Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
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The bill would provide full-year fiscal year 2026 funding for the Department of Homeland Security, covering border security, immigration enforcement, the Coast Guard, disaster relief, cybersecurity, and Secret Service protection, while ending a partial DHS shutdown that began after a prior funding lapse.
Beyond routine appropriations, it sets detailed spending conditions, restricts fund transfers and reprogramming without congressional notice, ratifies obligations incurred during the shutdown, authorizes shutdown-related back pay, and adds unrelated funding for the Supreme Court and air traffic controller pay raises.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would appropriate money to fund the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of fiscal year 2026, covering departmental management, intelligence and oversight offices, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FEMA (including the Disaster Relief Fund and National Flood Insurance Fund), Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, and the Science and Technology Directorate. It also ends a partial DHS shutdown triggered by the expiration of a continuing resolution, ratifying obligations incurred during the lapse and authorizing back pay for affected federal employees. The bill attaches dozens of administrative provisions restricting how funds can be reprogrammed or transferred, requiring numerous reports and briefings to the Appropriations Committees, restricting certain enforcement and detention practices, and adding smaller unrelated appropriations, including $30 million for the Supreme Court and $140 million for FAA air traffic controller pay increases. It does not create new DHS programs beyond specific earmarked activities described in its provisions.
Key provisions
- 1Would appropriate funding across DHS components including CBP, ICE, TSA, Coast Guard, Secret Service, CISA, FEMA, USCIS, and others for FY2026
- 2Would ratify obligations incurred during the partial DHS shutdown to maintain essential operations and would authorize back pay for affected employees
- 3Would restrict DHS from reprogramming or transferring funds beyond set thresholds without 30 days' advance notice to the Appropriations Committees
- 4Would provide $26.367 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund and set FEMA grant allocations including State Homeland Security Grants and firefighter grants
- 5Would prohibit blocking Members of Congress or their designated staff from entering DHS detention facilities for oversight purposes
- 6Would bar ICE from continuing certain 287(g) delegations or detention contracts found to violate agreement terms or receive poor performance evaluations
- 7Would provide $30 million for the Supreme Court and $140 million for FAA air traffic controller pay raises, unrelated to DHS operations
Who would be affected
DHS components and their employees, federal contractors and grant recipients (state and local police, fire departments, transit agencies, nonprofits receiving security grants), immigrants and detainees in DHS custody, disaster survivors relying on FEMA assistance and flood insurance, air travelers subject to TSA screening, and Members of Congress overseeing detention facility access.
Why it matters
Passage would restore full-year funding and end the partial DHS shutdown, allowing paychecks, grants, and disaster aid to resume and back pay to be issued. The many spending conditions and reporting mandates would shape how flexibly DHS leadership can shift funds or launch new initiatives without prior notice to Congress, affecting agency operations nationwide.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (Public Law 119-37) (Sec. 1001)
Extends the period covered by the continuing resolution to include the shutdown lapse that began around February 13, 2026
Amends Homeland Security Act of 2002
Funds and modifies conditions for grant programs such as State Homeland Security Grants, Urban Area Security Initiative, and Nonprofit Security Grant Program
Amends Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Sec. 306)
Appropriates disaster relief funding and modifies reporting and mitigation grant provisions
Reauthorizes National Flood Insurance Act of 1968
Provides funding and sets spending caps for flood insurance operations, mapping, and mitigation for FY2026
Amends Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001 (5 U.S.C. 5547 note) (Sec. 237)
Adjusts the aggregate pay limitation formula for premium pay effective retroactively to December 31, 2023
Amends Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (Secs. 307, 309)
Allows FEMA to waive certain eligibility requirements for firefighter and emergency response staffing grants
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- The whole appropriations Act funding period
- Report on grants/contracts awarded outside full and open competition
- Amended premium pay limitation formula
- Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program fee availability
Funding and costs
- $17,727,974,000
U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations and support
- $10,036,362,000
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and support
- $10,635,434,000
Transportation Security Administration operations and support
- $11,272,401,000
Coast Guard operations and support
- $26,367,000,000
FEMA Disaster Relief Fund for major disasters
- $3,836,748,513
FEMA federal assistance grants including homeland security and firefighter grants
- $30,000,000
Supreme Court of the United States salaries and expenses
- $140,000,000
FAA air traffic organization activities and controller pay increase
How implementation would work
DHS components would obligate their appropriated funds subject to numerous notification and reporting requirements to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, including monthly budget/staffing reports, quarterly acquisition briefings, and advance notice before reprogramming funds above set thresholds. FEMA would run grant application cycles with fixed timelines, deadlines, and penalties (funding reductions) for missing them. The Inspector General would audit shutdown-related and supplemental funding usage. Shutdown-incurred obligations are ratified automatically, and back pay would be processed under existing federal pay law without additional agency action required.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Official CRS summary
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This bill provides appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the remainder of FY2026. It also ends the partial DHS shutdown that began on February 14, 2026, because the continuing resolution (CR) that was funding DHS expired and a regular FY2026 DHS appropriations bill had not been enacted.
Specifically, the bill provides appropriations to DHS for Departmental Management, Intelligence, Situational Awareness, and Oversight, including
- the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management;
- the Management Directorate;
- Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness; and
- the Office of Inspector General.
In addition, the bill provides appropriations for Security, Enforcement, and Investigations, including
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
- the Transportation Security Administration,
- the U.S. Coast Guard, and
- the U.S. Secret Service.
The bill provides appropriations for Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, including
- the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and
- the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The bill provides appropriations for Research, Development, Training, and Services, including
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
- the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, and
- the Science and Technology Directorate.
The bill also authorizes back pay, in accordance with current law, for federal employees who were affected by the partial DHS shutdown.
Finally, the bill ratifies and approves certain obligations that were incurred during the partial DHS shutdown, including obligations incurred to maintain the essential level of activity to protect life and property and bring about an orderly termination of government functions.
Legislative subjects
Appropriations; Aviation and airports; Border security and unlawful immigration; Citizenship and naturalization; Coast guard; Computer security and identity theft; Congressional oversight; Customs enforcement; Department of Homeland Security; Department of Transportation; Detention of persons; Director of National Intelligence; Disaster relief and insurance; Economics and Public Finance; Emergency planning and evacuation; Employee benefits and pensions; Employment and training programs; Executive agency funding and structure; Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); First responders and emergency personnel; Floods and storm protection; Geography and mapping; Government buildings, facilities, and property; Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management; Government information and archives; Government studies and investigations; Government trust funds; Immigration status and procedures; Intellectual property; Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information; Law enforcement administration and funding; Lease and rental services; Members of Congress; Motor vehicles; Natural disasters; Pollution liability; Protection of officials; Public contracts and procurement; Public transit; Puerto Rico; Radiation; Railroads; Research and development; Senate; Supreme Court; Transportation safety and security; User charges and fees; Youth employment and child labor