Two thousand and seventeen may be the year of Homeland Security, at least for contractors eyeing opportunities to provide support, software and IT services.
A new report from market intelligence firm Govini breaks down the DHS’s fiscal forecast during next year’s budget, outlining the agency’s budget priorities of either a Clinton or a Trump administration.
Here are three takeaways from the report:
CBP, TSA and OPO will continue to spend
Customs & Border Protection, Transportation Security Agency and the Office of Procurement Operations have seen contract program obligations increase 16 percent from fiscal 2013 through 2016 and Govini doesn’t anticipate the trend changing for next year.
The report pegs contract obligations to increase by at least 3 percent for the three agencies in 2017. As DHS's top buyer, OPO is projected to handle a surge in cybersecurity contracting. Including $1.24 billion for the National Protection & Programs Directorate. The budget also requests $267.8 million in spending on law enforcement training and support.
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The flood of Cyber spending will continue under either a Trump or Clinton presidency; the threat is simply far too large to ignore, especially from state actors," the report said.
"The fate of existing programs will be determined by the new administration's willingness to tolerate program complications and duplicative spending. Law enforcement training is also a priority for both candidates."
CBP will invest heavy IT and automation
U.S.
Customs & Border Protection is expected to spend on a number of IT modernization projects for U.S. Border Patrol in 2017, including $54.6 million on critical interoperability equipment.
Almost $53 million will go to obtaining next-generation biometric identity technology, plus another $92 million to fund fixed towers, tactical aerostats and the UH-60 Black Hawk program.
The report speculates that funding for CBP's Fencing & Infrastructure Technology account could increase with a Trump presidency, but could focus largely on construction services.
TSA is in need of an upgrade
The TSA is in the midst of a large technology upgrade for passenger screening and security.
The Govini report said that the agency will be spending $200 million in 2017 on baggage screening—including software upgrades—another $84 million on passenger screening intelligence and another $835 million to upgrade the infrastructure and operations of the
Federal Air Marshal Service.
"Support for TSA under either a Clinton or Trump presidency is likely to be strong," the report said.
"A Clinton administration is likely to continue the current path, which relies heavily on trusted traveler programs such as Precheck and advanced screening, while a Trump presidency might be more willing to invest in the development of next-generation screening technology."
ICE's software update
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement received a $5.9-billion request in the president’s 2017 budget, up $78 million from last year. IT upgrades will account for $43 million of that budget, as ICE will shift its legacy financial system to shared services and update its
Pattern Analysis and Information Collection (ICEPIC) System.
Another $350 million will go to its Criminal Alien Program Headquarters Managed Information Technology and Automation Modernization to improve cloud services and Identity, Credentials, Access Management.
ICE is also expected to spend $1.7 billion to fund nearly 31,000 detention beds and air travel to take detainees back to their country of origin, but whether those operations change may depend on who wins the White House, the report said.
"A Trump presidency would most certainly mean stronger enforcement of customs laws and aggressive efforts to detain undocumented immigrants. A Clinton presidency would likely follow the path of the Obama administration, which prioritizes disrupting drug cartels, gangs and human trafficking networks."
The report is available for download on Govini's website.
