Senate votes to boost spending for the TSA by USD228m in fiscal 2017

US Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee chairman and Senator John Hoeven announced (24-May-2016) the subcommittee's approval of the FY2017 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. Senator Hoeven said, "The bill recommends USD48.1 billion in total discretionary appropriations to support Department of Homeland Security's critical operations and programmes. This includes USD41.2 billion in net discretionary appropriations, which is USD246 million above the fiscal year 2016 enacted level and USD578 million above the President's request". Of the many priorities funded in the bill, the resources were applied to: (1) maintain aviation security while shorten TSA lines; (2) invest in cybersecurity; and (3) improve border security to name a few. The bill includes USD7.7 billion for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in FY2017. That is USD228 million above fiscal year 2016 and USD79 million above the request. The measure increases funding for the TSA without increasing fees. For FY2017, the committee again provided funding above the request for screeners, canine teams, equipment and innovation to avoid unacceptable wait times in the future. Specifically, these increases support 1344 additional screeners; 50 new canine teams, which takes the TSA total to 1047; new explosives trace detection systems; and investments in TSA's Innovation Task Force looking at future technology solutions. [more - original PR]