Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 240 and that I may
include tabular material on the same.

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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.

Today, I am privileged to present to the House this bipartisan-
bicameral agreement providing appropriations to the Department of
Homeland Security, DHS, for fiscal year 2015.

Before I describe the details of this agreement, I want to thank
everyone who has worked on this bill here today because, despite its
importance to national security and public safety, its path to the
floor has been far from certain.

First, to the Speaker and majority leader and your staffs, thank you
for doing what is necessary to get this bill to this stage of the
legislative process.

To Mr. Rogers and the full committee staff, thanks for fighting for
this bill. It wouldn't be on the floor without you.

To the House and Senate subcommittee staffs and to my personal
staff--Darek Newby, Kris Mallard, Cornell Teague, Laura Cylke, Anne
Wake, Steve Gilleland, Bill Zito, Jonas Miller, and Val Baldwin--thank
you for your advice and counsel in crafting this agreement. Your work
takes you away from home and from your families, and I appreciate your
efforts.

Finally, to the Honorable David Price, who is the ranking member of
the subcommittee, much thanks to David. Our partnership is critical to
this bill's success. His experience and measured approach makes this
agreement even better.

Thank you, David, for your service and, more importantly, for your
friendship.

As everyone knows, several amendments will be proposed to stop the
President's recent executive actions on immigration. I plan to vote for
these amendments because, like many Americans, I believe the
President's actions exceed the authority provided to the Executive in
the Constitution.

We need to have this debate, but after all of the arguments have been
presented, the underlying appropriations bill must be enacted because
it is critical to the Nation's security and to public safety.

Mr. Chairman, last week, we watched a terrible tragedy unfold in
Paris as armed terrorists killed innocent French citizens who were
doing nothing more than going about their daily lives. Like 9/11, this
event and others that have occurred this year remind us that our
democratic values are under constant attack, and they serve as a
warning that we must remain vigilant.

Make no mistake, what happened in Paris can happen anywhere,
including in the United States, and we must provide the resources
necessary to find and to root out the seeds of terrorism. Therefore,
passing the Homeland Security Appropriations bill is an imperative we
cannot fail to meet.

Mr. Chairman, this agreement is very good, and I am proud of it. It
supports DHS' frontline personnel and its essential security operations
and maintains fiscal discipline.

Specifically, for Customs and Border Protection: this agreement adds
$42 million above the request to assure the 24/7 surveillance of all
land, sea, and air approaches; it increases air and marine flight hours
from 74,000 to 95,000 per year; this agreement fully funds 23,775 CBP
officers to continue efforts to reduce the wait times of passengers
arriving at the Nation's international airports without resorting to
burdensome user fees as proposed by the President; funds are included
for 21,370 Border Patrol agents, the highest operational force in DHS
history; funds for tactical communications equipment and border
security technology are increased by $20 million above the request;
substantial increases are included for targeting systems and data
analysis to support counterterrorism efforts.

For Immigration and Customs Enforcement: custody and deportation
operations are increased by $862 million above the request to ensure
the full funding of 34,000 legislatively-mandated detention beds and to
detain, deport, and deter the influx of families and children illegally
crossing the southwest border. Included in this amount are 3,732 new
family detention units to deter the illegal migration of families. Also
included are 207 new enforcement officers to expedite the process of
returning illegal immigrants to their countries of origin.

ICE's investigative capability is increased by $82.4 million over the
request, which will result in more convictions of child pornographers,
drug smugglers, human traffickers, and other criminals; full funding is
provided for E-Verify and all existing 287(g) agreements.

For the Transportation Security Administration: TSA screeners are
capped at 45,000--1,000 below last year's level; privatized screening
is increased by $12.1 million over the request; funds are reduced from
TSA's current request and prior year balances, saving the taxpayers
almost $300 million.

For the U.S. Coast Guard: operational hours in critical source and
transit zones are increased by $16.7 million over the request; depot
level maintenance, which is crucial for the Coast Guard's readiness, is
increased by $52.7 million over the request; the eighth National
Security Cutter is fully funded; and $95 million over the request is
added for an additional C-130J aircraft.

For the United States Secret Service: $25 million in additional funds
are provided to address training shortfalls highlighted by the White
House fence jumper and to enhance perimeter security, including for
additional K-9 teams.

For the National Protection and Programs Directorate: funds are
provided so DHS can effectively manage the collection of biometrics and
protect and enhance the resilience of the Nation's physical and cyber
infrastructure.

For the Federal Emergency Management Agency: $7 billion is provided
to fully fund operational needs for disaster relief; first responder
grants are increased by $300 million above the President's request to
sustain funding for State and local grants, firefighter assistance
grants, and Emergency Management Performance Grants.

For Science and Technology: $23.7 million above the request is
provided for vital research efforts, including biological defense,
cybersecurity, border security, and first responder technology; $300
million is included to complete the construction of the National Bio
and Agro-Defense Facility.

Finally, this agreement provides absolutely no discretionary funds or
mandatory funds to implement the President's executive actions on
immigration.

As you know, the costs of processing immigration applications are
paid entirely by individual applicants when they submit their
supporting documentation. Fees from those transactions are collected in
a specific amount in the Treasury, as mandated by the Immigration and
Nationality Act.

The hard-earned income of American taxpayers does not subsidize the
costs of immigration applications, and the spending bill under
consideration today has no funding for these purposes.

In closing, Mr. Chairman, this Homeland Security bill meets the
security needs of our Nation and the fiscal stewardship expected by the
taxpayers. I believe it is worthy of every Member's vote, and I urge my
colleagues to support it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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