Homeland Security

The bill before us provides adequate funding for DHS front line employees so that they can continue to conduct critical operations along our borders; protect our nation's airports and seaports; disrupt the latest plots against the United States and our citizens; and respond to the spate of natural disasters our country has experienced.

I applaud you and your staff for retaining adequate funding for the front line employees of the Department of Homeland Security, so that they can continue to conduct critical operations along our borders, protect our nation's airports and seaports, and respond to the spate of natural disasters our country has experienced.

Clearly, for this Department to operate effectively, DHS and the Congress needed to invest in upgrading its infrastructure.

We hold the men and women of the Coast Guard in the highest regard on this Subcommittee. Our job here today and through the appropriations process is to ensure that you have the resources necessary to fulfill your missions and that taxpayer dollars are allocated wisely

During this time of fiscal restraint, you have been asked to tighten your belt. In doing so, I question whether this budget is properly balanced in a way that maintains critical operations without robbing Peter to pay Paul.

The 2013 discretionary budget request for the Department of Homeland Security is $39.5 billion, plus an additional $5.5 billion in disaster relief funding that does not count toward the discretionary cap. At roughly the same level as 2012, this budget represents the first time an Administration has not sought an increase for homeland security activities since the Department was formed. Like all federal agencies, you have been asked to do more with less, and this has required some tough decisions.

Providing a total of $1 billion for all State and Local Grants, or 65 percent below the request, and providing $350 million for Firefighter Assistance Grants, almost 50 percent below an already reduced request, breaks faith with the states and localities that depend on us as partners to secure our communities.