Introduction

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the third largest agency in the federal government in terms of staff size, with roughly 262,000 civilian and military personnel. The annual appropriations bill that funds it—providing $82.10 billion in gross discretionary budget authority in FY2024—was the sixth largest of the 12 annual funding measures developed by the appropriations committees. It is the only appropriations bill that funds a single agency exclusively and in its entirety.

This report provides an overview of the Joe Biden Administration's FY2025 annual budget request for DHS, as released on March 11, 2024. It provides a component-level overview of the appropriations sought in the FY2025 budget request, and puts the requested appropriations in context with the FY2024 requested and enacted level of appropriations.

FY2024 annual appropriations for DHS were enacted as Division C of P.L. 118-47 on March 23, 2024. For more information on the current status of DHS appropriations for FY2024, including supplemental appropriations, see CRS Report R47688, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2024 State of Play, by William L. Painter.

Data Sources and Caveats

• The data reflected in this report are drawn from analysis of the DHS Budget in Brief for FY2025, and the DHS portion of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix.¹ However, due to timing, these documents lack information on the annual appropriations for FY2024 enacted in P.L. 118-47. Information on those appropriations, as well as the FY2024 budget request, is drawn from the explanatory statement for the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-47) posted in Part II of the March 22, 2024 Congressional Record.²

As such, this report compares data developed with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scoring methodology with data developed with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) scoring methodology. These two organizations have technically distinct approaches based on the role they play in their respective branches of government.³ However, their approaches are similar enough in scoring gross discretionary spending (the primary measure used in this report) that the differences between the two perspectives are relatively small.⁴

Numbers expressed in billions are rounded to the nearest hundredth ($10 million), while numbers expressed in millions are rounded to the nearest million.

The FY2025 annual budget request and FY2024 annual appropriation were developed and enacted within a highly dynamic environment. Therefore, analytical conclusions should be framed within the following considerations:

• 1. The FY2025 budget request was developed without a clear baseline of FY2024 resources, as FY2024 annual appropriations were still under development. Therefore, the request should not necessarily be seen as "responding" to the FY2024 annual appropriations.
• 2. The FY2025 budget request repeats a request for $4.7 billion in contingent supplemental appropriations to address management of the southwest border.⁵ As the requested resources would be distributed across U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), based on needs at the time, those resources are not included in the comparative tables and figures presented in this analysis.
• 3. The FY2025 budget request also proposes designating $2.79 billion of the annual appropriations request as an emergency requirement, thereby reducing the amount that the request would score against the statutory discretionary budget limits. This action is not reflected in the resource tables included in the Budget in Brief, but is instead reflected in the legislative language requested for DHS appropriations by the Administration in the Appendix.
• 4. Finally, the Administration's discussions of the FY2025 budget request in the Budget-in-Brief and in congressional hearings before several committees reiterate the Administration's support for two sets of supplemental appropriations for DHS: those requested in October 2023, and those included in a Senate-negotiated border security and immigration package. Rough calculations indicate that the unmet needs outlined in these two vehicles—and not specifically enumerated in the budget request—exceed $24 billion.⁶

Supplemental Appropriations for FY2024

None of the FY2024 requested or enacted levels used for comparison in this report include supplemental appropriations, as the intent is to analyze the FY2025 annual appropriations request in comparison to the preceding fiscal year's request and annual appropriations.

However, $16 billion in supplemental appropriations were provided for the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) in P.L. 118-15, and $1.32 billion in advance supplemental appropriations from P.L. 117-58 became available in FY2024. The advance supplemental appropriations included

• $20 million for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA's) Cybersecurity Response and Recovery Fund;
• $400 million for FEMA's Federal Assistance appropriation for hazard mitigation revolving loan funds ($100 million) and grants for cybersecurity and critical infrastructure ($300 million);
• $200 million for hazard mitigation grants; and
• $700 million for the National Flood Insurance Fund.

