Case votes against DHS spending bill, cites cuts to cybersecurity, TSA and lack of ICE reforms : Maui Now
Publish Date: 2026-06-14 12:00:00
Source Domain: mauinow.com
Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
US Rep. Ed Case
US Rep. Ed Case voted against a proposed $99.5 billion fiscal year 2027 Department of Homeland Security spending bill that cleared the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday, saying it would leave Americans less safe while failing to address needed immigration enforcement reforms.
The measure is the 11th of 12 appropriations bills the committee is advancing to fund the federal government for the next federal fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2026. Case is in his fourth year on the Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee, which developed the bill.
“Despite the strong support this bill provides for emergency management and our Coast Guard, I could not accept the overall result, which would make Americans less safe through deep cuts to key elements of homeland security including CISA and TSA,” Case said.
He also could not support additional funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement or US Customs and Boader Protection Patrol without “comprehensive, meaningful immigration enforcement reforms.”
Case cited a roughly 10% cut to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a 12% cut to the DHS Office of Inspector General, a $347 million overall cut to the Transportation Security Administration, and the elimination of the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, which investigates abuse and rights violations in immigration detention facilities.
Congress could not reach a deal pairing ICE and CBP funding with reforms during the fiscal year 2026 process and instead passed a spending bill covering the other DHS agencies. A separate reconciliation bill funding ICE and CBP activities through 2029 was signed into law on a partisan basis over Case’s objection.
Despite his no vote, Case said the bill includes some accountability provisions he advocated for. These include language prohibiting interference with the public recording of immigration enforcement actions, reinstating CBP and ICE training requirements from January 2025, requiring visible identification for officers conducting enforcement activities, prohibiting detention or deportation of US citizens, and $40 million for a body-worn camera program.
Case also secured $1.6 million in community project funding for Hawaiʻi, including $581,533 for renovation of a satellite Emergency Operations Center at a Department of Hawaiian Home Lands warehouse on the west side of Oʻahu, and $1,007,060 for emergency power backup improvements to the same facility.
Among broader Hawaiʻi and Pacific priorities he secured in the bill: $117 million for Coast Guard operations in the Indo-Pacific including workforce housing, medical and childcare support; $106 million for the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, a $10 million increase, which funds the University of Hawaiʻi’s National Disaster Preparedness Training Center; and $346 million for Emergency Management Performance Grants supporting state and local agencies including the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency.
The bill now moves to the full House for consideration.
