DHS budget would double cyber spending to $769 million

The Homeland Security Department nearly doubled its 2013 funding request for cybersecurity in an otherwise slimmed-down budget.

There is bipartisan support for improving computer network defenses, so the outlook may be positive for obtaining much of the proposed $769 million from Congress. The funding would go toward the National Cyber Security Division for protecting federal networks and coordinating with the private sector on safeguarding critical infrastructure systems such as utility grids.

In 2011, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asked for $459 for the division. The Infrastructure Protection and Programs Directorate, which oversees the program and other cyber-related initiatives, also would be boosted from $888.2 million in estimated spending this year to $1.2 billion in fiscal 2013. By comparison, the Pentagon has asked for only a $200 million increase over last year's $3.2 billion cyber request.

"Essential services, ranging from disaster assistance to Social Security to national defense . . . rely on a safe, secure and resilient government information and communications infrastructure," President Obama stated in his budget. "Threats to this infrastructure -- whether from criminal elements or nation-states -- continue to grow in number and sophistication, creating the potential that essential services could be degraded or interrupted, and confidential information stolen or compromised, with serious effects."

The Secret Service computer crime squad, a Homeland Security unit, would receive $55 million, or 4 percent, over this year's request.

In addition, Homeland Security wants $10 million for online piracy probes, amid a fierce global debate between the entertainment industry and Internet companies over how to monitor the Web for intellectual property theft.

Overall, Napolitano would reign over a smaller department in 2013, with spending down $191 million, or 0.5 percent, from this year's enacted level.

The total $39.5 billion budget proposes slicing $155 million from the Transportation Security Administration, including cuts to screening operations. It would subtract $105 million for the purchase and installation of explosives detection systems, providing $117 million versus $223 million this year.

It is unclear how much money would be devoted to rebuilding a failed $1.1 billion virtual fence along the Southwest border, but total funding for border security, fencing, infrastructure and technology would decrease from $400 million to $327 million. Instead of paying for the Secure Border Initiative network, spending would cover, in part, detection, surveillance and communications systems tailored to each region along the U.S.-Mexico boundary.

For immigration enforcement, the department would shift funding from jailing illegal aliens to instead electronically monitoring some individuals. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's policy would be to only detain criminals, repeat immigration law violators, recent entrants and fugitives, according to White House budget documents.

A controversial DHS fingerprinting program called Secure Communities, which checks a suspect's FBI prints against the department's IDENT biometric database to determine immigration status, has been under fire for targeting innocents and minor offenders. "For low-risk individuals, ICE will work to enhance the effectiveness of alternatives to detention, which costs significantly less than detention," the budget request states.

Homeland Security has asked for flat funding for immigration verification programs, such as e-Verify, an online service employers use to check the legal status of new hires. In both fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2013, the administration asked for $132 million. E-Verify is mandatory for federal contractors but voluntary elsewhere in the private sector.

The Homeland Security cuts would include administrative costs, such as overtime and travel, as well as some Federal Emergency Management Agency grants set for restructuring.

The House Homeland Security Committee this week plans to hold a hearing to question Napolitano about her 2013 budget priorities. The panel's ranking Democrat, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in a statement, "The consolidation of preparedness grants into one small pot is a cause for concern," but added he understood the reality of financial constraints and was pleased to see cybersecurity and border security enhancements.