DHS Budget: White House Proposes Overall Cut, Biggest Surprise Loser? Coast Guard

So the White House's budget calls for overall cuts to DHS.  But will Congress stick with them?

By Keith Edmund White

Editor in Chief

Mickey McCarter does an excellent job rounding out the White House's budget--something I had hoped to do in more detail, but after two weeks I'm throwing in the towel.

But, keep in mind, that it was Congress that actually kept FY13 spending level at FY12 levels, shielding DHS from sequester.

And with the recent events in Boston, I will not be surprised if attempts to bolster homeland security spending don't find bipartisan support in Congress.  (Note:  Just look at the Massachusetts Democratic primary for John Kerry's former Senate seat.)

Yet, that makes a big assumption:  that Congress will actually pass a FY14 budget, and not punt through continuing resolutions--a move which may or may not affect current agency spending levels. 

Oh, and then there's sequestration.

From McCarter's article on the overall budget:

The White House Wednesday unveiled its fiscal year 2014 budget proposal for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other federal agencies, calling for $39 billion in discretionary funds for DHS, a reduction in its overall budget.


In a separate proposal pursuant to the Budget Control Act of 2011, the Disaster Relief Fund would receive $5.6 billion.

The administration compared the overall proposed numbers to enacted levels in FY 2012 as it did not have final numbers for FY 2013, which only were decided on at the time of the signing of a FY 2013 consolidated spending bill on March 26. As compared to final FY 2012 levels, DHS discretionary spending would be down 2 percent in the budget proposal.

...

According to the Homeland Security 2014 Budget in Brief, most DHS agencies would experience budget cuts of five to eight percent, which is in addition to the sequester imposed on the department -- should the sequester continue.

And his article focusing on the tough decisions Napolitano is asking Congress to make:

The increase in spending at the DHS S&T Directorate would go toward fully funding the construction of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kan., Napolitano said.

The facility is necessary to replace the failing Plum Island Animal Disease Center, which soon will not be able to support national requirements to defend against threats posed by biological agents, Napolitano said.

"This innovative federal-state partnership will support the first Bio Level 4 lab facility of its kind, a state-of-the-art bio-containment facility for the study of foreign animal and emerging zoonotic diseases that is central to the protection of the nation's food supply as well as our national and economic security," Napolitano said in her testimony.

The state of Kansas already has put up $320 million to build the center, Napolitano said. DHS must respond with its portion of the funding, totaling $714 million.

"At some point, we have to bite the bullet," Napolitano said of finishing NBAF construction.

Budget Deal Shields DHS Sequestration, For Now

According to Mickey McCarter's illuminating article at HSToday.us, DHS has been largely spared sequestration's across the board cuts.  But, unless replaced, sequestration will bring back automatic cuts over the next nine years.

From HSToday.us's Under Continuing Resolution, DHS Largely Escapes Sequestration:

Congress agreed Thursday to a continuing resolution (HR 933) to fund the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2013, providing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with a full budget that takes most of the sting out of the automatic budget cuts under sequestration. At least for now. 

Previously, DHS faced cuts across the board in a manner that was allocated to eligible accounts, trimming about five percent of the department's overall budget in FY 2013, according to estimates from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Although the sequester remains in effect under the continuing resolution, the budget bill largely spares DHS from its worst effects for this fiscal year, drawing cuts from other areas to keep budget caps in line with levels spelled out in the Budget Control Act of 2011.

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DHS could see sequestration cuts in FY 2014 unless the sequester is repealed or DHS is again granted authority to avoid it.

Read the article to see how the FY13 CR impacts DHS's overall budget, especially when it comes to the U.S. Coast Guard.