Congress Returns to Capitol Hill to Continue Negotiations Over a Final DHS Spending Bill

By Kim Johnson, NLIHC Senior Director of Policy and Noah Patton, NLIHC Director of Disaster Housing Recovery   

Members of Congress are returning to their Capitol Hill offices after a weeklong recess to continue negotiations over a final fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS bill is the last spending bill Congress needs to enact for FY26.  

Funding for DHS lapsed on February 14 after lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement on funding and provisions following violent actions by DHS sub-agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), in Minneapolis, Maine, and communities across the country. NLIHC has strongly condemned ICE and CBP for their recent use of deadly force in vulnerable and marginalized communities.   

The DHS appropriations bill also provides funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to carry out disaster response and recovery efforts. FEMA has been a part of DHS since the Department began operating in 2003. While some lawmakers have voiced concern over continued funding for FEMA operations during a DHS shutdown, FEMA will continue to have access to its disaster relief fund of over $22 billion, sufficient to cover near-term disaster-related obligations. Congress can also provide additional funding to FEMA separately from DHS through a disaster supplemental spending bill; in fact, Congress is already long overdue in passing a disaster supplemental for communities in Los Angeles, Alaska, and other areas impacted by disasters last year.  

Take Action! Tell Congress FEMA Funds are not Political Bargaining Chips  

Before being assimilated under DHS in 2003, FEMA operated as an independent agency. The bipartisan “Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025” (H.R.4669) would restore FEMA as an independent agency and implement a host of improvements that would allow the agency to respond faster, fairer, and with increased flexibility and efficiency to the needs of all disaster survivors across the country.  

Disaster relief and recovery should never be used as a political bargaining chip, and FEMA funds should not be used to justify continued ICE and CBP actions. Advocates can take action today by contacting their members of Congress and urging them to:  

1. Cease additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
2. Pass a supplemental spending bill to ensure disaster survivors have the resources they need.
3. Pass the bipartisan “FEMA Act” to separate FEMA from DHS and reestablish FEMA as an independent agency.  

Visit NLIHC’s Advocacy Hub for more information and resources that can help you take action and help protect the affordable housing programs people rely on.