Passage of Homeland Security Spending Bill Completes FY 2015 Budget

While all other fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations were finalized through an omnibus spending bill last December, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was funded by a continuing resolution (CR) through February 27, 2015, because of objections to the president’s recent executive order on immigration. The House initially passed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015 (H.R. 240) in mid-January, with a controversial provision that blocked DHS from carrying out the president’s immigration policy. The Senate passed an amended version that excluded the policy rider. To prevent a DHS shutdown, Congress approved another CR through March 6, 2015. On March 3, the House approved the “clean” bill, sending it to the president for signature. The bill level-funds most state and local programs under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at $1.5 billion.