DHS spending bill bolsters staffing at CISA, FEMA, Secret Service

Lawmakers are moving to extend key cybersecurity information authorities and grant programs, while also providing funds for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to fill “critical” positions.

The “minibus” appropriations agreement released by House and Senate negotiators on Tuesday includes fiscal 2026 funding for the Department of Homeland Security. DHS funding could be a sticking point in moving the bill forward, as some Democrats want more restrictions around the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations.

The bill also extends the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA 2015) and the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program through the end of fiscal 2026. Both laws are set to expire at the end of this month.

The extension would give lawmakers more time to work out differences between competing versions of CISA 2015 reauthorizations in the House and Senate.

Ross Nodurft, executive director of the Alliance for Digital Innovation, also applauded the extension of the Technology Modernization Fund included in the minibus.

“Reauthorizing the Technology Modernization Fund and the State and Local Cyber Grant Program for the rest of the fiscal year allows the government to invest money in new technology modernization and cyber security projects at the federal and state level while we work on more permanent, longer term reauthorizations and funding,” Nodurft said. “I am encouraged to see Congress put forward these stop gap measures and will continue to work with members to reauthorize these critical programs beyond 2026.”

CISA funding

The bill would include a cut for the agency CISA, with fiscal 2026 funding level set at $2.6 billion, about $300 million less than its current annual budget.

But CISA has already seen steep workforce cuts and program reductions under the Trump administration. The Trump administration proposed cutting CISA’s budget by roughly $500 million.

The appropriations agreement would specifically provide $20 million for CISA to hire additional staff to “critical positions,” according to the joint explanatory statement on the DHS appropriations measure.

That funding would be evenly split across five CISA programs: Threat Hunting; Vulnerability Management; Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation; Security Programs; and Security Advisors.

The bill would also require CISA to “not reduce staffing in such a way that it lacks sufficient staff to effectively carry out its statutory missions.” Both Democrats and Republicans have expressed concerns about CISA losing roughly one-third of its staff over the past year.

Secret Service burnout

Appropriators are also taking aim at burnout within the Secret Service’s ranks. The funding measure provides $3.3 billion for the Secret Service as it embarks on a major recruiting initiative over the next two years.

That total would allow the Secret Service to “maintain ‘zero-fail’ mission by funding aggressive recruitment and retention to eliminate officer burnout, while modernizing high-tech training facilities and armored fleets to stay ahead of evolving threats
to our nation’s leaders,” according to a DHS spending bill summary provided by Senate appropriators.

The bill includes an increase of $46 million for Secret Service hiring in fiscal 2026. It also provides the agency with advance funding to prepare for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

But appropriators also want updates on the Secret Service’s recruitment and retention efforts. The explanatory statement directs the agency to provide briefings on its employee resiliency program and hiring projections, respectively.

“The briefing shall also include ongoing efforts to decrease the time to hire and increase yield rates from applicants to hires, as well as the impact that these hiring efforts will have on overtime costs,” lawmakers wrote.

FEMA staffing

The spending agreement also includes a “rejection” of staffing cuts made at the Federal Emergency Management Agency in fiscal 2025, according to the joint explanatory statement. The bill would provide $32 billion for FEMA, including $26.4 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund.

FEMA lost more than 2,000 employees to workforce reduction programs last year. And the agency has undertaken further staff reductions by not renewing Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees (CORE) in recent weeks. FEMA headquarters officials have also contemplated cuts totaling up to 50% of its workforce as part of a planning exercise shared with agency leaders in December.

Now, appropriators want FEMA to provide monthly briefings on the agency’s staffing levels and workload requirements.

“Such briefings shall also include projected staffing levels for the remainder of the fiscal year in light of the agreement’s rejection of the position reductions implemented in fiscal year 2025,” the joint explanatory statement reads.

The bill also requires FEMA to maintain staff “necessary to fulfill the missions” required of the agency by six separate laws and various other authorities. That staffing requirement, lawmakers emphasize, also applies to FEMA reservists and CORE staff.

The Trump administration has moved to shift more emergency management responsibilities to state and local governments. FEMA staffing reductions and policy changes over the last year have sparked concerns that the administration is implementing that plan despite there being no changes in the agency’s lawful responsibilities.

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