to simultaneously scan shoes for threats. TSA shall ensure all
such technology fully complies with applicable laws pertaining
to privacy and civil rights.
The Committee is aware that while TSA must prioritize its
EDS funding for installation and recapitalization, there remain
claims from 18 airports for reimbursement for previously
incurred eligible costs associated with the construction and
deployment of in-line baggage screening systems. The Committee
understands some local airports, as a result of not receiving
reimbursements, have delayed further security investments,
which could be a source of risk in the aviation security
environment.
The Committee is disappointed that TSA's recent report to
the Committees, ``Reimbursement for Costs Associated with In-
line Baggage Systems,'' did not outline any specific steps
being taken to resolve such claims, as was directed in the
explanatory statement that accompanied Public Law 113-76.
Reimbursable costs must be prioritized to meet unpaid
obligations represented in Letters of Intent and Other
Transaction Agreements. The Committee directs TSA to address
this issue by establishing a process to resolve such claims
expeditiously.

Air Cargo, Checkpoint Support, and Explosive Detection Equipment Plans

The Committee continues bill language requiring TSA to
provide detailed obligation and expenditure plans, not later
than 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act, for
fiscal year 2015 for air cargo; checkpoint security; and EDS
refurbishment, procurement, and installations on an airport-by-
airport basis. As described in previous years, the plans shall
include specific technologies for purchase; program schedules
and major milestones; a schedule for obligation of the funds;
recapitalization priorities; the status of operational testing
for each passenger screening technology under development; and
a table detailing actual versus anticipated unobligated
balances at the close of the fiscal year.

Aviation Regulation and Other Enforcement

The Committee recommends $352,571,000 for Aviation
Regulation and Other Enforcement, $3,918,000 above the budget
request and $1,866,000 below fiscal year 2014. To increase
operational efficiency and effectiveness, the Committee accepts
TSA's proposal to consolidate all canine assets under the
Aviation Regulation PPA and deploy them as multi-modal
explosives detection canine teams. This will allow TSA maximum
flexibility to utilize the teams in any transportation
environment in response to changes in intelligence or
capability requirements. Therefore, in recognition of the
effectiveness of canine operations to detect materials and
explosives that threaten aviation security, the recommendation
includes $132,400,000 for the National Explosives Detection
Canine Team Program, $5,000,000 above the budget request and
$6,052,000 above fiscal year 2014, to support multi-modal
explosives detection canine teams and to effectively maximize
canine capacity at TSA through fiscal year 2016. It is the
Committee's expectation that this enhancement will permit TSA
to build up its current rate of deployment and training and
move closer to higher screening percentages and more effective
screening operations.
State and local law enforcement agencies play a critical
role in security at airports throughout the Nation. They are
the primary law enforcement authorities to respond to any
incident within the airport perimeter, including TSA security
checkpoints. While airport law enforcement officer staffing
levels have remained constant, the amount TSA reimburses
airports for law enforcement support has steadily declined. The
recommendation includes $70,800,000 for Airport Law Enforcement
Assessments, $500,000 above the budget request and $1,000,000
above fiscal year 2014. TSA is directed to maximize the use of
available program funds to more fully reimburse participating
airports for law enforcement hours.

Airport Management and Support

The Committee recommends $585,243,000 for Airport
Management and Support, $6,491,000 below the budget request and
$1,757,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. This
recommendation reflects a reduction of $3,900,000 to Federal
Security Directors Staff and Headquarters, which is intended to
partially offset the shortfall created by the inclusion of
unauthorized aviation security fees in the budget.

Federal Flight Deck Officers

The Committee recommends $24,730,000 for the Federal Flight
Deck Officer and Flight Crew Training (FFDO) program,
$4,730,000 above the budget request and the same amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee supports the FFDO
program and believes that the presence of armed and trained
pilots and flight crew complement other security measures in
the aviation security domain and represent a true last-line-of-
defense aboard an aircraft.
The Committee directs TSA to provide a briefing not later
than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act detailing
the recertification process for FFDOs, including the number of
FFDOs enrolled; the latest data on recertification; an
assessment describing whether the program is meeting demand for
participation; and an overview of how TSA is ensuring that
training is available in a sufficient number of locations.

Air Cargo

The Committee recommends $106,343,000 for Air Cargo,
$577,000 below the request and $15,989,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. This reduction reflects the
proposed realignment of $24,593,000 to the Aviation Regulation
and Other Enforcement PPA to consolidate canine funding.
Funding is provided to increase inspections and compliance
efforts to transition Air Cargo Advance Screening from the
pilot stage to an operational program.

Federal Air Marshal Service

FAMS provides security for the Nation's civil aviation
system through the deployment of armed federal agents to
detect, deter, and defeat hostile acts targeting U.S. air
carriers, airports, passengers, and crews. The Committee
recommends $600,000,000 for FAMS, $200,214,000 below the amount
requested and $218,607,000 below the amount provided in fiscal
year 2014. Of the total funding provided, $500,000,000 is for
Management and Administration and $100,000,000 is for Travel
and Training. Due to the Administration's unjustified
reductions to essential frontline operations, the Committee was
forced to make programmatic reductions, and to reallocate
scarce funding towards our Nation's most imperative security
priorities. Over several years, TSA has taken steps to further
enhance its layered approach to security through new state-of-
the-art technologies, expanded use of existing and proven
technologies, better passenger identification techniques, and
other developments that continue to strengthen the agency's
capabilities to keep terrorists off commercial aircraft.
Concurrently, Air Marshals have been assigned as Assistant
Federal Security Directors to many airports; begun staffing
several positions at different agencies and departments; and
are being distributed among other law enforcement and homeland
security liaison assignments. The Committee is unconvinced that
this is the best use of taxpayer dollars. By making targeted
reductions to the agency's management and administrative
functions, the Committee envisions a leaner, more capable,
risk-based, intelligence-driven, strategy from FAMS, consistent
with the measures adopted by TSA in recent years. The
recommendation includes a realignment of funding from the FAMS
appropriation into a single PPA under the Aviation Security
appropriation. This consolidation better reflects TSA's
organization and management structure and will enable TSA to
more rapidly apply its law enforcement and related resources to
meet emerging threats.
The Committee has expressed its frustration with FAMS in
the past, specifically FAMS's inability to provide sufficient
budget justification for the requested resources to ensure
coverage of high-risk international and domestic flights.
Further, the Committee was deeply disappointed by recent
allegations of unethical activity involving firearms
transactions within FAMS, including the alleged role of the
incumbent Director. If proven true, such actions would
represent an abuse of taxpayer dollars and would be unbecoming
of any official entrusted with the duty to protect the American
public. The bill withholds $25,000,000 from obligation for
Headquarters Administration until TSA submits to the Committee,
not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
a report outlining specific actions it will take to prevent the
possibility that FAMS officials use the agency's federal
firearms license, and their relationships with private vendors,
to obtain discounted or free firearms for agency officials'
personal use.
The Committee notes that there are additional resources to
complement the presence of FAMS. This includes FFDOs and the
large number of federal law enforcement officers and agents who
are passengers on commercial flights, offering a significant
potential to leverage the FAMS operation. Therefore, the
Committee continues to encourage TSA to consider additional
options for leveraging the federal law enforcement population
to supplement FAMS resources. The Committee expects FAMS
staffing levels and deployment patterns to optimize coverage of
flights to address known threats, minimize risk, and complement
the full range of security resources available to TSA. It
remains essential that TSA provide the Committee information
about the analysis underpinning FAMS staffing, scheduling, and
resource requirements. The Committee directs TSA to brief the
Committees on Appropriations, not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, on the optimal mix of FAMS
personnel and the types and frequency of flights for which FAMS
coverage should be provided. The Committee directs TSA to
continue to submit quarterly reports on mission coverage,
staffing levels, and hiring rates.
Additional detail is included in the classified annex of
this report.

Risk-Based Approaches to Passenger Screening

The Committee is encouraged to see that TSA is actively
pursuing efforts to better focus its resources and improve the
passenger experience by applying risk-based security measures
to its screening procedures. PreCheck, a ``trusted traveler''
program that allows low-risk travelers to experience expedited
security screening at U.S. airport checkpoints, is currently
being utilized at a number of airports where participants, who
have voluntarily submitted to a security threat assessment and
criminal history background check, are eligible for expedited
screening. TSA has expanded the program and is implementing
adjustments in its protocols for generally lower-risk
populations. While PreCheck offers great promise, a critical
mass of participants is required for the program to achieve its
objectives of enhanced security and efficiency.
Therefore, the Committee directs TSA to continue to
accelerate PreCheck enrollment, and to work directly with
airports, which have a long history of facilitating
participation in trusted traveler programs, to help facilitate
program expansion through community-based, airport-centric
enrollment approaches. Further, the Committee encourages TSA to
establish the security standards and technical specifications
necessary to allow airports to enroll individuals into a TSA-
approved system for vetting and program participation; to use
its existing statutory authority to continue to develop, test,
and expand the PreCheck program for U.S. citizens, including
through a possible review of biometric data, in accordance with
applicable privacy laws and standards; and, to consider the
potential of enrolling other low-risk populations.
The Committee continues the statutory requirement that TSA
provide the Committees with semi-annual reports on the resource
implications of expedited passenger screening associated with
risk-based security initiatives, such as PreCheck, including a
new requirement to enumerate the total number and percentage of
passengers using PreCheck lanes who: (1) have enrolled in
PreCheck since TSA enrollment centers were established; (2)
enrolled using TSA's PreCheck application website; (3) were
enrolled as frequent flyers of a participating airline; (4)
utilized PreCheck as a result of a CBP trusted traveler program
(Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI); and (5) were selectively
identified to participate in expedited screening through the
use of TSA's Managed Inclusion.
The Committee is aware that CBP has begun unifying its
trusted traveler programs and, in many instances, applicants
for one program may enroll in another program's enrollment
center. Further, the Committee is aware that CBP and TSA have
worked extensively to coordinate trusted traveler programs and
intend to launch a joint enrollment center in 2014. Although
PreCheck and Global Entry serve different purposes, there is
considerable participant overlap and the Committee believes
that bringing these programs under one unified communications
effort would help travelers better understand the programs, as
well as create efficiencies within DHS. As such, to improve
traveler education and to facilitate enrollment, the Committee
directs the Secretary to establish one unified platform to
market DHS's trusted traveler programs and to report back to
Congress, not later than 120 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, on the progress made to establish such a platform.
To expand enrollment and public awareness of the program best
suited for specific travel communities, the Committee
encourages DHS to develop and implement a strategic
communications campaign, in consultation with the travel
community and Brand USA.

Perimeter Security

The imperative of perimeter security at airports was again
underscored by the recent breach of a perimeter fence at San
Jose International Airport, through which a juvenile was able
to directly access a commercial aircraft. The Committee is
aware that some airports are employing technological solutions
to detect security breaches of perimeter fences and access
points, and therefore strongly encourages TSA to work with
airport authorities to explore technology options to improve
perimeter security; validate promising technological solutions;
and update airport security plans, as appropriate, to improve
the perimeter security posture of airports.

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $108,618,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 127,637,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 121,303,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +12,685,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -6,334,000
Mission

Surface Transportation Security is responsible for
protecting the surface transportation system and ensuring the
freedom of movement and security of people and commerce by
optimizing resources through a risk-based approach to security
and ensuring compliance with established regulations and
policies.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $121,303,000 for Surface
Transportation Security, $6,334,000 below the amount requested
and $12,685,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
Within this total, $92,073,000 is for Surface Inspectors and
Enforcement, which reflects the realignment of canine program
funding to the Aviation Security appropriation; the
consolidation of all Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response
(VIPR) funding into the Surface Inspectors and Enforcement PPA
within the Surface Transportation Security appropriation; and a
reduction of $5,446,000 below the budget request and
$16,339,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014 to
reduce the number of VIPR teams from 37 to 31. The
consolidation of VIPR funding into one appropriation will
facilitate analysis and reporting, and will result in more
efficient management and assignment of VIPR capability across
all modes of transportation, as all teams are multi-modal and
can be deployed in aviation or surface transportation venues.

Transport of Security-Sensitive Materials

The Committee has repeatedly urged TSA to implement
programs required by and authorized pursuant to section 1554 of
the 9/11 Act as a part of its mission to improve the security
of surface transportation modes. TSA recently completed a study
that satisfies its obligation under section 1554 to evaluate
cost and technology factors in developing a program to track
motor carrier shipments of Tier 1 highway security-sensitive
materials (HSSM). The study concluded that implementation of a
shipment tracking program would unlock sizable security
benefits at relatively low cost and recommended that TSA move
forward on a priority basis to develop an emergency-ready
shipment tracking system which provides the capability to
quickly inject tighter security control in the hazmat supply
chain if needed. Unfortunately, TSA has not made suitable
progress in this important mission, as research and development
efforts focused on a Tier 1 HSSM emergency-ready shipment
tracking system have been delayed for over a year.
The Committee directs TSA to move forward with the
development of an interim emergency-ready system to provide
basic shipment tracking/visibility and shipment chain-of-
custody control, and urges the agency to engage in the research
and development efforts required to fully develop the Tier 1
HSSM emergency-ready tracking system in the near future. The
Committee further directs TSA to provide semi-annual updates on
the implementation of an interim program and plans for a fully
developed program including progress on research and
development activities.

INTELLIGENCE AND VETTING
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014*...................... $176,489,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015**.................... 232,526,000
Recommended in the bill**............................. 231,866,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +55,377,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -660,000*In fiscal year 2014, the Intelligence PPA was funded within the
Transportation Security Support appropriation.
**Includes the realignment of the Intelligence PPA from the
Transportation Security Support appropriation into a single PPA within
TSA's Intelligence and Vetting appropriation.

Mission

The mission of the Intelligence and Vetting appropriation
(formerly known as Transportation Threat Assessment and
Credentialing) is to reduce the probability of a successful
terrorist or other criminal attack to the transportation system
through application of intelligence and threat assessment
methodologies which are intended to identify known or suspected
terrorist threats working in or seeking access to the Nation's
transportation system.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends a direct appropriation of
$231,866,000 for Intelligence and Vetting, $660,000 below the
budget request and $55,377,000 above the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014, reflecting the realignment of the Office of
Intelligence from the Transportation Security Support
appropriation to the renamed Intelligence and Vetting
appropriation. In addition, the Committee anticipates TSA will
collect $79,605,000 in related offsetting fees.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee's
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Appropriation:
Intelligence.................. $51,801,000 $51,545,000
Secure Flight................. 112,543,000 112,269,000
Other Vetting Programs........ 68,182,000 68,052,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, direct 232,526,000 231,866,000
appropriations...........
Fee Collections:
Transportation Worker 34,832,000 34,832,000
Identification Credential Fee
Hazardous Material Fee........ 12,000,000 12,000,000
General Aviation at DCA Fee... 350,000 350,000
Commercial Aviation and 6,500,000 6,500,000
Airport Fee..................
Other Security Threat 50,000 50,000
Assessments Fee..............
Air Cargo/Certified Cargo 7,173,000 7,173,000
Screening Program Fee........
TSA PreCheck Application 13,700,000 13,700,000
Program Fee..................
Alien Flight School Fee....... 5,000,000 5,000,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, fee collections. $79,605,000 $79,605,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Secure Flight

The Committee recommends $112,269,000 for Secure Flight,
$274,000 below the amount requested and $19,067,000 above the
amount provided in fiscal year 2014, including $12,717,000 to
support vetting the Large Aircraft and Charter Screening
Program population comprised of passengers who fly on large
aircraft and charter air transportation. Secure Flight
strengthens the security of commercial aircraft travelling
into, out of, within, and across the United States through
improved watch list matching using risk-based security
measures.

Other Vetting Programs

The Committee recommends $68,052,000 for Other Vetting
Programs, $130,000 below the amount requested and $15,235,000
below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
recommendation includes $38,300,000 for Technology
Infrastructure Modernization (TIM), which will provide a state-
of-the-art vetting system, while eliminating multiple, costly,
and aging vetting systems and practices. To facilitate its
oversight, the Committee directs TSA to brief the Committee on
the status of TIM not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.
Within the increase recommended, ICE shall allocate not
less than $20,000,000 above the current levels for child
exploitation investigation activities at ICE's Cyber Crime
Center, including the Victim Identification Program and the
Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) Child-Rescue Corps,
and for the Angel Watch program. The Committee directs ICE to
provide a plan for expenditure of these funds in accordance
with the requirement for a Department-wide plan for obligation
and expenditure contained within Title V of this Act.

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY SUPPORT
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $962,061,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 932,026,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 892,840,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -69,221,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -39,186,000
Mission

The Transportation Security Support account includes
financial and human resources support; information technology
support; policy development and oversight; performance
management and e-government; communications; public information
and legislative affairs; training and quality performance;
internal conduct and audit; legal advice; and overall
headquarters administration.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $892,840,000 for Transportation
Security Support, $39,186,000 below the amount requested and
$69,221,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. As
in fiscal year 2014, a portion of the reduction for
Transportation Security Support is required to partially offset
significant shortfalls in the President's budget request for
DHS due to: (1) assumed increases in aviation passenger fee
collections that have yet to be authorized and that are not in
the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations; (2)
unjustified reductions to essential frontline operations; and
(3) the repeated failure of the Department to comply with
statutory requirements.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Headquarters Administration....... $275,891,000 $263,583,000
Human Capital Services............ 204,215,000 195,765,000
Information Technology............ 451,920,000 433,492,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Transportation $932,026,000 $892,840,000
Security Support.............
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Headquarters Administration

The Committee recommends $263,583,000 for Headquarters
Administration, $12,308,000 below the budget request, and
$8,667,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. As
previously described, the Committee withholds $75,000,000 from
obligation until TSA submits reports to the Committee, not
later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
which provide evidence demonstrating that behavioral indicators
can be used to identify passengers who may pose a threat to
aviation security; outline specific actions TSA will take to
address recent allegations of unethical activity involving
firearms within FAMS; and address GAO's concerns with TSA's AIT
program.

Human Capital Services

The Committee recommends $195,765,000 for Human Capital
Services, $8,450,000 below the budget request, and $8,485,000
below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The reduction,
which is necessary to help offset the budgetary shortfall due
to reliance on unauthorized aviation security fees, among other
reasons, may come from advisory and assistance services.

FEDERAL AIR MARSHALS
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $818,607,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... - - -
Recommended in the bill............................... - - -
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -818,607,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. - - -
Recommendation

The recommendation includes a realignment of funding from
the FAMS appropriation into a single PPA under the Aviation
Security appropriation.

Coast Guard

OPERATING EXPENSES
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014\1\.................... $6,784,807,000
Budget estimate, fiscal year 2015..................... 6,749,733,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 6,864,443,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +79,636,000
Budget estimate, fiscal year 2015................. +114,710,000\1\Does not include funding for the Global War on Terrorism/Overseas
Contingency Operations.

Mission

The Coast Guard is the principal federal agency charged
with maritime safety, security, and stewardship. The Operating
Expenses appropriation provides funding for the operation and
maintenance of multipurpose vessels, aircraft, and shore units
strategically located along the coasts and inland waterways of
the United States and in selected areas overseas. This is the
primary appropriation financing the operational activities of
the Coast Guard.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends a total appropriation of
$6,864,443,000 for Operating Expenses. The recommended funding
level is $114,710,000 above the amount requested and
$79,636,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
The Committee recommends a 0.8 percent increase to the
proposed military pay raise, consistent with the increase to
military pay included in the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2015 (H.R. 4435) and the recommended increase
to military pay by the House Subcommittee on Defense
Appropriations. The Committee also recommends the following
increases above the budget request: $15,047,000 to restore
operations hours, a five percent increase above the request;
$4,200,000 for counterdrug surge operations; $14,904,000 to
prevent the proposed decommissioning of two High Endurance
Cutters, restoring over 6,600 annualized cutter hours in source
and transit zones; $73,264,000 for backlogged depot
maintenance, which will significantly increase mission
capability rates; $2,195,000 to restore a Bravo Zero response
capability for search and rescue fixed winged assets;
$7,500,000 to restore unjustified cuts to special pays;
$1,355,000 to restore cuts to vessel boarding teams; and
$5,000,000 to restore cuts to information technology programs.
The Committee recommends a reduction of $3,900,000 to
partially offset significant shortfalls in the President's
budget request for DHS due to: (1) assumed increases in
aviation passenger fee collections that have yet to be
authorized and that are not in the jurisdiction of the
Committee on Appropriations; (2) unjustified reductions to
essential frontline operations; and (3) the repeated failure of
the Department to comply with statutory requirements.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Military Pay and Allowances....... $3,433,594,000 $3,469,045,000
Civilian Pay and Benefits......... 787,372,000 781,517,000
Training and Recruiting........... 197,800,000 198,004,000
Operating Funds and Unit Level 991,919,000 995,513,000
Maintenance......................
Centrally Managed Accounts........ 335,262,000 335,837,000
Depot Level Maintenance........... 1,003,786,000 1,084,527,000
-------------------------------------
Total, Operating Expenses..... $6,749,733,000 $6,864,443,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cuts to Operations

The Committee is dismayed with the continued cuts to
operations by this Administration. The budget as requested
leads to the lowest level of drug interdiction in five years
and forces untenable cuts in operations. The Committee rejects
this flawed proposal--adding $123,465,000 to restore the
proposed reductions and also providing additional capability.
The Committee specifically adds funds to address the growing
demand for assets in the source and transit zones.

