House Passes DHS Appropriations Bill

The US House of Representatives passed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007 (H.R. 5441) making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, and for other purposes. If adopted the bill would, among other things, withhold $10 million from the Secretary until a comprehensive port, container, and cargo security strategic plan is submitted to Congress; provide $5.4 billion for necessary operating expenses of Customs and Border Protection (CBP); provide $451 million for CBP automated systems; provide $5.4 billion for necessary operating expenses of the US Coast Guard; provide $1 billion for acquisition, construction, and improvements expenses of the USCG; provide $200 million for port security grants; and prohibit the Secretary from developing a personalization system for the transportation worker identification credential (TWIC) program that is decentralized or a card production capability that does not utilize an existing government card production facility. Source: HK Law