LegiStorm

Summary:

This report is part of a suite of reports that address appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2017. It specifically discusses appropriations for the components of DHS included in the third title of the homeland security appropriations bill—the National Protection and Programs Directorate, the Office of Health Affairs, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Collectively, Congress has labeled these components in recent years as "Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery." The report provides an overview of the Obama Administration's FY2017 request for these components, the appropriations committees' response, the annual DHS appropriations enacted in Division F of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31), as well as supplemental appropriations enacted in separate legislation (P.L. 115-56) enacted in September 2017. Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery is the second largest of the four titles that carry the bulk of the funding in the bill, and includes the bulk of grant funding provided by DHS. The Obama Administration requested $5.69 billion in FY2017 net discretionary budget authority for components included in this title and $6.71 billion in specially designated funding for disaster relief—together representing 26.0% of the Obama Administration's $47.7 billion request for net discretionary budget authority and disaster relief funding for DHS. The appropriations request was $718 million (11.2%) less than was provided for FY2016 in net discretionary budget authority. The largest budget decrease proposed was a $546 million (11.7%) reduction for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, largely driven by reductions in grant programs. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported S. 3001, which would have provided the components included in this title $6.58 billion in net discretionary budget authority. This would have been $898 million (15.8%) more than requested, and $180 million (2.8%) more than was provided in FY2016. The House Appropriations Committee reported H.R. 5634, which would have provided the components included in this title $6.44 billion in net discretionary budget authority—$753 million (13.2%) more than requested, and $34 million (0.5%) more than was provided in FY2016. Both bills also included the requested disaster relief funding. On September 29, 2016, President Obama signed into law the first of a series of continuing resolutions that funded DHS until its annual appropriations were finalized. The committee-reported bills expired January 3, 2017, at the end of the 114th Congress. On March 16, 2017, the Trump Administration submitted an amendment to the FY2017 budget request, which included a request for $3 billion in additional funding for DHS. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (signed into law as P.L. 115-31 on May 5, 2017) included both annual and supplemental appropriations for DHS as Division F. The act provided the components included in this title $6.67 billion in net discretionary budget authority and $6.71 billion in disaster relief funding. This was $957 million (16.8%) more than requested by the Obama Administration, and $239 million (4.2%) more than was provided in FY2016. On September 1, 2017, the Trump Administration requested $7.85 billion in supplemental funding for FY2017, including $7.4 billion for the DRF. On September 6, the House passed the relief package requested by the Administration as an amendment to H.R. 601. On September 7, the Senate passed an amended version as part of a broader relief package. The House passed the Senate-amended version of the bill on September 8, and it was signed into law as P.L. 115-56. For information on the broader subject of FY2017 funding for DHS, details on the continuing resolutions, links to analytical overviews, and details regarding components in other titles, see CRS Report R44621, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2017.