Air Marine Operations Center

As noted under CBP, the Committee considers AMOC to be a
national asset, critical to fulfilling the imperative for an
air and marine domain awareness node capable of sharing and
synchronizing information across DHS components. Using advanced
technologies and surveillance capabilities, AMOC unifies the
data into a common operating picture of the air, land, and
maritime domains that can be synchronized and shared with
federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations. As
such, AMOC is truly a national asset and, if appropriately
resourced and empowered, can provide valuable domain awareness
and tactical information to a range of partners across the U.S.
government and overseas. Accordingly, the Committee directs the
Coast Guard to share all applicable radar feeds and to utilize
AMOC to the maximum extent possible. Further, the Committee
directs the Coast Guard to fully implement the Maritime
Operations Coordination Plan which was signed in June 2011.

Enhancements to Depot Level Maintenance

The Committee recommends an additional $73,264,000 above
the amount requested for enhancements to critical depot level
maintenance programs. Additional funds are intended to
replenish repair parts and execute backlogged and deferred
critical depot level maintenance for assets and shore
facilities. The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall brief the
Committees five days prior to obligation on the plans for the
increase.

Mission Needs Statement

The Committee directs the Commandant to conduct a new
mission needs statement (MNS), to be submitted with the fiscal
year 2016 budget, which takes into account the funding proposed
in the five-year Capital Investment Plan (CIP) submitted for
that fiscal year. The MNS shall describe which missions the
Coast Guard will not be able to achieve for any year in which a
gap exists between the mission hour targets and projected
mission hours for new and legacy assets based on the proposed
CIP.

Sexual Assault

The Committee is concerned about sexual assault within the
Coast Guard. The Committee directs the Coast Guard, not later
than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, to report
the number of requests for expedited transfer by victims of
sexual assault, the number of applications denied, and, for
each application denied, a description of the reasons why such
application was denied. Additionally, the Committee directs the
Coast Guard to report on the number of service members served
by its Special Victims Counsel program in the previous fiscal
year.

Fishing Safety Training

The Committee encourages the Coast Guard to carry out
section 604 of the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2010,
which authorizes competitive grants for a Coast Guard-certified
Fishing Safety Training Grants Program. When implemented, this
program will provide important, hands-on safety training to
commercial fisherman to prevent injuries and fatalities.

Columbia River Crossing

The Committee recognizes the many concerns regarding the
permitting process for a new Columbia River Crossing bridge
between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. The Coast
Guard is directed to be open and transparent with all Members
of Congress and private citizens who seek information regarding
the permitting process and to communicate with them in a timely
manner.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND RESTORATION
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $13,164,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 13,214,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 13,214,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... + 50,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. - - -
Mission

The Environmental Compliance and Restoration appropriation
assists in bringing Coast Guard facilities into compliance with
applicable federal and state environmental regulations,
preparing and testing facility response plans, developing
pollution and hazardous waste minimization strategies,
conducting environmental assessments, and furnishing necessary
program support. These funds permit the continuation of a
service-wide program to correct environmental problems, such as
major improvements of storage tanks containing petroleum and
regulated substances. The program focuses mainly on Coast Guard
facilities, but also includes third party sites where Coast
Guard activities have contributed to environmental problems.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $13,214,000 for Environmental
Compliance and Restoration, the same as the amount requested
and $50,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.

RESERVE TRAINING
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $120,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 109,605,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 114,605,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -5,395,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. + 5,000,000
Mission

This appropriation provides for the training of qualified
individuals who are available for active duty in time of war or
national emergency, or for the augmentation of regular Coast
Guard forces in the performance of peacetime missions. Program
activities fall into the following categories:
Initial training.--the direct costs of initial training
for three categories of non-prior service trainees;
Continued training.--the training of officers and
enlisted personnel;
Operation and maintenance of training facilities.--the
day-to-day operation and maintenance of reserve
training facilities; and
Administration.--all administrative costs of the
reserve forces program.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $114,605,000 for Reserve Training,
$5,000,000 above the amount requested and $5,395,000 below the
amount provided in fiscal year 2014. This partially restores
funding to prevent the reduction of full-time support personnel
and the transfer of Reservists to the Inactive Ready Reserve.

ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, AND IMPROVEMENTS
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $1,375,635,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 1,084,193,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 1,287,040,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -88,595,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +202,847,000
Mission

The Acquisition, Construction, and Improvements
appropriation finances the acquisition of new capital assets,
construction of new facilities, and physical improvements to
existing facilities and assets. The appropriation covers Coast
Guard-owned and operated vessels, aircraft, shore facilities,
and other equipment such as computer systems, as well as the
personnel needed to manage acquisition activities.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $1,287,040,000 for Acquisition,
Construction, and Improvements (AC&I), $202,847,000 above the
amount requested and $88,595,000 below the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014.
The Committee recommends significant restructuring of
numerous programs to align funding with requirements in the
fiscal year of need. Further, the recommendation includes
funding for programs that have a proven track record, are low-
risk, have known costs, and provide increased capability.
The Committee recommends the following decreases: a net
reduction of $13,953,000 requested for the National Security
Cutter (NSC) for contract savings based on the contract for NSC
7 and items that will not execute in the budget year;
$10,000,000 from the Offshore Patrol Cutter program due to
schedule delays; and $6,000,000 from the polar icebreaker
program due to excessive carryover of funding from prior years.
The Committee recommends the following rescissions in Title
V of this bill from prior year accounts: $2,550,000 from funds
provided in fiscal year 2011; $4,095,000 from funds provided in
fiscal year 2012; $16,892,000 from funds provided in fiscal
year 2013; and $52,905,000 from funds provided in fiscal year
2014.
The Committee recommends the following increases above the
amount requested: $10,000,000 for In-service Vessel
Sustainment; $95,000,000 for two additional Fast Response
Cutters; $12,000,000 for the replacement costs of one HH-60
helicopter; $2,500,000 to maintain the schedule for the
Logistics Information Management System; $12,000,000 for spares
for C-27J aircraft; $95,000,000 for one missionized Long Range
Surveillance Aircraft; and $6,300,000 for one complete small-
UAS system for the NSC.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vessels:
Survey and Design--Vessels and $500,000 $500,000
Boats........................
In-service Vessel Sustainment. 24,500,000 34,500,000
Cutter Small Boats............ 4,000,000 4,000,000
National Security Cutter (NSC) 638,000,000 630,347,000
Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC).. 20,000,000 10,000,000
Fast Response Cutter (FRC).... 110,000,000 205,000,000
Polar Ice Breaking Vessel..... 6,000,000 - - -
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Vessels......... 803,000,000 884,347,000
Aircraft:
HH-60 Airframe Replacement.... - - - 12,000,000
HC-144 Conversion/Sustainment. 15,000,000 15,000,000
HC-27J Conversion/Sustainment. 15,000,000 27,000,000
HC-130J Acquisition/Conversion/ 8,000,000 103,000,000
Sustainment..................
HH-65 Acquisition/Conversion/ 30,000,000 30,000,000
Sustainment..................
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Aircraft........ 68,000,000 187,000,000
Other Acquisition Programs:
Program Oversight Management.. 18,000,000 18,000,000
C4ISR......................... 36,300,000 36,300,000
CG-LIMS....................... 3,000,000 5,500,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Other Acqusition 57,300,000 59,800,000
Programs.................
Shore Facilities and Aids to
Navigation:
Major/Minor construction; 19,580,000 19,580,000
Housing; ATON; and Survey &
Design.......................
Major Acquisition Systems 16,000,000 16,000,000
Infrastructure...............
Minor Shore................... 5,000,000 5,000,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Shore Facilities 40,580,000 40,580,000
and Aids to Navigation...
Personnel and Related Support:
Direct Personnel Costs........ 115,313,000 115,313,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Personnel and 115,313,000 115,313,000
Related Support..........
=====================================
Total, Acquisition, $1,084,193,000 $1,287,040,000
Construction, and
Improvements.........
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quarterly Reports on Acquisition Projects and Mission Emphasis

The Commandant is directed to continue to brief the
Committee quarterly on all major acquisitions, consistent with
the direction in the conference report accompanying Public Law
112-74 and Senate Report 113-77.

Capital Investment Plan

The Coast Guard is directed to submit a five-year CIP, in
accordance with the specified requirements listed in the bill,
in conjunction with the budget submission for fiscal year 2016.
The Committee is concerned by the Coast Guard's repeated
noncompliance with the requirement in annual appropriations
Acts to submit a CIP to Congress with the submission of the
budget. To address these concerns, and consistent with prior
years, the Committee withholds $150,000,000 from Coast Guard
Headquarters offices until the fiscal year 2016 CIP is
submitted. Additionally, the Committee includes bill language
limiting the time OMB is permitted to review the CIP. The
Committee continues to believe the CIP serves as the primary
means of oversight for tracking the Coast Guard's
recapitalization efforts and therefore must be submitted in
accordance with mandated timelines. The failure of the Coast
Guard to submit the required information in a timely manner
hinders the Committee's oversight responsibility and forces
budgetary decisions to be made with limited program
information.

National Security Cutter

The Committee recommends $630,347,000 for the NSC program,
a decrease of $7,653,000 below the amount requested, but
$1,347,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
recommendation includes a decrease of $10,000,000 for
unjustified cost growth on the production price of NSC 8 and
$3,953,000 for activities requested ahead of need. The
recommendation also defers $42,362,000 through a rescission for
contract savings on NSC 7 and because post-delivery activities
for NSC 8 are requested unnecessarily ahead of need. An
increase of $6,300,000 is included for a small-UAS to provide
persistent tactical surveillance in counterdrug operations.

Fast Response Cutter

The Committee recommends $205,000,000 for the acquisition
of four Fast Response Cutters (FRCs), $95,000,000 above the
amount requested and $105,000,000 below the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014. The recommendation defers $20,080,000 through
a rescission for post-delivery activities that are requested
ahead of need.
For the third year in a row, the budget request included
funding for only two FRCs. Due to economies of scale, limiting
procurement to two FRCs per year drives up the unit cost and
results in the loss of $15,000,000 in savings compared to an
order of four FRCs per year and a loss of almost $30,000,000 in
savings compared to an order of six FRCs per year. In addition,
the proposed procurement rate significantly delays the delivery
of much needed capability.
This serves as clear evidence of the fiscal and operational
shortsightedness of proposing unrealistically low AC&I budgets.
It is unclear how the Department plans to close the various
gaps in needed capability if it continues to make such
ineffective and inadequate requests.

Offshore Patrol Cutter

The Committee recommends $10,000,000 for the Offshore
Patrol Cutter program, a decrease of $10,000,000 from the
request and $13,000,000 below the amount provided in fiscal
year 2014. The reduction is a result of significant unobligated
balances within the program and delays in excess of nine months
in the program schedule over the last year. Although the fiscal
year 2014 budget planned for a contract award in September
2013, the award did not occur until mid-February 2014 and was
again delayed due to a protest which was resolved just this
month. The recommended funds, combined with funds previously
appropriated, are sufficient to sustain the program through
fiscal year 2015.

Polar Ice Breaker Vessel

The Committee recommends no additional funding for the
polar icebreaker program, a decrease of $6,000,000 from the
request, and $2,000,000 below the amount provided in fiscal
year 2014. The Committee has long sought a solution to address
this much needed capability. However, since the polar
icebreaker effort was initiated in fiscal year 2013, the Coast
Guard has obligated merely $1,700,000 of the $10,000,000 that
has been appropriated over the last two fiscal years. Based on
the current obligation rate, the program can continue without
delay through fiscal year 2015 with the funds that have been
previously appropriated.
To date, this Administration has failed repeatedly to
present a viable acquisition program for a new icebreaker.
Previous CIPs have alluded to an incrementally funded
acquisition within the existing Coast Guard AC&I topline
funding level--a topline that has apparently been set
arbitrarily with no relation to Coast Guard requirements. These
proposals may partially fund an icebreaker, but only at the
expense of existing, validated Coast Guard recapitalization
programs. This type of artifice is needless and it senselessly
jeopardizes the future of the Coast Guard.
It would also be unreasonable for the Administration to
impose the entire cost of an icebreaker on the Coast Guard
because its mission, in part, is tied to the missions and
requirements of other executive branch agencies, and these
requirements will add significantly to the total cost of the
asset. The Committee believes that for a national asset of this
type, shared funding among stakeholder agencies is a more
appropriate and fair method of funding--allowing for continued
recapitalization of the Coast Guard while at the same time
acquiring a long needed icebreaking capability.

HC-27J Aircraft Spares

The Committee recommends $27,000,000 for the C-27J aircraft
program, an increase of $12,000,000 above the request and
$2,100,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
Coast Guard shall use the additional funds to procure needed
spares for the program.

HH-60 Helicopter

The Committee recommends $12,000,000 for one HH-60
helicopter, an increase of $12,000,000 above the request and
$12,000,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
Coast Guard continues to successfully modify former Navy
Seahawk helicopters, which provide greater capability at a
lower cost compared to other options.

HC-130J Aircraft

The Committee recommends $103,000,000 for long range
surveillance aircraft, an increase of $95,000,000 above the
request and $26,210,000 below the amount provided in fiscal
year 2014. Additional funding shall be used to acquire one
fully missionized HC-130J aircraft.

Coast Guard Logistics Information Management System

The Committee recommends $5,500,000 for the Coast Guard
Logistics Information Management System, $2,500,000 above the
amount requested and $4,000,000 above the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014.

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $19,200,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 17,947,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 10,947,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -8,253,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -7,000,000
Mission

Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation allows the
Coast Guard to maintain its non-homeland security research and
development capability, while also partnering with DHS and DoD
to leverage beneficial initiatives.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $10,947,000 for Research,
Development, Test, and Evaluation, $7,000,000 below the amount
requested and $8,253,000 below the amount provided in fiscal
year 2014 due to unjustified carryover.

MEDICARE ELIGIBLE RETIREE HEALTH CARE FUND CONTRIBUTION\1\
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $201,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 176,970,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 176,970,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -24,030,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. - - -1This account is a permanent indefinite discretionary budgetary activity
and is not carried in the bill.

Mission

The Medicare-eligible retiree health care fund contribution
provides funding for the DoD Medicare-eligible health care fund
for the health benefits of future Medicare-eligible retirees
currently serving on active duty in the Coast Guard, retiree
dependents, and their potential survivors. The authority for
the Coast Guard to make this payment on an annual basis was
provided in the Fiscal Year 2005 Department of Defense
Appropriations Act.

Recommendation

While this account requires no annual action by Congress,
the Committee affirms the expenditure of $176,970,000 for the
Medicare-eligible retiree health care fund contribution, the
same as the amount requested and $24,030,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014.

RETIRED PAY
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $1,460,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 1,450,626,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 1,450,626,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -9,374,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. - - -
Mission

This appropriation provides for the retired pay of Coast
Guard military personnel and Coast Guard Reserve personnel, as
well as career status bonuses for active duty personnel.
Additionally, it provides payments to members of the former
Lighthouse Service and beneficiaries pursuant to the retired
serviceman's family protection plan and survivor benefit plan,
as well as payments for medical care of retired personnel and
their dependents under the Dependents' Medical Care Act.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $1,450,626,000 for Retired Pay,
the same as the amount requested and $9,374,000 below the
amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee includes
bill language that allows funds to remain available until
expended. The Coast Guard's Retired Pay appropriation is a
mandatory budgetary activity.

United States Secret Service

SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $1,533,497,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 1,585,970,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 1,587,087,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +53,590,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +1,117,000
Mission

The United States Secret Service has statutory authority to
carry out two primary missions: protection of the Nation's
leaders and investigation of financial and electronic crimes.
The Secret Service protects and investigates threats against
the President and Vice President, their families, visiting
heads of State, and other designated individuals; protects the
White House, Vice President's Residence, foreign missions, and
other buildings within Washington, D.C.; and manages the
security at National Special Security Events (NSSEs). The
Secret Service investigates violations of laws relating to
counterfeiting of obligations and securities of the United
States; financial crimes that include, but are not limited to,
access device fraud, financial institution fraud, identity
theft, and computer fraud; and computer-based attacks on
financial, banking, and telecommunications infrastructure. The
agency also provides support for investigations related to
missing and exploited children.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $1,587,087,000 for Salaries and
Expenses, $1,117,000 above the amount requested and $53,590,000
above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. Within the
total, $965,221,000 is for costs associated with the core
protective missions, $7,898,000 below the amount requested and
$45,293,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014,
including an increase of $25,500,000 for the 2016 Presidential
Campaign costs that the Secret Service will incur in fiscal
year 2015. The recommendation includes $380,856,000 for
Investigations, $14,100,000 above the request and $12,388,000
above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014, sustaining
forensic support and grant assistance for investigations of
missing and exploited children, and supporting electronic
crimes investigations and training at the National Computer
Forensics Institute (NCFI).
The recommendation includes $4,500,000, as requested, for
contingencies associated with NSSEs in fiscal year 2015.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended levels, by budget activity, is as follows under the
current PPA structure:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protection
Protection of Persons and $874,885,000 $867,685,000
Facilities...................
Protective Intelligence 68,234,000 67,536,000
Activities...................
National Special Security 4,500,000 4,500,000
Event fund...................
Presidential Candidate Nominee 25,500,000 25,500,000
Protection...................
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Protection...... 973,119,000 965,221,000
Investigations
Domestic Field Operations..... 332,395,000 338,295,000
International Field Office 34,361,000 34,195,000
Administration, Operations,
and Training.................
Support for Missing and - - - 8,366,000
Exploited Children...........
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Investigations.. 366,756,000 380,856,000Headquarters, Management and 189,191,000 184,596,000
Administration...................
Rowley Training Center............ 55,868,000 55,378,000
Information Integration and 1,036,000 1,036,000
Technology Transformation........
-------------------------------------
Total, Salaries and Expenses.. $1,585,970,000 $1,587,087,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Domestic Field Operations, Electronic Crimes Investigations, and State
and Local Cybercrime Training

The Secret Service's Electronic Crimes Special Agent
Program (ECSAP), and its network of Electronic Crimes Task
Forces (ECTFs) comprised of federal, state, and local law
enforcement partners, financial and information technology
industries, and academic and research communities, have proven
highly productive and deserve strong support. Recognizing that
the Secret Service is a ``frontline'' operational agency, the
Committee's focus is on the integration of new technology into
the agency's operations. The Committee supports the
investigative efforts of the Secret Service and the
investigation of cyber crimes, which requires highly technical
training in computer forensics. Therefore, the Committee
recommends $338,295,000 for Domestic Field Operations,
$5,900,000 above the amount requested and $9,004,000 above the
amount provided in fiscal year 2014. Included in the
recommendation is $12,000,000 to enhance current Secret Service
investigative initiatives, support the ECSAP and ECTF missions,
and support efforts for basic and advanced computer forensics
training, $8,500,000 above the amount requested and $4,500,000
above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
While ECSAP/ECTF no longer has separate reporting and
reprogramming lines, the Committee expects: (1) to receive
periodic briefings on the status of investigations; (2) the
funding and programmatic efforts to be sustained; and (3) the
associated funding and personnel resources to continue to be
identified in future budgets.

Missing and Exploited Children

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
(NCMEC) was created in 1984 to serve as the Nation's resource
on the issues of missing and sexually exploited children. The
organization provides information and resources to law
enforcement, parents, and children, including child victims, as
well as other professionals. Under the provisions of the
Violent Crime Control Act of 1994, Congress directed the Secret
Service to provide forensic and technical assistance to NCMEC
and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in
matters involving missing and exploited children. NCMEC has
been the historical recipient of grant funding related to
missing and exploited children, and the Secret Service
currently provides investigative assistance and liaison to
NCMEC headquarters through the Secret Service Forensic Services
Division. The Committee supports continuing efforts in this
area and therefore recommends sustaining the fiscal year 2014
funding level of $2,366,000 for forensic and investigative
support related to missing and exploited children and
$6,000,000 for grants related to investigations of missing and
exploited children.

National Special Security Events

The Committee recommends $4,500,000, as requested, to
defray costs specific to Secret Service execution of its
statutory responsibilities to direct the planning and
coordination of NSSEs. The Committee continues a general
provision in the Act prohibiting the use of funds to reimburse
any federal department or agency for its participation in an
NSSE.
The Committee directs the Secret Service to provide
periodic updates on NSSEs planned for fiscal year 2015 prior to
and following each event.

International Field Investigations

The Secret Service continues to show significant results
from its efforts to stop the counterfeiting of U.S. currency,
in concert with its counterparts in the Government of Colombia,
and is building on this effort in its field offices. The
Committee directs the Secret Service, in conjunction with the
DHS Office of Policy, to keep it informed of developments in
international investigative missions.

