Rep. Mark Amodei
The Homeland Security Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2025, which U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) authored, on June 28 passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a narrow 212-203 vote and now heads to the U.S. Senate for action.
“This legislation is a commitment to protecting Americans and the homeland,” Rep. Amodei said. “Through border security, immigration enforcement, cybersecurity, and disaster resilience, we are investing in resources to secure the nation and support our people on the frontline.”
The congressman sponsored H.R. 8752 on June 14 to make appropriations for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2025, among other purposes.
For instance, H.R. 8752 would secure more than $3 billion to fund an immigrant detention bed mandate of 50,000, which is 16,000 above President Joe Biden’s request. The detention bed mandate is the number of detention beds that are to be available to detain immigrants each day in the United States, as mandated by Congress.
If enacted, H.R. 8752 also includes $300 million for border security technology; $600 million for construction of the southern border wall; and would invest $60 million to hire more than 250 new law enforcement officers to investigate transnational criminal activity, according to a bill summary provided by the congressman’s staff.
“The FY25 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill prioritizes investments to secure the border and makes appropriate cuts to policies and programs we know don’t work,” said Rep. Amodei. “Treating the border crisis as an issue that can be managed by providing grants to NGOs, funding processing tents, and giving transportation money to nonprofits does not work.
“This bill invests in tried-and-true methods of securing the border that the men and women in the field are asking for — more agents, detention beds, detection technology, and physical barriers,” he said.
The measure also would counter Chinese influence by providing $335 million for four additional Coast Guard Fast Response Cutters and would allocate $22.7 billion to DHS for major disaster response and recovery, among numerous other provisions.