In addition, during the development of FY2024 annual appropriations and the FY2025 request, there were two supplemental appropriations requests made by the Administration, and a supplemental appropriations package that included border security funding and policy changes negotiated in the Senate. The Administration reiterated in its annual appropriations request the need for supplemental appropriations to address disaster relief needs and the situation at the southwest border, originally requested in October 2023,⁷ and a border security package negotiated by the Senate, which was released February 4, 2024.⁸ Therefore, some observers may consider that the funding levels in the annual appropriations request are not a full reflection of the Administration's view of the current needs of DHS.

As aforementioned, rough calculations indicate that the unmet needs outlined in these two vehicles—and not specifically enumerated in the budget request—may exceed $24 billion.⁹

Structure of the DHS Budget

FY2025 Context

The FY2025 budget request released on March 11, 2024, was the fourth detailed budget proposed by the Biden Administration.

The budget for DHS includes a variety of discretionary and mandatory budget authority. Aside from standard discretionary spending, some of the discretionary spending in the bill is offset by collections of fees, reducing the net effect on the general fund of the Treasury.

Additionally, a large portion of the funding FEMA receives for the DRF has received special budgetary exemptions from subcommittee allocations and statutory spending limits.¹⁰ This year's request also proposes designating $2.79 billion in annual appropriations as an emergency requirement, although the justification documents do not provide an explanation for such a move.

For the second year in a row, the Administration has requested up to $4.7 billion "to aid the Department and its components in responding [to] surges of migration along the Southwest border." The proposal suggests that if encounters at the border reach certain quarterly thresholds, then DHS would receive additional emergency-designated resources.¹¹ This funding mechanism is atypical, and is known as a contingent appropriation, as the resources are only made available contingent on a certain condition or set of conditions. Congress did not approve such a request for FY2024.

DHS also draws resources from fee revenues and other collections included in the mandatory budget, which are not usually referenced in annual appropriations legislation. However, some mandatory spending items still require an appropriation because there is no dedicated source of funding to meet the government's obligations established in law—such as the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) retirement accounts.¹² Figure 1 shows a breakdown of these different categories from the FY2025 budget request.

Figure 1. FY2025 Budget Request Structure (Millions of dollars of budget authority)

Sources: Developed by CRS, based on the "Fiscal Year 2025 Overview," DHS Budget in Brief, FY2025, p. 1, and the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix. Notes: "Discretionary Appropriations" reflects the offsetting effect of the disaster relief designation, emergency designation and the fee-funded budget authority shown in the three bars below it. The Administration's accounting for appropriated mandatory budget authority includes the Aviation Security Capital Fund and several U.S. Coast Guard items: Retired Pay, Boat Safety, Maritime Oil Spill Program, and General Gift Fund.

Congress and the Administration may differ on how funding should be structured. Administrations of both parties have suggested paying for certain activities with fee increases that would require legislative approval. If fees are not increased, additional discretionary appropriations would be required to fund the planned activities.¹³

Several observations can be made in the first four categories of discretionary funding:

