Homeland Security

With our agriculture priorities advanced, we now turn to our Homeland Security bill to ensure a comprehensive approach to protecting Americans. To start, I want to thank Chairman Amodei and Ranking Member Underwood for their attention and work. Everyone in this room understands that the safety of our citizens is paramount. 

We do this through strong vigilance, action, and empowering our frontline law enforcement agents. The work of the Department of Homeland Security is fundamental to those efforts. Their mission is more vital than ever. Under new White House leadership, we've seen a critical shift toward restoring safety and security — including a historic turnaround at our southern border — yet we continue to face the consequences of dangerous threats emboldened by the previous administration’s weakness.

The bill before us today provides $66.3 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion above fiscal year 2025, and $26.5 billion for major disaster response and recovery activities. 

What a difference a year makes. When we were marking up our fiscal year 2025 bill, the border was in disarray. We were spending billions of dollars on sole-source contracts for soft-sided tents to process and manage a Biden policy-driven crisis. 

And if that wasn’t bad enough, we were sending hundreds of millions to non-governmental organizations to facilitate the entry of illegal aliens into the country on a massive scale. The turn around that the Trump administration has orchestrated on the border has been profound.  What was once a border in chaos with record levels of encounters has quickly turned into the lowest numbers of crossings in recorded history. 

I would like to first thank Chairman Amodei, Ranking Member Underwood, and all the members of the subcommittee for being here today. Keeping Americans safe and secure is a fundamental duty, and the measure we are considering this evening supports that mission. 

There is no denying that in today’s evolving risk landscape, protection and preparedness are not optional—America must lead. The Department of Homeland Security plays a central role in that effort, and we are committed to providing the resources needed to safeguard the homeland on every front. While cartels and bad actors push at our borders, foreign adversaries and terrorists remain intent on hacking our systems, challenging our infrastructure and networks daily.

Welcome to the Subcommittee Markup of the Fiscal Year 2026 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. I would like to welcome Full Committee Chairman Cole and Ranking Member DeLauro, Subcommittee Ranking Member Underwood, and all the Members of the Subcommittee. I will hold my comments until the end, so I’ll begin by recognizing the distinguished gentlelady from Illinois, Ms. Underwood for her opening comments.

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I would first like to thank the Members of the Subcommittee for their participation and insightful questions during our budget hearings last month. As we put together the bill and report, we made a concerted effort to address as many Member priorities as possible. The bill before us today provides $66.3 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion above fiscal year 2025, and $26.5 billion for major disaster response and recovery activities.