HR 7744: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026

HR 7744 in plain English: This bill provides full-year FY2026 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security, ending a partial DHS shutdown that began on February 14, 2026, when a prior continuing resolution expired. It funds all major DHS components—including Customs and Border Protection, ICE, TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA, and the Secret Service—and authorizes back pay for federal employees affected by the shutdown.

Stated purpose

To fund the Department of Homeland Security for the rest of fiscal year 2026 and end a partial DHS shutdown that began on February 14, 2026, when a prior temporary funding measure expired.

Key points

• Provides $17,727,974,000 for U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations and support
• Provides $10,635,434,000 for Transportation Security Administration operations and support
• Provides $11,272,401,000 for Coast Guard operations, of which $530,000,000 is for defense-related activities
• Provides $10,036,362,000 for ICE operations including detention and removal
• Ends the partial DHS shutdown that began February 14, 2026, and authorizes back pay for affected federal employees

Arguments supporters make

• Ending the shutdown restores critical national security functions — border enforcement, airport screening, disaster response, and cybersecurity — that protect the public every day.
• Federal workers who kept working through the shutdown deserve the back pay they are owed, and passing this bill fulfills that legal and moral obligation.
• Providing a full-year appropriation instead of repeated short-term patches gives DHS agencies the budget certainty needed to plan and operate effectively.

Arguments opponents make

• A full-year spending bill passed well into the fiscal year still reflects a broken budget process; relying on shutdowns and last-minute fixes wastes money and disrupts agency planning.
• Critics may argue the funding levels in this bill are too high or too low for specific agencies — for example, those who want more border enforcement spending or those who want less immigration detention funding — depending on their priorities.
• Ratifying financial obligations made during the shutdown without full congressional review sets a precedent that agencies can commit funds outside normal appropriations oversight.

Tradeoffs

Passing the bill quickly restores government services and pays workers, but doing so under shutdown pressure may limit Congress's ability to scrutinize individual agency funding decisions as carefully as a regular budget process would allow.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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