Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY 2019 DHS/TSA/CBP Spending Bill

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a draft FY 2019 DHS/TSA/CBP funding bill that would fully fund the TSA Law Enforcement Officer Reimbursement Program, maintain TSA staffing of exit lanes instead of shifting that responsibility to airports, increase the number of passenger screening canine teams, and add 375 new CBP officers. The committee approved the bill by a vote of 26 to 5. Because the bill was drafted without controversial riders, it had bipartisan support in full committee and no contentious amendments were offered.