Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018
Floor Speech
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Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Mr. Frelinghuysen and Mrs. Lowey for all the work that we did together on this bill. The whole bill is a good bill. It deserves this House's support.
But I am here to present the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018, which, in turn, deserves your support. This is a good bill that is essentially for the security of our Nation. It not only funds vital security and law enforcement capabilities, but it also restores funding for critical Federal assistance grant programs and disaster relief.
As importantly, it provides the oversight essential to ensure the Department's actions are in accordance with congressional intent. Let's look at it. For CBP, $1.6 billion for 74 miles of border wall construction that was previously included in the Make America Secure Appropriations Act that was passed in July.
In addition to the funding for the wall construction, this bill will fund additional border patrol agents and virtually all of the technology, infrastructure, and assets needed for the security of our borders. For ICE, this bill funds 44,000 detention beds; 10,000 more beds than were funded in 2016; almost 4,700 more than the number funded in 2017.
This bill will strengthen ICE's ability to enforce immigration laws and conduct investigations into human trafficking, child exploitation, and transnational crime. For TSA, although the bill does not include the proposed increase in aviation security fees, it fully funds required transportation security screeners.
For the Coast Guard, all major acquisition programs are funded at the required level: the polar icebreaker, the offshore patrol cutter, and the fast response cutter. For FEMA, the bill fully funds the request for disaster assistance.
It restores nearly $940 million to the Federal assistance for first responder grants and education training exercises. Additionally, the bill fully funds all cybersecurity acquisition requirements at the requested levels, fully funds the Secret Service, and fully funds E- Verify.
In conclusion, my colleagues, this bill strengthens the security of our Nation. It also sends a powerful message that if you break our Nation's laws and cross the border illegally, you will suffer the consequences: apprehension and a guaranteed stay in detention.
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Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for bringing up this issue. Last week, FEMA was forced to restrict obligations for past disasters to prioritize funding for immediate lifesaving efforts in response to Hurricane Harvey. The supplemental funding bill that passed the House this morning will enable FEMA to lift these restrictions and resume funding for long-term recovery efforts, such as those in North Carolina and other parts of our Nation.
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