HR 7617 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
To provide funding for administrative expenses of the Department of Homeland Security during any lapse in appropriations during fiscal year 2026, to require that the Department be responsive to congressional offices during such a lapse in appropriations, and for other purposes.
To provide funding for administrative expenses of the Department of Homeland Security during any lapse in appropriations during fiscal year 2026, to require that the Department be responsive to congressional offices during such a lapse in appropriations, and for other purposes.
Summary
The bill provides funding for the Department of Homeland Security's administrative expenses during any lapse in appropriations in fiscal year 2026, allowing the department to continue operations. It specifically ensures that DHS's Office of Legislative Affairs and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Congressional Relations remain operational to respond to congressional communications. The bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to use the appropriated funds to maintain all departmental functions that would normally continue during a budget lapse.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
1 cosponsor
- Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA)
Actions (2)
- Feb 20, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Appropriations. · house
- Feb 20, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 20, 2026
Ms. Johnson of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations
A BILL
To provide funding for administrative expenses of the Department of Homeland Security during any lapse in appropriations during fiscal year 2026, to require that the Department be responsive to congressional offices during such a lapse in appropriations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONTINUED OPERATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
(a) Administrative Expenses.—In the case of a lapse in appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security there are appropriated such amounts as may be necessary for administrative expenses necessary for the operation of the Department for the duration of the lapse in appropriations, including the Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Congressional Relations.
(b) Continued Operation.—With respect to any lapse in appropriations occurring during fiscal year 2026, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, using amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (a), ensure that the Department performs all functions that the Department would perform in the absence of such a lapse, including responding to communications transmitted to the Department during such lapse by congressional offices. <all>
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