Homeland Security Funding Hinges on a New Mix of Four Lawmakers

Negotiations over how much to spend on protecting the homeland against threats face a new hurdle in already difficult territory: Most of the lawmakers involved are new to the gig.

Out of the four members of Congress charged with hashing out deals on Department of Homeland Security spending — one Democrat and one Republican in each chamber — only one, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), has done it before. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) are new to leading DHS appropriations, following retirements and subcommittee shuffling this year.

They face some of the toughest ...