Budget plans differ for transportation, border security

The House- and Senate-passed versions of the bill to fund the Homeland Security Department in fiscal 2004 would provide large sums for transportation- and border-security technologies but would make significant cuts in certain areas as well.

The Senate passed its version of the bill, H.R. 2555, on a 93-1 vote on July 24, exactly one month after the 425-2 vote in the House. The Senate version would provide $29.4 billion overall to the House's $29.2 billion. Both would allocate more than the White House request of $28.4 billion.

The Transportation Security Administration would receive $5.2 billion under the House version, compared with nearly $5.4 billion from the Senate. That would include funding for: port security at $100 million from the House and $150 million from the Senate; explosive-detection systems at $335 million and $459 million; and $10 million for intercity bus security from both chambers.

The Senate also calls for $5 million for research and development of advanced explosive-detection systems.

The House would provide $50 million for air cargo security, including $30 million for state-of-the-art detection technologies, plus $14 million for electronic surveillance. Both chambers are expected to fund the Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System with $35 million, subject to a General Accounting Office study.

The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection would get $5.1 billion from the House, including $493.7 million for technology modernization, which covers major projects such as $313 million for the Automated Commercial Environment (the new border information system) and more than $50 million for the technologies needed to integrate the bureau into the new department. The Senate would give the bureau $4.9 billion, with $441 million for modernization.

The House also would provide $129 million to develop and deploy inspection technologies, which would be $10 million more than the White House request.

The House version also includes: $10 million for inspection technology for unfunded needs such as pallet inspection; $12 million for a self-certification program for shipping facilities; and $61.7 million to continue and expand the Container Security Initiative, under which shipments to the United States are tracked from their ports of origin.

The House would give the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement $3 billion, with $350 million for the immigrant-tracking system known as US-VISIT--$130 million less than the president's request. The committee expressed concern about the program's complexity and said the final price tag could be $10 billion.

The Senate voted to provide $380 million for US-VISIT.

Under the House version, the bureau also would receive $175 million for a program that subjects aircraft and marine vessels to monitoring. The Senate proposed $257 million.

The House would provide $6.7 billion to the Coast Guard, including $530 million for a program to link new aircraft and ships to an integrated computer system. The Senate would give the Coast Guard $6.9 billion, including $702 million for that program.

Both chambers voted to allocate $134 million for a program to modernize the technology of the "maritime 911" system for monitoring distress calls and coordinating search-and-rescue missions.