DHS Plans 6.8 Percent Spending Increase in FY 2009 Budget

Air Safety Week, Feb 11, 2008

President Bush's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) represents $50.5 billion in funding, an increase of nearly seven percent over the 2008 fiscal year level.

"This is a strong and fiscally sound budget that funds vital areas of our mission, including border security and immigration enforcement, secure identification, cargo security, infrastructure protection, emergency response, and the department's management," said DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff.

$442.4 million is requested to hire, train and equip 2,200 new Border Patrol Agents. The additional agents represent the fiscal 2009 increment of the president's goal of adding 6,000 new Border Patrol Agents by the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2009.

Total funding of $100 million is requested for E-Verify. This U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services program allows employers to use an automated system to verify name, date of birth and Social Security Number, along with immigration information for non-citizens, against federal databases to confirm the employment eligibility of both citizen and non-citizen new hires.

An increase of $30 million will support the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) vetting programs to enhance the agency's multiple systems such as crew vetting, Secure Identification Display Area checks, and the Alien Flight Student program.

An increase of $32 million will accelerate implementation of the Secure Flight program by replacing the current airline-managed passenger vetting program with a government-operated program.

Total funding of $57 million is sought for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) automation and modernization of information technology systems to acquire secure and interoperable tactical communications equipment, a biometric detainee location tracking module, and to develop and integrate an enhanced Investigative Case Management system.

An increase of $4.2 million would support the US-VISIT identity management and screening services program. This program provides biometric identity services to law enforcement, intelligence and civilian stakeholders.

DHS seeks an increase of $55 million for deploying the Transportation Security Administration's Travel Document Checking program to airports nationwide. This additional layer of defense for aviation security will help ensure only passengers with authentic boarding passes have access to the sterile area of airports and aboard aircraft.

Total funding of $1.3 billion is sought for efforts to counter improvised explosive devices (IED) threats. This request includes more than $1.1 billion in funding for TSA explosives detection technology at airports, $50 million for Science and Technology development, $30 million for training of Transportation Security Officers, and $9 million for the Office for Bombing Prevention.

[Copyright 2006 Access Intelligence, LLC. All rights reserved.]