Cybersecurity Policy Report, Senate Appropriators Aim to Reverse Trump Administration’s Cyber Cuts, (Nov 13, 2026)
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would receive a $77.3 million increase in its spending authority in fiscal year 2027 compared with FY 2026 under legislation released yesterday by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Homeland Security spending bill proposes to give CISA $2.68 billion in FY 2027, an increase over the $2.60 billion provided by the FY 2026 appropriations. CISA’s actual spending in FY 2026 was less than Congress intended because of spending and personnel cuts made by the Trump administration. An explanatory statement released alongside the spending bill signals the committee’s opposition to any future cuts not authorized by Congress.
“CISA shall maintain a workforce consistent with the personnel and full-time equivalents funded by the pay and non-pay amounts provided in this act. CISA shall not reduce staffing in such a way that it lacks sufficient staff to effectively carry out its statutory missions,” the explanatory statement says.
“Further, CISA is directed to maintain no fewer than 10 regional field offices around the country, and is directed to ensure that CISA employs no fewer than one expert ‘Cyber Security Advisor’ per State or territory devoted exclusively to assisting such state or territory,” it adds.
The committee also wants CISA to reengage with public-private cybersecurity partnerships, including the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC) and Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), both of which had their federal funding eliminated under the Trump administration’s cuts (CPR, Sept. 30, 2025).
CISA’s election security work, which the Trump administration targeted over perceptions that CISA previously misused its authority over election security to identify mis- and disinformation campaigns, would receive $39.6 million under the Appropriations Committee’s bill.
Some of that funding should be spent to deploy election security advisers in each of the 10 CISA regional offices to “act as liaisons between CISA and its partners, and the continuation of the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center,” the explanatory statement says.
“The Committee recognizes the important role of Election Security Advisors in providing support to State and local elected officials so that these election professionals can ensure the American people have confidence in the security of our democratic process each election cycle,” it says.
The committee “encourages CISA to allocate additional resources to ensure its capabilities and services are being employed to mitigate cyber and physical threats related to our States’ and communities’ elections infrastructure,” it adds.
The committee also stressed the need for CISA to build back a workforce that was cut by one-third, or about 1,000 employees, last year as positions were eliminated and personnel were encouraged to leave.
“The Committee believes we need to continue to both ‘upskill’ and ‘reskill’ the current Federal cybersecurity workforce to address the shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals, trained in cyber defense, cyber threat intelligence analysis, and risk informed analysis,” the explanatory statement says.
“The Committee notes the Federal Government faces a persistent challenge in filling essential cyber roles amid a nationwide cyber workforce shortage,” it adds. “Weak personnel management practices and private sector competition, with higher salaries and streamlined hiring processes, make it difficult for government agencies to recruit and retain talent.”
The explanatory statement suggests that the Department of Homeland Security has overemphasized its role in immigration enforcement to the detriment of its other missions.
“Fiscal year 2027 presents a unique opportunity for the Department. The Committee notes the focus of discourse surrounding the Department heavily skews towards the immigration enforcement elements of the mission,” it says.
“The Committee also recognizes that in fiscally constrained environments, investments made in one area are made at the opportunity cost of investment in other areas, and views the wealth of resources at the disposal of ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and the U.S. Border Patrol as opening the door to make meaningful, long-term investments in components that can sometimes be underemphasized due to the pressing priority of securing our borders,” it notes.
CISA and other federal agencies are currently operating under spending levels set by the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (HR 6500), which was adopted in September to prevent a government shutdown prior to the midterm elections. The spending authorities in HR 6500 expire on Dec. 11.
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