DOJ Appropriations Bill Before Senate Tuesday

10-13-2009 National:

The Senate will hold a cloture vote tomorrow afternoon on legislation that would allocate $27.4 billion to the Justice Department for fiscal year 2010.

The Obama administration, according to a White House statement, “strongly supports” the Senate version of the FY 2010 Commerce, Justice, science appropriations bill, which was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee June 25. The House passed its version of the legislation, which would provide DOJ with $27.7 billion, June 18.

The White House said it is concerned the Senate bill doesn’t set aside enough money for the following programs:

-Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Grant Program: President Obama requested $298 million for the program, which would allow local, state and tribal law enforcement agencies to hire or retain more than 1,500 police officers. The Senate version of the bill would allocate $100 million to DOJ for the program. The House version gives DOJ the full amount requested by the Obama administration.

-Prisoner Reentry Initiative (Second Chance Act): The White House asked for $100 million to fund research on prisoner reentry initiatives and develop programs for former inmates. The Senate version would give $50 million. The House version of the bill would allocate the full amount for the program that the Obama administration requested.

-Community-Based Violence Prevention Initiatives: The president requested $25 million for the initiatives,which would support former gang members, law enforcement agencies, faith-based and community organizations in programs that work to reduce violent crimes. The Senate version of the legislation does not provide any funding for the initiatives. The House version of the bill would give DOJ $18 million for the initiatives.

The Obama administration also opposes the Senate’s proposed changes to language on reprogramming notifications. The Justice Department and other government agencies send these notices to the Senate and House Appropriations committees when they don’t follow Congress’s instructions and redirect funds to other programs. The House version of the bill does not have this language.

The Senate Appropriations Committee report accompanying the bill said the panel “expects the executive branch departments to manage [their] programs, projects and activities within the levels appropriated. Reprogramming or transfer requests shall be submitted only in the case of an unforeseen emergency or situation that could not have been anticipated when formulating the budget request for the current fiscal year.”

The panel said in the report it was forced to include the language — which the Obama administration said would cause “significant management challenges” — because of the “absence of comity and respect for the prerogatives of the Appropriations Committees and Congress in general.”

“Under these circumstances, programs, projects, and activities become absolutes and the executive branch shall lose the ability to propose changes in the use of appropriated funds through the reprogramming process between programs, projects, and activities without seeking some form of legislative action,” the Senate report said.

Here’s a summary of the Senate bill from the appropriations subcommittee:

provides a total of $27.38 billion for the Department of Justice, which is $1.29 billion above the enacted level and $311 million above the President’s budget request.

• State and Local Law Enforcement – The Committee provides a total of $3.16 billion for state and local law enforcement, which is $63 million below the enacted level and $412 million above the President’s budget request.
• $510 million for Byrne Justice Assistance Grants (JAG), state formula grants to assist local law enforcement
• $658 million for Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) grants, including $100 million for a COPS hiring program
• $407 million for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention
• $435 million to prevent violence against women
• $265 million to prevent, investigate and prosecute crimes against children
• Bureau of Prisons – BOP is provided $6.08 billion, which is $92 million below the enacted level and $2.4 million above the President’s budget request. The Committee provides the full budget request for salaries and expenses for the Bureau of Prisons.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation – The FBI is provided $7.9 billion, which is $612 million above the enacted level and $52 million above the President’s budget request. Of that total, $25.5 million is to hire at least 50 new special agents to investigate mortgage fraud, $52 million to address internet crimes against children and an increase of $22 million goes toward critical surveillance and mobility capabilities for national security and criminal investigations.
• U.S. Marshals Service – $1.15 million, which is $198 million above the enacted level and equal to the President’s budget request. This includes $35 million to support 100 new deputy U.S. Marshals to implement the Adam Walsh Act.
• Drug Enforcement Administration – The DEA is provided $2 billion, $75 million above the enacted level and equal to the President’s request.
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – ATF is provided $1.12 billion, which is $66.5 billion above the enacted level and equal to the President’s request.
• Crime Victims Fund – The bill permits the expenditure of $705 million from the CVF for grants to assist victims of crime. This is $70 million above the enacted level and $5 million above the President’s request.

..Source.. by Andrew Ramonas