Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
Introduced February 11, 2026 · Last action February 11, 2026
Plain English Summary
This bill appropriates $60.3 billion in fiscal year 2026 funding for the Department of Homeland Security across its major agencies including TSA, Coast Guard, Secret Service, ICE, CBP, FEMA, and CISA. It maintains and modestly increases funding for border security, aviation security, emergency management, and cybersecurity operations while imposing new reporting requirements, oversight restrictions, and prohibitions on certain activities.
Who benefits
Transportation security contractors and airport operators (TSA modernization), Coast Guard personnel and defense contractors supplying MQ-9 aircraft and maritime equipment, Secret Service personnel and protective detail agencies, FEMA grant recipients including state and local emergency managers, nonprofits operating in high-risk areas, public transit agencies, firefighter departments, nonprofit security organizations, cybersecurity firms and infrastructure operators receiving threat feeds, federal law enforcement agencies receiving training at FLETC, air traffic controllers at FAA (3.8% pay raise of $140 million in Section 545), and federal agency employees receiving backup childcare services.
Who pays / loses
General taxpayers funding the $60.3 billion appropriation, federal agencies losing discretionary transfer authority due to reprogramming restrictions, contractors previously receiving sole-source awards facing new notification requirements, Coast Guard personnel affected by restrictions on Force Design 2028 organizational changes, federal employees subject to premium pay limitations for Secret Service overtime (cap set in law), detainees subject to new restraint restrictions (pregnant women), and CBP/ICE losing $15.5 million in rescinded unobligated balances.
Fiscal note: $60,293,668,513 for fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, plus $26.367 billion for Disaster Relief Fund and $226 million for National Flood Insurance Fund operations; amounts designated as disaster relief pursuant to budget concurrent resolution; specific multi-year carryover amounts for procurement and construction extending to 2030
Funding & Lobbying Interests
This is a bipartisan appropriations bill reflecting the core constituency interests of DHS: defense contractors supplying Coast Guard vessels and aviation platforms (General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Airbus for MQ-9), aviation security equipment manufacturers (checkpoint screening systems), cybersecurity firms (threat intelligence vendors), emergency response contractors (FEMA grant recipients), and federal employee unions (protecting Secret Service and TSA staffing levels). The sponsors are majority Democrats (DeLauro as chair of House Appropriations) and Republicans (Peters, Hoyer, Case), indicating broad institutional support. No new taxes or fees are enacted; this is funded through general revenues.
Political Impact
Affected Groups
DHS personnel (300,000+ employees across components receiving salary and benefits); state and local governments receiving $494 million in homeland security grants and $584 million in urban security funding; nonprofit organizations receiving $300 million in security grants; public transit agencies and railroad operators receiving $99.75 million; firefighter departments receiving $684 million combined for staffing and equipment; pregnant women held in DHS custody (estimated hundreds annually based on ICE detention population of 25,000-30,000); air traffic controllers and supervisors (estimated 14,000+ personnel eligible for 3.8% pay increase); rural communities dependent on FEMA disaster assistance; residents in flood-prone areas relying on NFIP insurance; cybersecurity professionals and critical infrastructure operators gaining access to federal threat feeds.
Political Subtext
Proponents characterize this as responsible investment in homeland security, border management, disaster response, and critical infrastructure protection. Supporters emphasize expanded funding for firefighter assistance, nonprofit security grants, and FEMA programs as supporting community resilience. The bill restricts Secret Service protection availability for non-Cabinet federal officials (Section 214), reducing executive branch protective costs but potentially benefiting wealthy individuals who can hire private security. Critics note the authorization of 3.8% pay raises for air traffic controllers via separate Treasury appropriation (Section 545) uses non-DHS funds and may signal labor negotiations outside standard appropriations process. The prohibition on restrained pregnant detainees reflects civil rights advocacy and bipartisan agreement on detention humane treatment standards. The ban on kinetic-armed long-range drones signals Congressional opposition to unmanned strike capabilities in DHS/Coast Guard hands. Reporting requirements and oversight restrictions (especially the Intelligence Authorization Act limitation on 'covered activities') represent Congressional assertion of budget power against executive discretion.
Real-World Stakes
If enacted: DHS will operate 2026 at maintained staffing and capability levels despite the global security environment. TSA will sustain current 470+ checkpoint staffing levels and aging-equipment replacement. Coast Guard gains $98 million for surveillance drones but loses any ability to equip them with lethal weapons. FEMA can deploy $26.4 billion in disaster relief and $3.8 billion in preventative grants, potentially reducing post-disaster response strain (FY2023 FEMA deployed $16.8 billion in disaster relief during Atlantic hurricane season). Secret Service overtime constraints may limit protective surge capacity during election years or multi-threat environments (2016-2020 election cycle required 40%+ overtime increases per prior Congressional reports). The pregnant detainee restraint restrictions align with 2010-2015 DOJ reports documenting 27 cases of pregnant women restrained in ICE custody, eliminating a documented civil rights violation. The 3-business-day grant notification requirement (Section 507) increases Congressional scrutiny of $1M+ awards—average grant value under these programs ranges $500K-$5M based on historical FEMA data. The interactive FEMA dashboard (Section 313) addresses 2017-2023 complaints that disaster cost data was opaque and published months after requests; pilots in other agencies showed 60-90 day delays in public reporting. Prior state-level appropriations limiting contract-out of public functions (analogous to Section 503(a)(2)) resulted in 2-5% higher labor costs but improved public sector retention in Pennsylvania (2003-2008) and California (2008-2012) studies per GAO reports on civil service protections.
Sponsor
Sponsor information not available.
Vote Record
No recorded votes.
Campaign Finance — Primary Sponsor
No campaign finance data available yet.
501(c)(4) disclosure: Contributions from 501(c)(4) "dark money" organizations are not required to be publicly disclosed and are not reflected in the figures above. Data sourced from FEC public disclosure filings.
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