CBO Scores FY 2026 Reconciliation at $72 Billion
The Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) Committees released draft reconciliation legislation for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 late last night. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the bill would add $72 billion to the deficit over the next decade – or about $94 billion with interest.
The reconciliation bill would appropriate $72 billion for various functions in FY 2026, allowing the funding to be obligated at any point through 2029. Although the stated goal is to replace ordinary appropriations over that time period, the lack of guardrails on when the money is appropriated could lead the money to be spent more quickly, creating the need or demand for future additional appropriations.
Of further concern, at least $7.5 billion of the total – $5 billion available at the Homeland Security Secretary’s discretion, $1.5 billion available at the Attorney General’s discretion, and $1 billion available for the U.S. Secret Service for the East Wing Modernization Project – appears to be above and beyond normal appropriations.
The remaining $65 billion is appropriated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Security Operations (BSO) of Customs and Border Protection and could be used in place of ordinary appropriations.
Funding Provided in FY 2026 Reconciliation Bill
| Funding | |
|---|---|
| Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee | $32.5 billion |
| Customs and Border Protection | $22.3 billion |
| Immigration and Customs Enforcement | $7.5 billion |
| Homeland Security Department | $2.5 billion |
| Judiciary Committee | $39.2 billion |
| Immigration and Customs Enforcement | $30.7 billion |
| Customs and Border Protection | $3.5 billion |
| Homeland Security Department | $2.5 billion |
| Justice Department | $1.5 billion |
| U.S. Secret Service | $1.0 billion |
| Total | $71.7 billion |
| Memo: Deficit Increase with Interest (2026-2035) | $94.1 billion |
| Memo: Deficit Increase with Interest, assuming appropriations offset (2026-2035) | $9.3 billion |
Source: Congressional Budget Office & CRFB estimates.
In total, we estimate the bill would add $94 billion to deficits over the next decade with interest. If ordinary appropriations are reduced by the full amount of obligations over the next 3.5 years, we estimate the bill would still add over $9 billion to deficits through 2036. The actual net cost is likely to be somewhere in between and will depend on future appropriation actions.
To avoid potential increases in the debt and put a down payment on deficit reduction, policymakers should remove extraneous provisions from the bill and fully offset the funding in this bill. They should also put in place discretionary spending caps that account for this mandatory spending and work to further reduce deficits.
