On January 14, the House approved, 236-191, the FY2015 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 240). On December 11, Congress approved an omnibus spending package (P.L. 113-235) for 11 of the 12 appropriations bills (see The Source, 12/12/14) that also continued funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through February 27.
According to the House Appropriations Committee summary, the legislation would allocate $39.7 billion in discretionary funds for DHS, an increase of $400 million over FY2014. The total includes $1.7 billion for domestic investigations, which includes a $62 million increase for efforts to prevent human trafficking and child exploitation.
During consideration of the bill, the House approved, 278-149, an amendment by Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to prioritize immigrants convicted of domestic violence, sexual abuse, or child abuse for deportation.
