DHS seeks 6.8 percent budget increase

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was allocated $50.5 billion in President George W. Bush's 2009 budget targets, the department said Monday.

The request is a 6.8-percent increase over its current budget, the department said in a news release.

Safety and security issues were aggressively addressed, Bush said when he released his budget.

Among the funding requests in the DHS budget were:

-- An increase of $442.4 million to hire, train and equip 2,200 new Border Patrol Agents.

-- Funding of $140 million to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which requires travelers to present acceptable documentation at U.S. air, land and sea ports-of-entry after June 1, 2009.

-- Another $100 million for E-Verify, a program allowing employers to use an automated system to confirm employment eligibility of both citizen and non-citizen new hires.

-- A request for $334.2 million to support Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, which provides resources for development of global nuclear detection architecture.

-- Another $34.5 million for the Office of Health Affairs' BioWatch, an environmental monitoring system designed for early warning of bioterrorism incidents.

-- Total funding of $1.3 billion for Department-wide efforts to counter IED threats.