CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

CBO

The Proposed 

Homeland Security 

Budget for 2013

SEPTEMBER 2012
CBO

Notes

Unless otherwise indicated, all years referred to in this study are federal fiscal years (which run 

from October 1 to September 30), and all costs apply to fiscal years and are expressed in

current dollars of budget authority.

Numbers in the text and tables may not add up to totals because of rounding.

On the cover—

Top left: An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter during a training exercise in 

Middle Bay, near Kodiak, Alaska, May 2012. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally.

Top right: A Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent near the Shiprock land formation in 

the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. Photo by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Bottom left: Two firefighters from the 180th Fighter Wing of the Ohio National Guard at a 

training exercise at the Toledo Express Airport, April 2010. Photo by the National Guard. 

Bottom right: A biosafety laboratory worker. Photo by the Army Medical Research Institute 

of Infectious Diseases, Department of Defense.

Pub. No. 4283
Contents

CBO

Summary iii

Introduction 1

Requested Funding for Homeland Security, by Strategic Goal 1

Preventing and Disrupting Terrorist Acts 2

Protecting the American People, Our Critical Infrastructure, and Key Resources 2

Responding to and Recovering from Incidents 3

Requested Funding for Homeland Security Missions Within Selected Departments 4

Department of Homeland Security 6

Department of Defense 12

Department of Health and Human Services 13

Department of Justice 13

Comparison of the President’s Fiscal Year 2013 Request with Enacted Funding for 

Fiscal Year 2012 14

Historical Funding for Homeland Security 14

Funding Prior to September 11, 2001 14

Funding Immediately After the Attacks of September 11, 2001 16

Funding from 2003 to 2009 17

Funding from 2010 to 2012 18

List of Tables and Figures 19

About This Document 20
CBO

Summary

The Homeland Security Act of 2002, which established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 

requires the Administration to identify and report on 

homeland security funding and activities of all federal 

agencies. For that purpose, the law defines “homeland 

security” as those activities that detect, deter, protect 

against, and respond to terrorist acts occurring within the 

United States and its territories. Those activities include 

counterterrorism efforts, the protection of civilians and 

critical infrastructure and assets, and emergency preparedness and response. They are carried out by numerous federal agencies and include many, but not all, of 

DHS’s responsibilities. Since the terrorist attacks of 

September 11, 2001, the federal government has spent 

more than half a trillion dollars on homeland security. 

Funding Requested for 2013 

The President requested $68.9 billion in budget authority for homeland security for fiscal year 2013, 1.3 percent 

more than the amount provided for 2012. Although 

every federal department and a number of independent 

federal agencies receive homeland security funding, 

approximately 90 percent of the requested funding would 

be allocated to four departments:

 Department of Homeland Security ($35.5 billion, or 

52 percent of the total homeland security request);

 Department of Defense (DoD; $18.0 billion, or 

26 percent); 

 Department of Health and Human Services 

(HHS; $4.1 billion, or 6 percent); and 

 Department of Justice (DOJ; $4.0 billion, or 

6 percent).

Activities related to homeland security, as defined here, 

account for 60 percent of the total budget request for 

DHS. Its other responsibilities encompass activities such 

as response to natural disasters carried out by the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency and search and rescue 

operations of the Coast Guard. 

Funding for homeland security activities accounts for 

a smaller portion—and, in some cases, just a small 

fraction—of the total budget for the other departments. 

For instance, the amount requested by the President for 

homeland security activities represents about 3 percent of 

the entire budget request for DoD. 

Many activities that are counted today in the homeland 

security budget existed long before terrorism became a 

national concern. For example, for decades, the Border 

Patrol; Coast Guard; Secret Service; and Bureau of 

Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives performed 

many of the same missions that they perform today. A 

significant portion of the budget for each of those agencies is now included in the homeland security budget. 

That budget supports four strategic goals initially outlined by the Homeland Security Council, part of the 

Executive Office of the President, in its National Strategy 

for Homeland Security: 

 Prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks;

 Protect the American people, our critical infrastructure, and key resources; 

 Respond to and recover from incidents; and

 Continue to strengthen the homeland security 

foundation.
IV THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

Almost half of the total request, 48 percent, would support the first goal, preventing and disrupting terrorist 

attacks. The next largest amount, about 43 percent, 

would support the second goal, protecting the American 

people, critical infrastructure, and key resources. About 

9 percent of the requested funding would support the 

third goal, response and recovery. (The fourth goal is very 

broad and does not receive explicit funding that is discernible from that for the other three goals.)

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has 

identified six “mission areas” that expand on those four 

strategic goals. Funding for those six missions would be 

apportioned as follows under the President’s budget:

 Border and transportation security (36 percent of the 

total request); 

 Protecting critical infrastructure and key assets 

(29 percent);

 Emergency preparedness and response (8 percent);

 Domestic counterterrorism (8 percent); 

 Defending against catastrophic threats (7 percent); 

and

 Intelligence and warning (1 percent).

The remaining 11 percent would be used for various 

other purposes, including pension payments to retirees.

At the department level, the President’s 2013 request for 

homeland security activities is similar in most respects to 

the funding that was enacted for fiscal year 2012. For 

2013, the President requested increases of 3.4 percent for 

DoD and 1.2 percent for DHS and proposed decreases of 

0.8 percent for HHS and 1.5 percent for DOJ. 

Historical Funding for Homeland 

Security

Federal funding for the many activities collectively 

labeled “homeland security” has evolved over the past 

15 years:

 From 1998 through 2001, overall funding for combating terrorism rose by almost 60 percent more than 

what would have been needed to keep pace with 

inflation, reaching $12.1 billion by 2001. (That 

amount and the others discussed in this section are 

expressed in 2012 dollars.)

 After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, 

funding immediately increased. Some $15.1 billion 

in emergency funding was appropriated in fiscal year 

2002 to supplement the $12.7 billion already appropriated for that year. 

 From 2003, when the Department of Homeland 

Security began operations, to 2009, homeland security 

goals and missions became more clearly delineated. 

Funding rose to a peak of $76 billion (in 2012 dollars), and resources were allocated among many 

agencies of the federal government, with about half 

going to DHS. 

 From 2010 to 2012, funding fell from its peak to 

$67 billion in 2011 and to $68 billion in 2012.

Because pay and benefits for federal employees grew 

faster than economywide inflation, the size of the homeland security enterprise grew by slightly less over the past 

15 years than the funding in constant 2012 dollars would 

suggest.

Although homeland security funding has dropped somewhat from its 2009 peak, in inflation-adjusted terms, the 

nation is now spending substantially more than what it 

spent on homeland security in 2001, even when taking 

into account that some activities that are now considered 

part of the homeland security budget were not classified 

that way in 2001. Supplemental funding (that is, funding 

to address homeland security needs that arise between the 

enactment of annual budgets) was provided in several 

years for activities such as border security in the southwest and for emergency preparedness, but only a relatively small amount was appropriated in that form in 

2010, and none in 2011 or 2012. 

