Sponsors (2)
The bill expands federal support for state, Tribal, and local port‑of‑entry infrastructure—lowering upfront costs for many communities and allowing retroactive reimbursement—while creating uncertainty about total funding, eligibility boundaries, and prioritization that could favor border‑security needs over some local community priorities and burden taxpayers.
State, Tribal, and local governments (including border and rural communities) gain access to federal grants and financing to build, repair, or modernize infrastructure serving land ports of entry (roads, water, port support), reducing local costs for these projects.
Local jurisdictions and Tribal governments that already invested in eligible port-adjacent projects since Nov 15, 2021 can receive retroactive reimbursement of up to 70%, providing financial relief for prior expenditures.
Rural communities and projects deemed homeland-security-critical can face reduced or waived standard matching requirements (default 30%), lowering upfront local funding barriers for small or rural jurisdictions.
Local governments and border communities face funding uncertainty because the bill specifies no funding level and awards are limited by annual appropriations, which could force project delays or scaling back.
Taxpayers could face higher federal spending to fund grants and reimbursements for port‑adjacent infrastructure, increasing the fiscal burden on the federal budget.
The default 30% non‑Federal match requirement may remain unaffordable for many small jurisdictions unless waivers are granted, limiting access for cash‑strained local or Tribal governments.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates a DHS grant program to fund or supplement community infrastructure projects that support land ports of entry, with matching rules and reimbursement options.
Introduced December 16, 2025 by Ruben Gallego · Last progress December 16, 2025
Creates a Department of Homeland Security grant program to help state, tribal, and local governments and not-for-profit, member-owned utilities fix or build community infrastructure that supports land ports of entry. The program defines eligible projects, sets a default 30% non‑Federal match (with rural and homeland-security exceptions), allows reimbursement for certain recently completed projects, and authorizes appropriations as needed each fiscal year.