• The total gross discretionary request, including disaster relief and emergency-designated appropriations is $3.03 billion (+3.3%) higher than the FY2024 request, and $700 million (+0.8%) higher than the FY2024 enacted level.
• The inclusion of $2.79 billion in emergency designations for annual appropriations in the request has the effect of reducing how much of the bill counts against statutory spending limits. Finding room within the nondefense discretionary budget limit for an additional $2.79 billion of budget authority—which would be necessary if Congress does not provide the emergency designations—would be a challenging exercise.
• If the proposed emergency-designated funds are set aside, the discretionary appropriations request drops to $88.05 billion, $238 million (+0.3%) more in discretionary appropriations than requested for FY2024, and $2.01 billion (-2.4%) less than was enacted in annual appropriations for FY2024.
• Without the emergency designated funds, seven DHS components' budgets would be reduced, including CBP (-$1.07 billion), ICE (-$691 million), and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG, -$912 million).
• The FY2025 request also includes an increase of $2.45 billion (+12.1%) above the FY2024 requested and enacted levels of disaster relief-designated discretionary appropriations for the DRF.
• For the fourth year in a row, the annual appropriations request for the DRF exceeded the discretionary appropriations request for any DHS component—it is more than the budgets for ICE and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) combined.
• The annual request for the DRF is more than four times larger than the rest of FEMA's requested discretionary budget.
• When the DRF is set aside, the remainder of the discretionary request (base discretionary + fee-funded discretionary) is $2.21 billion (-3.1%) below the FY2024 request and $4.54 billion (-6.7%) below the FY2024 enacted level.
• The Administration also proposes $7.64 billion in fee-funded discretionary budget authority (offsetting collections), a $317 million (+4.3%) increase from the FY2024 enacted level. The structure of those offsets between the FY2025 request (released first) and the FY2024 enacted measure (released two weeks later) differs significantly:
• The request includes $4.40 billion in offsetting collections for TSA from the aviation security passenger fee ($1.6 billion of which would require legislation), while the enacted measure included $3.42 billion ($800 million of which was from a one-time reduction in the amount of the fee dedicated to deficit reduction).
• The next largest element of the offsetting collections after aviation security is the Federal Protective Service (FPS), which is entirely funded by fees collected from the government agencies whose facilities FPS protects. The request anticipates a reduction of $176 million (-8.0%) in the FPS budget from the FY2024 enacted level.
• Two other one-time offsetting collections in the FY2024 enacted measure budget were included in Section 546: $320 million in U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Operations and Support appropriations was offset from the federal presidential election campaign fund; and $364 million of FEMA grant funding was offset by a transfer of unused FEMA grant funding under P.L. 117-58.

Southwest Border Contingency Fund

As noted above, the Administration has requested $4.7 billion in contingent appropriations, which would be made available to certain DHS components based on the number of migrant encounters at the Southwest border (see Table 1).

These contingent appropriations would provide additional budget authority to DHS for the Secretary to divide as needed among CBP, ICE, and/or FEMA to meet the kinds of border management needs funded through general provisions in the DHS appropriations act in recent years. DHS has indicated that the contingent appropriations would be used for "critical operations like transportation, medical care, soft-sided facilities, and Shelter and Service Program grants."¹⁴

DHS has noted that, based on recent history, it is likely that the first two thresholds would be met in FY2025.¹⁵ The third threshold has yet to be reached in a fiscal year.

Since the appropriations would only be provided if encounters at the border reach a certain level, and potentially would be distributed among three components based on an evolving situation, CRS cannot represent them in this analysis.

Appropriations Analysis

Types of DHS Appropriations

In FY2017, at congressional direction, DHS implemented a Common Appropriations Structure (CAS), reorganizing most DHS discretionary appropriations into four uniform categories:

• 1. Operations and Support (O&S), which generally covers operating salaries and expenses;
• 2. Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I), which funds planning, development, engineering, purchase, and deployment of assets to support component missions;
• 3. Research and Development (R&D), which provides resources needed to identify, explore, and demonstrate new technologies and capabilities to support component missions; and
• 4. Federal Assistance (FA), which supports grant funding managed by DHS components.

Some DHS appropriations do not fit the CAS categories. For instance, FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund is a unique discretionary appropriation that has been preserved separately, in part, due to the history of the high level of public and congressional interest in that particular structure.¹⁶

Of the $91.13 billion in gross discretionary budget authority requested for DHS in FY2025, $87.77 billion (96.3%) falls into the four CAS categories and the DRF.¹⁷

The CAS structure allows for a quick survey of the level of departmental investment in these broad categories of spending through the appropriations process.¹⁸ Table 2 shows the values of the four CAS categories and the DRF in detail, and expresses that value as a share of appropriations in those five categories.¹⁹ The following columns compare that value to the FY2024 requested and annual enacted amounts for each category.

A visual representation of this data follows in Figure 2. On the left are the four appropriations categories of the CAS, plus the DRF and a catch-all "other" category for discretionary spending not included in these activity types.²⁰ A black bar represents (to scale) the FY2025 funding levels requested for DHS for each category. Colored lines flow to the DHS components listed on the right showing the amount of funding requested in each category to each component.

