HR-8029 — Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

This appropriations bill would fund the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2026, covering everything from Customs and Border Protection and ICE to the Coast Guard, TSA, FEMA, the Secret Service, and cybersecurity operations. It also includes a continuing resolution to keep the rest of the federal government funded at current levels while Congress finishes the remaining spending bills. The legislation came during a lapse in appropriations that left tens of thousands of DHS employees working without pay.

Congressional Summary

This bill provides appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the remainder of FY2026. It also ends the partial DHS shutdown that began on February 14, 2026, because the continuing resolution (CR) that was funding DHS expired and a regular FY2026 DHS appropriations bill had not been enacted. Specifically, the bill provides appropriations to DHS for Departmental Management, Intelligence, Situational Awareness, and Oversight, includingthe Office of the Secretary and Executive Management;the Management Directorate;Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness; andthe Office of Inspector General.In addition, the bill provides appropriations for Security, Enforcement, and Investigations, includingU.S. Customs and Border Protection,U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,the Transportation Security Administration,the U.S. Coast Guard, andthe U.S. Secret Service.The bill provides appropriations for Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, includingthe Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, andthe Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).The bill provides appropriations for Research, Development, Training, and Services, includingU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, andthe Science and Technology Directorate.The bill also authorizes back pay, in accordance with current law, for federal employees who were affected by the partial DHS shutdown.Finally, the bill ratifies and approves certain obligations that were incurred during the partial DHS shutdown, including obligations incurred to maintain the essential level of activity to protect life and property and bring about an orderly termination of government functions.

Legislative Subjects

AppropriationsAviation and airportsBorder security and unlawful immigrationCitizenship and naturalizationCoast guardComputer security and identity theftCongressional oversightCustoms enforcementDepartment of Homeland SecurityDepartment of TransportationDetention of personsDirector of National IntelligenceDisaster relief and insuranceEmergency planning and evacuationEmployee benefits and pensionsEmployment and training programsExecutive agency funding and structureFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)First responders and emergency personnel

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: House
Status: summarized
Action: Received in the Senate.
Action Date: 2026-04-02
Date Added: 2026-03-30
Source: Congress.gov →

Like reading a bill in plain English?

We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.