Technology Activities

The Committee recommends $1,036,000 for Information
Integration and Technology Transformation activities of the
Secret Service, and directs the agency to brief the Committee
on all Secret Service information technology activities and to
submit a multi-year investment plan.

Mission Support Restoration

To ensure the protection of our Nation's leaders and the
investigation of financial and electronic crimes, the Committee
recommends $35,994,000, as requested, to restore critical
mission support functions such as vehicle replacement and
maintenance, fuel purchasing, mission-critical travel, and
permanent change-of-station moves to a level that supports the
Secret Service's current operational pace. Funding for these
costs is consistent with historically required levels and
prevents degradation of Secret Service assets. The Committee
directs the Secret Service to provide a strategic human capital
plan, not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, for fiscal years 2015 through 2019 that addresses how
mission requirements will be met with current resources and
delineates between protective and investigative missions.

Professionalism Reinforcement Working Group

The Committee is deeply disappointed by recurring
allegations of misconduct within the Secret Service, including
recent allegations of improper behavior by Secret Service
agents in the Netherlands. The Committee expects the Secret
Service to take all steps necessary to ensure that it has in
place the proper training and protocols to prevent similar
incidents and to hold violators accountable for their actions.
Accordingly, the bill withholds $20,000,000 from obligation for
Headquarters, Management and Administration until the Secret
Service submits to the Committee, not later than 90 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, a report providing evidence
that the Secret Service has sufficiently reviewed its
professional standards of conduct; issued new guidance for the
procedures and conduct of employees when engaged in overseas
operations and protective missions; and instituted a zero-
tolerance policy consistent with the agency's critical missions
and unique position of public trust.

ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENTS, AND RELATED EXPENSES
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $51,775,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 49,935,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 49,935,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -1,840,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. - - -
Mission

This account supports the acquisition, construction,
improvement, equipment, furnishing, and related costs for
maintenance and support of Secret Service facilities, including
the Secret Service Memorial Headquarters Building and the James
J. Rowley Training Center (JJRTC). It also provides for ongoing
costs and investment for critical Information Integration and
Technology Transformation (IITT), a program to sustain the
information technology capabilities needed to support the
Secret Service protective and investigative missions.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $49,935,000, the same amount as
requested in the budget and $1,840,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. Of the total provided, $5,380,000
is for facility-related expenses for the JJRTC and $44,555,000
is for IITT programs. The Secret Service is directed to submit
a multi-year IITT investment and management plan for fiscal
years 2015 through 2018.

TITLE III--PROTECTION, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY

National Protection and Programs Directorate

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $56,499,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 65,910,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 64,247,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +7,748,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -1,663,000
Mission

The National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) is
focused on the security of the Nation's physical and cyber
infrastructure and interoperable communications systems. The
Management and Administration account funds the immediate
office of the Under Secretary for National Protection and
Programs; provides for administrative overhead costs such as IT
support and shared services; and includes a national planning
office for development of standard doctrine and policy for
infrastructure protection and cybersecurity.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $64,247,000 for Management and
Administration, $1,663,000 below the amount requested and
$7,748,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
Committee recognizes that over the last five years NPPD's
federal workforce has grown considerably to accommodate its
increasing operational mission, but that NPPD's Management and
Administration resources have not grown accordingly to manage
and serve this growing workforce. The budget request and the
Committee recommendation reflect this need for additional
management resources to oversee NPPD field activities. However,
the recommendation reflects a reduction to partially offset
significant shortfalls in the President's budget request for
DHS due to: (1) assumed increases in aviation passenger fee
collections that have yet to be authorized and that are not in
the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations; (2)
unjustified reductions to essential frontline operations; and
(3) the repeated failure of the Department to comply with
statutory requirements.
The Committee notes that rather than devoting its time and
resources on changing the agency's name, it is imperative NPPD
continue to focus on the security of the Nation's physical,
cyber, and communications infrastructure, including the steps
it will take to better align critical infrastructure protection
activities across cyber, physical, and human risks.

INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION AND INFORMATION SECURITY
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $1,187,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 1,197,566,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 1,139,499,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -47,501,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -58,067,000
Mission

Infrastructure Protection and Information Security (IPIS)
supports efforts to reduce the vulnerability of the Nation's
critical infrastructure, key resources, information technology
networks, and telecommunications systems to terrorist attacks
and natural disasters. IPIS also supports efforts to maintain
effective telecommunications for government users in national
emergencies and establish policies and promote solutions for
interoperable communications at the federal, state, and local
level.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $1,139,499,000 for IPIS,
$58,067,000 below the amount requested and $47,501,000 below
the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. Because the PPAs under
the IPIS appropriation are categorized as a National Defense
Budget Function (050), this reduction is a reflection of the
constraints placed upon the Committee by Public Law 113-67,
which set binding caps on discretionary defense spending in
fiscal year 2015. Within the total, the Committee recommends
$262,594,000 for Infrastructure Protection, $8,551,000 below
the amount requested and $652,000 below the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014. This decrease reflects the Committee's
concern with the pervasive misuse of overtime pay within the
Infrastructure Security Compliance PPA and Regional Field
Operations PPA.
The Committee recommends $745,527,000 for Cybersecurity,
$917,000 below the amount requested and $46,764,000 below the
amount provided in fiscal year 2014, and recommends
$131,378,000 for Communications, $48,599,000 below the amount
requested and $85,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year
2014.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget request Recommendation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Infrastructure Protection:
Infrastructure Analysis & $63,999,000 $60,854,000
Planning.....................
Sector Management & Governance 63,136,000 64,961,000
Regional Field Operations..... 57,034,000 53,453,000
Infrastructure Security 86,976,000 83,326,000
Compliance...................
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Infrastructure 271,145,000 262,594,000
Protection...............
Cybersecurity and Communications:
Cybersecurity:
Cybersecurity Coordination 4,330,000 4,311,000
US-Computer Emergency 98,794,000 98,573,000
Readiness Team Operations
Federal Network Security.. 171,500,000 171,418,000
Network Security 377,690,000 377,500,000
Deployment...............
Global Cybersecurity 17,613,000 17,593,000
Management...............
Critical Infrastructure 70,963,000 70,608,000
Cyber Protection &
Awareness................
Business Operations....... 5,554,000 5,524,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, 746,444,000 745,527,000
Cybersecurity........
Communications:
Office of Emergency 36,480,000 36,401,000
Communications...............
Priority Telecommunications 53,381,000 53,324,000
Services.....................
Next Generation Networks...... 69,571,000 21,158,000
Programs to Study and Enhance 10,106,000 10,092,000
Telecommunications...........
Critical Infrastructure 10,439,000 10,403,000
Protection Programs..........
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, Communications.. 179,977,000 131,378,000
-------------------------------------
Subtotal, 926,421,000 876,905,000
Cybersecurity and
Communications.......
=====================================
Total, Infrastructure $1,197,566,000 $1,139,499,000
Protection and Information
Security.....................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Infrastructure Analysis and Planning

The Committee recommends $60,854,000 for Infrastructure
Analysis and Planning, $3,145,000 below the amount requested
and $2,280,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
The recommendation includes $21,187,000 for Infrastructure
Sector Analysis, as requested, and includes not less than
$15,650,000 for the National Infrastructure Simulation and
Analysis Center (NISAC) to conduct critical modeling,
simulation, and analysis for steady-state products, including
in-depth studies on critical infrastructure dependencies and
interdependencies. The recommendation includes $13,945,000 for
Vulnerability Analysis, a reduction of $3,061,000, to partially
offset significant shortfalls in the President's budget
request.
The Committee recognizes that our Nation's highly
integrated electrical grid is vulnerable to cyber-attacks and
natural disasters, and it is imperative that we fully
understand the complexity of this situation. Further, recent
small-scale attacks on the Nation's critical infrastructure
have shown the important interdependencies among information
technology, operational technology, and physical security. In
this environment, NPPD's programs to strengthen the security
and resilience of the Nation's critical infrastructure against
cyber, physical, and human risks must be closely coordinated,
and the agency must work with critical infrastructure owners
and operators to holistically address these risks and develop
comprehensive mitigation strategies. The Committee directs NPPD
to provide a report, not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, with the following:
1. NPPD's plans to better understand and respond to
the full range of critical infrastructure risk through
enhanced engagement with private sector owners and
operators of such infrastructure.
2. Recommendations to provide consideration to owners
of critical infrastructure for services and hardware
incurred in the act of information sharing, analyzing,
or exercising with any DHS agency or instrument
regarding critical infrastructure protection as
referenced in this paragraph.
3. A description of all current and planned
collaborative ventures between NPPD and universities,
industry, and government labs to address critical
infrastructure risk, including a recommendation on the
feasibility and merit of establishing a large-scale
test-bed to facilitate research, test new concepts, and
train personnel to improve readiness and respond to
natural disasters and cyber-physical attacks on the
electrical grid.
4. An assessment of the need for a revised
organizational structure to better align the agency's
critical infrastructure protection activities across
cyber, physical, and human risks, including those
protecting government facilities and networks.

Sector Management and Governance

The Committee recommends $64,961,000 for Sector Management
and Governance, $1,825,000 above the amount requested and
$2,399,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. NPPD
must expand its efforts to help strengthen the ability of all
levels of government and private sector critical infrastructure
partners to assess risks, coordinate programs and processes,
and execute risk management programs and activities.
Accordingly, the recommendation includes $2,000,000 above the
request to define agency needs, identify requirements for
community level critical infrastructure protection and
resilience, and rapidly develop, test, and transition to use
technologies that address these needs and requirements.

Regional Field Operations

The Committee recommends $53,453,000 for Regional Field
Operations, $3,581,000 below the amount requested and
$3,097,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
recommendation includes a decrease of $2,297,000, reflecting
the Committee's concern with the pervasive misuse of AUO
payments for Protective Security Advisors within Regional Field
Operations. Funds requested for this PPA are further reduced by
$1,136,000 to partially offset significant shortfalls in the
President's budget request.

Infrastructure Security Compliance

The Committee recommends $83,326,000 for Infrastructure
Security Compliance (ISC), $3,650,000 below the amount
requested and $2,326,000 above the amount provided in fiscal
year 2014. The recommendation includes a decrease of
$2,601,000, reflecting the Committee's concern with the
pervasive misuse of AUO payments for Chemical Security
Inspectors. ISC was established in response to section 550 of
Public Law 109-295, which directed DHS to develop and adopt a
regulatory framework to address the security of chemical
facilities that the Department determines pose high levels of
risk. Specifically, section 550(a) of the Act authorized DHS to
regulate security at high-risk chemical plants and other
locations that maintain large quantities of potentially
dangerous chemicals. Since that time, and in spite of ample
appropriations provided by Congress, DHS has only recently
begun to make considerable progress in carrying out its
regulatory responsibilities under the Chemical Facility Anti-
Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. The recommendation
includes an increase of $2,620,000 to enhance CFATS
implementation, $800,000 below the amount requested. This
funding will enhance critical efforts related to compliance
with CFATS, including developing an automated process for
identification of CFATS outliers, addressing concerns raised by
GAO regarding the risk-tiering methodology, and fulfilling
other requirements.
As described, section 550 requires DHS to establish risk-
based performance standards for high-risk chemical facilities.
The CFATS Personnel Surety Program (PSP) requires high-risk
chemical facilities to conduct appropriate background checks on
and ensure appropriate credentials for facility personnel and,
as appropriate, for unescorted visitors with access to
restricted areas or critical assets, including through measures
designed to verify and validate identity; check criminal
history; verify and validate legal authorization to work; and
identify people with terrorist ties.
It is imperative that NPPD and DHS effectively and
consistently engage with industry partners on PSP requirements.
The Committee is determined to see NPPD establish a functional
and efficient PSP, but remains concerned with the Department's
proposal for personnel surety. DHS should not mandate how a
covered chemical facility meets the personnel surety standard
if the facility has already adopted a rigorous process to
verify and validate identity, check criminal history, verify
and validate legal authorization to work, and identify
individuals with terrorist ties by utilizing a federal vetting
program. Accordingly, the bill includes a provision prohibiting
funds made available by this Act from being used be to dictate
the use of a particular personnel surety process if the
facility has adopted personnel security measures that meet
performance-based requirements. Specifically, the bill
clarifies that a chemical facility may satisfy its obligation
to identify individuals with terrorist ties by utilizing any
federal screening program that periodically vets individuals
for terrorism ties. The Committee directs the Under Secretary
of NPPD to provide a report to the Committees on a semi-annual
basis, not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, on the implementation of the CFATS program.
The Committee is aware of concerns that storage and transit
cargo containers used by the chemical industry may rely on
outdated mechanical sealing technologies. The Committee
encourages DHS to work with the Chemical Sector Coordinating
Council to disseminate information about proven next generation
sealing technologies to the chemical sector, including through
the Chemical Sector Supply Chain Good Practices Guide.

US-Computer Emergency Readiness Team Operations

The Committee recommends $98,573,000 for US-Computer
Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) Operations, $221,000 below
the amount requested and $3,427,000 below the amount provided
in fiscal year 2014. US-CERT is the operational arm of the
Office of Cybersecurity and Communications and the Committee
supports its primary functions, which include analyzing and
reducing cyber threats and vulnerabilities, disseminating cyber
threat information to public and private sector partners,
coordinating with government and industry partners to achieve
shared cyber situational awareness, and providing response and
recovery support for national assets.

Federal Network Security

The Committee recommends $171,418,000 for Federal Network
Security, $82,000 below the amount requested and $28,307,000
below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The U.S.
government remains the target of a massive cyber espionage
campaign which threatens and endangers national security. The
Committee has consistently recognized this threat and provided
the requested funding to NPPD to protect our civilian
departments and agencies from cyber intrusions. Federal Network
Security manages activities designed to enable civilian
departments and agencies to secure their systems and networks,
including the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM)
program, and it provides a single, accountable focal point for
achieving cyber infrastructure security and compliance
throughout the federal enterprise. The recommendation includes
a reduction of $25,421,000 below the fiscal year 2014 level, as
requested, to align the budget with the planned acquisition
profile for CDM.
Diagnostic software procured by these funds shall operate
in accordance with all applicable privacy laws and related
agency restrictions regarding personally identifiable
information and sensitive data or content. This program must,
therefore, ensure both the security and network integrity of
federal government systems, as neither can be compromised. The
Committee includes a general provision directing the DHS CFO,
in conjunction with NPPD, to submit a report detailing the
obligation and expenditure of funds not later than 45 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, and quarterly
thereafter to the Committees on Appropriations.

Network Security Deployment

The Committee recommends $377,500,000 for Network Security
Deployment, $190,000 below the amount requested and $4,752,000
below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. Network Security
Deployment manages the National Cybersecurity Protection System
(NCPS), operationally known as EINSTEIN, which is an integrated
intrusion detection, analytics, information sharing, and
intrusion prevention system utilizing hardware, software, and
other components to support DHS cybersecurity responsibilities.
Funds are included to continue the planned procurement of
the third generation of the NCPS (also known as EINSTEIN 3 or
E\3\A), which will expand current capabilities by enabling DHS
to assume a more active role in securing civilian .gov network
traffic and reducing the threat vectors available to malicious
actors seeking to harm federal networks. Once fully deployed,
E\3\A will apply in-line protection measures to a wide set of
federal network traffic protocols; alert on a cyber threat; and
act on that threat to stop malicious traffic. However, the
Committee is increasingly concerned with the planned
acquisition schedule for NCPS, which has experienced delays,
and the overall efficacy of signature-based systems for the
protection of networks. DHS's strategy relies on Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) to deliver this capability but, to
date, only one ISP has delivered the capability, putting the
program in jeopardy. For this program to be successfully
implemented, it is imperative that DHS move hastily to
establish effective working relationships with each of the Tier
1 ISPs. Given its prominent role, as delegated by OMB, in
securing .gov network traffic, DHS must also improve its
relationships with the departments and agencies participating
in this program and better prepare those customers for the
deployment of E\3\A. Further, DHS must explore new capabilities
for the detection of malicious traffic, such as behavioral
analysis and the identification of zero-day threats.
The recommendation includes a reduction of $7,515,000, as
requested, to align the budget with the revised acquisition
profile for NCPS. NPPD is directed to brief the Committee, not
later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, on
the specific steps it is taking to engage the private sector
and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers to better
understand the state-of-technology, and the challenges, threats
to, and opportunities for E\3\A and NCPS. This briefing shall
outline NPPD's plans to introduce new behavioral-based
detection and zero-day threat discovery tools into NCPS; its
strategy for integrating capabilities between the NCPS and CDM
programs; the mechanisms DHS is considering to more effectively
compel participation in these programs; and an updated
acquisition profile for NCPS. Software procured with these
funds shall operate in accordance with all applicable privacy
laws and related agency restrictions regarding personally
identifiable information and sensitive data or content.
Funds were provided in fiscal year 2014 to continue
supporting information sharing efforts aimed at protecting
federal and private sector critical infrastructure. This
mission is imperative and the recommendation includes funding
for NPPD's voluntary Enhanced Cybersecurity Services program,
allowing DHS to share security information with owners and
operators of critical infrastructure through qualified
Commercial Service Providers. With this funding, NPPD is
directed to deploy advanced technologies to expand the broader
cybersecurity community's access to DHS threat information and
analysis.
The Committee includes a general provision directing the
CFO, in conjunction with NPPD, to submit a report detailing the
obligation and expenditure of funds not later than 45 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, and quarterly
thereafter, to the Committees on Appropriations.

Communications

The Committee recommends $131,378,000 for communications
programs, $48,599,000 below the amount requested and $85,000
below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. Of the total
amount recommended, $36,401,000 is for the Office of Emergency
Communications; $53,324,000 is for Priority Telecommunications
Services; $10,092,000 is for Programs to Study and Enhance
Telecommunications; $10,403,000 is for Critical Infrastructure
Protection Programs; and $21,158,000 is for Next Generation
Networks, equal to the fiscal year 2014 level but $48,413,000
below the amount requested, reflecting the constraints placed
upon the Committee by Public Law 113-67, which set binding caps
on discretionary defense spending in fiscal year 2015.

SLTT Cybersecurity Support

The fiscal year 2015 request proposes to reduce support for
the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-
ISAC), which provides critical cybersecurity services to state,
local, tribal and territorial governments (SLTTs), and
aggregates and analyzes cyber threat and vulnerability
information from SLTTs to help NPPD protect our collective
cyberspace. The funding reduction is premised on an expectation
that MS-ISAC's SLTT customers would provide cost sharing in
fiscal year 2015 equal to the amount of the federal funding
reduction. The Committee expects reductions in federal support
for MS-ISAC to be coordinated with the replacement of federal
funding by support from SLTT customers, and directs NPPD to
update the Committee on its plans for transitioning to SLTT
cost-sharing and how NPPD is ensuring that cybersecurity
support for SLTTs is not diminished.

National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center

The recommendation fully supports the efforts of the
National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center
(NCCIC), which is a focal point within the federal government
for cybersecurity with responsibilities that include the
protection of federal systems and nonfederal critical
information systems as well as the coordination of national
incident response. As such, the NCCIC serves as a centralized
location where operational elements involved in cybersecurity
and communications reliance are coordinated and integrated. To
operate at the intersection of the private sector, civilian,
law enforcement, intelligence, and defense communities, the
NCCIC effectively partners with all federal departments and
agencies; SLTTs; the private sector; and international
entities. Funds are provided to continue the NCCIC's efforts to
apply unique analytic perspectives, ensure shared situational
awareness, and synchronize response efforts while protecting
the privacy rights of Americans in both the cybersecurity and
communications domains. The U.S. continues to be the target of
massive cyber attacks which threaten the country's economic
competitiveness and the security of our Nation. DHS and NPPD
lead the effort to protect the Nation's critical
infrastructure, to protect our civilian government networks,
and to collaborate with the private sector to enhance
cybersecurity. The NCCIC stands at the forefront of this
mission.

FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $1,301,824,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 1,342,606,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 1,342,606,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +40,782,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. - - -
Mission

The Federal Protective Service (FPS) is responsible for the
protection of federally owned and leased buildings and
properties, particularly those under the charge and control of
GSA. Funding for FPS is provided through a security fee charged
to all GSA building tenants in FPS-protected buildings. FPS has
three major law enforcement initiatives: protection services to
all federal facilities throughout the United States and its
territories; expanded intelligence and anti-terrorism
capabilities; and Special Programs, including weapons of mass
destruction detection, hazardous material detection and
response, and canine programs.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $1,342,606,000 for FPS, the same
as the amount requested and $40,782,000 above the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. This amount is fully offset by
fees collected from FPS customer agencies.
A provision is included in the bill requiring the Secretary
and the Director of OMB to certify that FPS will collect
sufficient fee revenue to fully fund operations, as requested
in the budget. Should sufficient revenue not be collected to
fully fund operations, an expenditure plan is required
describing how security risks will be adequately addressed.
Within this recommended funding level, FPS shall align staffing
resources with mission requirements. A provision is included in
the bill requiring FPS to include with the submission of the
fiscal year 2016 budget request a strategic human capital plan
which aligns fee collections to personnel requirements based on
a current threat assessment.