Figure 2. FY2025 DHS Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority Request by Category and DHS Component

Source: CRS interpretation of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief. Notes: FEMA = Federal Emergency Management Agency; CBP = U.S. Customs and Border Protection; USCG = U.S. Coast Guard; TSA = Transportation Security Administration; ICE = U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; MD = Management Directorate; CISA = Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; USSS = U.S. Secret Service; ST = Science and Technology Directorate; USCIS = U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; CWMD = Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office; FLETC = Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers; IASA = Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness; OSEM = Office of the Secretary and Executive Management; OIG = Office of Inspector General.

Comparing the FY2025 Request to Prior-Year Levels

Table 3 presents the requested gross discretionary budget authority²¹ for FY2025 for each DHS component, as well as the funding level requested for and enacted in the FY2024 annual appropriations act, as well as in measures with supplemental appropriations.²²

• Six analytical columns on the right side of the table provide comparisons of the FY2025 requested funding levels with the FY2024 requested, enacted annual, and total enacted levels, indicating dollar and percentage change.
• Components are listed in the order in which they appear in the DHS appropriations measures.
• An indented and italicized line beneath an entry for a component entry shows the portion of the component's funding covered by adjustments for disaster relief or emergency requirements.

DHS Staffing

The O&S appropriation for each component pays for most DHS personnel.²³ Table 4 and Table 5 analyze changes to DHS staffing, as illuminated by the budget request's information on positions and full-time equivalents (FTEs)²⁴ for each component. Appropriations legislation does not explicitly set these levels, so the information is drawn from the DHS budget justifications.

As there is no comparable information in the budget request on FY2024 positions and full-time equivalents funded through the annual appropriations process, this analysis compares the requested level to those funded through the FY2023 annual appropriations measure.

In Table 4 the first two data columns indicate the number of positions requested for each component in the FY2025 budget request—expressed numerically, and then as a percentage of total positions. The next two columns show the difference between the FY2025 request and the number of positions funded in the enacted FY2023 annual appropriations measure for DHS—expressed numerically, then as a percentage change from the baseline.²⁵ Table 5 shows the same analysis for FTEs. Note that while the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) has more than 2,000 more positions than the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the FY2023 request, FEMA doubles its requested FTE count.

Overview of Selected Component-Level Changes

The following summaries of the budget requests for the selected DHS components are drawn from a survey of the DHS FY2025 Budget in Brief and the budget justifications for each component.

Each summary begins with a figure showing two comparisons:

• The first outlines the request for FY2025, the annual enacted level for FY2024, and the request for FY2024, showing the share of each component as a black bar within the whole of DHS. The data label on the left of the bar shows the requisite level for the component (the black portion of the bar), and the label on the right shows the level for the remainder of DHS (the gray portion of the bar).
• The second outlines the breakdown by CAS appropriations category (as described above) for the request for FY2025, the annual enacted level for FY2024, and the request for FY2024.

The narrative that follows includes observations on the contributing factors to the larger changes. The appropriations request amounts include all new gross discretionary spending requested or enacted for each component. These amounts do not include supplemental appropriations, or mandatory spending, such as programs paid for directly by collected fees that have appropriations in permanent law.

As noted above, each component's Operations and Support appropriation includes discretionary funding for pay. An average 2.0% civilian pay and 4.5% military pay increase was requested for 2025.²⁶ Descriptions of each such appropriations note the impact of these pay increases—as well as the annualization of personnel costs of other initiatives and retirement cost adjustments—to distinguish between such pay increases and other operational funding shifts. This impact is measured against the projected funding level of an annualized FY2024 continuing resolution, as this is what was provided in the justification documents, and there is not enough available information from the FY2024 enacted annual appropriations measure to develop a more authoritative alternative.

Law Enforcement Operational Components (Title II)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Figure 3. CBP Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations. "Other" appropriations include COBRA Free Trade Agreement collections and Global Entry user fees appropriated to CBP and permanent indefinite discretionary spending for CBP services at facilities that pay user fees.

