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. 106. Since introduced

(a) None of the funds made available to the Department of Homeland Security in this Act or prior appropriations Acts may be obligated for any new pilot or demonstration unless the component or office carrying out such pilot or demonstration has documented the information described in subsection (c).

(b) Prior to the obligation of any such funds made available for Operations and Support for a new pilot or demonstration, the Under Secretary for Management shall provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate on the information described in subsection (c).

(c) The information required under subsections (a) and (b) for a pilot or demonstration shall include the following—

(1) documented objectives that are well-defined and measurable;

(2) an assessment methodology that details—

(A) the type and source of assessment data;

(B) the methods for, and frequency of, collecting such data; and

(C) how such data will be analyzed; and

(3) an implementation plan, including milestones, cost estimates, and implementation schedules, including a projected end date.

(d) Not later than 90 days after the date of completion of a pilot or demonstration described in subsection (e), the Under Secretary for Management shall provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate detailing lessons learned, actual costs, any planned expansion or continuation of the pilot or demonstration, and any planned transition of such pilot or demonstration into an enduring program or operation.

(e) For the purposes of this section, a pilot or demonstration program is a study, demonstration, experimental program, or trial that—

(1) is a small-scale, short-term experiment conducted in order to evaluate feasibility, duration, costs, or adverse events, and improve upon the design of an effort prior to implementation of a larger scale effort; and

(2) uses more than 10 full-time equivalents or obligates, or proposes to obligate, $5,000,000 or more, but does not include congressionally directed programs or enhancements and does not include programs that were in operation as of the date of the enactment of this Act.

(f) For the purposes of this section, a pilot or demonstration does not include any testing, evaluation, or initial deployment phase executed under a procurement contract for the acquisition of information technology services or systems, or any pilot or demonstration carried out by a non-Federal recipient under any financial assistance agreement funded by the Department.

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B Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026