OFFICE OF BIOMETRIC IDENTITY MANAGEMENT
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $227,108,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 251,584,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 250,359,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +23,251,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -1,225,000
Mission

The Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) is the
lead entity within DHS for biometric identity management
services. OBIM matches, stores, shares, and analyzes biometric
identity information with federal, state, local, and tribal law
enforcement, the Intelligence Community, and strategic foreign
partners.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends a total appropriation of
$250,359,000 for OBIM, $1,225,000 below the amount requested
and $23,251,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
Funds requested for OBIM are reduced by $1,000,000 to partially
offset significant shortfalls in the President's budget request
for DHS due to: (1) assumed increases in aviation passenger fee
collections that have yet to be authorized and that are not in
the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations; (2)
unjustified reductions to essential frontline operations; and
(3) the repeated failure of the Department to comply with
statutory requirements.

Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT)

The recommendation includes the amount requested for IDENT
system improvements, building on the investments funded in
fiscal year 2014. These improvements will enable the system to
meet current requirements and provide some capability
enhancements which can be leveraged and reused in a future
replacement system.
However, the Committee recognizes these improvements are a
stopgap and do not address the architectural limitations of the
aging IDENT system, which is rapidly approaching the end of its
lifespan. The Committee directs OBIM to submit a plan for the
replacement of IDENT, including the estimated costs and
schedule for replacement, not later than 120 days after the
date of enactment of this Act. OBIM shall include in the plan
the IDENT requirements for supporting the implementation of a
biometric exit system by CBP, as mandated in Title I of the
bill.

Unique Identity

OBIM is directed to continue semi-annual briefings on
interagency coordination among the Departments of Homeland
Security, Justice, State, and Defense, and progress towards
integrating the various biometric systems, including Unique
Identity.

Office of Health Affairs

Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $126,763,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 125,767,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 127,958,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +1,195,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +2,191,000
Mission

The Office of Health Affairs (OHA) serves as the Department
of Homeland Security's principal agent for all medical and
public health matters, and has the lead DHS role in chemical
and biological defense activities to ensure the health and
medical security of our Nation.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $127,958,000 for OHA, $2,191,000
above the amount requested and $1,195,000 above the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee denies the
Administration's proposed PPA restructuring and maintains the
appropriation structure as enacted in fiscal year 2014.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BioWatch.......................... $84,651,000 $86,891,000
National Biosurveillence 8,000,000 9,100,000
Integration System...............
Chemical Defense Program.......... 824,000 824,000
Planning and Coordination......... 4,995,000 4,995,000
Salaries and Expenses............. 27,297,000 26,148,000
-------------------------------------
Total, Office of Health $125,767,000 $127,958,000
Affairs......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Biosurveillance Activities

The Committee recommends $86,891,000 for the BioWatch
program, $2,240,000 above the amount requested and $1,614,000
above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
The equipment necessary to operate the current BioWatch
system is nearing the end of its estimated lifecycle and will
require recapitalization or replacement to prevent system
failures. In light of the Department's formal cancellation of
the Generation 3 acquisition, the Committee recommends
$2,240,000 above the request to begin replacing aging equipment
to ensure the biodetection capabilities of the current BioWatch
program are maintained.
The Committee supports continued efforts to pursue the next
generation biodetection capabilities and is aware that OHA and
S&T are developing a plan for the continued research,
development, and acquisition for future technologies. OHA and
S&T are directed to brief the Committee on the path forward for
BioWatch and biosurveillance programs, including efforts to
upgrade systems currently deployed and plans to explore
potential technologies for future development and deployment.
Because clinical biosurveillance can provide important
context for BioWatch actionable results, the Committee believes
OHA should accelerate efforts to integrate BioWatch with the
clinical biosurveillance capabilities being developed by the
National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC), including
those developed through successful pilots. OHA shall report to
the Committee, not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, on its progress and plans related to
integrating BioWatch with NBIC biosurveillance capabilities.

National Biosurveillance Integration Center

The Committee recommends $9,100,000 for NBIC, $1,100,000
above the amount requested and $900,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014.
The Committee is concerned that OHA's budget request for
operationalization of successful NBIC pilot programs may be
insufficient to fully leverage prior year investments in
potential biosurveillance solutions. As a result, the Committee
recommends a total of $2,000,000 for operationalization of
successful pilots funded in prior years, $1,100,000 above the
budget request. Prior to obligation of this funding, OHA shall
brief the Committee on its evaluation of the NBIC pilot
projects and its proposal for operationalization of successful
pilots, including the resulting capability enhancements and the
funding requirements for those activities in fiscal year 2015
and future years.

Anthrax Vaccinations for First Responders

Following a multi-year, interagency effort, DHS issued
guidance in 2012 on protecting responders' health following a
wide-area aerosol anthrax attack. Since that time, OHA has
continued to conduct extensive research and stakeholder
engagement on the feasibility of developing an anthrax
vaccination program for first responders. Given the interest
from the first responder community, and the availability of
expiring doses of the vaccine in the strategic national
stockpile that will otherwise go to waste, the Committee
supports OHA's continued efforts to develop and implement an
anthrax vaccination pilot program. OHA is directed to brief the
Committee not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of
this Act on an implementation plan for an anthrax vaccination
pilot program, including anticipated costs and schedule;
appropriate education, training, and other efforts to inform
and prepare participants; and criteria to evaluate the
effectiveness of a pilot and the viability and requirements of
expanding to a full-scale program.

Salaries and Expenses

The Committee recommends $26,148,000 for Salaries and
Expenses, $1,149,000 below the amount requested and $481,000
above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. Funds requested
for Salaries and Expenses are reduced by $1,000,000 to
partially offset significant shortfalls in the President's
budget request for DHS due to: (1) assumed increases in
aviation passenger fee collections that have yet to be
authorized and that are not in the jurisdiction of the
Committee on Appropriations; (2) unjustified reductions to
essential frontline operations; and (3) the repeated failure of
the Department to comply with statutory requirements.

Federal Emergency Management Agency

SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $946,982,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 924,664,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 913,120,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -33,862,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -11,544,000
Mission

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) manages and
coordinates the federal response to major domestic disasters
and emergencies of all types in accordance with the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. It
supports the effectiveness of emergency response providers at
all levels of government in responding to terrorist attacks,
major disasters, and other emergencies. FEMA also administers
public assistance and hazard mitigation programs to prevent or
reduce the risk to life and property from floods and other
hazards. Finally, FEMA leads all federal incident management
preparedness and response planning through a comprehensive
National Incident Management System that involves federal,
state, tribal, and local government personnel, agencies, and
regional authorities.
FEMA provides for the development and maintenance of an
integrated, nationwide capability to prepare for, mitigate
against, respond to, and recover from the consequences of major
disasters and emergencies of all types in partnership with
other federal agencies, state, local and tribal governments,
volunteer organizations, and the private sector. Salaries and
Expenses supports all of FEMA's programs by coordinating all
policy, managerial, resource, and administrative actions
between headquarters and regional offices.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $913,120,000 for Salaries and
Expenses, $11,544,000 below the amount requested and
$33,862,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The
recommendation combines the Response and Recovery PPA's, as
requested. Further, the recommendation includes a reduction of
$4,900,000 due to: (1) assumed increases in aviation passenger
fee collections that have yet to be authorized and that are not
under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations; (2)
detrimental, unjustified proposals to severely reduce the
Department's essential frontline operations; and (3) the
repeated failure to comply with statutory requirements.
The following table summarizes the Committee's
recommendation:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Request Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Administrative and Regional $245,218,000 $239,283,000
Offices..........................
Preparedness and Protection....... 185,000,000 184,659,000
Response.......................... 167,376,000 - - -
Recovery.......................... 56,030,000 - - -
Response and Recovery............. - - - 222,675,000
Mitigation........................ 25,782,000 25,738,000
Mission Support................... 141,809,000 137,316,000
Centrally Managed Accounts........ 103,449,000 103,449,000
-------------------------------------
Total, Salaries and Expenses.. $924,664,000 $913,120,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Budget Justification Material

FEMA shall provide in the budget justification for fiscal
year 2016 a breakout by PPA that includes the actual funding
from the prior fiscal year, proposed funding for the budget
year, and deviations between the two years. For each year, FEMA
shall also include the number of positions, the number of FTE,
the amount for salaries and benefits, and the amount for each
program, showing all sources of funding. Specific information
regarding the transfer of funding from other appropriations
should be included, with the same level of detail currently
provided to the Committee.

Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center

The Committee recommends $29,862,000 for the Mount Weather
Emergency Operations Center facility, $4,000,000 below the
amount requested and $862,000 above the amount provided in
fiscal year 2014. Due to contract delays, this bill
reprioritizes scarce funding towards operations and frontline
staffing.

Urban Search and Rescue

The Committee recommends $27,513,000 for Urban Search and
Rescue from within the amount provided for Salaries and
Expenses, the same as the amount requested and $7,667,000 below
the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.

FEMA and Tribal Interactions

The Committee is aware that FEMA is in the process of
finalizing a proposed Tribal Consultation Policy; is engaged in
ongoing consultations with tribal stakeholders related to the
Tribal Declarations Pilot guidance; recently established a
permanent National Tribal Affairs Advisor position within
External Affairs to replace the temporary Special Advisor for
National Tribal Affairs position; and that three positions on
FEMA's National Advisory Council are reserved for tribal
representatives. The Committee encourages FEMA to continue to
coordinate closely with tribes on issues related to Stafford
Act declarations and with regard to protection, response,
recovery, and mitigation capabilities.

Hazard Mitigation Unified Guidance

The Committee is encouraged by the Hazard Mitigation
Unified Guidance FEMA issued in fiscal year 2013, and believes
this is a commendable first step in helping applicants and sub-
applicants navigate the bureaucracy of the application process
and ensure that proposed projects comply with existing federal
regulations and statutes. The Committee directs FEMA, working
with the Flood Insurance Advocate, to widely disseminate this
information to states, territories, tribal governments, and
local governments. In addition, the Committee encourages FEMA
to highlight the availability of mitigation funds to
homeowners, along with the potential of mitigation actions to
reduce insurance premiums. The Committee notes that compliance
with environmental and historic preservation laws can be
complicated, and directs FEMA to provide relevant guidance to
homeowners in these areas.

Rolling Grant Deadlines

The Committee encourages FEMA to consider allowing Hazard
Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs to operate on a
rolling basis to facilitate greater flexibility for applicants
seeking assistance for community mitigation plans and pre-
disaster mitigation, and to better accommodate the needs of
applicants following an intervening disaster. FEMA is directed
to report on the viability of a rolling deadline for HMA grants
not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

STATE AND LOCAL PROGRAMS
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014\1\.................... $1,500,000,000
Budget estimate, fiscal year 2015\1\.................. 2,225,469,000
Recommended in the bill\2\............................ 1,500,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... - - -
Budget estimate, fiscal year 2015................. -725,469,000\1\The budget request proposed moving Emergency Management Performance
Grants and Firefighter Assistance Grants under State and Local
Programs. In fiscal year 2014, these grant programs had separate
appropriations totaling $1,030,000,000 within FEMA, not within this
program.
\2\The bill funds Emergency Management Performance Grants and
Firefighter Assistance Grants under separate appropriations totaling
$1,030,000,000 within FEMA, not within this program.

Mission

State and Local Programs help build and sustain the
preparedness and response capabilities of the first responder
community. These programs include support for various grant and
training programs.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $1,500,000,000 for State and Local
Programs, $725,469,000 below the amount requested and the same
as the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. As part of the
budget request, the Administration proposed including
Firefighter Assistance Grants and Emergency Management
Performance Grants under this account. The Committee again
denies this proposal and provides funding for both of these
grant programs as separate appropriations, consistent with
prior years.
A comparison of the President's budget proposal to the
Committee recommended level by budget activity is as follow:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Homeland Security Grant - - - $466,346,000
Program..........................
Operation Stonegarden......... - - - (55,000,000)
Urban Area Security Initiative.... - - - 600,000,000
Nonprofit Security Grants..... - - - (13,000,000)
Public Transportation Security - - - 100,000,000
Assistance and Railroad Security
Assistance.......................
Amtrak Security............... - - - (10,000,000)
Over-Road-Bus Security........ - - - (5,000,000)
Port Security Grants.............. - - - 100,000,000
Education, Training, and Exercises - - - 233,654,000
Emergency Management Institute - - - (20,569,000)
Center for Domestic - - - (64,991,000)
Preparedness.................
National Domestic Preparedness - - - (98,000,000)
Consortium...................
National Exercise Program..... - - - (21,094,000)
Continuing Training........... - - - (29,000,000)
National Preparedness Grant $1,043,200,000 - - -
Program..........................
First Responder Assistance Program - - -
Emergency Management Performance 350,000,000 - - -
Grants\1\........................
Fire Grants\1\.................... 335,000,000 - - -
Staffing for Adequate Fire and 335,000,000 - - -
Emergency Response (SAFER) Act
Grants\1\........................
Training Partnership Grants....... 60,000,000 - - -
Education, Training and Exercises. 102,269,000 - - -
-------------------------------------
Total State and Local Programs $2,225,469,000 $1,500,000,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\The budget recommends funding Emergency Management Performance Grants
and Firefighter Assistance Grants under separate approbations totaling
$1,030,000,000.

For the third year in a row, FEMA proposed a new National
Preparedness Grant Program under State and Local Programs. This
proposal is denied due to the lack of congressional
authorization and the lack of necessary detail required for the
initiation of a new program, to include grant guidance and
implementation plans.
Within the funds available, the Committee recommends
$55,000,000 for Operation Stonegarden. All awards under
Operation Stonegarden shall be made on a competitive basis to
tribal governments and units of local government, including
towns, cities, and counties along the borders of the United
States, to enhance the coordination between local and federal
law enforcement agencies in the furtherance of the Nation's
border security. Eligible program costs include, but shall not
necessarily be limited to: overtime; vehicle maintenance;
vehicle and equipment rental costs; reimbursement for mileage;
fuel costs; equipment replacement costs; and travel costs for
law enforcement entities assisting other local jurisdictions in
law enforcement activities. The Committee directs that only CBP
and FEMA make award decisions. No administrative costs shall be
deducted by states from Operation Stonegarden awards.
The Committee recommends $233,654,000 to sustain Education,
Training, and Exercises at the same funding levels and for the
same purposes as provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee is
aware of the unique capabilities of regional training centers,
which provide initial training to first responders and
additional training related to new techniques and technologies.
The Committee encourages the Department to include continued
support for regional training centers in future funding
requests. Within the funds recommended for National Programs,
the Committee includes $29,000,000 for Continuing Training and
directs FEMA to prioritize funding of not less than $5,000,000,
to be competitively awarded, for FEMA-certified rural training
in crisis management for school-based incidents; mass fatality
planning and response; the development of emergency operation
plans; rail car safety; media engagement strategies for first
responders; agro-terrorism; food and animal safety; and
hazardous materials. Special emphasis should be given to the
gaps in rural training identified in the National Needs
Assessment currently being conducted.
The Committee continues bill language mandating timeframes
for the application process for certain grants to ensure that
funds do not languish at DHS and limits to not more than five
percent the amount a grantee may allocate for expenses directly
related to administration of a grant. The Committee continues
bill language allowing for the construction of communication
towers and requiring grantees to provide reports on their use
of funds. In accordance with the 9/11 Act, at least 25 percent
of funds allocated to the State Homeland Security Grant Program
and Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) shall be used for Law
Enforcement Terrorism Prevention activities. In addition, each
state and Puerto Rico shall pass on not less than 80 percent of
their grant funding to local units of government within 45 days
of receiving the funds.
For the fiscal year 2014 grant cycle, the Department
appeared to take a step backward in efforts to prioritize UASI
funding to the highest risk urban areas by significantly
expanding the number of awardees, which diverted funding away
from high-risk urban areas while only marginally addressing
incremental urban area risk. The explanatory statement
accompanying Public Law 113-76 directed the Department to
explicitly focus UASI grants on urban areas that are subject to
the greatest risk, and to continue to allocate funding in
proportion to risk. The Committee continues to believe the
Department should avoid a wide dispersal of funding that
dilutes the program's impact on the highest-risk areas and
strays from UASI's original intent. Because most of the
cumulative national risk to urban areas is focused on a
relatively small number of cities, the Committee directs the
Department to limit UASI funding to urban areas representing up
to 80 percent of the cumulative urban area risk.
The Committee directs that future grant guidance for all
homeland security grant programs shall inform recipients that
any training, programs, presentations, or speakers supported
with grant funding that provide information related to violent
extremism, homegrown violent extremism, or domestic violent
extremism must be consistent with applicable laws with respect
to racial, ethnic, and religious profiling.
The Committee is aware that only three federally-recognized
tribes currently issue tribal identification (ID) cards that
are compliant with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
(WHTI), which facilitate the entry of individuals into the
United States from contiguous territory or adjacent islands at
land and sea ports of entry. Because many tribal governments
face financial challenges in transitioning to WHTI-compliant ID
cards, the Committee urges the Secretary to take into
consideration the needs of tribes in this area when determining
an appropriate allocation for the Tribal Security Grant Program
for fiscal year 2015.

FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE GRANTS
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $680,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... - - -
Recommended in the bill............................... 680,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... - - -
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +680,000,000
Mission

Firefighter Assistance Grants are provided to local fire
departments for the purpose of protecting the health and safety
of the public and protecting firefighting personnel, including
volunteers and emergency medical service personnel, against
fire and fire-related hazards.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $680,000,000 for Firefighter
Assistance Grants, $680,000,000 above the amount requested and
the same as the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The budget
request did not include a separate appropriation for
Firefighter Assistance Grants, but instead proposed
$670,000,000 for this activity within State and Local Programs.
Within the total, the Committee recommends $340,000,000 for the
Assistance to Firefighters Grant program (AFG), which provides
grants for firefighter equipment, training, vehicles, and other
resources. The Committee also recommends $340,000,000 for
firefighter jobs under the Staffing for Adequate Emergency
Response (SAFER) program. FEMA shall continue to administer the
Fire Grant programs as directed in prior year Committee
reports. The Committee encourages FEMA to ensure that the
formulas used for equipment accurately reflect the current cost
of equipment.

SAFER Waivers

The Committee continues a statutory provision providing the
Secretary with broad authority to waive certain provisions of
15 U.S.C. 2229a related to SAFER grants. This annual waiver
authority has been available since fiscal year 2009 in response
to the fiscal challenges faced by many fire departments in
recent years. The reauthorization of the SAFER program by the
112th Congress (Public Law 112-239) provided FEMA with
permanent authority to waive certain matching and non-
supplantation requirements for grantees based on a
determination that a grantee meets economic hardship criteria.
The Committee is aware that FEMA has been working with
stakeholders to develop these criteria and that the agency
hopes to soon be able to implement this new waiver authority.
As a result, the Committee expects that fiscal year 2015 should
be the last instance in which annual waiver authority will be
provided and any waivers in future fiscal years will be limited
to the authorization provided in Public Law 112-239.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE GRANTS
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $350,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... - - -
Recommended in the bill............................... 350,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... - - -
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +350,000,000
Mission

Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) funds are
used to support comprehensive emergency management at the state
and local levels and to encourage the improvement of
mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery capabilities
for all hazards.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $350,000,000 for EMPG,
$350,000,000 above the amount requested and the same as the
amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The request did not
include a separate appropriation for EMPG but instead proposed
$350,000,000 for this activity within State and Local Programs.
Consistent with past years, the Committee does not agree to
transfer EMPG to State and Local Programs, continuing instead
to fund the EMPG program as a separate appropriation.

RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... -$1,272,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... -1,815,000
Recommended in the bill............................... -1,815,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -543,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. - - -
Mission

The Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program (REPP)
ensures that the health and safety of citizens living near
commercial nuclear power plants will be adequately protected in
the event of a nuclear power station incident. In addition, the
program informs and educates the public about radiological
emergency preparedness. REPP provides funding only for
emergency preparedness activities of state and local
governments that take place beyond nuclear power plant
boundaries.

UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $44,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 41,407,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 44,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... - - -
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +2,593,000
Mission

The mission of the United States Fire Administration (USFA)
is to reduce economic losses and loss of life due to fire and
related emergencies through leadership, coordination, and
support. USFA trains the Nation's first responder and health
care leaders to evaluate and minimize community risk, enhance
the security of critical infrastructure, and better prepare
communities to react to emergencies of all kinds.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $44,000,000 for USFA, $2,593,000
above the amount requested and the same as the amount provided
in fiscal year 2014.

