	Introduction

This report describes and analyzes annual appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2016. It compares the enacted FY2015 appropriations for DHS, the Administration's FY2016 budget request, the appropriations proposed by Congress in response, and those enacted thus far. The suite of CRS reports on homeland security appropriations tracks legislative action and congressional issues related to DHS appropriations, with particular attention paid to discretionary funding amounts. 112-25 ). Data used in this report for FY2015 amounts are derived from the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015 P.L. 114-68 . Information on the House-reported recommended funding levels is from H.R. 3128 and H.Rept. 114-215 . 114-113 , the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2016—Division F of which is the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2016—and the accompanying explanatory statement published in Books II and III of the Congressional Record for December 17, 2015. The Administration requested $1,396 million in FY2016 net discretionary budget authority for components included in this title. Division F of P.L. 114-113 included $33,062 million in net discretionary budget authority for the components in this title, a $581 million (1.8%) increase from the request and $1,388 million (4.4%) above FY2015. The appropriations request was $267 million (4.5%) more than was provided for FY2015. 114-113 included $6,353 in net discretionary budget authority for the components in this title, a $131 million (2.1%) increase from the request and $398 million (6.7%) above FY2015. The Administration requested $1,554 million in FY2016 net discretionary budget authority for components included in this title, as part of a total budget for these components of $5,427 million for FY2016. The appropriations request was $251 million (13.9%) less than was provided for FY2015. Division F of P.L. Senate-reported S. 1619 included $1,359 million in rescissions, while House-reported H.R. 3128 included $1,692 million. As a result, I doubt DHS's budget will rise as steeply as the request proposes. Executive Order 13715 issued by President Barack Obama on December 18, 2015, authorized a 1.3% pay adjustment for almost all federal civilian employees effective in January 2016. Structural Pay Reform Restriction

The FY2016 Homeland Security Appropriations Act included a general provision that had been carried in both House- and Senate-reported bills that prohibited the obligation of appropriated funds for any structural pay reform that affects more than 100 full-time positions or costs more than $5 million in a single year until the end of the 30-day period that begins when the Secretary notifies Congress about (1) the number of FTE positions affected by the change, (2) funding required for the change for the current year and through the Future Years Homeland Security Program, (3) the justification for the change, and (4) an analysis of the compensation alternatives to the change that the department considered. Aside from the specific direction provided in the Senate- and House-reported legislation, both committee reports provided additional direction. Within DHS, Coast Guard retirement pay is an example of appropriated mandatory spending. DHS net discretionary budget authority , or the total funds that are appropriated by Congress each year, is composed of discretionary spending minus any fee or fund collections that offset discretionary spending. Some entitlements are funded by permanent appropriations, and others are funded by annual appropriations. They include discretionary totals available to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations for enactment in annual appropriations bills through the subcommittees responsible for the development of the bills. 114-4 , the President's request for FY2016, House and Senate subcommittee allocations for the Homeland Security appropriations bills for FY2016, and the allocation that would have been needed to accommodate the FY2016 enacted Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2016. Two of these—emergency spending and overseas contingency operations/Global War on Terror—are not limited. Under the Budget Control Act, the allowable adjustment for disaster relief is determined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), using the following formula:
Limit on disaster relief cap adjustment for the fiscal year = Rolling average of the disaster relief spending over the last ten fiscal years (throwing out the high and low years) + the unused amount of the potential adjustment for disaster relief from the previous fiscal year. The disaster relief allowable adjustment for FY2016 was $14,125 million.
This report discusses the FY2016 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and provides an overview of the Administration's FY2016 request. The report makes note of many budgetary resources provided to DHS, but its primary focus is on funding approved by Congress through the appropriations process. It also includes an Appendix with definitions of key budget terms used throughout the suite of Congressional Research Service reports on homeland security appropriations. It also directs the reader to other reports providing context for and additional details regarding specific component appropriations and issues engaged through the FY2016 appropriations process.
The Administration requested $41.4 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for DHS for FY2016, as part of an overall budget that the Office of Management and Budget estimates to be $64.8 billion (including fees, trust funds, and other funding that is not annually appropriated or does not score against discretionary budget limits). The request amounted to a $1.7 billion, or 4.4%, increase from the $39.7 billion enacted for FY2015 through the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 114-4).
The Administration also requested an additional $6.7 billion not reflected above for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in disaster relief funding, as defined by the Budget Control Act (BCA, P.L. 112-25), and a $160 million transfer from the Navy to the Coast Guard for overseas contingency operations (OCO) funding. Neither the disaster relief funding nor the OCO funding is considered when calculating the total amount of adjusted net discretionary budget authority, as neither count against the discretionary spending limit.
On June 18, 2015, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported out S. 1619, accompanied by S.Rept. 114-68. S. 1619 included $40.2 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for FY2016. This was $1.2 billion (2.9%) below the level requested by the Administration, but over $0.5 billion (1.4%) above the enacted level for FY2015. The Senate committee-reported bill included the Administration-requested levels for disaster relief funding and OCO funding covered by BCA adjustments—the latter as an appropriation in the DHS appropriations bill rather than the requested transfer.
On July 14, 2015, the House Committee on Appropriations reported out H.R. 3128, accompanied by H.Rept. 114-215. H.R. 3128 included $39.3 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for FY2016. This was almost $2.1 billion (5.0%) below the level requested by the Administration, and $337 million (0.8%) below the FY2015 enacted level. While the House-reported bill included the Administration-requested level for disaster relief funding, overseas contingency operations funding for the Coast Guard covered by BCA adjustments was provided in the House-passed Department of Defense appropriations act as a transfer from the Navy—therefore it is not included in the total funding in this bill for DHS.
On December 18, 2015, the President signed into law P.L. 114-113, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, Division F of which was the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2016. The act included almost $41.0 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for DHS for FY2016, almost $1.3 billion more than was provided for FY2015, and $443 million less than was requested. The enacted bill included the requested overseas contingency operations and disaster relief funding as well.
This report will be updated in the event a supplemental appropriation is provided for DHS for FY2016.