Although concentrated within DHS since its creation, 

activities related to homeland security have been executed 

by many departments and agencies within the federal 

government. In fact, since 2004, DHS has never 

accounted for more than 52 percent of total annual funding for homeland security. The allocation of homeland 

security funding among the various federal agencies has 

remained relatively constant since 2005. 
CBO

The Proposed Homeland Security Budget for 2013

Introduction

Although the term “homeland security” existed before 

2001, the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st 

Century was one of the first entities to comprehensively 

examine the concept as a primary mission of the federal 

government, just months before the terrorist attacks of 

September 11, 2001.1

 Since those attacks, the federal 

government has spent more than half a trillion dollars in 

its efforts to prevent further acts of terrorism in the 

United States and to prepare government at all levels, as 

well as private industry and the general public, to respond 

to such attacks if they occur. Funding for such activities 

increased substantially in the immediate aftermath of the 

attacks, when lawmakers enacted the Homeland Security 

Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296). That legislation, 

which resulted in the largest reorganization of the federal 

government since the National Security Act of 1947, created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by 

combining 22 separate agencies into a single entity with 

principal responsibility for homeland security. Over the 

past decade, all other Cabinet-level departments, as well 

as a number of independent federal agencies, have also 

received funding related to homeland security, and most 

continue to receive some funding for that purpose each 

year.2

For 2012, lawmakers allocated a total of $68.0 billion for 

homeland security, 1.5 percent more than the funding 

provided for 2011. The President has requested 

$68.9 billion in funding for 2013, 1.3 percent more than 

the 2012 allocation. About 90 percent of that 2013 funding would be concentrated in four departments: DHS, 

the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department 

of Justice (DOJ). The remainder of homeland security 

funding is spread among the 11 other Cabinet-level 

departments and 16 agencies.

In this report, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 

examines how the federal budget for homeland security is 

organized and how funding under the President’s proposed budget would be allocated. The homeland security 

budget can be analyzed from two different perspectives—

a strategic perspective and a mission-oriented perspective. 

CBO used the former approach to assess how much 

funding the Administration requested to support the 

broad goals enunciated in the National Strategy for 

Homeland Security, which was prepared by the Homeland 

Security Council and released by the White House in 

2007. CBO used the second approach to explore how 

funding would be allocated to support the six core missions identified by the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) as central to homeland security. In addition, this 

study explores how appropriations for previous years 

reflect the evolution of national priorities for homeland 

security.

Requested Funding for Homeland 

Security, by Strategic Goal 

Four goals outlined in the National Strategy for Homeland 

Security provide a framework for the nation’s homeland 

security efforts: 

1. U.S. Commission on National Security/21stCentury, Road Map 

for National Security: Imperative for Change (Washington, D.C.: 

February 15, 2001), http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/nssg

/PhaseIIIFR.pdf. 

2. The President’s Cabinet consists of the senior appointed officials 

of 15 federal agencies: the Departments of State, the Treasury, 

Defense, Justice, the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, 

Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, 

Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security. The independent federal agencies, such as the 

National Science Foundation and NASA, exist within the executive branch but outside the Cabinet-level departments. 
2 THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

 Prevent and Disrupt Terrorist Attacks. Central to this 

strategy is disrupting the ability of terrorists to operate 

within the borders of the United States as well as preventing the emergence of domestic terrorist groups or 

individuals.

 Protect the American People, Our Critical 

Infrastructure, and Key Resources. Accomplishing 

this goal involves ensuring the nation’s welfare and 

protecting assets, systems, and networks that are so 

vital that their destruction would have a debilitating 

effect on the nation’s economic security, public health, 

or safety.

 Respond to and Recover from Incidents. This goal 

encompasses bolstering capabilities nationwide to 

prevent and protect against terrorist attacks once they 

are under way and to minimize damage from attacks 

through effective response and recovery.

 Continue to Strengthen the Homeland Security 

Foundation. This goal involves supporting and 

strengthening the principles, systems, structures, and 

institutions that cut across the homeland security 

enterprise.

The fourth goal does not receive explicit funding that is 

discernible from that for the other three goals. Consequently, CBO does not discuss that goal further in this 

study.

The National Strategy for Homeland Security emphasizes 

the primary importance of preventing attacks; then protecting people, infrastructure, and resources if prevention 

fails; and, finally, responding to and recovering from any 

attack that might occur. Under the President’s budgetary 

proposals for 2013, almost half of the funding would be 

directed toward the first strategic goal, preventing and 

disrupting terrorist attacks (see Table 1). Activities supporting the second strategic goal—protecting the people 

of the United States, critical infrastructure, and key 

resources—would receive the next largest amount, about 

43 percent. Funding directed toward response and recovery would amount to about 9 percent of the total. 

Preventing and Disrupting Terrorist Acts

The Administration requested $33.2 billion for 2013 

to help fulfill the first strategic goal—prevention and 

disruption of terrorism. Most of the funding for that purpose—$27.1 billion, or 82 percent—would go to DHS 

(see Figure 1). Many of the activities in this category fall 

directly within the broad mission areas with which DHS 

is tasked, including identifying, collecting, and distributing information gathered through intelligence operations 

and sharing that information not only at all levels of government but also with the private sector and the public at 

large. Also covered are DHS’s activities in tracking and 

intercepting potentially dangerous cargo destined for the 

United States or would-be terrorists attempting to enter 

the United States. The activities in this category primarily 

fall under the jurisdiction of three agencies within DHS: 

Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation 

Security Administration, and the Coast Guard.

Under the President’s proposed budget, the Department 

of Justice would receive $3.5 billion to fund its efforts to 

identify, thwart, and prosecute terrorists in the United 

States—and also to work with DHS on intelligence and 

warning activities. Those activities fall within the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 

Funding for the Department of State represents a relatively small percentage of the total funding for homeland 

security. Under the President’s budget, the department 

would receive $2.3 billion for preventing and disrupting 

terrorism, accounting for 7 percent of the total request 

for that category. Most of the activities the State Department performs in that capacity involve efforts to prevent 

potential adversaries and their cargo from crossing U.S. 

borders, while facilitating the flow of lawful travel and 

commerce.

Initially, it might seem surprising that no homeland 

security funding for this strategic goal was requested for 

DoD, which is also charged with preventing and disrupting terrorist attacks. However, only the domestic portion 

of intelligence-and-warning activities is defined as related 

to homeland security. The collection of foreign intelligence, which falls in part under the purview of DoD, is 

not included in that category, although the resulting analysis of foreign intelligence may be used to augment 

domestic intelligence activities. In addition, none of the 

activities that DoD conducts overseas to disrupt terrorist 

groups and prevent attacks in the United States are 

included in the homeland security budget.

Protecting the American People, Our Critical 

Infrastructure, and Key Resources

To support the government’s second strategic goal, the 

Administration requested $29.3 billion for 2013 for eight 
THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013 3

CBO

Table 1.

Total Homeland Security Funding Requested in the President’s Budget for 2013, 

by Strategic Goal

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Budget of the United States 

Government, Fiscal Year 2013: Analytical Perspectives (February 2012).

Note: The four strategic goals are derived from the National Strategy for Homeland Security, which was developed by the Homeland Security 

Council and issued by the White House in 2007.

a. Although acknowledged by OMB, the fourth goal does not receive explicit funding that is discernible from that for the other three goals. 

