House fully funds key Homeland Security IT projects

While House lawmakers on Wednesday froze the 2011 budgets of most agencies at 2010 levels in a catchall funding bill, they approved the Homeland Security Department's 2011 budget request for key information technology programs and came close to meeting the Veterans Affairs Department's IT budget request.

The House also bundled into the continuing resolution its version of the Food Safety Modernization Act that the Senate passed on Nov. 30, which includes a number of provisions for the Food and Drug Administration to automate food tracking.

The 423-page bill now is awaiting approval in the Senate, where the Democrat majority is expected to try to replace it with an omnibus spending package that would include all 12 annual spending bills.

Under the legislation, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement would receive $347.6 million and $84.7 million, respectively, for their automation modernization programs, meeting the funding levels the Obama administration sought in its 2011 budget request.

The CBP program will automate processes associated with international trade and improve information delivery related to international cargo and travelers.

The ICE program will facilitate information sharing internally and with the bureau's law enforcement and immigration partners.

Citizenship and Immigration Services received its full budget request of $103.4 million for the E-Verify program, an Internet-based system that allows employers to check the eligibility of employees to work in the United States.

The House increased funding for the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program by $4.7 million to $339.3 million. US-VISIT collects digital fingerprints and a photograph from international travelers at visa-issuing locations and ports of entry to determine whether a person is eligible to receive a visa, or enter the United States.

The House approved an IT budget of $3.16 billion for the Veterans Affairs Department, $145 million below the requested $3.31 billion. While the funding is below what the administration sought, it exceeds what congressional appropriators had previously planned to approve.

The bill also includes the Food Safety Modernization Act, which calls for the Health and Human Services Department to establish a Food Emergency Response Network to detect and respond to food-borne illness outbreaks, and to facilitate information sharing relating to animal health, agriculture and human health.

The Food Safety Act also directs agencies and food producers to develop pilot projects that demonstrate methods for rapidly tracking and tracing foods.