Dear Nonprofit Security Friends,
Last week, Senate Appropriators announced the markup of the FY 2026 Homeland Security bill would be scheduled tomorrow, the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
This week, they announced the cancellation of the markup. Always a difficult bill to complete, this year appears no different with too many unfinished items in the bill to bring it up for consideration.
The bill funds border security and immigration enforcement that for years has been a roadblock to advance what used to be a very bipartisan bill.
The bill also funds the non-disaster counterterrorism programs, such as the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP).
For FY 2026, the Administration requested flat funding of $274.5 million, and the House has requested $335 million in its version of the bill. NSGP stakeholders have requested $500 million for NSGP. We have no idea where the Senate Appropriators stand on the NSGP funding matter. It will remain a mystery so long as the Senate draft bill is still being written.
As of this afternoon, it looks like a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) that would keep the government funded into late November or early December is being developed. It is intended to be “clean” to attract a needed level of bipartisan support to pass. This means it will lack controversial funding or policy riders.
The plan is to leave enough time in the annual calendar to potentially move year-long spending bills in the regular order (and before December 31).
There are 3 non-controversial bills that may go to “Conference” soon. These include the Agriculture, Military Construction-VA and Legislative Branch appropriations bills. A Conference entails a process where representatives of the House and Senate meet in Committee to work out the differences between their competing bills so the chambers can each vote on one final compromise bill up or down and without an opportunity to amend.
If the Conference Committee moves quickly and is successful, those bills could be attached to the CR. If not, they, and possibly others of the 12 FY 2026 spending bills, could advance before the end of the calendar year.
This is why it would be important for the Senate to get its Homeland Security bill back on track for consideration. As it remains in development, NSGP advocates still have an open window to press the Senate Appropriations Committee to maximize the NSGP recommended funding level.
Should the Senate Homeland Security bill eventually advance this fall and there is a Conference Committee (or less formal process that is also often used when time is short) held with the House, it would be typical for the Conferees to land on a funding level for NSGP that lies somewhere between the competing House and Senate recommended levels. It is therefore in our collective interest to urge the Senate Appropriators to recommend a level of funding for NSGP that is greater than the $335 million the House has approved in its draft bill.
For those of you who advocate, the following is a list of Senate Republican and Democratic Appropriations Committee members who have been supportive of the NSGP program and who I would recommend reaching out to at this stage in the process in support of increasing NSGP funding within the Senate’s FY 2026 Homeland Security draft bill:
Majority
- Senator Susan Collins (Republican – Maine) Full Committee Chair
- Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican – Alaska) Homeland Security Subcommittee Member
- Senator John Hoeven (Republican – North Dakota Past Homeland Security Subcommittee Chair
- Senator Shelley Moore Capito (Republican – West Virginia Homeland Security Subcommittee Member (and past Chair)
- Senator Mike Rounds (Republican – South Dakota)
- Senator Katie Britt (Republican – Alabama): Homeland Security Subcommittee Chair
Minority
- Patty Murray (Democrat – Washington Full Committee Vice Chair and Homeland Security Subcommittee Member
- Richard Durbin (Democrat – Illinois
- Jack Reed (Democrat – Rhode Island
- Jeff Merkley (Democrat – Oregon)
- Christopher Coons (Democrat – Delaware
- Tammy Baldwin (Democrat – Wisconsin)
- Chris Murphy (Democrat – Connecticut) Homeland Security Subcommittee Ranking Member
- Chris Van Hollen (Democrat – Maryland) Homeland Security Subcommittee Member
- Martin Heinrich (Democrat – New Mexico)
- Gary Peters (Democrat – Michigan) Homeland Security Subcommittee Member and Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (Authorizing) Committee
- Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat – New York)
Arguably, the Homeland Security Subcommittee leaders are the most influrntial of the Appropriators of the Homeland Security bill. Read what they had each said about the need to enhance the program’s funding after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, at:
I would reach out to them first!
Best,
Rob Goldberg
Principal
Goldberg & Associates, LLC
In partnership with Sphere State