DISASTER RELIEF FUND
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014\1\.................... $6,220,908,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015\2\................... 7,033,465,000
Recommended in the bill\2\............................ 7,033,465,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +812,557,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. - - -\1\Includes $5,626,386,000 designated for major disasters pursuant to
251(b)(2)(D) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act
of 1985.
\2\Includes $6,437,793,000 designated for major disasters pursuant to
251(b)(2)(D) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act
of 1985.

Mission

FEMA is responsible for administering disaster assistance
programs and coordinating the federal response following
presidential disaster declarations. Major activities under the
Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) include: providing aid to families
and individuals; supporting the efforts of state and local
governments to take emergency protective measures, clear
debris, and repair infrastructure; mitigating the effects of
future disasters; and helping states and local communities
manage disaster response, including through the assistance of
disaster field office staff and automated data processing
support.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends a total of $7,033,465,000 for the
DRF. Of the funds provided, $6,437,793,000 is designated by the
Congress as being for disaster relief pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(D) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985. Of the funding not so designated,
$24,000,000 shall be transferred to the DHS OIG for audits and
investigations related to disasters.
A general provision is included in Title V of this Act that
rescinds $388,511,000 from amounts provided for non-major
disaster programs in prior years due to the significant
balances anticipated to be carried over from fiscal year 2014
into fiscal year 2015 and amounts recovered from previous
disasters during project closeouts. The remaining balances,
combined with the amount appropriated in this bill, fully fund
all known requirements, to include recovery from Hurricane
Sandy, the Colorado wildfires, the Oklahoma tornadoes, and
other previous disasters, as well as relief efforts for future
disasters.
A provision is continued in the bill stating the
information and timeframes in which FEMA must report to the
Committees on the DRF. A report on the obligation of funds for
disaster readiness and support, including quarterly updates, is
required in Title V of this Act. The Committee continues
statutory requirements for annual and monthly DRF reporting as
originally directed in Public Law 112-74 and Public Law 113-2.
The request proposed to eliminate these requirements even
though the reports are used extensively within the
Administration and within Congress. The Committee is perplexed
that an Administration that prides itself on transparency would
propose to delete such vital oversight tools.
The Committee is aware of concerns that under current FEMA
policy, assistance to communities following snow storms is
limited to instances of ``record or near record snowstorms as
established by official government records,'' and that
cumulative snowfall over an entire winter season may not be
fully considered in making determinations related to federal
assistance. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, FEMA shall update the Committee on its policies
and practices for evaluating whether multiple recent disasters,
including multiple weather events, have sufficiently diminished
the response capability of state and local governments to
warrant FEMA assistance.

Localized Impacts

Although FEMA may consider the localized impacts of a
disaster when recommending a disaster declaration to the
President, the Committee is aware of concerns that, in
practice, FEMA primarily relies on the state-wide damage
threshold, which will be higher for more populous states even
if the local impacts of a disaster may be relatively severe. To
address these concerns, the Committee directs FEMA to review
its disaster declaration recommendation process, including a
review of how to more deliberately incorporate into the process
the ``localized impacts'' factor outlined under Title 44, Part
206.48 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Sandy Recovery Improvement Act

The Committee commends FEMA for its efforts to implement
its new authorities under section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189f),
which was enacted as a provision of the Sandy Recovery
Improvement Act on January 29, 2013 (Public Law 113-2, Division
B). Section 428 authorizes the Administrator to establish a
Public Assistance Alternative Procedures Program and explicitly
lays out the goals of the alternative procedures: (1) reducing
the costs to the federal government; (2) increasing flexibility
in the administration of such assistance; (3) expediting the
provision of such assistance; and (4) providing financial
incentives and disincentives for the timely and cost-effective
completion of projects.
The Committee directs the Administrator to submit quarterly
reports, commencing 60 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, to the Committee and to the House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure detailing and describing the
projects proceeding under the Public Assistance Alternative
Procedures Program. Each report shall include the following:
(1) A financial summary of the projects under the
section 428 alternative procedures for permanent work,
including planned and anticipated projects, and their
anticipated obligation and expenditure dates;
(2) A brief description of each section 428 project
in excess of $50,000,000, a description of how each of
these projects is expected to meet the four stated
goals for the Program, and a summary of how the section
428 projects below that threshold are cumulatively
addressing each of those goals;
(3) An overview of the use of sections 406, 422, and
428, including the eligible scope of work and costs of
such projects; the eligibility and costs of section 406
mitigation funds, project timetables administrative
costs; and other relevant information determined by the
Administrator;
(4) A summary of the projects under alternative
procedures for debris removal; and
(5) An identification of challenges and
recommendations, including proposed authority
modifications, to better enable the Program to achieve
the four stated goals.

HMGP Administrative Cost Limit

FEMA limits use of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)
funds for administrative costs to 4.81 percent. It has been
called to the Committee's attention that this restriction often
proves inadequate for supporting state implementation of HMGP,
especially during smaller disasters. These funds are made
available from the DRF to support hazard mitigation activities
following a disaster declaration. FEMA is directed to research
the administrative expense needs of states, consult with
states, examine the current limit in light of those findings,
and recommend any needed adjustment.

FLOOD HAZARD MAPPING AND RISK ANALYSIS
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $95,202,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 84,403,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 94,403,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -799,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +10,000,000
Mission

The mission of the Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis
fund is to modernize, maintain, and digitize the inventory of
maps and develop a more integrated process of identifying,
assessing, communicating, and mitigating flood related risks.
This information is used to determine appropriate risk-based
premium rates for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP),
complete hazard determinations required for the Nation's
lending institutions, and develop appropriate mitigation and
disaster response plans for federal, state, and local emergency
management personnel.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $94,403,000 for Flood Hazard
Mapping and Risk Analysis, $10,000,000 above the amount
requested and $799,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year
2014. The Committee notes that an additional $155,535,000 is
available for flood plain management and mapping activities
within the National Flood Insurance Fund (NFIF).

Mapping Priorities

The Committee notes that many flood risk maps have not yet
been updated with new engineering and hydrologic data, there
are still too many areas which have never been mapped, and
there are paper maps reflecting data that is 15 to 40 years
old. Because funds to support mapping are necessarily limited,
the Committee urges that priority be given to the production of
maps with current data and completion of the job of modernizing
the entire Nation's inventory of existing flood maps. The
Committee is concerned that the cost of tracking mitigation
actions is being disproportionately incurred by mapping funds,
and encourages FEMA to assess its current approach to
allocating tracking costs among related programs.

NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE FUND
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $176,300,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 179,294,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 179,294,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +2,994,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. - - -
Mission

NFIF, which was established in the Treasury by the National
Flood Insurance Act of 1968, is a fee-generated fund that
supports the NFIP. The Act, as amended, authorizes the federal
government to provide flood insurance on a national basis.

Recommendation

The Committee includes bill language providing up to
$23,759,000 for salaries and expenses to administer the NFIF,
the same as the amount requested and $1,759,000 above the
amount provided in fiscal year 2014. Consistent with the budget
request, the Committee provides $150,000,000 for flood-related
grants. In addition, not less than $155,535,000 is available
for flood plain management and flood mapping. Flood mitigation
funds are available until September 30, 2016, and funding is
offset by premium collections. FEMA is directed to complete the
NFIP affordability study as soon as possible.

Technical Mapping Advisory Council

The Committee is aware of concerns that homeowners can
incur significant costs when challenging the accuracy of
updated flood maps. The Committee urges FEMA to continue to
work with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Technical Mapping
Advisory Council to ensure the highest quality data and
information is included in maps that are reliable and useful.

Endangered Species Act

The Committee is aware that communities sometimes face new
limitations on development in floodplain areas related to
Endangered Species Act requirements. The Committee encourages
FEMA to help educate communities participating in the NFIP
about such limitations and work with local governments to help
determine how they can successfully adapt to such requirements.

Flood Insurance Advocate

The Committee supports the establishment of a Flood
Insurance Advocate, and directs FEMA to allocate funds
necessary under this heading to enable the Advocate to carry
out his or her statutory responsibilities. The Committee also
recommends that the Advocate coordinate directly with relevant
staff in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
along with State Emergency Management Officers, State Hazard
Mitigation Officers, and State Floodplain Managers, to ensure
communities and policyholders are receiving up-to-date
information on NFIP program changes, as well as information on
existing federal grant programs to assist in hazard mitigation.

Agent Training Materials

The Committee directs the NFIP to include in its
statutorily required agent training materials information on
FEMA's HMA programs that are available to assist communities
and homeowners with disaster mitigation activities.
Additionally, the Committee directs the NFIP, through its
public communications and outreach initiatives, to increase
public awareness of its HMA programs in order to better educate
all relevant stakeholders on ways to make their communities and
homes safer and more disaster-resilient, lower their insurance
premiums, and help ensure the long-term financial soundness of
the NFIP.

Resources for the Community Rating System

The Community Rating System (CRS) within the NFIP is a
means to encourage and acknowledge community actions to educate
citizens about hazard mitigation options, to facilitate
property owner mitigation actions and to take steps as a
community to reduce losses due to flooding. By joining the CRS
program and taking various actions on a rating scale,
communities can earn discounts between 5 percent and 45 percent
on flood insurance premiums for their citizens. The Committee
encourages FEMA to promote more extensive use of CRS nationwide
and ensure that adequate resources are provided to implement
the program in a robust and timely manner.

NATIONAL PREDISASTER MITIGATION FUND
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $25,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... - - -
Recommended in the bill............................... 25,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... - - -
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +25,000,000
Mission

The National Predisaster Mitigation Fund (PDM) provides
technical assistance and grants to state, local, and tribal
governments, and to universities to reduce the risks associated
with disasters. Resources support the development and
enhancement of hazard mitigation plans, as well as the
implementation of disaster mitigation projects.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $25,000,000 for the PDM,
$25,000,000 above the amount requested and the same as the
amount provided in fiscal year 2014. The Committee rejects the
proposed termination of this program. PDM grants are one of the
only sources of mitigation funding to communities prior to a
disaster. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that these types
of investments lead to significant savings by significantly
mitigating risks and reducing damage from future disasters.

EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $120,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 100,000,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 120,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... - - -
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +20,000,000
Mission

The Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program was
created in 1983 to supplement the work of local social service
organizations within the United States, both private and
governmental, to help people in need of emergency assistance.
The program provides funds to local communities for homeless
programs, including soup kitchens, food banks, shelters, and
homeless prevention services.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $120,000,000 for the Emergency
Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), $20,000,000 above the amount
requested and the same as the amount provided in fiscal year
2014. The bill does not include the requested statutory
authority to transfer funding and administrative responsibility
for EFSP to HUD. Prior to considering a change in the agency
administering EFSP, the Committee expects FEMA and HUD to
jointly brief the Committee on the rationale for the proposed
change; efforts by both agencies to engage stakeholders on the
proposal; and a plan for transitioning the program to HUD,
including a strategy for preserving EFSP's unique, local
decision-making structure and an assessment of how the
transition to HUD would affect the current EFSP funding
distribution to local jurisdictions.

TITLE IV--RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND SERVICES

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $113,889,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 134,755,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 124,755,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +10,866,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -10,000,000
Mission

The mission of United States Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) is to adjudicate and grant immigration and
citizenship benefits, provide accurate and useful information
to its customers, and promote an awareness and understanding of
citizenship in support of immigrant integration, while
protecting the integrity of the Nation's immigration system.
Funded primarily through fees, the only discretionary spending
is for the E-Verify program, which is an information technology
system that enables an employer to determine the eligibility to
work in the United States of an employee or job applicant.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $124,755,000 for USCIS,
$10,000,000 below the President's request and $10,866,000 above
the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. As requested, the
recommendation includes full funding for E-Verify, including
the requested amount to continue the development of a review
process for E-Verify final non-confirmations.
Due to continued failures by the Office of Congressional
Affairs to provide timely and informative assistance to
congressional offices regarding normal case work, the Committee
approves the use of $3,050,630,000 in estimated fee collections
rather than $3,070,630,000 as proposed. USCIS shall continue to
provide quarterly briefings on fee revenue and obligations.
Within the total fees collected, the Committee directs USCIS to
provide not less than $29,000,000 to continue conversion of
immigration records to digital format.
Although the proposed $10,000,000 in discretionary funds
for Immigrant Integration Grants is not provided, a general
provision is included in Title V of the bill to permit USCIS to
spend not more than $10,000,000 in user fees to support such
grants to benefit individuals who are lawfully admitted into
the United States.
Pay raises for USCIS employees are not supported with
discretionary appropriations, but rather through fee revenue.
The bill does not prohibit the use of fee revenue to support
the proposed pay raise for USCIS but, for purposes of
consistency with the treatment of other DHS components, makes
potential savings derived from foregoing the pay raise
available for E-Verify program enhancements.
Although the Committee appreciates the impetus behind the
President's request to support the establishment of a
Citizenship Foundation, the bill does not provide authority to
use fee revenue for that purpose, but encourages USCIS to work
with the appropriate authorizing committees to further develop
and justify the proposal.

E-Verify

E-Verify was established in the Illegal Immigration Reform
and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. The internet-based
program enables an employer to verify that an employee or job
applicant is eligible to work in the United States by comparing
the employee's Form I-9 against DHS and Social Security
Administration data. More than 500,000 employers are enrolled
in the program currently, and it continues to grow by
approximately 1,500 new employers per week. More than six
million queries had been run by the end of the first quarter of
fiscal year 2014.
Despite increasing acceptance, additional improvements are
necessary to reduce the number of final non-confirmations
issued in error and to reduce the enrollment burden on
employers. These enhancements are especially important as the
system continues to expand, particularly if it becomes
mandatory for employers in the future. USCIS is directed to
provide semi-annual reports to the Committee on progress in
implementing the Verification Information System modernization
initiative, which is being rolled out over the next two years,
with a particular focus on reducing erroneous non-confirmations
and improving ease of use for employers.
The Committee also supports efforts to ensure that
employers comply with program requirements, and directs USCIS
to update the Committee, not later than 30 days of enactment,
on the oversight activities of the Monitoring and Compliance
Division related to E-Verify.

Fraud Detection and National Security

Individuals or organizations filing for immigration
benefits can sometimes pose a threat to national security,
public safety, or the integrity of the nation's legal
immigration system. In these limited circumstances, it is
critical for the USCIS Office of Fraud Detection and National
Security to be able to submit expedited, name-based and
fingerprint-based queries to the FBI's criminal history record
systems. The Committee intends to review existing practices
related to such queries and consider whether improvements are
needed to avoid unnecessary delays that are deleterious to
national security, law enforcement, or immigration enforcement.

Naturalization Ceremonies

Again, the Committee directs USCIS to work with local
public and private groups to hold naturalization and oath of
allegiance ceremonies, and encourages the agency to review
policies that limit the use of fee revenue to make small grants
and to provide agency employee support to local community
groups that are financially unable to host such ceremonies.
The Committee supports authorized efforts by DHS to enhance
opportunities for highly-skilled immigrants to work and remain
in the United States to support U.S. businesses. These
specially-trained foreign workers maintain global U.S. economic
competitiveness, and ensure the Nation's ability to address
complex and evolving security threats and vulnerabilities. DHS
is encouraged to move with alacrity through the current,
related rulemaking process in order to expeditiously implement
the new regulations.

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $227,845,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 231,754,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 229,797,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +1,952,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -1,957,000
Mission

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) serves
as an interagency law enforcement training organization for
over 90 federal agencies and numerous state, local, tribal, and
international law enforcement agencies.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $229,797,000 for FLETC, $1,957,000
below the amount requested and $1,952,000 above the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. The amount includes the funds
requested to train the remaining 1,200 of the 2,000 new CBP
officers funded in fiscal year 2014. Funds requested for
Management and Administration are reduced by $1,000,000 to
partially offset significant shortfalls in the President's
budget request for DHS due to: (1) assumed increases in
aviation passenger fee collections that have yet to be
authorized and that are not in the jurisdiction of the
Committee on Appropriations; (2) unjustified reductions to
essential frontline operations; and (3) the repeated failure of
the Department to comply with statutory requirements.
FLETC delivers training to personnel across all levels of
law enforcement in a collaborative environment, ensuring
consistent instruction and uniform understanding of tactics,
techniques, and procedures. This consolidated approach also
offers fiscal advantages, leveraging economies of scale and
shared resources. The Committee supports continued and expanded
training efforts at FLETC to leverage the center's unique
capabilities, as appropriate for the mission of its law
enforcement training participants, instead of less cost-
effective alternatives.
FLETC is directed to conduct a review of the
classification, pay, and fringe benefits of its workforce and
recommend to the Committee on Appropriations and Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform any legislative changes,
including changes to the compensation of FLETC personnel,
deemed necessary to recruit and retain workers with the skills
and experience required to effectively support FLETC's mission.

ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENTS, AND RELATED EXPENSES
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $30,885,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 27,841,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 27,841,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -3,044,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. - - -
Mission

This account provides for the acquisition, construction,
improvements, equipment, furnishings, and related costs for
expansion and maintenance of FLETC facilities.

Recommendation

As requested, the Committee recommends $27,841,000 for
Acquisition, Construction, Improvements, and Related Expenses,
$3,044,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.

Science and Technology

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $129,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 130,147,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 126,955,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -2,045,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -3,192,000
Mission

The mission of the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)
is to develop and deploy technologies and capabilities to
secure the United States homeland. The Directorate conducts,
simulates, and enables research, development, testing,
evaluation, and the timely transition of homeland security
capabilities to federal, state, and local operational end
users. This activity includes investments in both evolutionary
and revolutionary capabilities with high-payoff potential;
early deployment of off-the-shelf, proven technologies to
provide for initial defense capability; near-term utilization
of emerging technologies to counter current terrorist threats;
and development of new capabilities to thwart future and
emerging threats.

Recommendation

The Management and Administration appropriation provides
for the salaries and expenses of S&T. The Committee recommends
$126,955,000 for Management and Administration, $3,192,000
below the amount requested, and $2,045,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014. Funds requested for Management
and Administration are reduced by $2,600,000 to partially
offset significant shortfalls in the President's budget request
for DHS due to: (1) assumed increases in aviation passenger fee
collections that have yet to be authorized and that are not in
the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations; (2)
unjustified reductions to essential frontline operations; and
(3) the repeated failure of the Department to comply with
statutory requirements.

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, ACQUISITION, AND OPERATIONS
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $1,091,212,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 941,671,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 979,692,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -111,520,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +38,021,000
Mission

The mission of the S&T Directorate is to develop and deploy
technologies and capabilities to secure the U.S. homeland. The
Directorate conducts, stimulates, and enables research,
development, testing, evaluation, and the timely transition of
homeland security capabilities to federal, state, and local
operational end users. This activity includes investments in
both evolutionary and revolutionary capabilities with high-
payoff potential; early deployment of of-the-shelf, proven
technologies to provide for initial defense capabilities; near-
term utilization of emerging technologies to counter current
terrorist threats; and development of new capabilities to
thwart future and emerging threats.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $979,692,000 for Research,
Development, Acquisition, and Operations (RDA&O), $38,021,000
above the amount requested and $111,520,000 below the amount
provided in fiscal year 2014.
The Under Secretary for S&T is responsible for carrying out
the R&D agenda of the Department, including reducing
duplication among R&D efforts and identifying capability gaps.
The Committee is concerned that without the ability to easily
review and compare detailed information on all S&T projects and
activities, the Under Secretary cannot effectively carry out
those responsibilities. Accordingly, the Committee directs S&T
to develop a method or system for tracking all S&T-funded
projects not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act. Information on each project should include: a unique
project number, project name, project description, name of
project manager, capability gap addressed, project
performer(s), estimated return on investment, and transition
success. The Under Secretary is directed to brief the Committee
on progress made on this tracking system not later than 60 days
after the date of enactment of this Act.
The Committee has repeatedly expressed concerns about S&T's
prioritization of projects. In House Report 113-91, the
Committee requested a report to explain how R&D priorities are
developed; however, the report did not adequately address the
Committee's concerns. The Committee directs S&T to establish
written criteria for project prioritization; institute a
documented, reproducible process to ensure the criteria for
project prioritization and funding are followed; and brief the
Committee by October 1, 2014, on the prioritization process
developed. Documentation on the review and prioritization of
each S&T-funded project shall be maintained and provided to the
Committee via quarterly reports that identify newly funded
projects, including documentation of how each project meets the
prioritization and funding criteria. Furthermore, S&T is
directed to brief the Committee on the results of any portfolio
reviews conducted in fiscal year 2015 and the assessment of
results not later than 30 days after completion of the review.
The Committee is aware that modeling and simulation tools
can provide powerful and cost-effective planning, training, and
response tools for DHS. The Department, under budgetary
constraints and increasing threats to domestic security, should
further utilize modeling and simulation for training, threat
prediction and avoidance, emergency response management, and
other vital homeland security obligations.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research, Development, and $433,788,000 $462,000,000
Innovation.......................
Acquisition and Operations Support 41,703,000 41,703,000
Laboratory Facilities............. 435,180,000 434,989,000
University Programs............... 31,000,000 41,000,000
-------------------------------------
Total RDA&O................... $941,671,000 $979,692,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Research, Development, and Innovation

For fiscal year 2015, the Committee recommends $462,000,000
for Research, Development, and Innovation (RD&I). This is the
same as the amount provided in fiscal year 2014 and $28,212,000
above the amount requested. To provide the new Under Secretary
for S&T flexibility to shift resources within the RD&I PPA, the
Committee provides the funds for RD&I without breakouts for
specific thrust areas. The Committee directs the Under
Secretary to provide an updated breakout of RD&I funds across
activities based on the Department's and S&T's priorities not
later than August 15, 2014.