The Administration's $17.01 billion FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for CBP was $2.99 billion (-15.0%) below the FY2024 enacted level, and $179 million (+1.1%) above the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. However, the Administration's request reiterated their support for billions of dollars of supplemental appropriations for CBP, which would be available in both FY2024 and FY2025. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $2.49 billion (-13.5%) less than enacted in FY2024 for CBP Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 request included
• $789 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives,²⁷ although this includes $91 million in savings based on a re-analysis of pay requirements.²⁸
• $117 million to support the hiring of 250 additional Border Patrol Agents, 135 border processing coordinators, 150 CBP Officers, 60 mission support personnel, and 41 intelligence staff;²⁹ and
• $133 million to lower reliance on Department of Defense (DOD) capabilities at the border, which includes hiring 290 additional mission and operational support staff for Border Patrol and the Office of Field Operations, 100 additional border patrol agents, and 175 border processing coordinators.³⁰
• $799 million of the request was designated as an emergency requirement.³¹
• The Administration had also requested $4.47 billion in supplemental CBP O&S appropriations in its October 2023 request, and supported $6.01 billion in supplemental appropriations for CBP O&S in the Senate-negotiated border security package.³²
• $577 million (-67.9%) less than was enacted in FY2024 for CBP Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I). The primary driver of this change from the FY2024 enacted level is a $381 million reduction from that baseline in Trade and Travel Assets and Infrastructure, resulting in no annual appropriations request for that activity.³³
• The entire $273 million CBP PC&I request for FY2025 was designated as an emergency requirement.³⁴
• The Administration had also requested $849 million in supplemental CBP PC&I appropriations in its October 2023 request, and supported $759 million in supplemental appropriations for CBP O&S in the Senate-negotiated border security package.³⁵

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Figure 4. ICE Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $9.31 billion FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for ICE was $246 million (-2.6%) below the FY2024 enacted level, and $979 million (+11.8%) above the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. However, the Administration's request reiterated their support for billions of dollars of supplemental appropriations for ICE, which would be available in both FY2024 and FY2025. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $190 million (-2.0%) less than enacted in FY2024 for ICE Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 ICE O&S request included
• $345 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives;³⁶
• A total of $649 million for transportation and removal activities, $73 million below the FY2024 enacted level;³⁷ and
• A $110 million reduction from the FY2024 enacted level in the Alternatives to Detention program.³⁸
• $686 million of the request was designated as an emergency requirement.³⁹
• The Administration had also requested $2.54 billion in supplemental ICE O&S appropriations in its October 2023 request, and supported $7.60 billion in supplemental appropriations for ICE O&S in the Senate-negotiated border security package.⁴⁰
• $51 million (-91.8%) less than was enacted in FY2024 for ICE Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I).
• The primary driver of this change from the FY2024 enacted level is a $35 million reduction from that baseline in Operational Communications and Information Technology.⁴¹
• $5 million of the ICE PC&I request for FY2025 was designated as an emergency requirement.⁴²

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Figure 5. TSA Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $11.55 billion FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for TSA was $979 million (+9.3%) above the FY2024 enacted level, and $757 million (+7.0%) above the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. The Administration includes a legislative proposal within their request that would dedicate the Passenger Security Fee collection to TSA. Currently, a portion of the fee goes to deficit reduction. The Administration indicated such a proposal would provide an additional $1.60 billion above current law to offset TSA's operating costs in FY2025.⁴³ The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $917 million (+8.7%) more than enacted in FY2024 for TSA Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 TSA O&S request included
• $890 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives, including $368 million for annualization of TSA's pay plan adjustment.⁴⁴
• $58 million (142.2%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for TSA Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I). The primary driver of this change from the FY2024 enacted level is $99 million for aviation screening checkpoint support procurement – the only activity funded in the FY2025 request.⁴⁵
• $3 million (+22.9%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for TSA Research and Development (R&D).
• However, this is a 38.6% reduction from the FY2024 requested level, and a 46% reduction from the FY2023 funding level.⁴⁶
• The reductions from the FY2023 level are driven by reductions in funding for TSA's Innovation Task Force and digital identity reader technology.⁴⁷

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)

Figure 6. U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations. "Other" appropriations for the USCG include $282 million in permanent indefinite discretionary spending for Medicare-eligible military retiree health care and $4 million in offset resources from the USCG Housing Fund.

