Fiscal Year 2027 Department of Homeland Security Bill

The subcommittee on homeland security will come to order. Welcome to the subcommittee mark-up for fiscal year twenty twenty seven, homeland security Yeah, you can't do it, can you? I would like to welcome the full committee chairman, Mister Cole, and ranking member DeLauro, um and all the subcommittee members. Uh, you should all know that uh i it's it's no secret that that Labor Eight was in here before us, and as they were clearing out, for those of you that were here for the Labor Eight's thing, and Mister Cole and Mister DeLore, I wanna thank you for sticking around for the varsity event this morning in terms of h of uh subcommittee mark-ups. Um, I will be there's a junior vet junior varsity person leaving right now. I will hold my comments uh until the end uh so we'll begin by recognizing the distinguished gentleman from Texas, Mister Cuellar for his opening remarks, the floor is yours.

Uh, Mister Chairman, thank you so much and I'm pleased to join you today as we mark up your final uh homeland security appropriations. We really appreciate uh your uh your work that you've done and appreciate uh our friendship so uh the process of working with you and your team in drafting this important bill has been a good one consistent with the traditions of the uh subcommittee so I thank you for the dialogue the conversations we've had uh and with your team willingness to work with us on items that are important uh for the

Mm-hmm.

American people it is an interesting position we are in as we sit here considering F five twenty seven budget for DHS while our work on FY twenty twenty six still remains incomplete. I appreciate many of the new provisions included in this bill that reflect some of the common sense reforms we have been advocating for, and wonder if resolution of FY twenty twenty six and reclaiming our full power of our of the purse is possible without the need for more reconciliation funding that bypasses our our committee with the twenty fifth anniversary of terrorist attacks of nine eleven and twenty six we have to make sure that we have a better approaching later this year, I'm reminded that it is this subcommittee's responsibility to provide DHS the resources necessary to carry out the missions critical to our nation's in economic um uh security and to protect the health and the safety in doing so. But it's also equally our responsibility to hold them accountable, both uh in their day-to-day operations and interactions with the public, as well as how they execute the federal funding they're trusted with. It is why our subcommittee exists. This must always be at the forefront of our deliberations when deciding how to best uh fund DHS. As a board member I understand and support the investments in border security and technology, employee care, suicide prevention programs for our border patrol agents and the other homeland security folks, but I'm concerned that this bill does not provide sufficient oversight of the department or certain operational reforms that we've been uh talking about. For example, while the bill doubles the funding for body-worn cameras, there's nothing this bill requiring it's used during immigration enforcement operations, or ensure that the video is retained. This bill also uh cuts the OIG and and I had time to spend time uh with them, uh by twelve percent and stripped oversight we had agreed to last year for detention facility oversight when detention capacity for ICE is growing and deaths and ice casualties are re are are record levels. When it comes to the border itself, I do wanna express my appreciation for a provision that will protect some of the areas we previously agreed to uh that were exempted from border wall construction, that's SpaceX uh and I had a conversation with SpaceX a couple of nights ago, uh the Butterfly Center, the uh the historical uh cemeteries, the chapel and other places, and I thank you for putting the oversight uh uh on the uh reconciliation but unfortunately uh we gotta look at some of the uh areas I know that uh my uh colleague from uh El Paso is looking at some exceptions uh I'm looking at some border exceptions uh in my hometown it's like having your own house uh a yard and then somebody just puts a fence in front of your yard but we look forward uh to working together this is only the storing process and I appreciate uh your opportunity uh to work on this. Uh this bill also misses the opportunities to make smart investments and parts of the department have not seen funding from reconciliation sources. I would like to s- uh see more uh increased funding for TSA and protect their workers, collect their bargaining as well as larger investments in CIS to protect uh cyber and critical infrastructure. Uh and again, you know, we we have other things that we need to talk about but I do wanna say uh that I wanna thank uh take this moment and thank and give my deep appreciation to all the department's personnel for the work that they do. I live on the border so I know Border Patrol agents, ICE agents, uh HSI, all those folks all fo all that and I go to church with them, I I see the the folks at the uh grocery stores, they're good people, they're good people and and again I wanna thank all of them. And Mister Chairman I just wanna say you have been a class act uh Part of the A team, uh varsity team that you were talking about, I'm just kidding. But I I do wanna say thank you so much to you and the team and to all the members, I really appreciate uh the work that you all have done. It's only the starting process, so let's get this process started. Thank you.

