# H.R. 8029 (119th): Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act

Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act This bill provides appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the remainder of FY2026. It also ends the partial DHS shutdown that began on February 14, 2026, because the continuing resolution (CR) that was funding DHS expired and a regular FY2026 DHS appropriations bill had not been enacted. Specifically, the bill provides appropriations to DHS for Departmental Management, Intelligence, Situational Awareness, and Oversight, including the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management; the Management Directorate; Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness; and the Office of Inspector General. In addition, the bill provides appropriations for Security, Enforcement, and Investigations, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Secret Service. The bill provides appropriations for Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The bill provides appropriations for Research, Development, Training, and Services, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, and the Science and Technology Directorate. The bill also authorizes back pay, in accordance with current law, for federal employees who were affected by the partial DHS shutdown. Finally, the bill ratifies and approves certain obligations that were incurred during the partial DHS shutdown, including obligations incurred to maintain the essential level of activity to protect life and property and bring about an orderly termination of government functions.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: appropriations. Category: corruption_stewardship. Lane tag: general equity.
Lane: debt_spending. Category: honest_money. Lane tag: prudential.
Lane: defense. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: defense_funding. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: federal_workforce. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: homeland_security. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: immigration. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: immigration_enforcement. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: omnibus. Category: corruption_stewardship. Lane tag: general equity.
Lane: shutdown_resolution. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 103: On Motion to Recommit. Vote type: recommit.
Roll 104: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The bill combines ordinary and arguably good functions (ending a shutdown, paying employees, funding disaster response, cybersecurity, and border and maritime security) with prudential disputes over the scale of enforcement spending and general appropriations levels. It does not directly advance a named moral harm, nor does it directly restrain one, so mixed is the prudent classification.
Theological note: Issue relevance: the bill concerns the public funding of government duties that Scripture assigns to civil authority, including protecting life and property and maintaining orderly justice, along with the stewardship of public money and the fair treatment of workers. Its moral weight depends on how these funds are used in practice, particularly in immigration enforcement, which raises prudential questions rather than a clear moral verdict on the face of the measure.

## Recorded votes

Roll 103: On Motion to Recommit. Yea 210 · Nay 215 · Other 7.
Roll 104: On Passage. Yea 218 · Nay 206 · Other 8.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hr-8029-119/