International Research Opportunities

The Committee is aware of the ongoing cooperative R&D
activities of the Department with the State of Israel. The
Committee encourages the Department to continue these
activities and to further explore opportunities regarding
aviation security, explosive detection, and emergency services.

Hosted Sensors

The Committee encourages S&T to review the viability of the
use of sensors hosted on commercial satellites to improve early
warning of fires, tornadoes, and other natural disasters.

APEX R&D

Congress is pleased with the results of S&T's APEX Research
and Development program, which is focused on high-priority and
high-value projects that address the capability gaps of DHS
components. Unlike other S&T research initiatives, APEX
projects are collaborative efforts between DHS component heads
and the Under Secretary for S&T. The Committee urges S&T to
expand the APEX concept to other areas of S&T work, which will
require the adaption of the APEX model into a more nimble
framework. This ``APEX-lite'' approach should maintain a multi-
disciplinary, team approach that focuses on complex operational
issues of strategic importance to leadership; increases
emphasis on cross-cutting, multi-component efforts that advance
the state-of-the-art for the Department; and focuses on final
product delivery in less than five years, with scheduled
interim deliverables. S&T is directed to brief the Committee
not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act
on the APEX-lite funding allocation by project and progress
made to field improved technologies based on this new approach.

Prize Authority and Other Transaction Authority

S&T is encouraged to expand the use of Other Transaction
Authority (OTA) to gain access to unique technology providers
that are not available through traditional avenues. The
Committee is pleased prize authority has been delegated to S&T
because competitions have proven to generate unique solutions
for other agencies. It is essential that S&T realize the
potential for acquiring novel technologies through this
mechanism. DHS should fully support the use of innovative ways
to bring new technology into the Department as a means to
improve capability and efficiency. S&T is encouraged to hold at
least one competition using its prize authority delegation
during fiscal year 2015.

Laboratory Facilities

The Committee recommends $434,989,000 for Laboratory
Facilities, $191,000 below the amount requested and
$112,796,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
This includes $300,000,000 for construction of the National
Bio- and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas.
Together with funding provided in prior years, this amount is
sufficient to ensure the completion of the facility. The
Committee directs S&T to submit a detailed update of its NBAF
construction plan and schedule, to include an updated plan for
the obligation of funds, not later than 30 days after the date
of enactment of this Act.
The Committee understands that, until NBAF is operational,
the Nation will continue to rely on the Plum Island Animal
Disease Center (PIADC) in New York to provide research on
biological threats that may impact America's food and livestock
industries. The Committee recommends $43,801,000 for high
priority projects at PIADC.

University Programs and Centers of Excellence

The Committee recommends $41,000,000 for University
Programs and Centers of Excellence (COE), $10,000,000 above the
request and $1,276,000 above fiscal year 2014. This funding
level will allow S&T to continue support for all existing COEs,
including the new COE to be competitively awarded in the
current year. The Committee directs the Department to report on
and define the key metrics used to make COE awards.

Cybersecurity Research and Development

The Committee recognizes that cyber vulnerabilities
represent a significant risk to the Nation's electric grid and
other control systems vital to our security and economy. In
order to address this challenge, the Committee encourages S&T,
in collaboration with NPPD, to establish operational
cybersecurity research initiatives. These initiatives should
involve collaboration among academic institutions, existing
federal research and development organizations, and the private
sector. The Committee urges the Department to address research,
testing, and education as part of this initiative.
The Committee understands that strategic investments in
cybersecurity research and development through information
assurance programs are necessary to develop the next generation
of cybersecurity experts and strengthen information protection
for mobile devices. The DHS Scholarship Program is a vital
component in preparing the workforce to combat cyber crimes and
ensure the integrity of information contained on mobile
devices. The Committee recommends the DHS Scholarship Program
provide additional scholarships to students on mobile device
information assurance education tracks.
The Committee directs the Secretary to report, not later
than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, on the
current level of cooperation between DHS and DoD, or the
possible benefits of cooperation, regarding the development of
new and innovative software that improves national capabilities
to counter cybersecurity threats. The report should also
address the possible use of initiatives at the secondary and
post-secondary level; identify the available FTE time of
existing cyber experts currently employed by, or contracted
with, DoD and DHS; and assess opportunities for the recruitment
of veterans into such software development programs.

Prophylactic Radiation Protection Capability

The Committee directs the Secretary to report, not later
than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, on
cooperation between DoD's Chemical Biological Medical Systems
Directorate and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research
Institute regarding a mature prophylactic radiation protection
capability for America's military. The report should include an
assessment of how that capability might be developed to include
rapid distribution to the civilian population in the event of a
nuclear or radiological incident.

First Responder Networks

The Committee supports the efforts of S&T's First
Responders Group to develop a national network through which
agencies and organizations can access and share information
across disciplines, jurisdictions, and information types in a
timely fashion.
When applicable, federal funding for first responder
communications equipment should be compliant with common system
standards for digital public safety radio communications
(Project 25 standards) to ensure interoperability. S&T, in
conjunction with the Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, shall continue assessing the
compliance of first responder communications equipment with
Project 25 standards.

Chemical Security

The Committee is concerned that the chemical industry's
product options for the security of storage and transit cargo
containers are based on legacy mechanical sealing technologies.
The recent advent of Reusable Electronic Conveyance Security
(RECONS) solutions creates a potential opportunity to
dramatically upgrade security solutions for critical,
hazardous, and/or sensitive materials that are either
prepositioned or immediately acquired for a disaster event. To
ensure the evaluation of this new class of security devices,
the Committee strongly encourages the Department to consider
piloting the use of commercially available RECONS that
integrate physical security mechanisms with wireless tracking
and security systems.

Public Access to Federally Funded Research

The Committee is aware that major federal research agencies
are in the process of drafting and implementing plans to enable
public access to federally funded research findings in
accordance with guidance the Office of Science and Technology
Policy issued in February 2013, and directs S&T to update the
Committee on its progress in developing a public access policy
not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $37,353,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 37,494,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 36,339,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -1,014,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. -1,155,000
Mission

The Management and Administration appropriation provides
for the salaries and expenses of Domestic Nuclear Detection
Office (DNDO) employees.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $36,339,000 for Management and
Administration, $1,155,000 below the amount requested and
$1,014,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014. Funds
requested for Management and Administration are reduced by
$1,000,000 to partially offset significant shortfalls in the
President's budget request for DHS due to: (1) assumed
increases in aviation passenger fee collections that have yet
to be authorized and that are not in the jurisdiction of the
Committee on Appropriations; (2) unjustified reductions to
essential frontline operations; and (3) the repeated failure of
the Department to comply with statutory requirements.

Research, Development, and Operations

Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $205,302,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 199,068,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 201,068,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... -4,234,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +2,000,000
Mission

The Research, Development, and Operations appropriation
funds all DHS nuclear detection research, development, test,
evaluation, and operational support activities, and the
integration and advancement of U.S. nuclear forensics
capabilities.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $201,068,000 for Research,
Development, and Operations, $2,000,000 above the amount
requested, and $4,234,000 below the amount provided in fiscal
year 2014.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Systems Engineering and $17,924,000 $17,924,000
Architecture.....................
Systems Development............... 22,000,000 22,000,000
Transformational Research and 69,500,000 69,500,000
Development......................
Assessments....................... 38,079,000 38,079,000
Operations Support................ 31,565,000 31,565,000
National Technical Nuclear 20,000,000 22,000,000
Forensics Center.................
-------------------------------------
Total......................... $199,068,000 $201,068,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

National Nuclear Forensics Expertise Development Program

DNDO oversees the National Nuclear Forensics Expertise
Development Program (NNFEDP) on behalf of the U.S. Government,
a comprehensive effort aimed at developing and sustaining the
technical expertise essential to maintaining and improving the
Nation's nuclear forensics capabilities. The Committee
recommends an increase of $2,000,000 above the request for the
NNFEDP to restore proposed cuts to graduate and post-doctoral
fellowships, junior faculty and university education awards,
and graduate mentoring efforts, and ensure a stable workforce
pipeline in the field of nuclear forensics.

Advanced Technology Demonstrations

The Committee is aware of several advanced active and
passive detection technologies currently being tested by DNDO
as part of a Nuclear Radiation Imaging Platform (NRIP) project
within DNDO's Advanced Technology Demonstrations Program.
Within 90 days of enactment of this Act, DNDO shall update the
Committee on the status of the NRIP project, including an
updated schedule for completing the project. In addition, DNDO,
in cooperation with CBP, shall brief the Committee on the
viability of proceeding with operational testing of NRIP
technologies that meet DNDO's and CBP's detection requirements.

SYSTEMS ACQUISITION
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014....................... $42,600,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015...................... 67,861,000
Recommended in the bill............................... 74,861,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2014................... +32,261,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2015.................. +7,000,000
Mission

The Systems Acquisition appropriation provides for
acquisition of radiation and nuclear detection equipment for
DHS components and supports state, local, and tribal
authorities in the development of nuclear detection
capabilities for high-threat, high-density urban areas.

Recommendation

The Committee recommends $74,861,000 for Systems
Acquisition, $7,000,000 above the amount requested, and
$32,261,000 above the amount provided in fiscal year 2014.
A comparison of the budget estimate to the Committee
recommended level by budget activity is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Estimate Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radiation Portal Monitor Program.. $5,000,000 $5,000,000
Securing the Cities............... 12,000,000 19,000,000
Human Portable Radiation Detection 50,861,000 50,861,000
Systems..........................
-------------------------------------
Total......................... $67,861,000 $74,861,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Securing the Cities

The Committee recommends $19,000,000 for the Securing the
Cities (STC) Program, $7,000,000 above the amount requested and
$3,000,000 below the amount provided in fiscal year 2014, to
support ongoing efforts in current STC cities and the risk-
based expansion to new cities. As planned, DNDO is beginning to
transition fully mature STC programs to a sustainment phase,
continuing to provide indirect support such as training,
equipment testing, and subject matter expertise. The Committee
expects the Department to work with stakeholders in each region
to develop a coordinated plan prior to transitioning from
direct support to sustainment, ensuring a process for
considering STC sustainment requirements when determining
preparedness grant allocations. DNDO shall continue to provide
periodic updates on the program, including the status of
implementation in current urban areas, the schedule for the
progression of cities through program phases, and a timeline
for deploying the program to additional cities.

Human Portable Radiation Detection Systems

The Committee recommendation includes the funds requested
for the Human Portable Radiation Detection Systems program to
support the procurement of basic and handheld radiation
detection equipment for CBP.

TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS ACT

(INCLUDING TRANSFERS AND RESCISSIONS OF FUNDS)

Section 501. The Committee continues a provision providing
that no part of any appropriation shall remain available for
obligation beyond the current year unless expressly provided.
Section 502. The Committee continues a provision providing
that unexpended balances of prior appropriations may be merged
with new appropriation accounts and used for the same purpose,
subject to reprogramming guidelines.
Section 503. The Committee continues a provision providing
reprogramming authority for funds within an account and not to
exceed five percent transfer authority between appropriations
accounts with the requirement for a 15-day advance
congressional notification. A detailed funding table
identifying each congressional control level for reprogramming
purposes is included at the end of this report. These
reprogramming guidelines shall be complied with by all agencies
funded by the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations
Act, 2015.
The Department shall submit reprogramming requests on a
timely basis and provide complete explanations of the
reallocations proposed, including detailed justifications of
the increases and offsets, and any specific impact the proposed
changes will have on the budget request for the following
fiscal year and future-year appropriations requirements. Each
request submitted to the Committees on Appropriations should
include a detailed table showing the proposed revisions at the
account, program, project, and activity level to the funding
and staffing (FTE position) levels for the current fiscal year
and to the levels requested in the President's budget for the
following fiscal year.
The Department shall manage its programs and activities
within the levels appropriated. The Department should only
submit reprogramming or transfer requests in the case of an
unforeseeable emergency or situation that could not have been
predicted when formulating the budget request for the current
fiscal year. When the Department submits a reprogramming or
transfer request to the Committees on Appropriations and does
not receive identical responses from the House and the Senate,
it is the responsibility of the Department to reconcile the
House and the Senate differences before proceeding, and if
reconciliation is not possible, to consider the reprogramming
or transfer request not approved.
The Department is not to submit a reprogramming or transfer
of funds after June 30 except in extraordinary circumstances
which imminently threaten the safety of human life or the
protection of property. If a reprogramming or transfer is
needed after June 30, the notice should contain sufficient
documentation as to why it meets this statutory exception.
Deobligated funds are also subject to the reprogramming and
transfer guidelines and requirements set forth in this section.
Section 504. The Committee continues a provision that
prohibits funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the
Department to make payment to the Department's Working Capital
Fund, except for activities and amounts allowed in the
President's fiscal year 2015 request. Funds provided to the WCF
are available until expended. The Department can only charge
components for direct usage of the WCF, and these funds may be
used only for the purposes consistent with the contributing
component. Any funds paid in advance or reimbursed must reflect
the full cost of each service. The WCF shall be subject to the
requirements of section 503 of this Act.
Section 505. The Committee continues a provision providing
that not to exceed 50 percent of unobligated balances remaining
at the end of fiscal year 2015 from appropriations made for
salaries and expenses shall remain available through fiscal
year 2016 subject to section 503 reprogramming guidelines.
Section 506. The Committee continues a provision providing
that funds for intelligence activities are deemed to be
specifically authorized during fiscal year 2015 until the
enactment of an Act authorizing intelligence activities for
fiscal year 2015.
Section 507. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision requiring notification of the Committees on
Appropriations three days before grant allocations, grant
awards, contract awards, other transactional agreements,
letters of intent, or task or delivery order on a multiple
contract award totaling $1,000,000 or more, or a task order
greater than $10,000,000 from multi-year funds, is announced by
the Department, including contracts covered by the Federal
Acquisition Regulation. The Department is required to brief the
Committees on Appropriations five full business days prior to
announcing the intention to make a grant under State and Local
Programs. Notification shall include a description of the
project or projects to be funded, including city, county, and
state.
Section 508. The Committee continues a provision providing
that no agency shall purchase, construct, or lease additional
facilities for federal law enforcement training without advance
approval of the Committees on Appropriations.
Section 509. The Committee continues a provision providing
that none of the funds may be used for any construction,
repair, alteration, or acquisition project for which a
prospectus, if required under chapter 33 of title 40, United
States Code, has not been approved.
Section 510. The Committee continues a provision that
consolidates by reference prior year statutory bill language
into one provision. These provisions relate to contracting
officer's technical representative training; sensitive security
information, as modified; and the use of funds in conformance
with section 303 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
Section 511. The Committee continues a provision that none
of the funds may be used in contravention of the Buy American
Act.
Section 512. The Committee continues a provision on
reporting requirements of the DHS Privacy Officer.
Section 513. The Committee continues a provision regarding
the oath of allegiance required by section 337 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act.
Section 514. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision requiring the Chief Financial Officer to submit
monthly budget execution and staffing reports within 30 days
after the close of each month. The Committee modifies the
provision to include a requirement for source years for all
unobligated balances in multi-year appropriations, with the
exception of FEMA DRF. The Committee further modifies the
provision to require a detailed obligation and expenditure plan
for specified Departmental components, including quarterly
updates for certain programs.
Section 515. The Committee continues a provision that
directs that any funds appropriated or transferred to TSA
``Aviation Security'', ``Administration'', and ``Transportation
Security Support'' in fiscal years 2004 and 2005, which are
recovered or deobligated, shall be available only for
procurement and installation of explosive detection systems for
air cargo, baggage, and checkpoint screening systems, subject
to notification. The Committee also requires quarterly reports
on recovered or deobligated funds.
Section 516. The Committee continues a provision requiring
any funds appropriated to the Coast Guard's 110-123 foot patrol
boat conversion that are recovered, collected, or otherwise
received as a result of negotiation, mediation, or litigation,
shall be available until expended for the Fast Response Cutter
program.
Section 517. The Committee continues a provision
classifying the functions of the instructor staff at the
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center as inherently
governmental for purposes of the Federal Activities Inventory
Reform Act.
Section 518. The Committee modifies a provision regarding
grants or contracts awarded by any means other than full and
open competition. The Inspector General is required to review
Departmental contracts awarded noncompetitively and report on
the results to the Committees.
Section 519. The Committee continues a provision that
prohibits funding for any position designated as a Principal
Federal Official during a Stafford Act declared disaster or
emergency.
Section 520. The Committee continues a provision that
precludes DHS from using funds in this Act to carry out
reorganization authority. This prohibition is not intended to
prevent the Department from carrying out routine or small
reallocations of personnel or functions within components,
subject to Section 503 of this Act. This language prevents
large scale reorganization of the Department, which the
Committee believes should be acted on statutorily by the
relevant Congressional committees of jurisdiction.
Section 521. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting funding to grant an immigration benefit to any
individual unless the results of background checks required in
statute, to be completed prior to the granting of the benefit,
have been received by DHS.
Section 522. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision relating to other transactional authority of DHS
through fiscal year 2015.
Section 523. The Committee continues a provision that
requires the Secretary to link all contracts that provide award
fees to successful acquisition outcomes.
Section 524. The Committee continues a provision requiring
the Secretary to notify the Congress within 2 business days of
any request for a waiver, not solely waivers requested to
transport oil released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Section 525. The Committee continues a provision related to
prescription drugs.
Section 526. The Committee continues a provision requiring
the Secretary of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the
Secretary of Treasury, to notify the Committees of any proposed
transfers from the Department of Treasury Forfeiture Fund to
any agency within the Department of Homeland Security. No funds
may be obligated until the Subcommittees approve the proposed
transfers.
Section 527. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting funds for planning, testing, piloting, or
developing a national identification card.
Section 528. The Committee continues a provision regarding
FEMA's public notice of damage assessment information used to
determine disaster declarations.
Section 529. The Committee continues a provision directing
that any official required by this Act to report or certify to
the Committees on Appropriations may not delegate any authority
unless expressly authorized to do so in this Act.
Section 530. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision that extends the date of the chemical facilities
security program.
Section 531. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting the use of funds for the transfer or release of
individuals detained at the United States Naval Station,
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Section 532. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting funds in this Act to be used for first-class
travel.
Section 533. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting funds to be used to employ illegal workers as
described in Section 274A(h)(3) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act.
Section 534. The Committee continues a provision on the
proper disposal of personal information collected through the
Registered Traveler program. A report on procedures and status
is required to be submitted not later than 30 days after the
date of enactment of this Act.
Section 535. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting funds appropriated or otherwise made available by
this Act to pay for award or incentive fees for contractors
with below satisfactory performance or performance that fails
to meet the basic requirements of the contract.
Section 536. The Committee continues a provision that
requires any new processes developed to screen aviation
passengers and crews for transportation or national security to
consider privacy and civil liberties, consistent with
applicable laws, regulations, and guidance.
Section 537. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision that makes deposits into the Immigration Examinations
Fee Account available to USCIS for the purposes of immigrant
integration grants, not to exceed $10,000,000, in fiscal year
2015. Grants may not be used to provide services to aliens who
have not been lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
Section 538. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting funds appropriated or otherwise made available by
this Act from being used to enter into federal contracts unless
in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative
Services Act or the Federal Acquisition Regulation, unless
otherwise authorized by statute.
Section 539. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision providing $30,000,000 for Financial Systems
Modernization (FSM) efforts across the Department. The
Committee strongly supports the reform and improvement of the
Department's financial systems and recommends funding to align
to the revised acquisition profile. CFO is directed to keep the
Committee informed on FSM efforts, including the transfer and
application of the funds made available by this section, as per
the transfer guidelines prescribed in the bill, and any major
deviations from the current acquisition profile.
Section 540. The Committee continues a provision permitting
the Secretary to transfer up to $20,000,000 to address
immigration emergencies notwithstanding section 503 of this
Act.
Section 541. The Committee continues a provision regarding
disposal of Service Processing Centers or other ICE owned
detention facilities.
Section 542. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision requiring a multi-year investment and management
plan.
Section 543. The Committee continues a provision requiring
the Secretary to enforce all existing immigration laws.
Section 544. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision regarding federal network security.
Section 545. The Committee continues a provision regarding
restrictions on electronic access to pornography, except for
necessary law enforcement purposes.
Section 546. The Committee continues a provision regarding
the transfer of firearms by federal law enforcement personnel.
Section 547. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting funds from being obligated to implement the
National Preparedness Grant Program or any other successor
grant program unless specifically authorized by Congress.
Section 548. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision prohibiting funds for the position of Public Advocate
or a successor position within ICE.
Section 549. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision permitting CBP to conduct a pilot program in
accordance with section 559 of division F of Public Law 113-76
that permits CBP to enter into partnerships with the private
sector at ports of entry and to except certain donations.
Section 550. The Committee continues a provision regarding
funding restrictions and reporting requirements regarding
conferences occurring outside of the United States.
Section 551. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision limiting the use of funds to enter into a contract,
memorandum of understanding, or cooperative agreement with,
make a grant to, or provide a loan or loan guarantee to,
corporations convicted of a felony criminal violation of
federal law within the preceding 24 months.
Section 552. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision limiting the use of funds to enter into a contract,
memorandum of understanding, or cooperative agreement with,
make a grant to, or provide a loan or loan guarantee to,
corporations with certain unpaid Federal tax liabilities.
Section 553. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting the reimbursement of funds to any federal
department or agency for its participation in a NSSE.
Section 554. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting new preclearance locations unless specified
conditions are met.
Section 555. The Committee includes a new provision
prohibiting any funds from this or any other Act to be used to
require airport operators to provide airport-financed staffing
to monitor exit points from the sterile area of any airport at
which TSA provided such monitoring as of December 1, 2013.
Section 556. The Committee includes a new provision
prohibiting any funds from this Act from being used to require
a chemical facility to employ or not employ a particular
security measure for personnel surety if the facility has
adopted the appropriate personnel measures.
Section 557. The Committee continues a provision that
permits the Secretary to grant waivers from specified
requirements of section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and
Control Act of 1974.
Section 558. The Committee continues a provision
prohibiting the establishment of a land border crossing fee or
to conduct a study relating to the imposition of such a fee.
Section 559. The Committee continues a provision regarding
the availability of COBRA fee revenue.
Section 560. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision requiring the Secretary to report on the Department's
requirements for and usage of ammunition.
Section 561. The Committee includes a new provision
requiring the Secretary to report on the Department's
requirements for and usage of weapons.
Section 562. The Committee includes a new provision
prohibiting funds from being used for environmental remediation
of a specified location.
Section 563. The Committee includes a new provision
directing the inclusion of budget justification for any
structural pay reform that affects more than 100 FTE positions
or costs more than $5,000,000.
Section 564. The Committee includes a new provision
directing the inclusion of budget justification for
acquisitions and directs the development of the definition for
expense items and investment items.
Section 565. The Committee includes a new provision making
a Transportation Security Officer employed by TSA who died in
the line of duty at the Los Angeles International Airport a
public safety officer, for the purpose of affording the
standard public safety officer benefits available under the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to the
Officer's widow and children.
Section 566. The Committee includes a new provision that
prohibits the use of funds by ICE to pay for an abortion,
except in the case of rape or to preserve the life of the
mother.
Section 567. The Committee includes a new provision that
prohibits the use of funds by ICE to require any person to
perform or facilitate the performance of an abortion.
Section 568. The Committee includes a new provision that
establishes the obligation of the Assistant Secretary of
Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
to provide escort services to an inmate receiving an abortion
outside of a Federal facility, except where this obligation
conflicts with the preceding section.
Section 569. The Committee includes a new provision
requiring that OMB and DHS ensure the congressional budget
justifications accompanying the President's budget proposal for
DHS, include estimates of the number of unaccompanied alien
children anticipated to be apprehended in the budget year; the
number of agent or officer hours required to care for such
children; all other associated costs for each Departmental
component; and, all costs associated with transporting such
children from one Departmental component to another component
or Federal agency.
Section 570. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision rescinding unobligated balances from specified
programs.
Section 571. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision rescinding specified funds from the Treasury
Forfeiture Fund.
Section 572. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision rescinding unobligated balances from legacy programs.
Section 573. The Committee continues and modifies a
provision rescinding unobligated balances from FEMA DRF.
Section 574. The Committee continues a provision that
prohibits new budget authority from exceeding budget allocation
in fiscal year 2015.