Thank you, sir, and your credibility was running pretty high till that stuff at the end. Um, I'd now like to recognize the Chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Oklahoma, the floor is yours.

I thank my uh very good friend, the Chairman, and I'd like to Again, thank uh you, Chairman Amodei. Thank you, ranking member Cuellar. Certainly my good friend and working partner, the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. DeLauro. And all of you for being here. I'm actually pretty impressed with the turnout for Friday morning with no votes. I mean, uh when I was a more junior member, I might well have not been here. So uh I commend all of you for being here. I really do, and I appreciate it very, very much. Uh, keeping America safe and secure is a fundamental duty. And the measure we're considering is critical to that mission. Uh, and I wanna associate myself actually, sort of going off script here, with a comment that, uh, Ranking Member Cuellar made. Um, this is a process and, uh, you know, we're not in agreement today, but the aim is to work toward doing it. And both of you did that last year, and I was extraordinarily proud. I think this subcommittee had the most difficult challenges of any of them. And those persist to this day, and uh I'm gonna be very candid in my remarks about the Senate on this. Uh but the point is you got to a deal. Uh and that deal got across the floor. And uh I appreciate that and I appreciate what it took for both of you, cuz I think you were each under extraordinary pressure to get it done, and you're here to be, both of you commended. Um, keeping Americans safe and secure is a fundamental duty and the measure we are considering is critical to that mission. Those aren't words, they're facts. Everyone in this room understand the stakes and the consequences of not acting. Uh, you have to look no further than the Senate, uh, Democrat DHS shutdown, which is exactly what it is, to understand what I mean. Despite bipartisan efforts to fund the Department of Homeland Security, through regular appropriations process, Senate Democrats refused to advance a bill that would provide certainty uh for the men and women charged with securing our nation. And by the way, a uh a bill that they had agreed to in negotiations, that they had agreed to. Uh, it was a completely avoidable disruption and one where the ramifications are still being felt. Uh, I said it then and I'll say it again, and I certainly uh uh associate myself with Mister Cuellar in this regard. Uh, you know, I appreciate people that actually uh recognize how tough the being on the border is. and how much we owe those folks. And to see a situation where we were going from thousands of people a day, uh, coming across the border illegally, some in pursuit of opportunity, some in pursuit of criminal activity. Uh, to see that go to where we have no known illegal entries for months, uh, into this country is an extraordinary achievement. And the men and women who did it ought to be thanked for it and commended for it. uh not uh constantly smeared. I see a lot of politicians you know trying to make a political point at the expense of federal workers seventy five percent of whom in the border patrol are are veterans and or professional law enforcement and if we've got a couple of bad actors, they do something wrong, we ought to be relentless in the pursuit of them. But to take an entire group and see them sometimes compared to the Gestapo uh I mean it's shameless, it is shameless and uh my friend Uh, Mr. Cuellar has certainly never, ever done that. Uh, but uh, you know, and frankly to my knowledge nobody in this room has done that. But I've seen it done repeatedly and it's not acceptable. Um, at its core, appropriations is about fulfilling Congress's constitutional responsibility. Article one's not optional and it's certainly not something members should put aside when it becomes politically inconvenient. The power of the purse carries with it an obligation to govern. And this fiscal year, two thousand twenty-seven bill reflects that responsibility. This legislation funds every core mission of DHS. It strengthens border security, it supports immigration enforcement, and combats fentanyl and other illicit drugs. It reinforces the Trump administration's efforts that have helped restore operational control of the border for the first time in years, while ensuring the personnel, technology, and resources are in place to sustain that success. This includes funding uh to sustain twenty-two thousand Border Patrol agents and support for needed ice detention beds, and it doubles the resources for body-worn cameras for DHS personnel that we provided last year. Additionally, the bill enhances America's posture in the Indo-Pacific by providing increased resources for the Coast Guard operations to counter China and other adversaries. Investments in maritime domain awareness unmanned systems, technology, modernization, and an expanded Coast Guard presence in the region help safeguard critical waterways support allies and partners in advance U S national security. The measures also bolstered our cyber defenses by refocusing resources on protecting federal networks and critical infrastructure from increasingly sophisticated threats posed by nation-state adversaries and criminals. Finally, the bill ensures states and local communities have the resources they need to prepare for respond to and recover from disasters from firefighters and first responders to emergency managers on the ground these investments help communities remain resilient and uh when disaster strikes. Importantly, the measure also recognizes that homeland security is not limited to one challenge or one border. It encompasses everything from fiscal, security and immigration enforcement to cyber defense, disaster response, and protecting the American people from emerging threats at home and abroad. I'd be remiss not to recognize Chairman Amodei. Mark has always uh respected this institution and understood that governing requires showing up, doing the work, and making tough decisions. He brings a practical perspective to every challenge, a willingness to say exactly what he thinks, uh, and a commitment to ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly. As chairman of this subcommittee, he's navigated some extraordinarily difficult challenges with steady judgment, candor, and clear focus on results. Through it all, he's never lost sight of our mission or our responsibility to provide the resources necessary to keep America safe. As the final appropriations bill, uh, i- you know, he will lead in Congress, these measures are fitting culmination to mark service. It reflects the way my friend has always approached public service, respecting the institution, embracing the responsibility, and never shying away from tough decisions. Congress, this committee, and the appropriations process are stronger, Mister Chairman, because of your leadership. I wanna thank you,

