House Republicans on Tuesday Bill to fund the Departments of Commerce and JusticeThe fiscal 2025 budget proposal, which would apply to government agencies as well as science agencies, is the bill at the center of one of the most intense spending battles this year.
Conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives are zeroing in on the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) spending bill as a way to go after the Department of Justice following former President Trump’s conviction in the Manhattan hush-money trial and the prosecution of three other charges.
“This bill prioritizes fiscal integrity and the freedoms of the American people,” said House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.). statement“This bill will stop the federal government from weaponizing the nation against its citizens and provide greater congressional oversight to ensure taxpayer money is used responsibly. Investments will support our brave law enforcement officers, fight crime, and prevent the deadly threat of illegal drugs from reaching our communities. This bill will also protect American innovation by countering Chinese efforts to target every aspect of American business.”
To be sure, the bill is unlikely to pass — Democrats in the Senate and White House would likely reject the various budget cuts and policy riders it contains — but House Republican leaders are hoping to put themselves in a better position for eventual negotiations with the Democratic-controlled Senate.
The CJS appropriations bill allocates $78.288 billion for discretionary spending, which Republicans on the Appropriations Committee said represents a roughly 2% ($1.275 billion) cut from fiscal year 2024 levels. It also includes $71.932 billion for non-defense discretionary spending and $6.356 billion for defense discretionary spending.
The 160-page bill does not mention special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the investigation into Trump, or seek to limit his powers more broadly, nor does it mention Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), who led the New York hush-money prosecution, or address grants paid to local and state government agencies.
But the Budget Subcommittee is scheduled to take up the bill at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, when lawmakers are expected to offer some amendments. The House Rules Committee will decide which bills will get a vote on the floor.
The bill makes significant cuts to the Department of Justice, which receives $36.532 billion, which is $987.823 million (3%) less than its fiscal year 2024 budget and $3.056 billion less than President Biden’s budget request.
The bill also cuts funding for the FBI. The bureau, which has been a target of conservative lawmakers in recent years, would receive $10.306 billion under the newly released CJS bill, $367.713 million (3.5%) less than its fiscal year 2024 budget. The proposed allocation is $1.028 billion (9%) less than Biden’s budget.
Additionally, the bill would block the FBI from building a new headquarters in the National Capital Region, which includes Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, and “limit the use of existing construction funds to the maintenance of the FBI’s current headquarters, the J. Edgar Hooverville,” according to the bureau. summaryOf the bill.
The government budget bill that lawmakers passed earlier this year and President Biden signed included $200 million for a new FBI headquarters, angering hardline conservatives. Last year, the General Services Administration announced that the new FBI headquarters would be built in Greenbelt, Maryland, after Maryland and Virginia lawmakers fought a fierce battle over the location.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, slammed the Republican CJS funding bill, charging it undermines the justice system.
“Instead of working with Democrats to reduce crime and make Americans feel safer, House Republicans are cutting law enforcement jobs and slashing resources to programs that prevent violence, mass shootings and terrorist attacks,” DeLauro said. statement.
“Cutting federal law enforcement and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division makes it harder to prosecute dangerous criminals while making it easier for big corporations and billionaires to take advantage of the American people,” she added. “This bill will hurt our economy, especially by eviscerating programs that help create jobs in rural areas.”
The Justice Department cut and crackdown language comes after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote Attorney General Cole urging him to include a number of “reforms” in this year’s budget process, including ending funding for the FBI that is “non-mission essential,” eliminating federal funding for “state prosecutors or state attorneys general who engage in law enforcement misconduct,” and eliminating federal funding for federal prosecutors who engage in “such misconduct.”