APPROPRIATIONS CAN BE USED ONLY FOR THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH MADE

Title 31 of the United States Code makes clear that
appropriations can be used only for the purposes for which they
were appropriated as follows:
Section 1301. Application.
(a) Appropriations shall be applied only to the objects for
which the appropriations were made except as otherwise provided
by law.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REPORT REQUIREMENTS

The following items are included in accordance with various
requirements of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

FULL COMMITTEE VOTES

Pursuant to the provisions of clause 3(b) of rule XIII of
the Rules of the House of Representatives, the results of each
roll call vote on an amendment or on the motion to report,
together with the names of those voting for and those voting
against, are printed below:

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following is a statement of
general performance goals and objectives for which this measure
authorizes funding:
The Committee on Appropriations considers program
performance, including a program's success in developing and
attaining outcome-related goals and objectives, in developing
funding recommendations.

RESCISSION OF FUNDS

Pursuant to clause 3(f)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following table is submitted
describing the rescissions recommended in the accompanying
bill:
Account/Activity Rescissions
Public Law 112-10, Coast Guard, AC&I--Reduction of Unobligated
Balances..................................................$2,550,000
Public Law 112-74, Coast Guard, AC&I--Reduction of Unobligated
Balances.................................................. 4,095,000
Public Law 113-6, Coast Guard, AC&I--Reduction of Unobligated
Balances..................................................16,892,000
Public Law 113-76, CBP, OAM--Reduction of Unobligated Balances 8,000,000
Public Law 113-76, TSA, Aviation Security, Screener PC&B......20,000,000
Public Law 113-76, Coast Guard, AC&I--Reduction of Unobligated
Balances..................................................52,905,000
S&T, Research, Development, Acquisition, & Operations (70
0800)...........................................14,000,000
Treasury Asset Forfeiture Fund...............................200,000,000
Legacy Balances, CBP, Salaries and Expenses................... 1,362,000
FEMA, Disaster Relief Fund (70-X-0702).......................388,511,000

TRANSFER OF FUNDS

Pursuant to clause 3(f)(2), rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following is submitted describing
the transfer of funds provided in the accompanying bill.
The table shows, by title, department and agency, the
appropriations affected by such transfers:

Appropriation Transfers Recommended in the Bill

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Account from which transfer is
Account to which transfer is to be made Amount to be made Amount
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of Inspector General................... $24,000,000 FEMA--Disaster Relief Fund...... $24,000,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISCLOSURE OF EARMARKS AND CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTED SPENDING ITEMS

Neither the bill nor the report contains any congressional
earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as
defined in clause 9 of rule XXI.

Compliance With Rule XIII, Cl. 3(e) (Ramseyer Rule)

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):

2002 SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR FURTHER RECOVERY FROM AND
RESPONSE TO TERRORIST ATTACKS ON THE UNITED STATES

(Public Law 107-206)

* * * * * * *

TITLE I--SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS

* * * * * * *

CHAPTER 12--DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

* * * * * * *

GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS CHAPTER

* * * * * * *

Sec. 1202. (a) The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
may, for a period ending not later than [December 31, 2016]
December 31, 2017, appoint and maintain a cadre of up to 350
Federal annuitants: (1) without regard to any provision of
title 5, United States Code, which might otherwise require the
application of competitive hiring procedures; and (2) who shall
not be subject to any reduction in pay (for annuity allocable
to the period of actual employment) under the provisions of
section 8344 or 8468 of such title 5 or similar provision of
any other retirement system for employees. A reemployed Federal
annuitant as to whom a waiver of reduction under paragraph (2)
applies shall not, for any period during which such waiver is
in effect, be considered an employee for purposes of subchapter
III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code,
or such other retirement system (referred to in paragraph (2))
as may apply.

* * * * * * *

----------

HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002

* * * * * * *

TITLE VIII--COORDINATION WITH NONFEDERAL--ENTITIES; INSPECTOR GENERAL;
UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE; COAST GUARD; GENERAL PROVISIONS

* * * * * * *

Subtitle D--Acquisitions

SEC. 831. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.

(a) Authority.--[Until September 30, 2014,] Until September
30, 2015, and subject to subsection (d), the Secretary may
carry out a pilot program under which the Secretary may
exercise the following authorities:
(1) * * *

* * * * * * *

(c) Additional Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The authority of the Secretary under
this section shall terminate [September 30, 2014,]
September 30, 2015, unless before that date the
Secretary--
(A) * * *

* * * * * * *

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007

* * * * * * *

TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS

* * * * * * *

Sec. 550. (a) * * *
(b) Interim regulations issued under this section shall
apply until the efftctive date of interim or final regulations
promulgated under other laws that establish requirements and
standards referred to in subsection (a) and expressly supersede
this section: Provided, That the authority provided by this
section shall terminate [on October 4, 2014] on October 4,
2015.

* * * * * * *

COMPLIANCE WITH RULE XIII, CL. 3(F)(1)(A)

Pursuant to clause 3(f)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee has inserted at the
appropriate place in the report a description of the effects of
provisions proposed in the accompanying bill which may be
considered, under certain circumstances, to change the
application of existing law, either directly or indirectly.
The bill provides, in some instances, funding of agencies
and activities where legislation has not yet been finalized. In
addition, the bill carries language, in some instances,
permitting activities not authorized by law. Additionally, the
Committee includes a number of general provisions.

TITLE I--DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

Office of the Secretary and Executive Management

The Committee includes language providing funds for the
Office of the Secretary and Executive Management (OSEM)
offices, including funds for official reception and
representation expenses. The Committee requires the Secretary
submit an implementation plan for biometric exit and specifies
certain funding levels for aircraft.

Office of the Under Secretary for Management

The Committee includes language providing funds for
reception and representation expenses; for costs necessary to
consolidate headquarters operations, including tenant
improvements and relocation costs; and for the human resources
information technology program. The Committee requires
submission of a Comprehensive Acquisition Status Report.

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

The Committee includes language providing funds for the
Chief Financial Officer. The Committee requires submission of a
Future Years Homeland Security Program concurrent with the
budget request.

Office of the Chief Information Officer

The Committee includes language providing funds for the
Chief Information Officer and for the development and
acquisition of information technology equipment, software,
services, and related activities.

Analysis and Operations

The Committee includes language providing funds for
information analysis and operations coordination activities,
including funding for official representation expenses.

Office of Inspector General

The Committee includes language providing funds for the
Office of Inspector General as well as certain confidential
operational expenses, including the payment of informants.

TITLE II--SECURITY, ENFORCEMENT, AND INVESTIGATIONS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

The Committee includes language making funds available for
border security, immigration, customs, and agricultural
inspections and regulatory activities; purchase or lease of
vehicles; contracting with individuals for personal services;
Harbor Maintenance Fee collections; official reception and
representation expenses; Customs User Fee collections; payment
of rental space in connection with preclearance operations; and
compensation of informants. The Committee includes language
regarding overtime compensation and requires Border Patrol to
maintain an active duty force of 21,370 agents.

AUTOMATION MODERNIZATION

The Committee includes language making funds available for
automated systems.

BORDER SECURITY FENCING, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND TECHNOLOGY

The Committee includes language making funds available for
border security fencing, infrastructure, and technology.

AIR AND MARINE INTERDICTION, OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, AND PROCUREMENT

The Committee includes language making funds available for
the operations, maintenance, and procurement of marine vessels,
aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, the Air and Marine
Operations Center, and other equipment; travel; and assistance
to other law enforcement agencies and humanitarian efforts. The
Committee includes language prohibiting the transfer of
aircraft and related equipment out of CBP unless certain
conditions are met. Language is included allowing CBP to
increase operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

The Committee includes language making funds available for
the planning, acquisition, construction, renovating, equipping,
and maintaining of buildings and facilities.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

The Committee includes language making funds available to
conduct investigations of criminal violations of federal law
relating to border security, customs and trade, immigration and
naturalization, and travel and transportation; for the civil
enforcement of the immigration and customs laws, including the
detention and removal of immigration status violators; special
operations; official reception and representation expenses; for
compensation to informants; promotion of public awareness of
the child pornography tipline; for enforcement of law against
forced child labor; for the facilitation of section 287(g); and
for the reimbursement of other federal agencies for certain
costs. The Committee includes language regarding overtime
compensation, a minimum number of detention bed spaces, the
Visa Security Program, the operations of the National
Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, for
transportation of unaccompanied alien children, and for Custody
Operations. The Committee also includes language that requires
the Secretary to identify illegal aliens who have been
convicted of a crime or who pose a serious risk to public
safety or national security who are eligible for removal. The
Committee prohibits the delegation of law enforcement authority
for the 287(g) program if terms of the agreement have been
materially violated. The Committee prohibits funds to continue
any contract for detention services if two recent evaluations
are less than adequate and authorizes the Secretary to
reprogram and transfer funds within and into this appropriation
for the purposes of detaining aliens prioritized for removal.

AUTOMATION MODERNIZATION

The Committee includes language making funds available for
automated systems.

Transportation Security Administration

AVIATION SECURITY

The Committee includes language making funds available for
civil aviation security, including the availability of funds
for Screener Compensation and Benefits; provides additional
funds for multi-modal passenger screening canine teams under
Aviation Regulation and Other Enforcement; and establishes
conditions under which security fees are collected and
credited. The Committee also includes language providing funds
for reception and representation expenses. The Committee limits
staffing to 45,000 full-time equivalent screeners, not
including part-time hires, and requires reports on advanced
technology and staffing deployment; and expedited screening.
The Committee withholds funds from Screener Compensation and
Benefits until the agency submits a post-hoc technical
correction to the fiscal year 2015 budget justification.
Finally, the bill includes language clarifying a variety of
people are not exempt from screening.

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY

The Committee includes language providing funds for surface
transportation security programs of the Transportation Security
Administration.

INTELLIGENCE AND VETTING PROGRAMS

The Committee includes language providing funds for
intelligence and screening programs.

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY SUPPORT

The Committee includes language providing funds for TSA's
transportation security support programs. The Committee
withholds funds from Headquarters and Administration until the
agency submits multiple reports. Additionally, the Committee
prohibits funds from this Act from being used to purchase
certain next-generation systems until the agency submits one of
the reports.

Coast Guard

OPERATING EXPENSES

The Committee includes a provision regarding passenger
motor vehicles, small boats, repairs and service life-
replacements, minor shore construction projects, recreation and
welfare, and the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The Committee
also includes language on reception and representation expenses
and reprogrammings. The Committee withholds funding for the
Headquarters Directorate until certain conditions have been met
and allows for reprogrammings from certain PPA's.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND RESTORATION

The Committee includes language providing funds for
environmental compliance and restoration of the Coast Guard and
directs the inclusion of costs associated with backlogged
projects be included in the annual budget submission.

RESERVE TRAINING

The Committee includes language providing funds for the
Coast Guard reserve, including maintenance and operation of the
reserve program, personnel and training costs, equipment and
services.

ACQUISITIONS, CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENTS

The Committee includes language providing for funds for the
Coast Guard acquisition, construction, renovation, and
improvement of aids to navigation, shore facilities, housing,
vessels, and aircraft as well as for maintenance,
rehabilitation, lease and operations of facilities and
equipment. The Committee includes provisions clarifying the
availability of funds for production and post-production costs,
requiring a capital investment plan for future appropriations
years with certain conditions and limiting the time for review
of the capital investment plan by the Office of Management and
Budget.

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION

The Committee includes language providing funds for applied
scientific research, development, test, and evaluation; and for
maintenance, rehabilitation, lease and operation of facilities
and equipment. The Committee includes language allowing funds
to remain available until September 30, 2016; authorizing funds
to be derived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund; and
authorizing funds received from State and local governments,
other public authorities, private sources, and foreign
countries to be credited to this account and used for certain
purposes.

RETIRED PAY

The Committee includes language providing funds for retired
pay and medical care for the Coast Guard's retired personnel
and their dependents and makes these funds available until
expended.

United States Secret Service

OPERATING EXPENSES

The Committee includes language that provides funds for the
purchase and replacement of vehicles; the hire of aircraft;
purchase of motorcycles; services of expert witnesses as may be
necessary; rental of certain buildings; improvements to
buildings as may be necessary for protective missions; per diem
and subsistence allowances; firearms matches; presentation of
awards; protective travel; research and development; grants for
behavioral research; official reception and representation
expenses; technical assistance and equipment to foreign law
enforcement organizations; advance payment for commercial
accommodations; and uniforms. The Committee provides for two-
year availability of funds for protective travel. The Committee
authorizes the obligation of funds in anticipation of
reimbursements for training, under certain conditions. The
Committee also restricts the obligation of funds to compensate
employees for overtime in an annual amount in excess of $35,000
except under certain conditions. The Committee withholds funds
from Headquarters and Administration until the agency submits a
report addressing professional conduct. The Committee includes
language permitting some funds may be transferred between PPAs.
Finally the Committee prohibits funds to be available for the
protection of the head of a Federal agency other than the
Secretary of Homeland Security unless the Secret Service has
entered into a reimbursable agreement.

ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENTS, AND RELATED EXPENSES

The Committee includes language providing funds for the
acquisition, construction, improvement, and related expenses of
Secret Service facilities.

TITLE III--PREPAREDNESS AND RECOVERY

National Protection and Programs Directorate

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

The Committee includes language providing funds for the
Office of the Under Secretary for National Protection and
Programs Directorate as well as to support business operations
and information technology. The Committee also includes
language providing funds for official reception and
representation expenses.

INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION AND INFORMATION SECURITY

The Committee includes language making funds available for
cybersecurity activities and infrastructure protection, of
which certain funds are available until September 30, 2016.

FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE

The Committee includes language making funds available
until expended for the operations of the Federal Protective
Service. The Committee requires certification that operations
will be fully funded through the revenues and collection of
security fees and requires a human capital plan aligning fee
collections to personnel requirements.

Office of Biometric Identity Management

The Committee includes language making funds available for
the Office of Biometric Identity Management.

Office of Health Affairs

The Committee includes language making funds available for
health affairs, biosurveillance, BioWatch, medical readiness
planning, and chemical defense. The Committee also includes
language providing funds for official reception and
representation expenses.

Federal Emergency Management Agency

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

The Committee includes language that provides funds for
salaries and expenses. The Committee also includes a provision
providing funds for reception and representation expenses,
Urban Search and Rescue Response System, Mount Weather
Emergency Operations Center, and a provision limiting
administrative costs for Urban Search and Rescue Teams.

STATE AND LOCAL PROGRAMS

The Committee includes language that provides funds for
grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, other activities,
including grants to State and local governments for terrorism
prevention. The Committee also includes a provision identifying
the amount of funds available for Operation Stonegarden and for
National Programs. The Committee includes language specifying
the conditions under which both applications and grants are
made to certain grants made in the Act. The Committee also
includes language specifying the conditions for distribution of
certain grants and provides authority for the procurement of
land.

FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE GRANTS

The Committee includes language that provides funds for
grants.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE GRANTS

The Committee includes language that provides funds for
grants.

RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM

The Committee includes a provision regarding charges
assessed for the radiological emergency preparedness program,
including conditions and methodology for the assessment and
collection of fees.

UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION

The Committee includes language that provides funds for
expenses of the U.S. Fire Administration.

DISASTER RELIEF

The Committee includes language making funds available
until expended and requires a variety of reporting
requirements.

FLOOD HAZARD MAPPING AND RISK ANALYSIS

The Committee includes language making funds available for
flood hazard mapping, including administrative costs.

NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE FUND

The Committee includes language limiting funds available
for salaries and expenses and language making funds available
for flood hazard mitigation floodplain management available
until September 30, 2015. The Committee includes provisions
limiting operating expenses; for interest on Treasury
borrowings; for agents' commissions and taxes; for fees
collected and available for floodplain management; and for
flood mitigation activities associated with sections of the
National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. The Committee includes
language permitting additional fees collected be credited as an
offsetting collection and available for floodplain management,
The Committee includes language providing that not to exceed
four percent of the total appropriation is available for
administrative costs.

NATIONAL PREDISASTER MITIGATION FUND

The Committee includes language authorizing grant awards to
be available until expended.

EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER

The Committee includes language making funds available
until expended and limiting total administrative costs to 3.5
percent of the total appropriation.

TITLE IV--RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND SERVICES

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

The Committee includes language making funds available for
the E-Verify program and permitting replacement of vehicles.

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

The Committee includes language making funds available for
official representation expenses; purchase of police type
pursuit vehicles; student athletic and related recreational
activities; conducting and participating in firearms matches;
public awareness and community support; room and board;
services authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109; law enforcement
accreditation; reimbursements for certain mobile phone
expenses. The Committee includes language authorizing the
training of certain law enforcement personnel; authorizes the
use of appropriations and reimbursements for such training and
establishes a cap on total obligations. The Committee also
includes language authorizing funds for the compensation of
accreditation costs for participating agencies; and on the
scheduling of basic or advanced law enforcement training.

ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENTS AND RELATED EXPENSES

The Committee includes language making funds available for
real property and facilities and authorizes reimbursement from
government agencies requesting construction of special use
facilities.