Mm.

uh, your working partner, Ranking Member, Quayar, and the subcommittee staff on both sides of the aisle for hard work And I look forward to advancing this measure. And with that, I yield back.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The gentlelady from uh Connecticut, uh the ranking member of the full committee, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I too am so appreciative of the w- your work and work of ranking member Cuellar in uh uh getting this bill to where it is. There obviously are serious differences with the bill, uh which we will uh address. and look forward to the opportunity to work together to uh make make changes in the bill. And I wanna say a thank you to Chairman Cole uh and I've I've I concur that the uh bills no- don't start out the way we would like them and we try to get to the to the end game. Uh I would wish sometimes we would not repeat the same things that we did last year moving forward and we could do it in in a uh a a uh more deliberative and um faster way uh since we know some of these things will fall by the wayside. It may be good that they fall by the wayside now so that we can uh move the work of the uh work of the committee. I wanna say a thank you to the subcommittee uh staff. Um I say that particularly of homeland security, it's been uh difficult. We were able to pass eleven of the twelve bills, homeland still has its difficulties but to the staff on both sides of the aisle. Uh, we commend you uh for the uh your dedication and commitment uh to the to homeland security. Uh, Shannon McCulley, Jamie Wise, Jim Ellsworth for the minority, Paula Anstein, Anna Lanier-Fisher, Fern Gibbons, Ashley Truluck, Alessandra Ramirez, and Nkosi Thomas uh for the majority. Again, thank you for your great work. I am opposed to the bill. under consideration today. From the beginning, we have maintained that we will not provide another penny in funding for ICE or the Border Patrol without substantial reforms to the way those agencies operate, reforms that protect our constituents and our communities from the kind of reckless and senseless abuses we have seen. I just might add here that Democrats believe in border control and in secure borders. We are there, but we are also um uh committed to making sure that the results of those actions of border control do not result in American citizens dying in our streets. Um, this bill provides more than ten billion dollars for ICE and nearly seven billion dollars for Border Patrol. While I welcome incremental measures, uh the majority has included in the bill which make progress towards the reform as necessary to protect our communities, they still fall far short of what is required to earn our support. These agencies have broken the law. In January alone, ICE violated nearly one hundred court orders, which the chief federal judge in Minnesota, a Republican appointee, estimated was more than some federal agencies have violated during their entire existence. Just this week, Secretary Mullen testified that he is under no obligation to follow court orders he simply doesn't agree with. That the head of the largest federal law enforcement agency in the country would show such flagrant disregard for the American legal system should offend anyone who respects the rule of law. The majority of Americans support strong protections from ICE abuses. And yes, we will not agree to another penny until those conditions are met, until we can be sure that the people we represent are safe. Agents must get a warrant from a judge before kicking in someone's door. They must m- remove their masks and display identification. We must prohibit arbor- operations at schools, at hospitals, and at houses of worship. We must end racial profiling and allow for independent investigations into misconduct. That is how we keep our community safe and how we protect the rights of all Americans. That is how we regain the trust of the American people that this administration has lost. During the recent funding lapse, many of my Republican colleagues invoked the Transportation Security Administration and Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security agency,

