Review - HR 4431 Introduced – FY 2022 DHS Spending

Last month Rep Roybal-Allard (D,CA) introduced HR 4431, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2022. As is typical with spending bills, the bill introduced is the version reported by the House Appropriations Committee, so the Committee Report is available. There is little in the bill dealing with cyber (beyond CISA funding, of course), but the Report contains important cybersecurity language.

CISA Spending

The table below shows the overview of CISA spending included in the bill, the data is taken from the Report.

	FY 2021 Funded	FY 2022 Budget	FY 2022 Bill
CISA Total	$2,024,976,000	$2,133,630,000	$2,422,348,000
Operations	$1,662,066,000	$1,691,520,000	$1,927,750,000
Procurement, Const	$353,479,000	$418,179,000	$467,167,000
Research and Development	$9,431,000	$3,931,000	$7,431,000
Cyber Response and Recovery Fund		$20,000,000	$20,000,000

The spending for cybersecurity would certainly be increased by this bill. I suspect that we may see further increases before an FY 2022 spending bill makes it to the President’s desk.

Cyber Provisions that Mimic Proposed Legislation

In the Report, the Appropriations Committee recognizes initiatives by the Administration that mimic a variety of bills that are wending their way through the legislative process. This is not an unusual process, as long as Congress is willing to provide the funds, the executive branch has a lot of leeway to standup various programs without specific legislative approval. If the programs are successful (for various meanings of that term) then Congress will, sooner or later, get around to authorizing the program.

Moving Forward

Based upon recent history, this bill is unlikely to be considered by the House as a standalone measure. Significant portions will be included in the inevitable omnibus spending bill that will probably pass later this year. Because of their control of the purse, the mandates from the Report will continue in force.

For more details on the programs and spending in this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-4431-introduced - subscription required.