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H.R. 2555: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2004

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H.R. 2555: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2004

108th Congress · introduced 2003-06-23 · Economics and Public Finance · Latest: Became Public Law No: 108-90.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2003-06-23 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: 25 recorded votes in our records. Latest: House roll call 514 (2003): Recommit the Conference Report with Instructions, HR2555 (2003-09-24), Failed. See all
  4. Where it stands now: Became Public Law No: 108-90. (final step reached)
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2004

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since the Conference Report was filed in the House on September 23, 2003. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2004 - Title I: Departmental Management and Operations - Makes FY 2004 appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security (Department) for: (1) the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management; (2) the Office of the Under Secretary for Management; (3) Department-Wide Technology Investments; and (4) the Office of the Inspector General. Title II: Security, Enforcement, and Investigations - Makes FY 2004 appropriations for: (1) the Office of the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security (salaries and expenses, and U.S. visitor and immigrant status indicator technology), (2) customs and border protection (salaries and expenses, automation modernization, and construction); (3) immigration and customs enforcement (salaries and expenses, Air and Marine interdiction, operations, maintenance and procurement); (4) Federal air marshals; (5) the Federal Protective Service; (6) the Transportation Security Administration (aviation security, maritime and land security, intelligence, research and development, and administration); (7) the U.S. Coast Guard (including a rescission of funds, operating expenses, environmental compliance and restoration, reserve training, acquisition, construction, and improvements, alteration of bridges, research, development, test, and evaluation, and retired pay); (8) the U.S. Secret Service (salaries and expenses); and (9) acquisition, construction, improvements, and related expenses. Title III: Preparedness and Recovery - Makes FY 2004 appropriations for: (1) the Office for Domestic Preparedness; (2) firefighter assistance grants; (3) the Counterterrorism Fund; (4) the Office of the Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response (including for securing medical countermeasures against biological terror attacks); (5) the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program; (6) disaster relief; (7) the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program Account; (8) the National Pre-Disaster Mitigation Fund; (9) the Flood Map Modernization Fund; (10) the National Flood Insurance Fund; (11) the National Flood Mitigation Fund; (12) emergency management performance grants; (13) emergency food and shelter; and (14) Cerro Grande fire claims. Title IV: Research and Development, Training, Assessments, and Services - Makes FY 2004 appropriations for: (1). citizenship and immigration services; (2) the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (salaries and expenses, acquisition, construction, improvements, and related expenses); (3) information analysis and infrastructure protection; and (4) science and technology (research, development, acquisition, and operations). Title V: General Provisions - (Sec. 503) Prohibits the availability of funds provided in this Act, provided by previous appropriations Acts to the agencies in or transferred to the Department, or from any accounts in the Treasury derived by the collection of fees available to the agencies funded by this Act for obligation or expenditure through a reprogamming of funds that: (1) creates new programs; (2) eliminates programs, projects, or activities; (3) increases funds for programs, projects, or activities that have been denied or restricted by Congress; or (4) proposes to use funds that have been directed for a specific activity by the appropriations committees for a different activity unless such committees are notified 15 days in advance. (Sec. 505) Authorizes the use of appropriated funds for FY 2004 and thereafter for: (1) the purchase of uniforms without regard to the general purchase price limitations for the current fiscal year; (2) the purchase of insurance for official motor vehicles operated in foreign countries; (3) entering into contracts with the Department of State to furnish health and medical services to employees and their dependents serving in foreign countries; (4) the employment of experts and consultants; and (5) the hire and purchase of motor vehicles. (Sec. 508) Deems any funds made available by this Act for intelligence activities to be specifically authorized by Congress under the National Security Act of 1947 during FY 2004 until enactment of an Act authorizing such activities for FY 2004. (Sec. 509) Directs the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to establish an accrediting body of both Federal and non-Federal law enforcement training experts to establish standards for measuring and assessing the quality and effectiveness of Federal law enforcement training programs, facilities, and instructors. Requires the Center to ensure that all training centers under its control are operated at optimal capacity throughout the fiscal year. (Sec. 513) Prohibits the use of Department funds: (1) for the production of customs declarations that do not inquire whether the passenger had been in the proximity of livestock; (2) for any activity or Government employee salary that would prohibit the enforcement of the ban of the Tariff Act of 1930 against the importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured by convict labor; or (3) to allow the importation of goods (or the release of goods on which there is in effect a detention order) mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. (Sec. 517) Prohibits the use of funds in this Act to pursue or adopt regulations requiring airport sponsors to provide, without cost to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), building construction, maintenance, utilities and expenses, or space for services relating to aviation security (excluding space for necessary checkpoints). Permits negotiations of below-market rates for these items. (Sec. 518) Prohibits the use of funds in this Act in contravention of the Buy American Act. (Sec. 519) Prohibits the use of funds provided by this or previous appropriations Acts for deployment or implementation on other than a test basis of the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II) until the General Accounting Office has reported to the Committees on Appropriations that: (1) a system of due process exists by which passengers considered to pose a threat may appeal their delay or prohibition from boarding a flight; (2) the underlying error rate of databases will not produce a large number of false positives that will result in a significant number of passengers being treated mistakenly or security resources being diverted; (3) the TSA has stressed-tested and demonstrated the efficacy and predictive accuracy of all search tools in CAPPS II; and (4) the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) has established an internal oversight board to monitor the manner in which CAPPS II is being developed and prepared. (Sec. 520) Requires the Secretary, for FY 2004 and thereafter, to charge reasonable fees for providing credentialing and background investigations in the field of transportation. (Sec. 521) Directs the Secretary to research, develop, and procure certified systems to inspect and screen air cargo on passenger aircraft at the earliest possible date and to take certain preventive measures in the interim.

Congressional Research Service summary (Public Law), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2004

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Public Law)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5] reported raising $1.0 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

Agencies named in this bill

Found automatically: the agency's full official name appears in the bill title. A bill can affect agencies it does not name, so this list may be incomplete.

Recorded votes

Words on this page, explained (6)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Fiscal year
The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.
Obligation
A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong108-hr2555 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108