NEWS
House Appropriations Committee
Chairman Hal Rogers
For Immediate Release: March 3, 2015
Contact: Jennifer Hing, (202) 226-7007
Rogers Praises Passage of 2015 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill
Bill will fund the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year, target funds to critical security and law enforcement efforts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives today approved the fiscal year 2015 Homeland Security Appropriations bill (H.R. 240), which will provide funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through September 30, 2015. This is the last of the 12 annual funding bills to be approved by the House, and will now head to the President for his signature.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman commended the House’s action, saying:
“Today, the House fulfilled its constitutional duty by passing an appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security for the rest of the fiscal year. The functions of this Department are far too important to be subject to the risk of a government shutdown or the uncertainty of further continuing resolutions. By supporting our men and women on the frontlines, bolstering critical border security agencies, and funding vigilant anti-terrorism and law enforcement efforts on our home turf, we have ensured that this nation has its strongest arm of defense up against all who would do us harm.
“This bill also ensures that our immigration laws are enforced and contains no funding to carry out the President’s unilateral actions on immigration – actions that he himself said he had no authority to do. We must and we will continue to fight this unconstitutional overreach. For now, the President’s executive actions have been stopped in court, and this is where we must focus our efforts.
“Nearly halfway into the fiscal year, it is well past time that we put our 2015 fiscal year work behind us. It is time for us to move forward and focus on the many other pressing issues on our agenda, including starting the process of funding the federal government for the next fiscal year.”
The fiscal year 2015 Homeland Security funding bill provides $39.7 billion in discretionary funding for DHS, an increase of $400 million compared to the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. The bill prioritizes frontline security – including all operational, counterterrorism, and threat-targeting activities, and essential tactical equipment – and saves taxpayer dollars by reducing overhead costs and cutting funds for lower-priority programs.