Therefore, specific funding amounts are not shown for the fourth goal.

federal departments and several other federal agencies; 

more than half of that funding would go to DoD. The 

goal has two main components: protecting people and 

protecting infrastructure and key resources. 

The portion of funding that would be devoted to protecting the U.S. population would center on developing 

and implementing procedures to counter threats posed by 

chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. 

The $5.4 billion requested for those purposes would be 

apportioned as follows: $2.2 billion to HHS, mainly for 

research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on 

advanced development of countermeasures against those 

weapons, and $1.4 billion to DoD and $1.2 billion to 

DHS for improved detection and decontamination 

capabilities.

A total of $23.9 billion would be designated for the second component—protecting critical infrastructure and 

key resources—and would be concentrated mainly 

within DoD and DHS. DoD would receive $15.3 billion, primarily for ensuring physical security (that is, for 

preventing unauthorized access to personnel, equipment, 

installations, and information) and for preparing to 

mitigate the consequences of any attack against military 

personnel or facilities. DHS would receive $4.5 billion 

for activities in this category, reflecting that department’s 

overall responsibility for coordinating and prioritizing 

infrastructure protection at the national level.

Responding to and Recovering from Incidents

The Administration requested $6.3 billion for 2013 to 

support the third strategic goal—responding to and 

recovering from acts of terrorism. All 15 Cabinet-level 

departments as well as 10 other federal agencies and organizations would receive funding to support that goal, 

reflecting the widespread nature of efforts to mitigate the 

effects of a terrorist attack should one occur. The funding 

for this category would be concentrated within three 

Strategic Goals Objectives

2013 Request

(Billions of dollars) 

Percentage of

Total Request

Prevent and Disrupt Terrorist 

Attacks

Disrupt the ability of terrorists to operate within the 

borders of the United States; prevent the emergence of 

violent radicalization 33.2 48

Protect the American People, 

Our Critical Infrastructure, and 

Key Resources

Protect assets, systems, and networks so vital to the 

United States that their destruction would have a 

debilitating effect on national economic or homeland 

security 29.3 43

Respond to and Recover from 

Incidents

Bolster capabilities nationwide to prevent and protect 

against terrorist attacks, and minimize damage from 

attacks through effective response and recovery 6.3 9

Continue to Strengthen the 

Homeland Security Foundation

Continue to strengthen the principles, systems, 

structures, and institutions that cut across the 

homeland security enterprise a a

 Total 68.9 100
4 THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

Figure 1.

Homeland Security Funding Requested by the President for 2013, by 

Strategic Goal and Department

(Billions of dollars)

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Budget of the United States 

Government, Fiscal Year 2013: Analytical Perspectives (February 2012).

Note: The strategic goals on which the figure is based are described in the National Strategy for Homeland Security, which was developed 

by the Homeland Security Council and issued by the White House in 2007. Although acknowledged by OMB, a fourth goal, 

Continue to Strengthen the Homeland Security Foundation, does not receive explicit funding that is discernible from that for the other 

three goals. Therefore, specific funding amounts are not included for the fourth goal.

a. The remainder of the requested funding for homeland security is allocated among 26 other federal departments and agencies.

departments—DHS, HHS, and DoD—which together 

account for 90 percent of the total. 

Requested funding related to this category includes 

funding for DHS grants to states and localities to aid in 

emergency preparedness, particularly for first responders.

OMB does not include response to and recovery from 

natural disasters in the homeland security category; however, actions taken in response to a terrorist attack and 

ensuing recovery efforts are in many cases similar to mitigation efforts following a natural disaster and may use 

many of the same assets.

Requested Funding for Homeland 

Security Missions Within Selected 

Departments

OMB has identified six specific missions that reflect the 

ways in which federal departments and agencies implement the strategic goals (see Table 2): 

 Border and transportation security;

 Protecting critical infrastructure and key assets;

 Emergency preparedness and response;

 Domestic counterterrorism;

Prevent and Disrupt

Terrorist Attacks

Protect the

American People,

Our Critical

Infrastructure, and

Key Resources

Respond to and

Recover from

Incidents

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Othera

Department of

State

Department of

Justice

Department of

Health and

Human Services

Department of

Defense

Department of

Homeland Security

Strategic Goal
THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013 5

CBO

Table 2.

Strategic Goals for Homeland Security and Associated Missions

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Budget of the United States 

Government, Fiscal Year 2013: Analytical Perspectives (February 2012).

Note: The four strategic goals are derived from the National Strategy for Homeland Security, which was developed by the Homeland Security 

Council and issued by the White House in 2007. The six homeland security mission categories are derived from those four strategic 

goals and serve as OMB’s framework for organizing the homeland security budget.

a. This goal reflects overall policy directions for homeland security.

 Defending against catastrophic threats; and 

 Intelligence and warning. 

About two-thirds of the funding would be allocated to 

the first two missions, which would be carried out almost 

entirely by DHS and DoD. 

To describe how federal departments and agencies take 

steps to accomplish the strategic goals discussed in the 

previous section, CBO focused on the four departments 

with the largest budgets for such activities. Approximately 90 percent of the funding for homeland security 

would be allocated to those departments, as follows (see

Figure 2):

 Department of Homeland Security (52 percent);

 Department of Defense (26 percent);

 Department of Health and Human Services 

(6 percent); and 

 Department of Justice (6 percent).

Those four departments have accounted for similar shares 

of the homeland security budget since 2005. The remaining 11 percent of homeland security funding would be 

spread among 27 other federal departments and agencies 

(notably the Department of State and the Department of 

Energy, which together accounted for about 6 percent of 

the total request).3

Mission Categories

Prevent and

Disrupt Terrorist 

Attacks

Protect the American 

People, Our Critical 

Infrastructure, and 

Key Resources

Respond to and

Recover from 

Incidents

Continue to 

Strengthen the 

Homeland Security 

Foundationa

Border and Transportation 

Security X X

Protecting Critical 

Infrastructure and Key Assets X X

Emergency Preparedness and 

Response XXX

Domestic Counterterrorism X X

Defending Against 

Catastrophic Threats XXX

Intelligence and Warning X X

3. Other federal agencies, in addition to those discussed above, 

receive funds for homeland security: the Departments of 

Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Housing and Urban 

Development, the Interior, Labor, Transportation, the Treasury, 

and Veterans Affairs, along with the Army Corps of Engineers, 

the Environmental Protection Agency, the Executive Office of 

the President, the General Services Administration, NASA, 

the National Science Foundation, the Office of Personnel 

Management, the Social Security Administration, the District 

of Columbia, the Federal Communications Commission, the 

Intelligence Community Management Account, the National 

Archives and Records Administration, the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the 

Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Holocaust 

Memorial Museum. 
6 THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

Figure 2.

Homeland Security Funding Requested by the President for 2013, by Department

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, 

Fiscal Year 2013: Analytical Perspectives (February 2012).

a. The remainder of the requested funding for homeland security is allocated among 27 other federal departments and agencies.

