WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, on Wednesday requested information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on how the agency plans to spend the $170 billion in funding allocated to DHS as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July. Murphy emphasized that American taxpayers deserve visibility into how their dollars are being spent and called on Secretary Kristi Noem to ensure all spend plans are made available both to Congress and the general public.

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

“On July 4, 2025, the President signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law giving the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over $170 billion. I am writing to ask you to provide any final spend plans by component within 30 days so I can understand how DHS plans to spend these additional funds. To date, I haven’t received any information about any such plans.

“Furthermore, American taxpayers deserve visibility into how their hard-earned dollars are being used and all lawmakers in Congress need to understand what is being funded, even if they are not the Ranking Member of the relevant Subcommittee. Therefore, I also ask you to ensure that all final spend plans are made publicly available for each component within 45 days after they are delivered to Congress, consistent with other reporting requirements.”