Yeah.

claiming that a failure to fully fund these agencies was so egregious that we had to give ICE and Border Patrol billions of dollars with no strings attached to avoid it. And now Republicans have had that chance to write their own bill from scratch. And what they do, what do they do? They cut the budgets of CISA and the TSA. They cut funding from TSA by nearly three hundred and fifty million dollars and from CISA by more than two hundred and fifty million dollars. These agencies and the people who keep us safe every day used to be so important to our colleagues. What happened? And as we speak, the Senate Republican leadership circumvented this committee and gave the Trump administration another sixty-nine point five billion dollars, with no strings attached. There is no accountability and there is no oversight in the measure, and if the measure passes the house next week without any of the precautions, we will have provided DHS with more than two hundred and sixty billion dollars that this committee did not approve. I will always stand up for the appropriations process. I believe firmly, and I know Chairman Cole shares that belief, that partisan reconciliation bills are no substitute for the work that we do here. And again, if it passes in the House next week, it will circumvent what this committee is all about and in my view violates that power of the purse that is granted to the Appropriations Committee in the United States Constitution. But you have to see the absurdity in refusing to include substantive guardrails against ICE and Border Patrol while also giving them nearly seventeen billion dollars on top of what they are already set to receive in reconciliation while cutting funding for cyber security, for the TSA and the internal watchdogs who prevent abuse within the department. The reforms we seek for these agencies are not unreasonable, nor are they impractical. They are popular. They are and they are n- necessary to ensure the safety of our constituents. I encourage my colleagues to work with us to adopt all of these guardrails and protect our communities and to protect the power of the purse that is enshrined in the United States Constitution for this committee. Until then, I urge a strong no vote on this legislation. Thank you and I yield back.

