Hearing Report: Secretary Noem Testifies at House Appropriations Hearing; TSA Cuts and REAL ID Discussed
Secretary Noem Testifies at House Appropriations Hearing; TSA Cuts and REAL ID Discussed
May 6, 2025
Secretary Noem testified before the House Appropriations Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Subcommittee this morning. While the Administration transmitted a brief fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget request document to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees last Friday, it contained scant details about DHS priorities and co-mingled funding requests for DHS included in a separate budget reconciliation bill within that document. See our alert for May 2 for more information. With limited budget details, the hearing largely focused on border and immigration issues, cybersecurity, disaster relief, and parochial issues.
The Secretary briefly discussed a few Transportation Security Administration issues. Her written statement also included information about the enforcement of REAL ID and the benefits of PreCheck.
REAL ID:
House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) asked the Secretary about compliant Real ID documents, specifically if tribal identification cards are acceptable for traveling when enforcement begins on May 7, 2025. The Secretary confirmed that they are. She further elaborated that about 81 percent of American travelers already have REAL ID-compliant identification. For those traveling without a compliant ID, they will be diverted for extra security, but they will be allowed to fly.
Separate from the hearing, TSA began hosting a daily REAL ID rollout call for the top 30 airports based on volume and those where TSA is placing additional resources to assist with implementation. TSA’s REAL ID enforcement security operations plan identified the additional airports that TSA is closely monitoring due to low REAL ID compliance rates. AAAE is participating in the calls, which began today. Many Federal Security Directors reported that they have tested their rollout plans already with airports, air carriers, and local law enforcement and believe they are ready for full enforcement to begin tomorrow.
Reductions to TSA:
Representative Ed Case (D-HI) raised concerns about the DHS FY26 budget request that proposed a 65 percent increase in funding above FY25. Case noted that all the extra dollars are included in a separate budget reconciliation bill being considered by Congress, and should not be in the FY26 budget request. He chastised the Secretary for this gimmick before delving into specific reductions in the request, including a proposed $247 million decrease for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs). Noem replied that the proposed TSA reduction reflected vacant positions and not requiring TSOs to do “unskilled technical work like monitoring exit lanes.”
What’s Next?
Secretary Noem will testify before the Senate DHS Appropriations Subcommittee on Thursday morning, where she will once again discuss her FY26 priorities and ongoing efforts to keep the nation safe.
Later this month, the Administration is expected to submit more robust FY26 budget justifications, which will include more information on airport priorities within TSA and CBP.