The Administration's $12.32 billion FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for the USCG was $566 million (+4.8%) above the FY2024 enacted level, and $261 million (+2.2%) above the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $412 million (4.1%) more than enacted in FY2024 for USCG Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 USCG O&S request included
• $467 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization from prior-year civilian and military pay and allowance initiatives;⁴⁸
• This is partially offset by $83 million in savings from vessel and aircraft decommissioning and a $55 million reduction in funded vacancies.⁴⁹
• $151 million (10.7%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for USCG Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I).
• The primary drivers of this change from the FY2024 enacted level are increases in funding for the Inland Waterways and Western Rivers Buoy Tender (+$134 million) and MH-60T helicopter sustainment (+$110 million).⁵⁰
• $912 million of the USCG PC&I request (58.3%) was designated as an emergency requirement.⁵¹
• Less than $1 million (-9.5%) less than enacted for USCG Research and Development (R&D), which appears to be taken as an across-the-board reduction across all five activities.⁵²

U.S. Secret Service (USSS)

Figure 7. USSS Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $2.94 billion FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for the USSS was $149 million (-4.8%) below the FY2024 enacted level, and $71 million (-2.4%) below the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $135 million (-4.5%) less than enacted in FY2024 for USSS Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 USSS O&S request included
• $148 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives;⁵³
• This was offset by a $203 million reduction from the FY2024 enacted level in the Protective Operations activity.
• $12 million (-16.2%) less than was enacted in FY2024 for USSS Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I). The primary driver of this change from the FY2024 enacted level is a $7 million reduction from the FY2024 enacted level in Construction and Facility Improvements.
• $18 million of the request was designated as an emergency requirement.⁵⁴
• $2 million (-46.6%) less than was enacted in FY2024 for USSS Research and Development (R&D). This was driven by a reduction in the Protective Systems and Weapons Testing Program.⁵⁵

Incident Response and Recovery Operational Components (Title III)

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

Figure 8. CISA Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $3.01 billion FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was $136 million (+4.7%) above the FY2024 enacted level, and $47 million (-1.5%) below the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $124 million (+5.2%) more than enacted in FY2024 for CISA Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 CISA O&S request included
• $95 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives, including $27 million for contractor conversions and $18 million for pay corrections;⁵⁶
• $10 million (+2.0%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for CISA Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I). The primary driver of this change from the FY2024 enacted level is a $10 million increase in cybersecurity.
• $2 million more than the less than $1 million that was enacted in FY2024 for CISA Research and Development (R&D). Most of CISA's investment through this appropriation is in its Technology Development and Deployment Program.⁵⁷

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Figure 9. FEMA Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $28.15 billion FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was 2.54 billion (+9.9%) above the FY2024 enacted level, and $2.27 billion (+8.8%) above the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. The Administration's request reiterated their support for $9.5 billion in supplemental appropriations for FEMA, which would be available in both FY2024 and FY2025. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $89 million (+6.0%) more than enacted in FY2024 for FEMA Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 FEMA O&S request included
• $81 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives, including $23 million to restore a one-time pay reduction in FY2023;⁵⁸
• The Administration endorsed $10 million in supplemental FEMA O&S appropriations in the Senate-negotiated border security package to administer additional Nonprofit Security Grants.⁵⁹
• $11 million (+10.9%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for FEMA Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I).
• The primary driver of this change from the FY2024 enacted level is a $33 million increase for construction and facility improvements.
• $31 million of the request was designated as an emergency requirement.⁶⁰
• $26 million (+0.1%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for FEMA Federal Assistance (FA).
• Among the larger increases Administration proposed were those for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (+$110 million), Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis (+$83 million), Assistance to Firefighter Grants Program and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (+$61 million each), and Emergency Management Performance Grants ($56 million).
• Some of the larger reductions used to offset these increases were in Community Project Funding (-$294 million), the State Homeland Security Grant Program (-$47 million),⁶¹ and the Next Generation Warning System (-$40 million).
• $2.45 billion (+12.1%) more than was enacted in annual appropriations for FY2024 for the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF).
• The DRF request constituted 80.7% of the FY2025 gross discretionary request for FEMA, and 24.9% of the entire FY2025 gross discretionary budget for DHS.
• The entire $22.71 billion request was for the portion of the DRF that pays costs associated with major disasters, which is eligible for a special designation that allows that amount to essentially not count against statutory discretionary budget limits and subcommittee allocations (see the text box below for further discussion).
• The request included $1 billion for mitigation grants under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, and an unspecified amount for a reserve "to fund initial response operations for new significant events." ⁶²
• The portion of the DRF that pays the costs of Stafford Act programs not directly associated with specific major disaster declarations is known as the "DRF base." Those costs are projected at $811 million for FY2025. Under the FY2025 budget request, these would be paid for from unobligated balances of prior-year appropriations and projected recoveries.⁶³

