HR 3128 Introduced – FY 2016 DHS Spending

Last month Rep. Carter (R,TX) introduced HR 3128, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2016. This is the House version of the spending bill. The Senate version is S 1619. There are differences in the spending levels found in the two bills.

As I have come to expect there is no specific mention of chemical facility or transportation security or cybersecurity in the bill itself. Unexpectedly, there is little mention in the Committee Report that accompanies the bill.

The only significant mention is found in the discussion of funding for Infrastructure Security Compliance on page 74. The House Appropriations Committee makes essentially the same comment about the Departments efforts to write regulations for the Ammonium Nitrate Security Program as did the Senate Appropriations Committee in their Report on S 1619. The Committee acknowledges the difficulty that the Department is having writing a cost effective regulation and suggests that ISCD publish a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to address the issue.

Moving Forward

It seems highly unlikely at this point if either bill will get considered by the Senate before the end of the current fiscal year. The House could take up HR 3128 when they come back in September, but it will be an exercise in futility as there will have to be a continuing resolution to keep the government in operation after October 1^st and that means that there will be a consolidated spending bill attempted later in the year.