Why It Matters

The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence will mark up seven bills on Thursday that collectively push back against the White House's April proposal to fold the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis into a merged headquarters structure, cutting roughly $53 million in the process.

The stakes are concrete: I&A is the primary federal conduit for terrorism intelligence to state and local law enforcement, operating a network of fusion centers across the country. If the administration's restructuring proceeds without congressional guardrails, those information-sharing pipelines (which law enforcement organizations and Jewish community groups have warned are already strained after over a year of workforce reductions) could be further disrupted.

The Budget Proposal

The Trump administration's fiscal year 2027 budget, released in April, proposed eliminating I&A as a standalone office and folding it into a combined DHS headquarters structure alongside the Office of the Secretary, the Management Directorate, and the Office of Situational Awareness. Nextgov/FCW reported the new structure would cut approximately $53 million. Government Executive confirmed the reorganization plan shortly after.

That proposal came on top of a workforce reduction campaign that began in mid-2025, when DHS Secretary Kristi Noem signed off on plans to reduce I&A to approximately 275 staffers. Nextgov/FCW reported that the cuts drew "major pushback from law enforcement organizations and Jewish groups that long relied on the agency to disseminate timely intelligence about threats," with one international organization privately warning Congress the proposed cuts would create "dangerous intelligence gaps."

The budget proposal also raised questions about I&A's fusion center relationships. As Defense One noted, I&A helps manage a network of fusion centers that facilitate intelligence sharing between federal agencies and state and local law enforcement. a function whose future under a merged headquarters structure remained unclear, even as subsequent reporting confirmed I&A would remain under the oversight of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

A separate piece of context: in November 2025, Nextgov/FCW reported that Congress had nearly included a provision in the Intelligence Authorization Act that would have stripped I&A of core collection and analysis authorities, a measure ultimately left out, but one that signaled the ongoing legislative pressure on the office.

What the Seven Bills Would Do

The markup centers on a bipartisan package, with subcommittee Chair August Pfluger (R-TX) and Ranking Member Seth Magaziner (D-RI) co-sponsoring each other's lead bills, an unusual show of alignment on a committee that rarely moves in lockstep.

H.R. 7443, Pfluger's I&A Mission Reorientation Act, is the centerpiece. It would direct I&A to prioritize support for state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector organizations over federal intelligence agencies, essentially codifying in law the mission the administration's budget proposes to dissolve. The bill requires two-way information sharing with those entities, deployment of intelligence resources to identify emerging threats, and maintained engagement with fusion centers.

H.R. 7764 and H.R. 7574, both sponsored by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO), address two related programs. The first would transfer the National Threat Evaluation and Reporting Program (which helps local law enforcement identify targeted violence threats) out of I&A and into the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement, while shifting its funding away from National Intelligence Program appropriations. The second would reorganize I&A's Engagement, Liaison, and Outreach Office to eliminate redundant positions and centralize coordination with law enforcement partners.

H.R. 8142, introduced by Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), moves DHS's Special Events Program to the Office of Situational Awareness. H.R. 7427, the SAFE Visits Act from Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), would require DHS to conduct annual threat analyses on foreign nationals seeking access to state and local government facilities and systems, with targeted outreach when specific facilities are flagged as high-risk.

Rep. Nellie Pou's (D-NJ) H.R. 7448 would require DHS to develop a modernization strategy for the National Terrorism Advisory System, which has not issued a formal terrorism alert bulletin since January 2023. The ODNI's 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, released in March, described the U.S. as continuing to face a "complex and evolving threat landscape." Magaziner's H.R. 7436 rounds out the package, requiring standardized training programs for I&A employees, a measure that takes on added significance as the office's workforce has been dramatically reduced.

Fusion Centers and Law Enforcement Groups Are Watching

Lobbying disclosures show organized engagement from the stakeholder community most directly affected. The National Fusion Center Association has spent $50,000 over the past year specifically lobbying for "legislation to reform DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis to enhance support for fusion centers." The Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies has matched that spending with identical legislative priorities. Both organizations are represented by Brooks Bawden Moore LLC.

The Major Cities Chiefs Association has spent $250,000 over the same period on law enforcement policy priorities, while the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab has spent $150,000 on homeland security preparedness and terrorism issues. Defense contractor CACI International has spent $240,000 lobbying on DHS tactical communications systems and intelligence capabilities.

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