Science and Technology

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

The Committee includes language providing funds for
management and administration as well as official reception and
representation expenses.

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, ACQUISITION AND OPERATIONS

The Committee includes language making funds available for
research, development, test and evaluation; acquisition; and
operations. The Committee also includes a provision providing
funds for the National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility.

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

The Committee includes language that provides funds for
management and administration, including funds for reception
and representation expenses, and requires a strategic
investment plan for implementation of DHS responsibilities
under the domestic component of the global nuclear detection
architecture.

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, ACQUISITION, AND OPERATIONS

The Committee includes language making funds available for
nuclear detection research, development, testing, and
evaluation.

SYSTEMS ACQUISITION

The Committee includes language making funds available for
the purchase and deployment of radiation detection equipment.

TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Language limiting the availability of any appropriation for
obligation beyond the current year unless expressly provided.
Language permitting unexpended balances of prior
appropriations to be merged with new appropriation accounts and
used for the same purpose, subject to reprogramming guidelines.
Language providing reprogramming authority for funds within
an account and limiting the percent that can be transferred
between appropriations accounts with the requirement for a 15-
day advance congressional notification. A detailed funding
table identifying each congressional control level for
reprogramming purposes is included at the end of this report.
These reprogramming guidelines shall be complied with by all
agencies funded by the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act, 2014, for obligation and deobligation of
funds.
Language prohibiting funds appropriated or otherwise made
available to the Department to make payment to the Working
Capital Fund (WCF), except for activities and amounts allowed
in the President's fiscal year 2015 request. Funds provided to
the WCF are available until expended. The Department can only
charge components for direct usage of the WCF and these funds
may be used only for the purposes consistent with the
contributing component. Any funds paid in advance or reimbursed
must reflect the full cost of each service. The WCF shall be
subject to the requirements of section 503 of this Act.
Language providing that not to exceed 50 percent of
unobligated balances remaining at the end of fiscal year 2015
from appropriations made for salaries and expenses remain
available through fiscal year 2016 subject to reprogramming
guidelines.
Language providing that funds for intelligence activities
are deemed to be specifically authorized during fiscal year
2015 until the enactment of an Act authorizing intelligence
activities for fiscal year 2015.
Language requiring notification of the Committees on
Appropriations three days before grant allocations, grant
awards, contract awards, other transactional agreements, letter
of intents, or task or delivery order on a multiple contract
award totaling $1,000,000 or more, or a task order greater than
$10,000,000 from multi-year funds, is announced by the
Department, including contracts covered by the Federal
Acquisition Regulation or sole source grant award. The
Department is required to brief the Committees on
Appropriations five full day business days prior to announcing
the intention to make a grant under State and Local Programs.
Language prohibiting any agency from purchasing,
constructing, or leasing additional facilities for federal law
enforcement training without advance approval of the Committees
on Appropriations.
Language prohibiting funds to be used for any construction,
repair, alteration, and acquisition project for which a
prospectus, if required under chapter 33 of title 40, United
States Code, has not been approved.
Language consolidating, by reference, prior year statutory
bill language into one provision. These provisions relate to
contracting officer's technical representative training;
sensitive security information; and the use of funds in
conformance with Section 303 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
The language eliminates statutory reporting requirements for
SSI.
Language prohibiting funds being used in contravention of
the Buy American Act.
Language on reporting requirements for the DHS Privacy
Officer.
Language maintaining the use of the oath of allegiance
required by Section 337 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Language requiring the Chief Financial Officer to submit
monthly budget execution and staffing reports within 45 days
after the close of each month. The Committee also directs the
submission of obligation and expenditure plans annually and
quarterly for specified programs.
Language directing that any funds appropriated or
transferred to TSA ``Aviation Security'', ``Administration'',
and ``Transportation Security Support'' in fiscal years 2004
and 2005, which are recovered or deobligated, shall be
available only for procurement and installation of explosive
detection systems for air cargo, baggage, and checkpoint
screening systems. The Committee also requires quarterly
reports on recovered or deobligated funds.
Language requiring any funds appropriated to the Coast
Guard's 110-123 foot patrol boat conversion that are recovered,
collected, or otherwise received as a result of negotiation,
mediation, or litigation, be available until expended for the
Fast Response Cutter program.
Language classifying the functions of the instructor staff
at FLETC as inherently governmental for purposes of the Federal
Activities Inventory Reform Act.
Language requires the Inspector General to review
Departmental contracts awarded noncompetitively and report on
the results to the Committees.
Language prohibiting funding for any position designated as
a Principal Federal Official during a Stafford Act declared
disaster or emergency.
Language precluding DHS from using funds in this Act to
carry out reorganization authority.
Language prohibiting funding to grant an immigration
benefit to any individual unless the results of background
checks required in statute be completed prior to the grant of
the benefit have been received by DHS.
Language relating to the use of transactional authority by
DHS through fiscal year 2015.
Language requiring the Secretary to link all contracts that
provide award fees to successful acquisition outcomes.
Language is included requiring notification of any request
for waivers of navigation and vessel-inspection laws pursuant
to 46 U.S.C. 501(b).
Language regarding prescription drugs.
Language requiring the Secretary, in conjunction with the
Secretary of Treasury, to notify the Committees of any proposed
transfers from the Department of Treasury Forfeiture Fund to
any agency within DHS. No funds may be obligated until the
Subcommittees approve the proposed transfers.
Language prohibiting funds for the planning, testing,
piloting or developing a national identification card.
Language requiring FEMA to publish on its website a report
summarizing damage assessment information used to determine
disaster declarations.
Language directing that any official required by this Act
to report or certify to the Committees on Appropriations may
not delegate any authority unless expressly authorized to do so
in this Act.
Language extending the date of the chemical security
program.
Language prohibiting the use of funds for the transfer or
release of individuals detained at United States Naval Station,
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Language prohibiting funds in this Act to be used for
first-class travel.
Language prohibiting funds to be used to employ illegal
workers as described in Section 274A(h)(3) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act.
Language on the proper disposal of personal information
collected through the Registered Traveler program. A report on
procedures and status is required to be submitted 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act.
Language prohibiting funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act to pay for award or incentive fees for
contractors with below satisfactory performance or performance
that fails to meet the basic requirements of the contract.
Language requiring any new processes developed to screen
aviation passengers and crews for transportation or national
security to consider privacy and civil liberties, consistent
with applicable laws, regulations, and guidance.
Language making immigration examination fee collections
explicitly available for immigrant integration grants, not to
exceed $10,000,000, in fiscal year 2015.
Language prohibiting funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act from being used to enter into federal
contracts unless in accordance with the Federal Property and
Administrative Services Act or the Federal Acquisition
Regulation, unless otherwise authorized by statute.
Language providing $30,000,000 for Financial Systems
Modernization efforts across the Department.
Language permitting the Secretary to transfer up to
$20,000,000 to address immigration emergencies notwithstanding
section 503 of this Act
Language regarding disposal of Service Processing Centers
or other ICE owned detention facilities.
Language requiring a multi-year investment and management
plan.
Language requiring the Secretary to enforce all existing
immigration laws.
Language appropriating funds for federal network security.
Language prohibiting funds made available in this Act from
being used to establish or maintain computer networks unless
such networks block pornography.
Language regarding the transfer of firearms by federal law
enforcement personnel.
Language prohibiting funds for the implementation of the
National Preparedness Grant Program or any successor grant
program.
Language prohibiting funds for the position of Public
Advocate or successor position within ICE.
Language regarding public private partnership initiatives.
Language regarding funding restrictions and reporting
requirements regarding conferences occurring outside of the
United States.
Language prohibiting funds made available by this Act from
being used to enter into a contract or agreement with, or
provide a loan or loan guarantee to, any corporation that was
convicted of a felony criminal violation within the last 24
months.
Language prohibiting funds made from being used to enter
into a contract or agreement with any corporation that has any
unpaid federal tax liabilities.
Language prohibiting the reimbursement of funds to any
federal department or agency for its participation in a NSSE.
Language prohibiting pre-clearance locations unless CBP
meets certain conditions and conducts the necessary analysis
and reporting.
Language prohibiting funds from being used to require
airport operators to provide airport-financed staffing to
monitor exit points at which TSA provided such monitoring as of
December 1, 2013.
Language prohibiting funds from this Act from being used to
require a chemical facility to employ or not employ a
particular security measure for personnel surety if the
facility has adopted the appropriate personnel measures.
Language requiring DHS to grant waivers to section 34 of
the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 when making
grants for Firefighter Assistance Grants.
Language prohibiting DHS from imposing border crossing fees
at land ports of entry along the Southern or Northern borders,
or to conduct any fee study.
Language regarding the availability of COBRA fee revenue.
Language requiring the Secretary to report on the
Department's requirements, inventories, and usage of
ammunition.
Language requiring the Secretary to report on the
Department's requirements for and usage of weapons.
Language prohibiting funds from being used for
environmental remediation of a specified location.
Language directing the inclusion of budget justification
for any structural pay reform that affects more than 100 FTE
employee positions or costs more than $5,000,000.
Language directing the inclusion of budget justification
for acquisition and directing the development of the definition
for expense items and investment items.
Language making a Transportation Security Officer who died
in the line of duty, a public safety officer, for the purpose
of affording the standard public safety officer benefits
available under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
of 1968 to the Officer's widow and children.
Language prohibiting ICE from paying for abortions except
in certain circumstances.
Language prohibiting ICE from requiring any person to
perform an abortion.
Language authorizing ICE to escort female detainees outside
the detention facilities.
Language requiring that OMB and DHS include estimates of
the number of unaccompanied alien children anticipated to be
apprehended in the budget year; the number of agent or officer
hours required to care for such children; all other associated
costs for each Departmental component; and, all costs
associated with transporting such children from one
Departmental component to another component or Federal agency.
Language rescinding unobligated balances from specified
programs.
Language permanently rescinding specified funds from the
Treasury Forfeiture Fund.
Language rescinding unobligated balances from legacy
programs.
Language rescinding unobligated balances from FEMA DRF.
Language prohibiting new budget authority from exceeding
the budget allocation in fiscal year 2015.

APPROPRIATIONS NOT AUTHORIZED BY LAW

Pursuant to clause 3(f)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following table lists the
appropriations in the accompanying bill that are not authorized
by law:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

COMPARISON WITH BUDGET RESOLUTION

Section 308(a)(1)(A) of the Congressional Budget Act
requires the report accompanying a bill providing new budget
authority to contain a statement comparing the levels in the
bill to the suballocations submitted under section 302(b) of
the Act for the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution
on the budget for the applicable fiscal year. That information
is provided in the table headed ``Comparison of Reported Bill
to Section 302(b) Suballocation.''

[in millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
302(b) allocation This bill
---------------------------------------------------
Budget Budget
Authority Outlays Authority Outlays
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comparison of amounts in the bill with Committee allocations
to its subcommittees: Subcommittee on Homeland Security:
General Purpose Discretionary........................... 45,658 44,712 45,658 \1\44,712
Mandatory............................................... 1,576 1,580 1,576 1,580
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Includes outlays from prior-year budget authority.

FIVE YEAR OUTLAY PROJECTIONS

In compliance with section 308(a)(1)(B) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344), as
amended, the following table contains five-year projections
associated with the budget authority provided in the
accompanying bill:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Outlays
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Projections of outlays associated with the recommendation:
2015................................................... \1\26,737
2016................................................... 9,666
2017................................................... 5,917
2018................................................... 2,820
2019 and future years.................................. 2,009
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Excludes outlays from prior-year budget authority.

ASSISTANCE TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

In accordance with section 308(a)(1)(C) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344), as
amended, the financial assistance to state and local
governments is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget
Authority Outlays
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial assistance to State and local 5,847 \1\336
governments for 2015.........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Excludes outlays from prior-year budget authority.

PROGRAM DUPLICATION

The bill extends the expiration date for the Chemical
Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program for the
duration of fiscal year 2015 to assure no lapse in this program
pending the reauthorization of the program by the authorization
committee. To the Committee's knowledge, this program has not
been included in a report from the Government Accountability
Office pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-319, the
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance has not identified other
programs related to the program, and this program does not
duplicate another Federal program.
Language making a Transportation Security Officer who died
in the line of duty, a public safety officer, for the purpose
of affording the standard public safety officer benefits
available under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
of 1968 to the Officer's widow and children.
Language prohibiting ICE from paying for abortions except
in certain circumstances.
Language prohibiting ICE from requiring any person to
perform an abortion.
Language authorizing ICE to escort female detainees outside
the detention facilities.
Language requiring that OMB and DHS include estimates of
the number of unaccompanied alien children anticipated to be
apprehended in the budget year; the number of agent or officer
hours required to care for such children; all other associated
costs for each Departmental component; and, all costs
associated with transporting such children from one
Departmental component to another component or Federal agency.

DIRECTED RULE MAKING

The bill does not contain any provision that specifically
directs the promulgation or completion of a rule.

DETAILED EXPLANATIONS IN REPORT

The following table contains detailed funding
recommendations at the program, project, and activity (PPA)
level.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF NITA LOWEY AND DAVID PRICE

We want to commend the Chairman for leading another open,
collaborative, and bipartisan process in constructing the
Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill. We will
never agree on every issue or funding level, but the Chairman
and his staff have consistently worked with the minority in
good faith, and have accommodated us at every opportunity.

302(B) ALLOCATION

At $887,000,000 above the budget request, this bill is
fortunate to have a healthy allocation relative to the
Department's operational needs. There is one major exception to
that characterization, however, related to a $50,000,000
reduction to the bill's National Defense (Budget Function 050)
sub-allocation.
The Homeland Security appropriations bill contains only
three accounts with funding that is classified as National
Defense. For both the U.S. Coast Guard's Operating Expenses
account and the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA)
Salaries and Expenses account, the Congressional Budget Office
designates a fixed amount as National Defense funding,
regardless of the total amount appropriated for each account.
The third account, the National Protection and Program's
Directorate's Infrastructure Protection and Information
Security (IPIS) appropriation, falls entirely in the National
Defense category. As a result, any reduction to the
subcommittee's Budget Function 050 sub-allocation necessarily
and arbitrarily results in a cut to IPIS. In the case of the
fiscal year 2015 bill, the major impact is a $48,400,000 cut
below the request for Next Generation Networks activities,
which will result in a significant delay to transitioning
Priority Telecommunications Services to Internet-based
technologies. While this may be a reasonable way to absorb such
a sizeable cut to the IPIS appropriation, it is not without
consequence.

FUNDING PRIORITIES

The bill addresses several bipartisan and Democratic
priorities, including maintaining the current funding levels
for first responder and anti-terrorism grants, Pre-Disaster
Mitigation grants, flood mapping grants, and for research and
development activities in support of DHS operations. It
provides funding for the Office for Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties at the requested level, including $2,394,000 to
continue oversight of the 287(g) and Secure Communities
programs. In addition, the bill appropriates the final funding
increment to construct the National Bio and Agro-defense
Facility, which will enable significant new research capability
to help prevent the introduction or spread of the most serious
animal diseases.
While providing level funding of $120,000,000 for the
Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), the bill omits the
proposed authority to transfer EFSP to the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Instead, the Committee
makes clear that any future program transfer proposal must be
premised on consultation with program stakeholders, appropriate
justification, and a fully developed plan for transition.
For University Programs, the Committee recommends
$41,000,000, an increase of $1,276,000 above the current level
and $10,000,000 above the request. This funding will allow the
Science and Technology Directorate to continue supporting the
current number of Centers of Excellence (COE), including the
new COE funded in fiscal year 2014.
Importantly, the bill provides increases above the request
for frontline personnel so that they can continue to conduct
critical operations along our borders, protect our nation's
airports, seaports, and land ports of entry, coastal waters,
and commercial airflights, and respond to natural disasters
across the country. In addition, the bill increases funding for
critical Coast Guard and CBP Air and Marine acquisitions to
recapitalize aging assets while also bringing the latest
aviation and vessel technologies online to ensure our frontline
personnel can operate more effectively--improving on the
Administration's request on each of these fronts.

DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT

On the budgeting and acquisition front, we fully endorse
the Chairman's efforts to push the Department to establish more
rigorous, consistent, and comprehensive processes to ensure
that budgets are based on mission requirements and fill
critical capability gaps; that acquisitions are based on
careful capability gap assessments and alternatives analyses,
and are supported by coordinated research, development, testing
and evaluation efforts; and that budgeting is carried out based
on a comprehensive, department-wide perspective and
acquisitions are based on department-wide priorities. Secretary
Johnson is pushing hard to move the Department in this
direction, and so the funding and the directives in the bill
and report will help to greatly facilitate the Secretary's
efforts while also holding the Department accountable for
delivering.

IMMIGRATION DETENTION AND ENFORCEMENT

It is often forgotten that ICE detention is not a form of
punishment for anyone; it is simply a means to ensure the
removal of individuals who are flight risks or dangers to
public safety if they are ultimately determined to be
removable. Therefore, it is unfortunate that the bill once
again mandates an arbitrary minimum of 34,000 ICE detention
beds, especially in the current fiscal climate, because it
denies ICE the flexibility it needs to manage enforcement and
removal resources in response to changing circumstances and the
ability to use cheaper, alternative forms of supervision when
appropriate.
Except for those subject to mandatory detention, ICE uses a
formal risk classification assessment to determine which
individuals in removal proceedings should be detained, placed
in an Alternative to Detention program, or subjected to some
other form of non-detention supervision. We should leave ICE
law enforcement personnel with the discretion to make detention
determinations that are consistent with legal requirements.
We are also concerned that increases to some other ICE
immigration enforcement activities above current levels may be
excessive when compared to other needs and priorities in the
bill.

UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN

The bill provides additional resources to help the
Department manage the influx of unaccompanied children crossing
the southern border, including increases for ICE and CBP that
the Committee unanimously adopted as part of a manager's
amendment. Most of those additional resources were in response
to a letter the Committee received from OMB two days after the
Subcommittee reported the bill that identified an additional
$166,000,000 above the budget request needed to manage the
influx of unaccompanied children expected next year. While we
must defend the integrity of our borders, we have always been
and always will be a nation that welcomes immigrants, embraces
refugees fleeing violence and persecution, and gives
humanitarian considerations a high priority. This influx of
unaccompanied children highlights a tension between these
values and priorities, and the laws and policies that undergird
them.

IMMIGRATION REFORM

Members on both sides of the aisle know that our
immigration system is broken and in dire need of reform, even
if there are differences about what that reform should entail.
In any case, the Appropriations Committee cannot resolve the
immigration reform issue; sooner or later, the House itself
must address this problem in a comprehensive way. The longer we
wait, however, the more difficult and expensive the problems
will become, and the more difficult it will be for the
Department and this Committee to manage them. For now, we must
address the resource requirements for the Department of
Homeland Security for fiscal year 2015, including the
requirements for managing and caring for unaccompanied children
and other migrants who cross the border without immigration
status. This bill addresses those requirements according to the
best estimates available.

DHS HEADQUARTERS CONSOLIDATION

Unfortunately, this bill provides no funding for the new
DHS headquarters already under construction on the St.
Elizabeth's campus, despite $73,000,000 proposed for the
project in the request. We have been told repeatedly by the
Administration that deferring these investments will further
increase the project's costs. In addition, further delays in
constructing new headquarters facilities will require the
Department to continue to extend costly leases in more than 50
locations scattered across the Washington, DC metropolitan
area. On both fiscal grounds and to improve the cohesiveness of
DHS operations, we must continue to make progress on the
headquarters project.

AVAILABILITY OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES FOR WOMEN

Over strong Democratic objections, the Full Committee once
again adopted an unnecessary amendment related to the
availability of reproductive health services for women detained
by ICE. The restrictions on the use of federal funds for
abortion procedures are already applicable to ICE and the
Department of Homeland Security by President Obama's Executive
Order 13535, issued on March 24, 2010, and are specifically
formalized in Part 4.4 of ICE's Detention Standards. While many
of us believe that those restrictions are excessive, they are a
settled matter, and so we again fail to see the point of
interjecting this issue on a Homeland Security funding bill.
The effect of this amendment is to pick an unnecessary
political fight--as if we did not already have enough
controversies to divide the Committee.
Before a similar amendment was offered two years ago, this
bill had never touched on the topic of abortion because it is
not relevant to the Department of Homeland Security and falls
far outside the lines of jurisdiction of the Subcommittee. We
will continue to work to remove the amendment's unnecessary
provisions from the bill.

CONCLUSION

In closing, we want to underscore our appreciation for the
efforts of the Chairman and his staff to work with the minority
throughout the development of this bill to sustain our
frontline homeland security operations. Members of the
Committee often talk about the need to return to regular order,
a term which conventionally refers to movement of an
appropriations bill through each stage of the process,
resulting in enactment. However, that term can also be
interpreted as approaching the work of appropriations in a
bipartisan manner with the best interests of the country as the
first priority. We are pleased to have participated in such an
approach for the fiscal year 2015 funding bill for the
Department of Homeland Security.

Nita M. Lowey.
David E. Price.

[all]