Where Homeland Security Funds Go?
Department of Homeland Security funnels most of its funds on research through its Science and Technology directorate and its Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. Science and Technology has applied for a fiscal 2008 budget of $800 million. About 80% of that amount, or $650 million, are allocated to R&D, testing, and evaluation. About 50% of that amount goes to short term research that take less than three years to complete development. Another 10% goes to mid-term research that has a three-to-six-year time span. About 15% is assigned to fundamental science projects that require at least ten years of development.
So how Department of Homeland Security spends the money? A large share of funds is assigned at mitigating CBRN or biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear threats. Nuclear terrorism is considered as the biggest threat facing the U.S. About $230 million has been allocated to protect against a biological or chemical attack including agroterrorism and detection of contaminants in the food chain. Domestic Nuclear Detection Office funds nuclear research from a separate budget of the Science & Technology directorate. In 2008 the requsted budget of Domestic Nuclear Detection Office is $320 mln.
This week Congress passed the 2008 fiscal year omnibus appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The bill includes $50 million of emergency funds to assist States in implementing REAL ID program to driver licenses and other state-issued identification documents. This emergency funding is addition to about $30 mln that DHS recently allocated to States under the current REAL ID grant program.
Congressional appropriators made available about $100 million in the Fiscal Year 2008 omnibus spending bill for the Homeland Security Department (DHS) to use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to control the nation's borders. The funding will be used to hire Border Patrol agents, install vehicle barriers, ground-based radar and cameras; and procure UAV systems. The bill assigns $2.7 billion in emergency funding for border security, of which $82 million could be used to buy new UAVs. Besides emergency funds, the bill allocates the department about $15 million to support existing UAV operations.
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