Department of Homeland Security

In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, 

the Homeland Security Act of 2002 called for the creation of DHS, a Cabinet-level department to coordinate 

and manage the nation’s homeland security efforts. DHS 

also contains agencies whose core missions extend beyond 

combating terrorism. For example, a central function of 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is 

to support national efforts to prepare for, respond to, and 

recover from a wide range of accidents and natural disasters. Those missions are not mutually exclusive; in fact, 

many of the same plans put in place to confront and 

respond to a natural disaster can also be used to respond 

to an act of terrorism. However, part of the budget for 

FEMA is not included in the homeland security category 

because its focus is on responding to natural disasters 

rather than acts of terrorism.

Under the President’s proposed budget for 2013, DHS 

would receive $35.5 billion in funding for activities specifically related to homeland security, representing about 

60 percent of the total budget authority requested for the 

department. The homeland security budget for DHS is 

allocated among 11 of its agencies, but 82 percent is concentrated within five: Customs and Border Protection 

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Defense

Department of

Health and

Human Services

Department of

Justice

Othera

$35.5 Billion

(52%)

$18.0 Billion

(26%)

$4.1 Billion

(6%)

$4.0 Billion

(6%)

$7.3 Billion

(11%)

Total Request: $68.9 Billion
THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013 7

CBO

Figure 3.

Homeland Security Funding Requested by the President for 2013, by 

Department and Component Agency or Appropriation Title

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, 

Fiscal Year 2013: Analytical Perspectives (February 2012).

a. “Miscellaneous” refers to compilations of small accounts (totaling less than $50 million) distributed across several agencies within the 

Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice.

b. “Other” encompasses activities that do not fit clearly into any of the defined homeland security missions.

 

Miscellaneousa

National Security Division

Drug Enforcement Administration

Legal Activities and U.S. Marshals Service

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Miscellaneousa

Food and Drug Administration

Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institutes of Health

Military Construction

Revolving and Management Funds

Procurement

Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation

Operation and Maintenance

Military Personnel

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office

Science and Technology Directorate

Departmental Management and Operations

Secret Service

National Protection and Programs Directorate

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Coast Guard

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Transportation Security Administration

Customs and Border Protection

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Border and Transportation Security

Domestic Counterterrorism

Intelligence and Warning

Defending Against Catastrophic Threats

Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets

Emergency Preparedness and Response

Otherb

Department of Homeland Security

Mission Categories

0 0.04 0.08 0.12 0.16 0.2

Department of Justice

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Defense

Billions of Dollars
8 THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

Table 3.

Homeland Security Funding Requested for 2013 for Selected Departments, by 

Mission

(Billions of dollars)

Continued

Appropriation Title

10.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 10.2

7.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.7

3.0 0 0 2.0 0 0 0 5.0

3.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.3

0.4 0 2.7 0 0 0 0 3.0

* 2.5 0 0 0.2 0 0 2.7

0 1.4 0 * 0 0.1 0 1.5

Departmental Management 

and Operations 0 0.6 0 0 0 0.3 0 0.9

0 0 0 0 0.1 0 0.6 0.7

0 0 0 0 0.3 0 0 0.3

0 * 0 0.1 0 0 0 0.2 ____ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ____

Total 24.6 4.5 2.7 2.1 0.7 0.4 0.6 35.5

0 7.2 0.8 0 0.1 0 0 8.2

0 5.1 0.4 0 0.1 0 0 5.6

0 1.0 * 0 1.1 0 0 2.1

0 1.5 * 0 * 0 0 1.5

0 0 * 0 * 0 0 0.4

0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 __ ____ ___ __ ___ __ __ ____

Total 0 15.2 1.3 0 1.4 0 0 18.0

Immigration and Customs 

Transportation Security 

Federal Emergency 

and Warning

CounterDepartment of Defense

Procurement

Military Construction

Revolving and Management Funds

and Response Terrorism

Domestic

Agency or Intelligence

Othera

Training Center

Military Personnel

Operation and Maintenance

Test, and Evaluation

Research, Development,

Directorate

Domestic Nuclear Detection 

Federal Law Enforcement

National Protection and

Programs Directorate

Secret Service

Administrationb

Enforcementb

Management Agency

Protecting

Science and Technology 

Coast Guard

Customs and Border Protection

Total

Department of Homeland Security

Border and

Transportation

Security

Infrastructure

Mission

Defending

Against

Catastrophic

and Key Assets Threats

Critical

Preparedness

Emergency
THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013 9

CBO

Table 3. Continued

Homeland Security Funding Requested for 2013 for Selected Departments, by 

Mission

(Billions of dollars)

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on on data from Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Budget of the United States 

Government, Fiscal Year 2013: Analytical Perspectives (February 2012).

Notes: The six homeland security mission categories are based on strategic goals derived from the National Strategy for Homeland Security, 

which was developed by the Homeland Security Council and issued by the White House in 2007. The six missions serve as OMB’s 

framework for organizing the homeland security budget.

* = less than $50 million.

a. “Other” encompasses activities that do not fit clearly into one of the six defined homeland security missions.

b. Fees are collected annually to offset a significant portion of the gross funding shown here.

c. “Miscellaneous” refers to compilations of small accounts (totaling less than $50 million) distributed across several agencies within the 

Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice.

($10.2 billion), the Transportation Security Administration ($7.7 billion), Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement ($4.9 billion), the Coast Guard ($3.3 billion), and FEMA ($3.0 billion) (see Figure 3 and 

Table 3). Homeland security funding for DHS spans 

all six major homeland security mission areas identified 

by OMB. 

Border and Transportation Security. Border and transportation security is the largest homeland security 

mission undertaken by DHS. Almost 70 percent of the 

President’s budget request for the department’s homeland 

security activities in 2013 ($24.6 billion) was for that 

mission (see Figure 4). The agencies within DHS tasked 

with border and transportation security—Customs and 

Appropriation Title

0 0 * 0 1.8 0 0 1.8

0 0.1 1.2 0 0 0 0 1.3

0 * 0.4 0 0.2 0 0 0.6

0 * 0.1 0 0.2 0 0 0.4

Miscellaneousc 0 * * 0 0 0 0 0.1 __ ___ ___ __ ___ __ __ ___

Total 0 0.2 1.8 0 2.2 0 0 4.1

0 0.3 * 2.5 * 0.2 0 3.1

* 0 * 0.5 0 0 0 0.5

0 0.1 * 0.1 0 * 0 0.2

0 * * 0.1 0 * 0 0.1

0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0 0.1

Miscellaneousc 0 * * * 0 * * 0.1 __ ___ __ ___ __ ___ __ ___

Total * 0.5 * 3.1 * 0.4 * 4.0

Department of Justice

Department of Health and Human Services

Mission

Protecting Defending

Border and Critical Emergency Domestic Against

Transportation Infrastructure Preparedness Counter- Catastrophic Intelligence

Othera and Key Assets

Drug Enforcement Administration

National Security Division

Food and Drug Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Firearms, and Explosives

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

Legal Activities and 

U.S. Marshals Service

National Institutes of Health

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

Public Health and Social Services

Emergency Fund

Security and Response Terrorism Threats and Warning Total

Agency or 
10 THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

Figure 4.

Homeland Security Funding Requested by the President for 2013 for 

Selected Departments, by Mission

(Billions of dollars)

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Budget of the United States 

Government, Fiscal Year 2013: Analytical Perspectives (February 2012).

