AP Success - AP U.S. Gov & Pol: Concept Application: Homeland Security Agency: Financial & Policy Authority Benefits

Congress passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002, creating the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This cabinet-level executive agency is tasked with maintaining public security. DHS is the third-largest cabinet department in terms of employees, as it incorporates once-independent government agencies that include the U.S Customs Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and U.S. Coast Guard.

The DHS’s Directorate for Management oversees the department’s nearly $50-billion annual budget allocated to it by Congress. It has the final say regarding which DHS offices and departments receive the most funding. 

The DHS also has significant rule-making authority over its incorporated agencies, powers given to it by federal laws and president's’ executive orders. DHS states that any changes to agency operations are “aligned with its guiding principles to protect civil rights and civil liberties, integrate our actions, build coalitions and partnerships, develop human resources, innovate, and be accountable to the American public.”