The Biden-Harris Administration has submitted to Congress the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2023. The President’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is $97.3 billion, an increase of $6.5 billion from the Fiscal Year 2022 President’s Budget.
“Throughout the last year, I traveled across the country to meet with the DHS workforce, and I heard directly from them about the resources they need to achieve their critical mission,” said Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “This Budget of $97.3 billion will ensure they have the tools necessary to safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values. The Budget will support our work to protect communities from today’s complex threats by doubling funding for the Non-Profit Security Grant Program and investing in DHS’s anti-human trafficking efforts. It will bolster our critical work to protect the traveling public by ensuring that the TSA workforce will be paid on par with other Federal Government employees. Notably, the Budget makes smart investments in technology to keep our borders secure and includes funding that will allow us to process asylum claims more efficiently as we build a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system.”
At the Department of Homeland Security, the Budget would:
Protect American Communities from Today’s Complex Threats. The Budget makes significant investments in programs that help protect American communities from a wide range of rapidly evolving threats.
- The Budget doubles funding for the Non-Profit Security Grant Program to $360 million, to protect houses of worship and other non-profits. Secretary Mayorkas expressly called for this increase in funding after the Colleyville synagogue hostage crisis.
- The DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, which investigates traffickers, protects victims, and coordinates DHS-wide anti-trafficking efforts, will receive $18 million.
- The Budget increases funding for the ICE Victim Assistance Program by $12 million. Fifty-nine new victim assistance specialists will be hired to enhance ICE’s victim-centered approach to its investigations into a wide range of federal crimes, including human trafficking, child exploitation, child sex crimes, financial scams targeting the elderly and other vulnerable populations, white collar crimes, and human rights abuses.
Enhance Border Security and Invest in an Efficient Immigration System. The Budget includes billions of dollars to keep America’s borders secure and enforce our immigration laws. Funding will be used to modernize port and border facilities, invest in technology, ensure the safe and humane treatment of migrants in DHS custody, and reduce the backlog of immigration cases.
- The Budget funds the hiring of 300 new Border Patrol agents and 300 new Border Patrol Processing Coordinators to respond to migration along the Southwest border. The additional Processing Coordinators will allow existing agents to focus on their core counterterrorism, law enforcement, and security missions.
- Last week, DHS and the Department of Justice published an interim final rule to improve and expedite the processing of asylum claims. The Budget includes $375 million to support operationalizing this important rule, so that those who are eligible for asylum are granted relief quickly, and those who are not are promptly removed.
- The Budget includes $20 million in continued support for the Family Reunification Task Force’s work to identify and reunite families who were separated under the Trump Administration’s Zero-Tolerance Policy.
Support IT Modernization and Cybersecurity. Through cyber defense operations and technical assistance, DHS works to prevent malicious cyber activity from compromising and disrupting Federal networks and privately held critical infrastructure. The Budget provides $1 billion to enhance cyber risk analysis capabilities, fortify the security posture of Federal Government networks, and deliver an integrated system that defends IT infrastructure. This funding supports efforts to close crucial gaps that exist in large agency enterprises and provides DHS with visibility into unauthorized, potentially malicious, or adversary activity targeting Federal networks.
- The Budget provides $8 million to fully operationalize the CISA Cybersecurity Advisory Committee and Cyber Safety Review Board and to enhance CISA’s advisory council management capabilities through the creation of an Advisory Council Program Management Office.
- The Budget includes $425 million for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program to fortify the security posture of Federal Government networks and systems and provide CISA with visibility into unauthorized, potentially malicious, or adversary activity targeting Federal networks.
- The Budget includes $175 million for Infrastructure Security efforts to secure and increase resilience for privately-owned critical infrastructure through risk management and collaboration with the critical infrastructure community.
Support the DHS Workforce. This Budget recognizes that the DHS mission is only possible with a strong and supported workforce.
- The Budget proposes a 4.6% increase in pay for both civilian and military employees.
- Since the inception of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) twenty years ago, the screening workforce that keeps the American traveling public safe has been paid at a lower rate than the rest of the Federal Government. Honoring a commitment by Secretary Mayorkas, this Budget invests $1.5 billion in pay equity, collective bargaining, and merit systems protection for the TSA workforce, ensuring that the TSA workforce will be paid commensurate with other Federal Government employees.
Strengthen Disaster Preparedness and Climate Resilience. The Budget provides more than $26 billion to strengthen the nation’s ability to respond to disasters of all types, mitigate the effects of climate change through community partnerships, improve disaster resilience, and implement preparedness strategies. Of the $26 billion, approximately $20 billion is for the Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund authorized disaster support activities, of which nearly $3 billion will support improvements to local infrastructure to help adapt to the changing climate.
Read the full FY 2023 Budget at The White House
