Today the Administration submitted to the Congress an emergency supplemental request for $4.3 billion. The bulk of this money, $3.7 billion, is to deal with emerging needs created by the influx of Central American children across our southwest border. In addition, more than $600 million is for the Department of Agriculture to deal with the ongoing wildfire season.
The Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Representative Harold Rogers (R-KY), said this about the request, “…as per the normal Congressional process, [we] will make our own determination on how to appropriately and wisely use taxpayer resources.” At Taxpayers for Common Sense, we couldn’t agree more with the need to make wise use of every taxpayer dollar.
We are attaching a copy of the full request, as transmitted by the Administration, for your review here.
Here is a handy chart of each element of the request.
| Department | Agency | Program | Presidential Request | Notes |
| Agriculture | Forest Service | Wildland Fire Management | 615,000,000 | This account was appropriated $995 million in FY14. The Administration estimates up to $615 million more may be needed this year to avoid USDA having to transfer funding from other areas. Any unused funds would stay in the account for future years. |
| Health & Human Services | Administration for Children & Families | Refugee and Entrant Assistance | $1,830,000,000 | To be merged with and available for the same period and purposes as funds appropriated in Public Law 113-76 “for carrying out such sections 414, 501, 462, and 235”: Provided, That funds appropriated under this heading may also be used for other medical response expenses of the Department of Health and Human Services in assisting individuals identified under subsection (b) of such section 235 and for acquisition, construction, improvement, repair, operation, and maintenance of real property and facilities. Funding also may be transferred to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund |
| Homeland Security | Immigrations & Customs Enforcement | Salaries & Expenses | $1,103,995,000 | Funds remain available until the end of FY15. $879 million would pay for detention and removal of apprehended undocumented adults traveling with children, expansion of alternatives to detention programs for these individuals, and additional prosecution capacity for adults with children who cross the border unlawfully; $116 million would pay for transportation costs associated with the significant rise in apprehensions of unaccompanied children; and $109 million would provide for immigration and customs enforcement efforts, including expanding the Border Enforcement Security Task Force program, doubling the size of vetted units in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and expanding investigatory activities by ICE Homeland Security Investigations |
| Homeland Security | Customs & Border Protection | Salaries & Expenses | $393,549,000 |
“Funds remain available until the end of FY15. 364 million would pay for operational costs of responding to the significant rise in apprehensions of unaccompanied children and families, including overtime and temporary duty costs for Border Patrol agents, contract services and facility costs to care for children while in CBP custody, and medical and transportation service arrangements; and $29 million for CBP to expand its role in Border Enforcement Security Task Force programs, increasing information-sharing and collaboration among the participating law enforcement agencies combatting transnational crime. |
| Homeland Security | Customs & Border Protection | Air and Marine Interdiction, Operations, Maintenance, and Procurement | $39,411,000 | Funds remain available until the end of FY15. The funding would support 16,526 additional flight hours for border surveillance and 16 additional crews for unmanned aerial systems. |
| Justice | General Administration | Administrative Review and Appeals | $62,900,000 | Funds remain available until the end of FY15. $45.4 million would be to hire approximately 40 additional immigration judges and support teams, including those anticipated to be hired on a temporary basis. Also funding would be used to purchase equipment for additional video conferencing and other courtroom equipment. $2.5 million to expand the legal orientation program that provides direct assistance to adults and custodians of children in the immigration court system and $15.0 million to provide direct legal representation services to children in immigration proceedings. |
| Justice | Legal Activities and U.S. Marshals | Salaries and Expenses, General Legal Activities | $1,100,000 | Funds remain available untl the end of FY15. For DOJ hiring of additional immigration litigation attorneys. |
| State and Other International Programs | Administration of Foreign Affairs | Diplomatic and Consular Programs | $5,000,000 | Funds remain available until the end of FY15. Pays for media campaigns in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to emphasize the dangers of the journey, deliver the message that unaccompanied children are not given a permit to stay in the United States, and highlight a shared community responsibility for the welfare of unaccompanied children. Activities will include media tours, press interviews, and all media relations as well as programmatic oversight. Funds would also support youth programs to develop skills and leadership among potential migrants. |
| State and Other International Programs | International Security Assistance | Economic Support Fund | $295,000,000 | Funds remain available until the end of FY15. Funding can be used to return and reintegrate immigrants in their home country. Also it can be used to help countries address “the economic, social, governance, and institutional factors that contribute to out-migration including endemic poverty, lack of educational, vocational, and employment opportunities, and high rates of criminal gang activity, other violent crime, and narcotics and human trafficking.” Instructs the State Department and USAID to develop metrics to measure progress on repatriation and reintegration efforts. Also allows funding to be transferred to other Agencies. |
TOTAL REQUEST: $4,345,955,000
Update: Administrative Review and Appeals
Of the money provided to the Justice Department, the bulk of it – $45.4 million – would go to hiring approximately 40 additional immigration judges. Even before the influx of more than 50,000 minors this year, the immigration court had a backlog of almost 350,000 cases. Some immigration judges have as many as 6,000 cases each. As a result, wait times for cases average 578 days, requiring taxpayers to pay for the extended detention of individuals awaiting trial. Last June, the Senate passed legislation to add 225 immigration judges and support staff over the next three years.
Update: Increase Air Surveillance Capabilities
Under “Customs and Border Protection” we find this interesting increase: $39.4 million to increase air surveillance capabilities. According to DHS, the current roster of air “assets” in the Southwest Border Region is 129 aircraft, with roughly two thirds being helicopters and one third fixed-wing aircraft. The supplemental request states the funding is to support an additional 16,526 flight hours. That’s a lot of additional surveillance when you have so few aircraft to actually do the flying. We hope this money won’t be spent on additional hardware to contribute to surveillance on the border. Because that would be the camel’s nose under the tent of an outdated DHS wish list for billions of dollars in additional surveillance equipment. We’ve written extensively about that potential boondoggle here.
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