WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security advanced a $48 billion in funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday.
"The bill supports DHS’s critical operations and program and reflects for important priorities for funding: aviation security, cybersecurity, border security and State and local grants," Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven said.
Following a year of scrutiny into the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) poor performance and historic wait times at US airports, the bill will provide a total of $5.08 billion to increase the number of security personnel and layers of aviation security.
The bill will fully fund President Barack Obama’s request for $50 million in funds to counter violent extremism. The subcommittee also approved more than $17 billion for immigration and border control authorities, and a total of $1 billion in funds to improve US government cybersecurity.
