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

I

Sec. 105. Since introduced

(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 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) a summary of the findings of any independent verification and validation of the items to be acquired or an explanation for why no such verification and validation has been performed;

(7) a table displaying the obligation of all program funds by prior fiscal year, the estimated obligation of funds for the current fiscal year, and an estimate for the planned carryover of funds into the subsequent fiscal year;

(8) a listing of prime contractors and major subcontractors; and

(9) narrative descriptions of risks to cost, schedule, or performance that could result in a program breach if not successfully mitigated.

(c) The Under Secretary for Management shall submit each approved Acquisition Decision Memorandum for programs described in this section to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate not later than five business days after the date of approval of such memorandum by the Under Secretary for Management or the designee of the Under Secretary for Management.

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B Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026