FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Homeland Republicans Advance Funding Recommendations to Continue President Trump's Border Security Victory, Bolster Frontline Personnel for Years to Come
WASHINGTON—Today, the House Committee on Homeland Security advanced its budget reconciliation recommendations, pursuant to H.Con.Res.14, to fund President Trump’s border security efforts for years to come. From completing the border barrier system and increasing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel, to enhancing technology at our borders and upgrading CBP facilities––Homeland Republicans are working to defend our sovereign borders and ensure our Border Patrol agents and CBP officers can continue accomplishing their vital missions. Read Chairman Green’s op-ed in RealClearPolitics.
Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) said, “After hours of Democrat objections to commonsense border security funding, Homeland Security Committee Republicans held the line to advance budget recommendations that provide Customs and Border Protection with the resources needed to continue President Trump’s success in securing our border for years to come.
“Homeland Republicans proudly advanced funding to give Border Patrol agents the tools they have long requested to accomplish their homeland security mission in the field while protecting our communities. Conversely, the actions of our colleagues across the aisle today proved what the American people have known for some time. Democrats would rather advocate for a radical, open-borders agenda than for the safety of their own constituents, or the CBP personnel who suffered through a historic border crisis under the Biden-Harris administration.
“Homeland Republicans look forward to working with our colleagues in the House and Senate to pass this essential funding that will help frontline law enforcement carry out President Trump’s border security agenda and help ensure the catastrophe of the last four years never happens again. We made a promise to the American people to secure our borders, and we are keeping it.”
Read the full text of the recommendations here. Highlights of the Committee’s recommendations are below:
SECTION 1: COMPLETE THE BORDER WALL SYSTEM
- Border Barrier System ($46.5 billion): Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is currently building an integrated border barrier system—an advanced solution that includes not only physical infrastructure but also technological enhancements. This system features internally reinforced steel bollards, fencing, all-weather access roads, lighting, surveillance cameras, and other cutting-edge technologies to support real-time monitoring and response. The Homeland Security Committee reconciliation package will provide the resources to significantly expand and modernize the border barrier system. Planned investments include: completion of 701 miles of primary wall, construction of 900 miles of river barriers, 629 miles of secondary barriers, and replacement of 141 miles of vehicle and pedestrian barriers.
- CBP Facilities ($5 billion): Much of the existing infrastructure supporting the U.S. Border Patrol, Air and Marine Operations, and Office of Field Operations was built decades ago and is no longer adequate to support the scale, scope, or sophistication of today’s border security operations. Many facilities are in remote environments, with deteriorating structures, limited space, outdated technology, and insufficient capacity to support current staffing levels, operational tempo, or evolving security challenges.
SECTION 2: INVESTMENTS IN CBP PERSONNEL AND CBP FLEET VEHICLES
- Addressing the Urgent Need for Additional Frontline CBP Personnel ($4.1 billion): CBP agents and officers must be empowered to carry out their core mission—securing the border and enforcing the law—with adequate staffing, resources, and support. Without immediate and sustained investment in workforce expansion and retention, CBP risks further erosion of both effectiveness and morale, endangering not only border security but also the well-being of those sworn to protect it. With reconciliation funding, CBP will have the ability to hire and train: 3,000 new Border Patrol agents, 5,000 new Office of Field Operations customs officers, 200 new AMO agents, 290 support staff, and eligible retired agents and officers.
- Investing in the CBP Workforce Through Annual Retention Bonuses and Signing Incentives ($2 billion): CBP is currently facing a staffing crisis that threatens the agency’s ability to meet its core national security mission. As the demands on frontline personnel continue to grow—driven by record levels of encounters from the last four years and evolving criminal threats from transnational criminal organizations—CBP is struggling to recruit and retain the skilled workforce necessary to meet these demands. Investing in annual retention and signing bonuses can help workforce morale and secure the personnel needed to protect our borders.
SECTION 3: MODERNIZE AND ENHANCE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, NATIONAL VETTING CENTER, AND COMBATING DRUG TRAFFICKING
- Non-Intrusive Inspection ($1.076 billion): At our ports of entry, CBP employs Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology to detect and interdict illicit drugs, including fentanyl, as well as concealed currency, contraband, and individuals being smuggled into the country. Strengthening CBP’s technological capabilities, as well as other mission support capabilities, is one of the most effective strategies to turn the tide of this epidemic.
- Securing All Fronts: The Urgent Need to Invest in Border Surveillance Technology ($2.7 billion): Technology, such as ground detection sensors, integrated surveillance towers, tunnel detection capability, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and enhanced communications equipment serve as a vital force multiplier, extending the reach of frontline agents and officers and giving CBP the ability to respond faster, smarter, and more strategically.
SECTIONS 4 & 5: GRANT PROGRAMS
- Unmanned Aircraft Systems ($500 million): This grant program will support state, local, and tribal law enforcement in developing their ability to detect, identify, track, or monitor UAS threats.
- Operation Stonegarden ($450 million): This grant program enhances cooperation and coordination among CBP, the Border Patrol, federal, and SLTT law enforcement agencies by providing funding to support joint efforts to secure the United States’ borders along routes of ingress/egress to and from international borders.