Thank you, Madam Ranking Member. Other members of the committee wishing to make opening statements? The lady from Texas, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, and thank you to the Ranking Member and to our leaders of the Appropriations Committee. It it really is a privilege to be part of this committee and to be able to to work together to do everything we can to ensure we have um the tools but also guardrails necessary as the appropriations ranking member mentioned. Mister Amodei, you've been such a great chairman to work with, I'm sorry we're gonna lose you um and uh have always appreciated your willingness to hear me out and to work collaboratively and ranking member, fellow border Texan. Um, we know firsthand the the what what is happening every day on the border. I I just wanna echo, I would be remiss if I didn't echo what Ms. DeLauro said to us about the guardrails that are necessary for such a large significant department. And I wanna share a couple of stories with you all, my my colleagues on homeland. The largest detention facility in the world is in my district. It's called Camp East Montana. It was funded through reconciliation. It's a one point two billion dollar tent city. My team and I have tried to conduct oversight multiple times. Thankfully I've I've gotten in several times, but it's always hit or miss, and the rules are shifting, the rules will change. Recently one of my staff members was targeted by um some of the folks there on the ground and doxed and I've raised all of this to the new uh secretary. We had a great meeting with him yesterday and I am hopeful that there will be a very different relationship between the new and Congress. But we still have a job to do. And I wanna give you a couple of examples of where a lack of oversight and a lack of guardrails should really outrage and alarm us. One case, a group of women who had been detained during the Minneapolis chaos brought to El Paso And we met with them. They had been in custody at Camp East Montana for twenty-one days, without a change of clothes, without access to a phone to call their lawyers. They were desperate. Um, some of these women were nurses. Some had been in the country for decades. Um, and they felt incr- like, incredibly hopeless. There was one woman who was HIV positive who did not have access to her medication for twenty-one days. I'll give you another example. A a man that we met with a couple months ago, and as I was visiting with him, he had a brace on his arm and he kept rubbing his arm. And I asked him, " Are you okay?" And he said, " No, my arm was broken by an ICE agent when he arrested me." "This was weeks ago. I've been begging for medical care." Do you wanna see my arm? I said, yes, I'd like to see your arm. He took off his brace. You could see the break in his forearm. His arm had not been set. He had not been allowed to see a doctor. He was given aspirin. And he said at this point, I just wanna be deported, so I can check myself into an emergency room wherever they deport me.

Mm.

This is why oversight is important. This is why standards are important. Believe me, Henry and I live on the border. I, I um worked with the community with El Paso when we were seeing up to ten thousand people a day. That was not acceptable. And we need reform. And, and we need um to ensure that never happens again, which is why I've co-authored the dignity act with uh your colleague, Maria Salazar, for those of you who want to see real reform. But until we pass immigration reform, we have to hold our government accountable. And it's this committee that has the power to do that. And these are just two stories. I, we have so many. We are better than this, and the Appropriations Committee really can create a standard that we can be proud of, where we can be safe and we can be humane. So I seek to do that with all of you. Thank you, Mister Chairman, thank you, Ranking Member, I yield back.

Other members' opening statements. Seeing none, um before I go to uh uh Mister Rutherford, I I'm gonna go ahead and and and make mine at this point in time and uh First of all, th this will this'll see if anybody's listening. I'm actually looking forward to next week. And you say, what the heck's the matter with that guy? Um and a and it's like it has not been a great year to be serving in this in this role. Uh but I'll just say that. Regardless of what your politics are and you know, everybody's had something to say, but not everybody has said everything they're thinking. On both sides.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's true.

That's the mark of professionals.

Yeah, it is.

Because God knows there's plenty that could have been said.

Yeah, it's true. Yep.

And so, having said that, you're going, what, that's kinda weird, what's, why is he saying this? And uh I'm saying it because as as the Chairman alluded to, he was proud of the work that this committee did last year. Nobody got everything they wanted, uh we got shoved around by by by folks that, you you know whatever, it's like no, well we're okay with this, no you can't do that, you can't do that. I was proud of the collaborative process. I mean there, it was still political, and we still agreed to disagree on plenty, but everybody was a pro. And and and no offense to any of the other members that that don't serve on on this committee or on appropriations, but I think that's not your standard fare i in the culture these days. And so now as as we approach next week for this committee, it's like, oh well it's got easier, you know. I mean it's easier to be on homeland. Um it's all bear and horseshoe pitching. Um and that sort of thing. And and uh uh I think it's gonna be g good to have the discussions that we're gonna have in the context of article one and being appropriators. And the bill is gonna change from what it is now

Mm-hmm.

to to what we report out. Now it still may end up being the same roll call votes, but the bill is gonna change. And if I'm wrong it's like well you don't know anything about your committee and and and whatever the heck. But I I just wanna say this to the staffs and and and all that, i i it's like My impression of the work that the people in this jurisdictional area have done as members and staff is pretty pretty doggone strong. a and and you're not all being called to talk on your favorite morning or evening show or whatever and and it's all a but but it's like listen that that old Ben Franklin thing well done is better than well said thank you for being well done people. Um you don't owe me anything for for saying that but thank you for being well done people.

