PAY OUR HOMELAND DEFENDERS ACT

PAY OUR HOMELAND DEFENDERS ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 57 (Thursday, March 26, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 57 (Thursday, March 26, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2731-H2750] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PAY OUR HOMELAND DEFENDERS ACT Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1131, I call up the bill (H.R. 8029) making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1131, the bill is considered read. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 8029 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act''. SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. Sec. 3. References. Sec. 4. Explanatory statement. Sec. 5. Statement of appropriations. DIVISION A--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS DIVISION B--FURTHER ADDITIONAL CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026 SEC. 3. REFERENCES. Except as expressly provided otherwise, any reference to ``this Act'' contained in division A of this Act shall be treated as referring only to the provisions of that division. SEC. 4. EXPLANATORY STATEMENT. The explanatory statement regarding H.R. 7147 of the 119th Congress, printed in the House of Representatives section of the Congressional Record on January 22, 2026, and submitted by the chair of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, shall have the same effect with respect to the allocation of funds and implementation of this Act as if it were a joint explanatory statement of a committee of conference. SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS. The following sums in this Act are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026. DIVISION A--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS TITLE I DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT, INTELLIGENCE, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, AND OVERSIGHT Office of the Secretary and Executive Management operations and support For necessary expenses of the Office of the Secretary and for executive management for operations and support, $316,295,000, which shall be for the purposes and in the amounts specified in the ``Final Bill'' column for Office of the Secretary and Executive Management, Operations and Support, in the ``Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026'' table in the explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act), of which $14,050,000 of amounts made available for Management and Oversight, Office of Health Security and $8,000,000 of amounts made available for Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans shall remain available until September 30, 2027: Provided, That $5,000,000 shall be withheld from obligation until the Secretary submits to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate responses to all questions for the record for each hearing on the fiscal year 2027 budget submission for the Department of Homeland Security held by such Committees prior to July 1: Provided further, That not to exceed $15,000 shall be for official reception and representation expenses. procurement, construction, and improvements For necessary expenses of the Office of the Secretary and for executive management for procurement, construction, and improvements, $8,911,000, to remain available until September 30, 2028. Management Directorate operations and support For necessary expenses of the Management Directorate for operations and support, including vehicle fleet modernization, $1,690,380,000, which shall be for the purposes and in the amounts specified in the ``Final Bill'' column for Management Directorate, Operations and Support, in the ``Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026'' table in the explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act): Provided, That not to exceed $2,000 shall be for official reception and representation expenses. procurement, construction, and improvements For necessary expenses of the Management Directorate for procurement, construction, and improvements, $58,106,000, to remain available until September 30, 2028. federal protective service The revenues and collections of security fees credited to this account shall be available until expended for necessary expenses related to the protection of federally owned and leased buildings and for the operations of the Federal Protective Service. Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness operations and support For necessary expenses of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis and the Office of Homeland Security Situational Awareness for operations and support, $340,819,000, of which $121,274,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2027: Provided, That not to exceed $3,825 shall for be official reception and representation expenses and not to exceed $2,000,000 is available for facility needs associated with secure space at fusion centers, including improvements to buildings. Office of Inspector General operations and support For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General for operations and support, $257,599,000, of which $20,000,000 shall be for additional inspections and oversight of detention facilities and shall remain available until September 30, 2027, and of which $12,814,000 shall be for oversight of the execution of funds provided in Public Law 119-21: Provided, That not to exceed $300,000 may be used for certain confidential operational expenses, including the payment of informants, to be expended at the direction of the Inspector General. Administrative Provisions Sec. 101. (a) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a report not later than October 15, 2026, to the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security listing all grants and contracts awarded by any means other than full and open competition during fiscal years 2025 or 2026. (b) The Inspector General shall review the report required by subsection (a) to assess departmental compliance with applicable laws and regulations and report the results of that review to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate not later than February 15, 2027. Sec. 102. (a) Not later than 30 days after the last day of each month, the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Homeland Security shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a monthly budget and staffing report that includes total obligations of the Department for that month and for the fiscal year at the appropriation and program, project, and activity levels, by the source year of the appropriation. (b) The initial staffing report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) shall be the baseline for which the Department of Homeland Security may increase or decrease staffing levels for any program, project, or activity pursuant to section 503(a)(4) of this Act. Sec. 103. (a) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall notify the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate of any proposed transfers of funds available under section 9705(g)(4)(B) of title 31, United States Code, from the Department of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund to any agency within the Department of Homeland Security. (b) None of the funds identified for such a transfer may be obligated until the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate are notified of the proposed transfer. Sec. 104. All official costs associated with the use of Government aircraft by Department of Homeland Security personnel to support official travel of the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary shall be paid from amounts made available for the Office of the Secretary. Sec. 105. (a) The Under Secretary for Management shall brief the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate not later than 45 days after the end of each fiscal quarter on all Level 1 and Level 2 acquisition programs on the Master Acquisition Oversight List between [[Page H2732]] Acquisition Decision Event and Full Operational Capability, including programs that have been removed from such list during the preceding quarter. (b) For each such program, the briefing described in subsection (a) shall include-- (1) a description of the purpose of the program, including the capabilities being acquired and the component(s) sponsoring the acquisition; (2) the total number of units, as appropriate, to be acquired annually until procurement is complete under the current acquisition program baseline; (3) the Acquisition Review Board status, including-- (A) the current acquisition phase by increment, as applicable; (B) the date of the most recent review; and (C) whether the program has been paused or is in breach status; (4) a comparison between the initial Department-approved acquisition program baseline cost, schedule, and performance thresholds and objectives and the program's current such thresholds and objectives, if applicable; (5) the lifecycle cost estimate, adjusted for comparison to the Future Years Homeland Security Program, including-- (A) the confidence level for the estimate; (B) the fiscal years included in the estimate; (C) a breakout of the estimate for the prior five years, the current year, and the budget year; (D) a breakout of the estimate by appropriation account or other funding source; and (E) a description of and rationale for any changes to the estimate as compared to the previously approved baseline, as applicable, and during the prior fiscal year; (6

Referenced legislation: HRES1128, HRES1131, HR7147, HR7481, HR8029