Appropriations bill FY2005, Homeland Security

(This measure has not been amended since the Conference Report was filed in the House on October 9, 2004. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2005 - Title I: Departmental Management and Operations - Makes appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY 2005 for: (1) the Office of the Secretary of Homeland Security and executive management; (2) the Office of the Under Secretary for Management; (3) the Office of the Chief Financial Officer; (4) the Office of the Chief Information Officer; and (5) the Office of Inspector General.

Title II: Security, Enforcement, and Investigations - Makes appropriations for: (1) the Office of the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security, including for development of the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology project; (2) customs and border protection, including for enforcement of laws relating to border security, immigration, customs, and agricultural inspections and regulatory activities related to plant and animal imports and for customs and border protection automated systems; (3) immigration and customs laws enforcement, including for Federal air marshals, the Federal Protective Service, and immigration and customs enforcement automated systems; (4) the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for civil aviation security services, including for passenger and baggage screening activities (with funds earmarked for procurement and installation of checked baggage explosive detection systems and for airport security direction and enforcement presence), maritime and land transportation security grants and services, and intelligence activities; (5) the Coast Guard; and (6) the Secret Service. Provides for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of calendar year 2000 cost information for screening air passengers and property and directs the Secretary of DHS to ensure that appropriate fees that were not paid to the TSA by an air carrier or foreign air carrier are collected. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit to Congress, in conjunction with the President's FY 2006 budget, acquisition timelines and justifications for assets in the Deepwater (Coast Guard recapitalization) program.

Title III: Preparedness and Recovery - Makes appropriations for: (1) the Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness, including for grants to State and local governments for terrorism prevention activities (sets forth allocations for formula-based grants, law enforcement terrorism prevention grants, discretionary grants for use in high-threat, high density urban areas), firefighter assistance grants, and emergency management performance grants; (2) reimbursement of Federal agencies for the costs of providing support to counter, investigate, or respond to unexpected threats or acts of terrorism; and (3) emergency preparedness and response, including for the Office of the Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, the Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response, countering potential biological, disease, and chemical threats to civilian populations, disaster relief, the disaster assistance direct loan program, the Flood Map Modernization Fund, the National Flood Insurance Fund, the National Flood Mitigation Fund, the National Pre-Disaster Mitigation Fund, and an emergency food and shelter program. Limits the aggregate charges assessed during FY 2005 for the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program.

Title IV: Research and Development, Training, Assessments, and Services - Makes appropriations for: (1) citizenship and immigration services for backlog reduction activities; (2) the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; (3) the immediate Office of the Under Secretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection and for activities of the Directorate of Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection; (4) the immediate Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology; and (5) science and technology research.

Title V: General Provisions - (Sec. 503) Prohibits certain reprogramming of DHS funds, including for creating or eliminating a program or for contracting out or privatizing activities presently performed by Federal employees, unless the Senate and House Appropriations Committees are notified 15 days in advance.

(Sec. 505) Deems funds made available by this Act for intelligence activities to be specifically authorized by Congress during FY 2005 until the enactment of an Act authorizing intelligence activities for FY 2005.

(Sec. 506) Directs the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to establish an accrediting body to establish standards for measuring and assessing the quality and effectiveness of Federal law enforcement training programs, facilities, and instructors.

(Sec. 513) Directs the Secretary: (1) to research, develop, and procure certified systems to inspect and screen air cargo on passenger aircraft at the earliest date possible; (2) until such technology is procured and installed, to take actions to enhance the known shipper program to prohibit high-risk cargo from being transported on passenger aircraft; (3) to amend Security Directives and programs to triple the percentage of cargo inspected on passenger aircraft.

(Sec. 514) Requires the Commandant of the Coast Guard to provide to Congress each year a list of approved by unfunded Coast Guard priorities and the funds needed for such priorities.

(Sec. 515) States that unclaimed money recovered at airport security checkpoints shall be retained by the TSA and expended for civil aviation security purposes.

(Sec. 518) Transfers authority for conducting background investigations for specified DHS positions from the Office of Personnel Management to the DHS.

(Sec. 519) Amends the Homeland Security Act to provide for the termination of the Homeland Security Institute five years after its establishment.

(Sec. 522) Prohibits the obligation of funds for deployment or implementation, on other than a test basis, of the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II) or Secure Flight or other successor programs that TSA or any other DHS component plans to utilize to screen aviation passengers until GAO has reported to the Appropriations Committees that specified conditions have been met, including that: (1) a system of due process exists whereby aviation passengers who are delayed or prohibited from boarding their flights may appeal such decision; (2) the Secretary has established an internal oversight board; (3) security measures are in place to protect the system from unauthorized access; and (4) there are no specific privacy concerns with the technological architecture of the system. Prohibits the use of funds provided in this or previous appropriations Acts to develop or test algorithms assigning risk to passengers whose names are not on Government watch lists. Directs GAO to report to Congress by March 28, 2005.

(Sec. 523) Modifies provisions of the Homeland Security Act regarding the prohibition on contracts with corporate expatriates to: (1) prohibit the Secretary from entering into any contract with any subsidiary of a foreign incorporated entity which is treated as an inverted domestic corporation; (2) apply such prohibition to entities that converted to an inverted domestic corporation before, on, or after (currently, after) November 25, 2002; and (3) permit the Secretary to waive such prohibition in the interest of national security (currently, in the interest of homeland security).

(Sec. 524) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to amend the oath of allegiance required under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

(Sec. 527) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to process or approve a competition under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76, for services provided as of June 1, 2004, by employees of Citizenship and Immigration Services who are known as Immigration Information Officers, Contact Representatives, or Investigative Assistants.

(Sec. 528) Provides that no funds under this Act shall be available to maintain the Secret Service as anything but a distinct entity within the DHS and shall not be used to merge the Secret Service with any other DHS function, cause any personnel and operational elements of the Secret Service to report to an individual other than the Director of the Secret Service, or cause the Director to report directly to any individual other than the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov