Airport Alert: House Committee Funds 5,000 New CBP Officers in its Budget Reconciliation Border Package
House Committee Funds 5,000 New CBP Officers in its Budget Reconciliation Border Package
April 27, 2025
This afternoon, the House Homeland Security Committee released its budget reconciliation text, totaling about $69 billion, primarily to fund the Department of Homeland Security's border security missions.
The legislative text contains good news for airports. Notably, it includes:
Equally notable is that the bill does not extend the diversion of aviation security passenger fees set aside for general deficit reduction through 2034, as had been rumored. The current diversion expires on September 30, 2027. AAAE strongly advocated against this extension and continues to stress the importance of using all aviation security passenger fees collected for the Transportation Security Administration's security needs, not diverting one-third of the fees collected to deficit reduction.
What’s Next?
On Tuesday morning, the Committee will hold a markup to consider, possibly amend, and approve its budget reconciliation package. AAAE will provide more details after the markup concludes.
April 27, 2025
This afternoon, the House Homeland Security Committee released its budget reconciliation text, totaling about $69 billion, primarily to fund the Department of Homeland Security's border security missions.
The legislative text contains good news for airports. Notably, it includes:
- $4.1 billion to hire and train additional frontline Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel, including 5,000 new Office of Field Operations Customs officers at air, land, and sea ports of entry.
- $2.053 billion for annual retention or signing bonuses to recruit and retain the skilled workforce, including CBP officers, to protect the borders and improve workforce morale.
- $1 billion in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) state homeland security grants for state, local, and tribal communities for security, planning, and other costs related to the 2028 Olympics.
- $625 million in FEMA state homeland security grants for state, local, and tribal communities for security, planning, and other costs related to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- $500 million in FEMA state homeland security grants to support state, local, and tribal law enforcement in developing their ability to detect, identify, track, or monitor unmanned aircraft system threats.
Equally notable is that the bill does not extend the diversion of aviation security passenger fees set aside for general deficit reduction through 2034, as had been rumored. The current diversion expires on September 30, 2027. AAAE strongly advocated against this extension and continues to stress the importance of using all aviation security passenger fees collected for the Transportation Security Administration's security needs, not diverting one-third of the fees collected to deficit reduction.
What’s Next?
On Tuesday morning, the Committee will hold a markup to consider, possibly amend, and approve its budget reconciliation package. AAAE will provide more details after the markup concludes.
