Department of Homeland Security

With the FEMA fiasco related to last summer's hurricanes, it should not be too surprising that much of the agency's discussion of its FY 2007 budget involves ways to improve the nation's preparedness and responsiveness to catastrophic events and natural disasters. Overall, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget request for FY07 is $42.7 billion, reflecting a 5.8 percent increase above FY 2006 appropriations.



The FY07 budget request for the Science and Technology Directorate, which oversees the agency's research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) activities, is $1.002 billion. The figure reflects a 33 percent decrease from the FY06 appropriation level. However, nearly all of that cut stems from a departmental reorganization which spun out the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office with its own appropriation request of $536.8 million for FY07.



Of the four offices within the Science and Technology Directorate, the two most frequently encountered by the state and local technology-based economic development community are:

• Office of Research and Development (ORD) builds RDT&E capability through stewardship of the homeland security complex through the participation of universities, national laboratories, federal laboratories and research centers.
• Homeland Security Advanced Research and Projects (HSARPA) is the extramural research-funding arm of the S&T Directorate. It has at its disposal a full range of contracting vehicles and the authority under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to engage businesses, federally funded research and development centers, universities, and other government partners in performing its mission to gather, generate and develop ideas, concepts and advanced technologies to protect the homeland.

The agency's FY07 Budget in Brief breaks down the S&T directorate budget by program area rather than office. Reduced funding is requested for nearly every research program area, including a 16.7 percent decrease for the University and Fellowship Program. Fiscal year 2007 funding for the program, which supports university-based DHS Centers of Excellence, is $51.97 million ($10.4 million decrease).