Notes: The six mission categories are based on strategic goals derived from the National Strategy for Homeland Security, which was 

developed by the Homeland Security Council and issued by the White House in 2007. Those mission categories serve as OMB’s 

framework for organizing the homeland security budget.

* = less than $50 million.

a. “Other” encompasses activities that do not fit clearly into any of the defined homeland security missions.

Border

and

Transportation

Security

Protecting

Critical

Infrastructure

and

Key Assets

Emergency

Preparedness

and

Response

Domestic

Counterterrorism

Defending

Against

Catastrophic

Threats

Intelligence and

Warning

Othera

0

5

10

0.5

3.1

0.4

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

24.6

4.5

2.7 2.1 0.7 0.4 0.6

Department of Homeland Security

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

0

15.2

1.3 0 1.4 0 0

Department of Defense

0

5

10

0 0.2

1.8

0

2.2

0 0

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Justice

** **
THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013 11

CBO

Border Protection ($10.2 billion), the Transportation 

Security Administration ($7.7 billion), Immigration and 

Customs Enforcement ($3.0 billion), and the Coast 

Guard ($3.3 billion)—accounted for almost all of the 

homeland security funds provided for those activities (see

Table 3). Border and transportation security is the sole 

homeland security mission for three of those agencies. 

(Immigration and Customs Enforcement also has a 

domestic counterterrorism mission.) DHS’s activities 

related to border and transportation security include 

patrolling U.S. borders and coastlines, screening air 

travelers, providing air security, conducting inspections 

at ports of entry for immigration, enforcing compliance 

with customs regulations, and ensuring that the marine 

transportation system is safe, secure, and reliable. 

Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets. 

The Administration requested a total of $4.5 billion 

(13 percent of the total funding requested for DHS) 

for protecting infrastructure and critical assets—the second-largest mission undertaken by the department. That 

funding would be divided among several agencies, two of 

which would receive the bulk of the funding (see Figure 3 

on page 7). The National Protection and Programs 

Directorate would receive $2.5 billion for four primary 

activities: assessing the vulnerability of and potential risk 

to critical infrastructure and key resources, coordinating 

and sharing information with the private sector to 

protect infrastructure, protecting federal property, and 

assessing and mitigating potential risk to the civilian 

cyberinfrastructure. The Secret Service would receive 

$1.4 billion for protecting the President, the Vice President, and foreign heads of state; protecting the White 

House, the residence of the Vice President, and foreign 

missions; and preventing cybercrime.

Emergency Preparedness and Response. For emergency 

preparedness and response—the mission with the third 

largest funding in DHS—the Administration requested 

$2.7 billion (7.5 percent of the total requested for that 

department’s homeland security activities). All of that 

funding would be allocated to FEMA. Among its various 

activities, that agency oversees the National Preparedness 

Grant Program, which provides funds to state, local, territorial, and tribal governments to identify and address 

threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk to the 

United States; emergency management performance 

grants, which support state and regional efforts to 

enhance planning for catastrophic events and other emergencies; and firefighter assistance grants, which are 

designed to help local fire departments improve their 

ability to protect the lives of firefighters and the public in 

the event of a terrorist attack. 

Domestic Counterterrorism. The Administration 

requested $2.1 billion (or 6 percent of the homeland 

security funding for DHS) for domestic counterterrorism, almost all of which was for Immigration and 

Customs Enforcement, the second largest investigative 

organization within the federal government. For this 

mission, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s investigations focus on immigration violations of suspected 

terrorists and terrorist organizations. Those activities are 

distinct from the agency’s border and transportation security mission, which focuses on ensuring compliance with 

immigration laws at the country’s borders.

Defending Against Catastrophic Threats. The President 

requested $660 million (or 2 percent of the total homeland security request for DHS) for defending against 

catastrophic threats. The Domestic Nuclear Detection 

Office would receive $330 million to support improved 

global capability for detecting nuclear materials, the 

deployment of domestic nuclear detection systems, 

information sharing, nuclear forensics, training, and 

the testing and evaluation of technologies and systems. 

Another $210 million would be provided to the National 

Protection and Programs Directorate, much of which is 

for BioWatch, a system set up to monitor the environment of major U.S. cities for the presence of pathogens. 

Intelligence and Warning. Within DHS, the Secret 

Service and Management and Operations would be the 

main recipients of funding for intelligence and warning 

activities.4

 The amount requested for that purpose was 

$400 million, or 1.1 percent of the total. (The Management and Operations arm of DHS includes the Office of 

Intelligence and Analysis, which is responsible for gathering intelligence from sources within and outside of DHS, 

disseminating that information within the department 

and throughout the intelligence community, and sharing 

it with state, local, and private-sector partners.)

4. After the release of the President’s budget request in February 

2012, DHS reorganized its Management and Operations into the 

Management Directorate, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, 

and the Office of Operations Coordination and Planning. 

However, Management and Operations is retained here to maintain consistency with the President’s budget request.
12 THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

Department of Defense 

Under the President’s proposed budget for 2013, DoD 

would receive $18.0 billion for the homeland security 

activities it undertakes, more than any other federal 

department or agency except the Department of Homeland Security. DoD’s primary homeland security activities 

entail protecting military installations within the United 

States as well as assisting civil authorities in responding to 

and recovering from terrorist attacks or other incidents 

that affect national security. 

The $18.0 billion represents a small fraction of the total 

amount requested for DoD’s base budget in 2013—

$525 billion—but many of DoD’s other missions have 

implications for homeland security because they are 

designed, in part, to prevent threats from arising in the 

first place or to protect the United States if an attack 

occurs. For example, activities not counted in the homeland security budget—such as military operations that 

disrupt terrorists’ networks overseas—can contribute to 

homeland security because they can prevent those threats 

from reaching the United States. 

DoD’s role in homeland security is complicated by the 

fact that the military is limited in some ways by laws, 

policies, and custom from involvement in domestic 

operations and law enforcement. (The exception is the 

National Guard, which, with permission of a governor, 

can support state and local authorities.) Therefore, DoD 

and the military services tend to focus their homeland 

security efforts on protecting infrastructure that is essential for U.S. military operations from terrorist attack and 

preparing to help civil authorities if asked. 

For budgetary purposes, DoD reports its homeland security activities by appropriation category (or title) rather 

than by agency, as DHS does. Six of DoD’s seven appropriation titles contain some funding designated for 

homeland security: military personnel; operation and 

maintenance; research, development, test, and evaluation 

(RDT&E); procurement; military construction; and 

revolving and management funds.5

 DoD’s appropriation 

for military personnel is the largest component of the 

President’s request for homeland security funding for the 

department, accounting for close to half, or $8.2 billion, 

of the total (see Figure 3 on page 7); operation and 

maintenance accounts for another $5.6 billion. In terms 

of the military services, the active and reserve components of the Army account for more than half of the total 

request for military personnel, totaling $4.7 billion, followed by the active and reserve components of the Air 

Force ($2.0 billion), the Navy ($1.0 billion), and the 

Marine Corps ($462 million).

