H.R. 8029

Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act

Sponsor: Juan Ciscomani · 0 cosponsors

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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act

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.

Text of the bill

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A Department of Homeland Security Appropriations

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Sec. 523. Since introduced

(a) None of the funds made available to the Department of Homeland Security by this or any other Act may be obligated for the implementation of any structural pay reform or the introduction of any new position classification that will affect more than 100 full-time positions or costs more than $5,000,000 in a single year before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary of Homeland Security submits to Congress a notification that includes—

(1) the number of full-time positions affected by such change;

(2) funding required for such change for the current fiscal year and through the Future Years Homeland Security Program;

(3) justification for such change; and

(4) for a structural pay reform, an analysis of compensation alternatives to such change that were considered by the Department.

(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to such change if—

(1) it was proposed in the President’s budget proposal for the fiscal year funded by this Act; and

(2) funds for such change have not been explicitly denied or restricted in this Act.

B Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026