Support Components (Title IV)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Figure 10. USCIS Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $265 million FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was $16 million (-5.7%) below the FY2024 enacted level, and $600 million (-69.3%) below the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. However, the Administration's request reiterated their support for $4.0 billion in supplemental appropriations for USCIS through the Senate-negotiated border security package, which would be available in both FY2024 and FY2025. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $255 million (-5.9%) less than enacted in FY2024 for USCIS Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 request included $10 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives.⁶⁴
• The Administration endorsed $4.0 billion in supplemental USCIS O&S appropriations in the Senate-negotiated border security package, including $3.38 billion for hiring, $500 million for facilities, and $113 million for non-pay operational costs.⁶⁵
• $10 million for CISA Federal Assistance (FA), the same level that was requested and enacted for FY2024. This appropriation funds Citizenship and Integration Grants.⁶⁶

Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC)

Figure 11. FLETC Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $363 million FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) was $14 million (-3.7%) below the FY2024 enacted level, and $16 million (-4.2%) below the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. However, the Administration's request reiterated their support for $7 million in supplemental appropriations for FLETC, as well as $51 million in supplemental appropriations in the Senate-negotiated border security package. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $6 million (+1.8%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for FLETC Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 FLETC O&S request included
• $14 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives.⁶⁷
• The Administration endorsed $51 million in supplemental FLETC O&S in the Senate-negotiated border security package, including $50 million for training activities and $1 million for mission support.⁶⁸
• No funding was requested for FLETC Procurement, Construction and Improvements (PC&I), $20 million less than was enacted in FY2024.⁶⁹
• However, the Administration requested $7 million in supplemental FLETC PC&I appropriations in its October 2023 request to deal with disaster-related damage to its facilities, and supported $6 million in supplemental appropriations for FLETC PC&I in the Senate-negotiated border security package.⁷⁰

Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)

Figure 12. Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $836 million FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) was $94 million (+12.7%) above the FY2024 enacted level, and $51 million (-5.8%) below the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. However, the Administration's request reiterated their request for $14 million in supplemental appropriations for S&T, which would be available in both FY2024 and FY2025. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $14 million (+3.7%) more than enacted in FY2024 for S&T Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 request included $16 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives.⁷¹
• $11 million (-17.6%) less than was enacted in FY2024 for S&T Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I). The primary driver of the $50 million request is a $40 million request for work related to closure of the Plum Island research facility.⁷²
• $92 million (+29.4%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for S&T Research and Development (R&D). $89 million of this increase was for the Research, Development, and Innovation activity, which supports technology demonstrations and transfer of new capabilities to DHS components.⁷³
• The Administration requested $14 million in supplemental S&T R&D appropriations in its October 2023 request to support counter-fentanyl research and development.⁷⁴

Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD)

Figure 13. CWMD Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $418 million FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) was $9 million (+2.1%) above the FY2024 enacted level, and $10 million (-2.3%) below the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $3 million (-1.9%) less than enacted in FY2024 for CWMD Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 request included $5 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives, which was offset by cuts in advisory and assistance services (-$5 million) and funded vacancies (-$2 million);⁷⁵
• $9 million (-21.1%) less than was enacted in FY2024 for Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I). The primary driver of this change from the FY2024 enacted level was a $7 million cut to portable detection systems in this account, as they are now procured through the O&S appropriation.⁷⁶
• Level funding for CWMD Research and Development (R&D), funded at $61 million—the same level requested and enacted for FY2024. Within the appropriation, the Administration sought $5 million more for detection capability development, while seeking less for the Transformational Research and Development program.
• $21 million (+14.4%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for Federal Assistance (FA).
• The primary driver of this change was a $19 million increase for the BioWatch program.⁷⁷
• $2 million of the request was designated as an emergency requirement.⁷⁸

Headquarters Components (Title I)

Office of the Secretary and Executive Management (OSEM)

Figure 14. OSEM Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $358 million FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management (OSEM) was $46 million (-11.4%) below the FY2024 enacted level, and $30 million (+9.3%) above the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. However, the Administration's request reiterated their support for $30 million in supplemental appropriations for OSEM, which would be available in both FY2024 and FY2025. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $40 million (-11%) less than enacted in FY2024 for OSEM Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 request included
• $17 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives, offset by $13 million in nonrecurring program changes, $12 million from the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and a $9 million reduction in contracts across OSEM.⁷⁹
• The Administration's request endorses $30 million in OSEM O&S supplemental appropriations in the Senate-negotiated border security package, for work on migration flows and their effects.⁸⁰
• $2 million (6.1%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for OSEM Federal Assistance (FA).
• The request includes an additional $2 million for Targeted Terrorism Protection Grants.
• All OSEM FA funding is transferred to FEMA to administer the grants.

Management Directorate (MD)

Figure 15. MD Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $4.01 billion FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for the Departmental Management Directorate (MD) was $179 million (-4.3%) below the FY2024 enacted level, and $640 million (-13.8%) below the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. However, the Administration's request reiterated their support for $61 million in supplemental appropriations for MD, which would be available in both FY2024 and FY2025. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $72 million (-1.5%) less than enacted in FY2024 for MD Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 request included
• $35 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives.⁸¹
• The Administration requested $61 million in supplemental MD O&S appropriations in its October 2023 request for the Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM).⁸²
• $23 million (+8.9%) more than was enacted in FY2024 for MD Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I).
• The primary driver of this change from the FY2024 enacted level is continuing requirements for consolidation of DHS headquarters offices.⁸³
• $63 million of the MD PC&I request for FY2025 was designated as an emergency requirement.⁸⁴

Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness (IASA)⁸⁵

Figure 16. IASA Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $348 million FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness (IASA) was $3 million (+0.8%) below the FY2024 enacted level, and $25 million (6.7%) below the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. Most of the details of the IASA budget are classified. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $3 million (+0.8%) more than enacted in FY2024 for IASA Operations and Support (O&S). The FY2025 IASA O&S request included
• $14 million to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives.⁸⁶

Office of Inspector General (OIG)

Figure 17. DHS OIG Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2024-FY2025

Sources: CRS analysis of the FY2025 DHS Budget in Brief, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix, and the FY2024 DHS Appropriations Act explanatory statement. Notes: Amounts do not include the effects of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, or advance or supplemental appropriations.

The Administration's $233 million FY2025 gross annual appropriations request for the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) was $13 million (+5.9%) above the FY2024 enacted level, and $5 million (+2.1%) above the level of appropriations originally requested for FY2024. The FY2025 annual appropriations request included

• $13 million in additional funding to cover increased pay and retirement costs and annualization of pay from prior-year initiatives;⁸⁷ and
• $5 million in additional funding to support implementation of "zero trust" network architecture.

The budget justification notes that the OIG submitted a funding request that included an additional $22 million in program growth, covering:

• $4 million for information technology audits;
• $3 million to increase data analytics capabilities;
• $6 million to increase border security oversight;
• $6 million to implement business process and IT systems modernization;
• $1 million to perform unannounced inspections of ICE detention centers;
• $2 million for body-worn cameras; and
• $1 million to augment the Office of Integrity's quality control division.⁸⁸