DoD’s activities focus on three of the six homeland security missions: protecting critical infrastructure and key 

assets (85 percent), emergency preparedness and response 

(7 percent), and defending against catastrophic threats 

(8 percent).

Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets. DoD’s 

primary homeland security mission is to protect critical 

defense infrastructure, which is reflected in the amount of 

funding requested for that purpose for 2013. The proposed amount, $15.2 billion, would represent the bulk of 

the department’s funding for homeland security activities 

(see Figure 4). If DoD’s assets are used during a major terrorist attack, the department is likely to incur costs that 

exceed its homeland security budget. In such a case, DoD 

might receive supplemental appropriations, as it frequently does when it helps local authorities respond to a 

major natural disaster such as a hurricane or an earthquake. DoD focuses on protecting infrastructure that is 

critical to defense, which includes DoD and non-DoD 

assets (including transportation, communication, and 

power infrastructure) that are essential to developing and 

sustaining U.S. military operations, and the defense 

industrial base, which is defined as the worldwide industrial complex required to provide and maintain military 

weapons systems to meet U.S. military requirements. 

Emergency Preparedness and Response. DoD’s secondary focus regarding homeland security is on supporting 

federal, state, and local authorities and first responders, 

particularly in the areas of emergency preparedness and 

response. Funding requested for that purpose accounted 

for $1.3 billion.6

 Funding in this category finances 

civil support teams and other military support to civil 

authorities to prepare for and react to incidents involving 

chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive 

weapons in the United States.

5. Revolving and management funds include those for working 

capital and building maintenance. 

6. For a more detailed discussion about DoD’s role in providing 

support to civil authorities for homeland defense, see Alice R. 

Buchalter, Military Support to Civil Authorities: The Role of The 

Department of Defense in Support of Homeland Defense (Library of 

Congress, Federal Research Division, February 2007), 

www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/CNGR_Milit-Support-CivilAuthorities.pdf. 
THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013 13

CBO

Defending Against Catastrophic Threats. To counter 

chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats and 

to protect the domestic population against such threats, 

the Administration requested $1.4 billion. Most of that 

sum ($1.1 billion) would go to RDT&E (see Table 3 on 

page 8). 

Research in this area focuses on four key areas: medical 

countermeasures to reduce the consequences of outbreaks 

of infectious diseases; development of diagnostics and 

analytical tools to identify agents that cause disease and 

to provide information to relevant authorities about 

chemical, biological, or radiological threats; global biosurveillance to provide awareness of endemic pathogens 

in the environment as well as the ability to track, interdict, and eliminate those threats; and development of 

countermeasures against nontraditional biological agents.

Department of Health and Human Services

The President requested $4.1 billion to support HHS’s 

homeland security activities, mostly for defending against 

catastrophic threats and for emergency preparedness and 

response. NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC) would receive most of that funding 

(see Figure 3 on page 7). 

Defending Against Catastrophic Threats. The Administration requested $2.2 billion to support the department’s 

efforts to defend against catastrophic threats (see Figure 4 

on page 10). NIH would receive $1.8 billion of that 

amount for developing medical countermeasures for use 

if terrorists engage in biological or chemical warfare or 

employ radiological weapons (see Table 3). Other funds 

would go to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

and the Public Health and Social Services Emergency 

Fund (PHSSEF).7

Emergency Preparedness and Response. The Administration requested $1.8 billion for HHS for activities 

related to emergency preparedness and response. Most of 

that funding—$1.2 billion—would be allocated to the 

CDC (and would account for almost all of that agency’s 

homeland security budget); the remainder would go to 

the PHSSEF and the FDA. The CDC is responsible for 

the Strategic National Stockpile, a repository of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, federal medical station units, 

and equipment that can be rapidly deployed in the event 

of a catastrophic health event. The CDC also manages 

the Preparedness and Response Capability Program for 

chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. 

Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets. About 

$160 million of HHS’s homeland security funding would 

be dedicated to protecting critical infrastructure and key 

assets. Most of those funds would be allocated to the 

CDC, the FDA, and the PHSSEF. 

Department of Justice

Under the President’s proposed budget, the Department 

of Justice would receive $4.0 billion for homeland security activities in 2013, about 15 percent of its budget 

for that year. The FBI would receive more than threequarters of that funding—$3.1 billion (see Figure 3). The 

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 

(ATF) would receive $460 million. Although DOJ’s 

activities span all six homeland security missions, domestic counterterrorism is the department’s primary focus 

and commands the largest share of funding.

Domestic Counterterrorism. Of the $4.0 billion in 

funding requested for DOJ’s homeland security activities, 

$3.1 billion would be devoted to domestic counterterrorism (see Figure 4 on page 10). Most of that 

amount—$2.5 billion—would be allocated to the FBI 

(see Table 3). The FBI’s domestic counterterrorism activities include national security investigations involving 

major threats to the United States. In addition, ATF 

would receive $460 million for its efforts to prevent use 

of firearms and explosives in acts of terrorism. Another 

$60 million would go to the Drug Enforcement 

Administration. 

Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets. A total 

of $480 million was requested for DOJ’s efforts to protect 

critical infrastructure and key assets. That mission 

encompasses the FBI’s activities to protect the nation’s 

computer networks as well as renovations and security 

improvements to federal courthouses and detention 

facilities.8

Intelligence and Warning. Intelligence and warning 

accounts for $360 million of the funding request for 

DOJ’s homeland security activities, including $210 million for the FBI and $90 million for DOJ’s National 7. The PHSSEF also receives appropriations for activities related to 

homeland security through the BioShield Special Reserve Fund; 

however, those appropriations are not included in OMB’s total for 

homeland security spending.

8. Funding for the latter two areas falls under the budget category 

Legal Activities and U.S. Marshals. 
14 THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

Security Division, which deals with counterterrorism 

investigation, prosecution of international terrorists, and 

national security law and policy. 

Comparison of the President’s Fiscal 

Year 2013 Request with Enacted 

Funding for Fiscal Year 2012

At the department level, the President’s 2013 request for 

homeland security activities is similar in most respects to 

the funding that was enacted for fiscal year 2012. For 

2013, the President’s budget request lists increases of 

3.4 percent for DoD and 1.2 percent for DHS and 

decreases of 0.8 percent for HHS and 1.5 percent for 

DOJ. The funding enacted for 2012 was about 5 percent 

less than the President requested for that year. 

For most homeland security missions within the departments, the differences are also relatively small between 

the President’s request for 2013 and the 2012 allocation. 

About half of the funding provided for 2012 went toward 

preventing and disrupting terrorist attacks (compared 

with the 48 percent proposed for 2013), and 42 percent 

was allocated for protecting the U.S. population, critical 

infrastructure, and key resources (compared with the 

43 percent proposed for 2013).

However, proposed funding for a few missions within 

the departments shows more divergence—in some cases 

reflecting the fact that enacted funding for 2012 differed 

significantly from the President’s request for that year. 

For example, for the mission Defending Against Catastrophic Threats, the $721 million provided for DHS 

in 2012 was 43 percent less than the President had 

requested, and funding enacted for DoD was $937 million, or 33 percent less, than the President had requested. 

