For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
Fact Sheet: Secretary Napolitano Announces Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Request
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano unveiled the Department’s $56.3 billion fiscal year 2011 budget request today—prioritizing efforts to enhance security measures that protect against terrorism and other threats and reflecting the Department’s commitment to fiscal discipline and efficiency.
“Our proposed budget is designed to ensure we have the resources we need to secure America,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We are committed to strong fiscal discipline, eliminating redundancy and investing our resources in what works while enhancing security across the board.”
President Obama’s budget request for DHS strengthens the ongoing work across the Department in each of DHS’ five major mission areas—preventing terrorism and enhancing security; securing and managing the nation’s borders; smart and effective enforcement of immigration laws; safeguarding and securing cyberspace; and ensuring resiliency to disasters.
The proposed budget also furthers Secretary Napolitano’s major reform goals to continue institutionalizing a new culture of efficiency and fiscal discipline at DHS.
FY2011 Budget Priorities:
Preventing Terrorism and Enhancing Security— Guarding against terrorism was the founding mission of DHS and remains our top priority today. A key element of preventing terrorism is recognizing the evolving threats posed by violent extremists and taking action to ensure our defenses continue to evolve to deter and defeat them. The proposed DHS budget strengthens several aviation security programs by increasing Federal Air Marshal coverage on international flights and through the deployment of additional canine teams, Behavior Detection Officers, Explosive Trace Detection machines and Advanced Imaging Technology units to increase the Department’s ability to detect metallic and non-metallic explosives and other threats at airports across the country.
Securing and Managing the Nation’s Borders— DHS monitors our air, land and sea borders to prevent illegal trafficking that threatens our country, while facilitating lawful travel and trade. DHS will continue to strengthen security efforts on the southwest border to combat and disrupt cartel violence and provide critical security upgrades—through infrastructure and technology—along the northern border. The fiscal year 2011 DHS budget request includes funding for increased staffing and better pay for frontline officers; additional Border Enforcement Security Task Forces and border intelligence analysts; new technology to support intellectual property rights enforcement; and enhancements to Coast Guard maritime border security air and marine assets.
Smart and Effective Enforcement of Immigration Laws—DHS is responsible for enforcing the nation’s immigration laws while streamlining and facilitating the legal immigration process. In FY 2011, we will continue to strengthen enforcement activities while targeting criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety and employees who knowingly violate the law. This budget request supports enhancements to E-Verify—DHS’ simple and effective online system to verify employment eligibility of new hires; funding to continue nationwide implementation of the Secure Communities program—which uses biometrics to identify and remove criminal aliens incarcerated in state and local jails; and programs that promote citizenship awareness, enhance English-language education and assist community-based organizations prepare immigrants for citizenship.
Safeguarding and Securing Cyberspace—The Department defends against, and responds to, attacks on cyber networks – analyzing threats and vulnerabilities, coordinating the response to cyber incidents and working with the private sector and our state, local, international and private sector partners to ensure that our computers, networks and cyber systems remain safe. The proposed DHS budget includes funding for the National Cyber Security Division to identify and reduce vulnerabilities in our nation’s key cyber networks and to enhance cyber security coordination capabilities across the Federal Government.
Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Disasters—The Department provides the coordinated, comprehensive federal response in the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergencies while working with federal, state, local and private sector partners to ensure a swift and effective recovery effort. DHS will continue its efforts to build a ready and resilient nation by bolstering information sharing; providing grants, plans, and training to our homeland security and law enforcement partners; and further streamlining rebuilding and recovery along the Gulf Coast. The proposed DHS budget prioritizes program and technical support for state, local and tribal governments to reduce risk; modernization of flood maps to better communicate flood hazards; enhancement of emergency response and rapid recovery capabilities; and upgrading key Federal Emergency Management Agency facilities to better accommodate its critical mission.
The full DHS FY 2011 budget request can be found at www.dhs.gov/budget-performance.
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