DHS not spared from fiscal debate

DHS not spared from fiscal debate    Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano and Senate Democrats warned last week that Republican attempts to rollback agency budgets from requested levels this year will impact security and set the table for lower funding in fiscal year 2012.
   The House recently passed a continuing resolution to fund the federal government for the rest of the year that axes $60 billion from President Obama's budget request for discretionary spending. The Department of Homeland Security would get $3.7 billion less under the Republican plan.
   The government is operating under a temporary funding resolution because Congress did not pass any appropriations bills last year. Last week, President Obama signed a two-week funding extension with $4 billion in cuts that allows the parties time to negotiate an omnibus spending bill through the end of September.

Napolitano

   Appearing before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security, Napolitano said the House continuing resolution cuts critical resources for technology and security programs on the Southwest border, air cargo inspectors, port security grants, canine teams and intelligence.
   The House proposal for fiscal year 2011 'is not a good budget for security,' she said.
   Subcommittee Chairman Mary Landrieu, D-La., said she supported spending reductions where there were redundancies, but cutting back to the 2008 spending level was dangerous with so many terrorist threats against the nation.

Lautenberg

   Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey lamented the potential reduction in port security grants, which he said would cost his state $33 million. DHS received $288 million for port security grants in fiscal year 2010. The House would cut about two-thirds of the program, while the Senate proposal maintains the current funding level, which is down from $400 million in 2009.
   Napolitano said the administration would like to consolidate 17 homeland security grant programs to reduce overhead, a request that failed to pass Congress last year.

Coates

   Reflecting the deficit-cutting mood on Capitol Hill, Sen. Dan Coates, R-Ind., reminded the hearing room that voters expected Congress 'to do more with less' in lean fiscal times. 'The reality is no one is going to get everything they would like to get.'
   Coates urged Napolitano to prioritize which programs are essential because some will likely need to be deferred or cut. He questioned whether it is possible to measure the effectiveness of $28 billion in grants to states and localities since 2004, and said some communities in Indiana may have to take less so that more money goes to protect high-value targets such as heavy industrial and population centers in New Jersey.
   The Obama administration has requested $3.9 billion for such grants this year.
   'If we keep insisting on a revenue-sharing program in which everybody gets a slice, it may be the extraordinary amount of money needs to be triaged,' Coates said.
   Napolitano said operating under continuing resolutions makes managing an agency very difficult because it affects the ability to make key acquisitions, hire personnel and make investments. She expressed concern that if many cuts are annualized they will become the baseline for the fiscal year 2012 budget.
   'If that budget becomes the basis for the FY 2012 budget then I think the Congress needs to understand that in all likelihood will have a security impact,' she said.
   The Senate continuing resolution comes in $1.6 billion less than the president's request. It adds $110 million to the administration's proposal for Customs and Border Protection and $150 million more than in the House bill. ' Eric Kulisch