The President’s 2013 request seeks to restore some of 

DoD’s funding for that mission: The request for DoD, 

$1.36 billion, is 45 percent more than the amount provided for 2012, focusing mainly on increased RDT&E 

funding. (In contrast, the request for DHS in that 

category is only 1.3 percent more than the amount 

provided for 2012.) 

In another example, 2012 funding for DHS for the 

mission Emergency Preparedness and Response was 

$2.1 billion, or 26 percent less than the President had 

requested for that year. For 2013, the President requested 

$2.7 billion for DHS for that mission, representing a 

31 percent increase over the amount enacted for 2012, 

most of which would be for FEMA.

The year-to-year variations between enacted and 

requested funding for the agencies receiving the largest 

amounts of homeland security funding have generally 

been small (see Table 4), although for certain agencies, 

there has been some variation. For example, funding 

increased from 2011 to 2012 for DHS’s Customs and 

Border Protection for protection of the southwest border, 

and FEMA’s funding was cut for the same period.

Historical Funding for Homeland 

Security

To provide context for the current homeland security 

budget request, CBO examined funding for that purpose 

in previous years. One major challenge in assessing trends 

in funding, however, is that homeland security as a concept has evolved continuously, starting even before the 

September 11 attacks. The dynamic nature of the threat 

is the main difficulty, but the complexity of coordinating 

work—not only among the various federal departments 

and agencies but also among the federal, state, and 

local governments and between the public and private 

sectors—is also a factor. 

There are four distinct periods in past homeland security 

funding:9

 October 1, 1998, to September 11, 2001: Counterterrorism and antiterrorism became a focus of budget 

reporting, and spending increased sharply.

 September 11, 2001, to September 30, 2002: Significant additional resources for homeland security were 

incorporated into the federal budget.

 October 1, 2002, to the September 30, 2009: DHS 

was established (beginning in March 2003), then 

homeland security goals and missions started to be 

defined with greater specificity, and the amount of 

funding rose further; in recent years, about half of that 

funding has been provided to DHS.

 October 1, 2009, to September 30, 2012: Funding 

declined by about 10 percent from its 2009 peak. 

Funding Prior to September 11, 2001

Homeland security as an organizing concept was not 

reflected in the federal budget until the Homeland

9. Prior to 1998, OMB did not explicitly report the funding 

amounts for counterterrorism or homeland security.
THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013 15

CBO

Table 4.

Enacted and Requested Homeland Security Funding, 2011 Through 2013

(Billions of dollars)

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, 

Fiscal Year 2013: Analytical Perspectives (February 2012).

Security Act was signed into law in November 2002. 

Nevertheless, certain relevant reporting mechanisms 

existed in the federal budget before 2002. The National 

Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (P.L. 105-

85) required the Administration to provide information 

on amounts spent on counterterrorism and on antiterrorism programs and activities; later legislation required 

information on domestic preparedness. Funding for combating terrorism rose from $8 billion in 1998 to nearly 

$13 billion in 2002 (before additional emergency funds 

were provided in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001; see Figure 5).10 (All of the amounts 

described in this discussion about historical funding are 

expressed in fiscal year 2012 dollars, using the price index 

for gross domestic product to adjust for inflation.) In real 

(inflation-adjusted) terms, that funding increased by 

almost 60 percent between 1998 and 2002. Because pay 

and benefits for the military and federal civilian employees grew faster than the rate of economywide inflation 

between 1998 and 2002, the homeland security enterprise grew by slightly less over this period than that

Department of Homeland Security

Customs and Border Protection 9.4 10.0 10.2

Transportation Security Administration 7.7 7.8 7.7

Immigration and Customs Enforcement 5.1 5.1 5.0

Coast Guard 3.6 3.6 3.3

Federal Emergency Management Agency 3.4 2.5 3.0

National Protection and Programs Directorate 2.4 2.7 2.7

Secret Service 1.4 1.6 1.5

Other DHS Agencies 1.9 1.8 2.1 ____ ____ ____

Total, DHS 34.9 35.1 35.5

Department of Defense

Military personnel 7.8 7.9 8.2

Operation and maintenance 4.8 5.4 5.6

Research, development, test, and evaluation 1.9 1.8 2.1

Procurement 1.7 1.5 1.5

Other DoD Appropriation Titles 0.8 0.8 0.6 ___ ____ ____

Total, DoD 17.0 17.4 18.0

Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health 1.8 1.8 1.8

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1.4 1.4 1.3

Other HHS Agencies 1.0 1.0 1.0 ___ ___ ___

Total, HHS 4.2 4.2 4.1

Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation 2.9 3.0 3.1

Other DOJ Agencies 1.1 1.1 0.9 ___ ___ ___

Total, DOJ 4.0 4.1 4.0

6.9 7.2 7.3 ____ ____ ____

Total 67.0 68.0 68.9

All Other Departments or Agencies

Enacted Requested

2011 2012 2013

10. Office of Management and Budget, Annual Report to Congress on 

Combating Terrorism (2002). 
16 THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

Figure 5.

Trends in Funding for Combating Terrorism, by Funding Category, 1998 to 2002 

(Billions of 2012 dollars)

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Annual Report to Congress on 

Combating Terrorism (June 2002). 

Notes: The funding categories in effect before September 11, 2001, were based on reporting requirements specified in the National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998. Under that legislation, the Administration was required to report expenditures for antiterrorism 

and counterterrorism activities. Homeland security funding as an organizing concept was not reflected in the federal budget before 

enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

Funding for 2002 does not include supplemental appropriations enacted after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In the Annual Report to Congress on Combating Terrorism, in addition to reporting on spending for combating terrorism, OMB 

also reported on funding for critical infrastructure protection as a separate category. Therefore, funding for critical infrastructure 

protection is not included in the funding levels shown in the figure.

calculation would suggest. Five funding categories were 

used during those years: Physical Security of the Government, Law Enforcement and Investigative, Preparing for 

and Responding to Terrorist Acts, Research and Development, and Physical Security of National Populace.11 The 

relative funding amounts for each category varied little 

before the September 11 attacks, but those priorities 

served as the basis for much of the initial organization of 

DHS. The categories also resemble the homeland security 

categories now used by OMB, although comparisons of 

particular programs before and after September 11, 2001, 

can be misleading because the definitions have evolved 

since then. In a broad sense, the federal government’s 

main priorities before and after the 2001 attacks are similar: preventing or disrupting an attack before it occurs, 

making potential target sites less vulnerable to the effects 

of a terrorist attack, and providing the resources necessary 

to respond effectively to mitigate the consequences of 

such an attack. 

Funding Immediately After the Attacks of 

September 11, 2001

After the attacks, the definition of what constituted 

counterterrorism and homeland security broadened significantly. For example, starting with 2003, all border 

and aviation security activities were categorized as related 

to homeland security; they had been excluded from 

earlier funding totals.

Even with those qualifications, it is clear that beginning 

with the Emergency Response Fund established after the 

attacks, homeland security spending increased substantially for several years. Following the September 11 

attacks, $15 billion in emergency funding was approved 

for fiscal year 2002. In the 2003 budget, funding for 

combating terrorism (including defense against weapons 

of mass destruction and counting supplemental funding) 

totaled $51.1 billion, compared with $12.7 billion in

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Physical Security of the Government

Law Enforcement and Investigative

Preparing for and

Responding to

Terrorist Attacks

Research and

Development

Physical Security of

the National Populace

11. In addition to reporting on spending to combat terrorism, OMB’s 

2002 annual report also reported on funding for protection of 

critical infrastructure as a separate category that is not included in 

the discussion here or shown in Figure 5.
THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013 17

CBO

Figure 6.

