Through a unanimous voice vote, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security approved a spending bill to increase the budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by $120.5 million, up to $1.8 billion. This funding was appropriated in order to protect critical infrastructure and fight against cyberattacks. The funds are going to the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), which is the DHS wing for cybersecurity. Most of the funds will be used to guard civilian government sites (.gov), combat foreign espionage and modernize emergency communication. To fight cybercrime, funds will also be given to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Secret Service.
All this comes in the middle of a fight over the reorganization of the NPPD. The DHS has proposed creating a new agency with three branches: one to protect infrastructure, another for “elevated and enhanced” cybersecurity, and the third to Federal Protection Service, which protects federal buildings.