Inside DHS’ Top 3 Spending Priorities for 2025

Anchored at $107.9 billion, the Department of Homeland Security’s fiscal year 2025 budget request represents a $4.5 billion increase over its FY 2024 request. With these allocations, which include $62.2 billion in discretionary funding, DHS aims to rise to evolving homeland security challenges shaped by new technologies and other shifts in today’s national security environment.

Hear directly from DHS decision makers about their top budget priorities at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 13. During the event, public and private sector representatives will offer their expertise on the nation’s top homeland security objectives in keynote speeches, panel discussions and periodic networking sessions. Join the conversation at the 2024 Homeland Security Summit.

DHS has a broad range of responsibilities, from border security to disaster relief. Find out how the new budget will advance the department’s most critical missions below.

Key Funding Priorities

Border Security

Over the past year, border security efforts have gained bipartisan support, and in October 2023, DHS asked for additional funding to support these initiatives. The FY25 budget request brought this inquiry back into the spotlight, highlighting the $11.8 billion that was sought to advance border security goals, including immigration enforcement, talent acquisition and drug detection.

The FY25 request also adds $25.9 billion for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to increase border security and enforce immigration law.

Cybersecurity

Agencies across the U.S. government have sharpened their focus on cybersecurity, and DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is a key contributor to public sector efforts to strengthen the nation’s cyber defenses. DHS’ 2025 budget request calls attention to the importance of cybersecurity risks and emphasizes the need to properly fund CISA and relevant cybersecurity programs.

Artificial Intelligence

As agencies press forward with the adoption of AI, DHS wants to ensure that these tools are developed and deployed responsibly. The FY25 budget request hopes to help DHS “lay the foundation to responsibly leverage AI and machine learning to support our missions” and develop “mitigation tools and strategies to combat the risks AI poses to homeland security.”

Part of doing so includes the establishment of an AI office within DHS’ Office of the Chief Information Officer dedicated to driving these goals forward and oversee AI efforts across the department.

Major DHS Agency Budgets

Customs and Border Protection

Properly funding CBP is a key part of DHS’ border security mission. The department’s 2025 budget request allocates $19.7 billion to the agency, which is intended to support the four mission areas laid out in its strategy for 2024 to 2028:

• Securing the border
• Supporting national security and contingency operations
• Facilitating lawful travel
• Facilitating lawful trade and protect revenue

Of these funds, $15.9 billion is reserved for operations and support, and $272.9 million is dedicated to procurement, construction and other improvements. Top funding areas include border staffing and border equipment modernization as well as trade and travel enforcement facilitation. The budget also covers a variety of technology modernization efforts, some of which are:

• Upgrading integrated surveillance towers
• Funding two new light helicopters and related training needs
• Improving aircraft sensors

Transportation Security Administration

The Transportation Security Administration’s budget request totals $11.8 billion and is designed to address continued passenger volume growth, which averaged at a rate of 4.5 percent between 2014 and 2019. The request reserves $365 million to account for the increased number of travelers and sets aside additional funding for associate technology areas, including:

• Checkpoint property screening systems
• Equipment sustainment
• Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

CISA’s mission to “lead the national effort to understand, manage and reduce risk to the cyber and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every day” has become increasingly important as government IT systems migrate to the digital space. To achieve its objectives, the agency is focused on four key areas:

• Cyber defense
• Risk reduction and resilience
• Operational collaboration
• Agency unification

DHS’ 2025 budget request allocates CISA $3 billion to advance these goals. The $1.7 billion of these funds set aside for cybersecurity represents the largest portion of the agency’s budget and supports technology deployment, continuous diagnostics and mitigation and the Joint Collaborative Environment, a program designed to build partnerships with industry. Additional CISA budget areas include:

• Infrastructure security
• Emergency communications
• Integrated operations
• Risk management operations
• Stakeholder engagement

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Allocations to the Federal Emergency Management Agency represent the largest portion of DHS’ budget request, accounting for 31 percent of the department’s budget demands. Of the $33 billion set aside for the agency, $22 billion is dedicated to its disaster relief fund, which is used to carry out federal responses to major disasters. ExecutiveGov, a sister publication of GovCon Wire, broke down FEMA’s budget in an exploration of the agency’s top priorities.

Additional Agencies

CBP, TSA, CISA and FEMA are not the only agencies driving DHS missions forward. The remaining portion of the department’s budget request includes:

• $13.8 billion for the U.S. Coast Guard
• $9.7 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• $6.8 billion for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
• $4 billion for the DHS Management Directorate

Don’t wait to learn more about DHS’ budget priorities! Secure your spot at the 2024 Homeland Security Summit to get expert insights into the department’s most important objectives.