Trends in Funding for Homeland Security, by Department, 2003 to 2012 

(Billions of 2012 dollars)

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government: 

Analytical Perspectives (multiple fiscal years). 

Note: DOJ = Department of Justice; HHS = Department of Health and Human Services; DoD = Department of Defense; and 

DHS = Department of Homeland Security. 

a. This category includes all other federal departments and agencies that received homeland security funding for fiscal years 2003 through 

2012.

2002. That substantial increase reflected the recategorization of some activities that had previously been 

undertaken as well as the establishment of some of the 

new components of what would become DHS. One new 

component involved the federalization of air security 

through the formation of the Transportation Security 

Administration. 

Funding from 2003 to 2009

As with the transition in funding for combating terrorism 

after the attacks of September 11, 2001, year-to-year 

comparisons of homeland security funding from fiscal 

years 2003 to 2009 can be misleading, especially in earlier 

years. Determining which specific programs are (and are 

not) related to homeland security has been an ongoing 

process, one that was particularly subject to change after 

DHS was first organized in 2003.12 In addition, in 2007, 

DoD revised the method by which it calculated the 

amount of funding for homeland security and also 

updated its reporting for previous years’ funding using 

that revised method. That change affected only DoD’s 

funding for homeland security, and only from 2005 

onward. However, that new method had the effect of 

doubling the funding that DoD allocated to homeland 

security between 2004 and 2005 (see Figure 6).

With those qualifications in mind, several developments 

since 2003 are evident: 

 After the significant increase in funding specifically 

designated for homeland security that occurred 

immediately after the attacks of September 11, 2001, 

funding continued to grow, peaking at $76 billion in 

2009, or about 70 percent more than the amount categorized as homeland security funding in 2003. (The 

growth in the homeland security enterprise was not 

quite that large because pay and benefits for federal 

employees grew faster than economywide inflation 

and because of the definitional changes that were 

made over that period, particularly those related to 

DoD.)

 After 2004, DHS never accounted for more than 

52 percent of total homeland security funding across 

the federal government. Homeland security funding is 

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Othera

DHS

DoD

HHS DOJ

12. See Congressional Budget Office, Federal Funding for Homeland 

Security: An Update (July 2005). 
18 THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

Table 5.

Appropriations for Homeland Security, 2003 to 2012

(Billions of 2012 dollars)

Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, 

Fiscal Year 2013: Analytical Perspectives (February 2012).

Note: Amounts are expressed in fiscal year 2012 dollars using the price index for gross domestic product to adjust for inflation.

part of the budget for all 15 Cabinet-level departments as well as for several independent agencies and 

other federal organizations; but that funding is largely 

concentrated within four departments. 

 Supplemental or emergency funding has played a role 

in overall funding for homeland security since homeland security was first called out as a separate item in 

the federal budget. Supplemental funding has seen significant year-to-year fluctuations (see Table 5). For 

instance, whereas supplemental funding made up 

more than 14 percent of the overall homeland security 

appropriation in 2003, according to OMB, such funding constituted an average of about 4 percent in the 

next six years. 

 The large increase in funding (12 percent) from 2008 

to 2009 reflected a greater emphasis on a wide range 

of homeland security activities, including southwest 

border protection, transportation screening technologies, investments in Coast Guard planes and large 

ships, and development of next-generation systems for 

detecting biological agents, among others. 

Funding from 2010 to 2012

Funding for homeland security declined from its peak 

of $76 billion in 2009 to $67 billion in 2011 and to 

$68 billion in 2012. DHS and DoD have accounted 

for most of that decline. The $68 billion in homeland 

security funding enacted in 2012 was about one-third 

more than the amount appropriated in 2003. (Some of 

that increase, however, resulted from revisions in the classification of spending.) No supplemental appropriations 

for homeland security have been enacted since 2010 

(see Table 5). 

Although funding for homeland security has varied over 

time, the allocation of that funding among the various 

federal agencies has remained relatively constant for the 

past several years. For example, funding in 2012 was 

allocated among the four largest recipients as follows: 

DHS, 52 percent; DoD, 25 percent; HHS, 6 percent; 

and DOJ, 6 percent. By comparison, in 2008 the allocation was as follows: DHS, 50 percent; DoD, 28 percent; 

HHS, 7 percent; and DOJ, 5 percent.

Fiscal Year

2003 44.6 6.4 51.0 14.3

2004 47.8 0.1 47.9 0.3

2005 59.8 2.0 61.8 3.3

2006 60.1 2.7 62.8 4.5

2007 60.7 3.1 63.8 5.1

2008 63.9 4.0 67.9 6.3

2009 72.4 3.7 76.0 5.0

2010 71.5 0.7 72.2 1.0

2011 66.9 0 66.9 0

2012 68.0 0 68.0 0

Initial

Appropriation

Supplemental

Appropriation

Supplemental

Appropriation as a

Share of the

Initial Appropriation

(Percent)

Total

Homeland Security

Budget
TYPE THE TITLE IN NUMBERING PROPERTIES, VOLUME 19

CBO

List of Tables and Figures

Tables

1. Total Homeland Security Funding Requested in the President’s Budget 

for 2013, by Strategic Goal 3

2. Strategic Goals for Homeland Security and Associated Missions 5

3. Homeland Security Funding Requested for 2013 for Selected Departments, by Mission 8

4. Enacted and Requested Homeland Security Funding, 2011 Through 2013 15

5. Appropriations for Homeland Security, 2003 to 2012 18

Figures

1. Homeland Security Funding Requested by the President for 2013, by 

Strategic Goal and Department 4

2. Homeland Security Funding Requested by the President for 2013, by Department 6

3. Homeland Security Funding Requested by the President for 2013, by 

Department and Component Agencies or Appropriation Title 7

4. Homeland Security Funding Requested by the President for 2013 for 

Selected Departments, by Mission 10

5. Trends in Funding for Combating Terrorism, by Funding Category, 1998 to 2002 16

6. Trends in Funding for Homeland Security, by Department, 2003 to 2012 17
20 THE PROPOSED HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2013

CBO

About This Document

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report was prepared at the request of the Ranking Member 

of the House Committee on Homeland Security. In keeping with CBO’s mandate to provide objective, impartial analysis, the report makes no recommendations. 

Christopher Murphy prepared this report under the general supervision of David Mosher and 

Matthew Goldberg. Heidi Golding and Melissa Merrell of CBO provided comments on the report. 

Gary Cecchine of the RAND Corporation also reviewed the report. (The assistance of an external 

reviewer implies no responsibility for the final product, which rests solely with CBO.)

Loretta Lettner edited the report, and Maureen Costantino and Jeanine Rees prepared the report for 

publication. This report is available at CBO’s Web site (www.cbo.gov).

Douglas W. Elmendorf 

Director

September 2012