Mm-hmm.

Um and I also have one housekeeping thing that I need to do because uh We have a new member on the committee, Mister Shreve from Indiana, who's sitting down there in the end thinking, everybody's going who's that guy and what's the heck, and I'm flying under the radar. I w I w I first of all wanna welcome you to to the toughest committee i in a p subcommittee on appropriations. And second, um we're not big on ceremony around here, I just wanna let you know if there are any second degree amendments that we in the majority decide to do on next week's mark-up, you're gonna be carrying them all by yourself. Welcome to the committee, big guy.

Thank you.

Okay. Yeah, h how's that for Jesus?

Good.

They're really uh they're really formal folks folks down there. Um, and so with that I would call on

Me Before you, ma ma I I forgot to say something. Would you uh chairman uh recognize me to make a quick remark?

Chairman is recognized.

Alright, thank you very much. I forgot to mention our friend Miss Hinson who this is her last mark

Ah.

Uh, here.

uh Yeah, yeah, of course. Uh earlier today was Miss Letlow who was in the previous committee. Unlike most members, you know, you always tell them, well, we're gonna miss you more than you miss us. Actually, you really are gonna miss us. Because if you get to where I think you're gonna gonna go, That's uh You're gonna land in the middle of a lot of problems where I honestly I think the filibuster's been much misused over there to thwart the progress specifically of this committee and frankly earlier in the healthcare stuff and uh it just Amazing. But I wish you well. You have been a joy to work with uh on our side of the aisle. And uh I I frankly I think across the aisle you are a real credit to to your state and your district and this institution. And uh I you have a brilliant future in front of you. I'm sorry it ended as quickly as it did here. I thought when Grassley decided to run for re-election we got her for six more years. Uh but uh you know uh uh Senator Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I I guess before I make my final administrative announcement, is there any members who who wanna submit amendments at this time? Okay, seeing none, final administrative announcement is this, um, we are formally up for purposes of providing lunch et cetera next Wednesday. And that's an important thing, you know, it's just like troops in the field or whatever, it's like what's for what's to eat.

Mm-hmm.

And so um Uh, I know that everybody has their own spin on that sort of stuff, and healthy, and all that other sort of stuff. Oh my goodness. I can assure, I can assure those of you that are looking for healthy choices next Wednesday at noon, you should pack a lunch. We we are gonna break, we are gonna break with responsibility and maturity and stuff like that. Um, and uh, that's all I'm gonna say.

Well, c can't sense your

Talking forward, got a lot of

Talking about food, can I mention something?

No, but thank you for asking.

Yeah, but I will, but I will. Uh, since we're starting Homeland on Tuesday after labor age, on Tuesday we will have uh food from my district, we got a Mexican restaurant that will come in, it's not uh, palenque grill, the same one we bring in, I've tried a different one, it is not Taco Bell. Uh, so um

That's the next day.

That that, no, on Tuesday, you're on Wednesday and you're on Tuesday,

Yeah, on Tuesday.

yeah, we're on Tuesday, so uh for Tuesday since we're starting the homeland, we'll provide uh we'll bring in the cooks from uh South Texas up here, so. Yeah.

That would be great, and and after seeing the previous uh subcommittee meeting which will, which we'll have to wrap up in order for Mister Cuellar to put on his his uh culinary extravaganza, um We know that those folks are not gonna uh, you know, do anything wild and out on the edge in terms of of culinary adventures, so

I offered,

um

but uh I you know, otherwise it would have been our way.

It's b it's been a tough year all around, hasn't it? Mister Rutherford, you are uh are recognized for the purposes of making a motion.

Mr Chairman, I move that there'll be favorably reported uh four committee

The question is on the motion uh from Mister Rutherford. Those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye. Those opposed, no.

No.

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The motion is agreed to. Um, seeing no other business uh to come before the committee today, uh the subcommittee on Homeland Security will stand adjourned.

Alright.