Should Commerce, Justice, and Science Agencies Receive $81 Billion in Funding for FY2022? (H.R. 4505)

What is H.R. 4505?

(Updated August 22, 2021)

This bill would provide a total of $81.6 billion in FY2022 appropriations for commerce, justice, science, and related agencies. The total is an increase of $10.2 billion, or 14%, above FY2021. A breakdown of its major provisions can be found below.

Commerce Dept.: A total of $10.95 billion in FY2022 funding would be provided for the Commerce Dept., an increase of $2.03 billion from the prior year. The total would include funding for the following agencies:

• Census Bureau: $1.44 billion for FY2022, an increase of $335 million from the prior year.

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): $6.46 billion for FY2022, an increase of $1 billion from the prior year.

• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): $1.35 billion for FY2022, an increase of $320 million from the prior year.

Dept. of Justice: The Dept. of Justice (DOJ) would receive a total of $36 billion for FY2022, an increase of $2.64 billion from the prior year. Specifically, it would provide the following for FY2022:

• $753 million for Violence Against Women Act programs, an increase of $240 million from the prior year.

• $458 million for grant programs authorized under the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, an increase of $64 million from the prior year.

• $360.1 million for the Byrne-JAG program, which is the primary grant program for state & local law enforcement agencies, an amount equal to the prior year’s funding level.

• At least 25% of Byrne-JAG grants would be required to be spent in ways aimed at improving policing practices.

• $156.5 million for the COPS Hiring grant program, which helps law enforcement agencies hire officers, an amount equal to the prior year’s funding level.

• To receive Byrne-JAG or COPS grants, state and local governments would be required to comply with nine criteria aimed at improving policing practices, including eliminating racial profiling and implicit bias; eliminating excessive force and chokeholds; eliminating “no knock” warrants in drug cases; eliminating contractual arrangements that prevent investigations of law enforcement misconduct; and eliminating sexual contact between police and persons in their custody.

• $158 million for grant initiatives to address the sexual assault kit and other DNA evidence backlogs.

• $100 million for grants to help states improve submissions to the National Instant Criminal Background Check system for gun purchases. An additional $50 million would be provided for pilot programs to incentivize states to establish or refine Red Flag and gun licensing laws ($40 million), and to develop and expand gun buyback programs ($10 million).

• $50 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.

Other law enforcement agencies that would receive funding under this section include:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): $10.2 billion for salaries and expenses in FY2022, an increase of $471 million from the prior year that includes funding for enhanced civil rights enforcement, new programs to counter domestic terrorism, cybercrime, and cyberthreats.

• Bureau of Prisons (BOP): $7.865 billion for the BOP in FY2022, an increase of $156 million from the prior year.

• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF): $1.55 billion would be provided for FY2022, an increase of $70 million from the prior year to expand anti-gun crime efforts.

The science section of this bill would provide funding for the following agencies:

• National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA): $25 billion in FY2022 funding, an increase of $1.77 billion from the prior year. The total would include $7.97 billion for science activities (an increase of $668 million) such as exploration of the solar system; $7.28 billion for exploration activities (an increase of $723 million) to continue human space exploration efforts, including landing the first American woman and person of color on the Moon; $935 million for aeronautics research (an increase of $106 million) to improve passenger safety, fuel efficiency, noise reduction, and making air travel more environmentally sustainable.

• National Science Foundation (NSF): $9.63 billion in FY2022 funding, an increase of $1.15 billion from the prior year. This would include $7.7 billion for research-related activities, an increase of $786 million from the prior year; and $1.27 billion for education and human resources, an increase of $306 million from the prior year.

Argument in favor

This bill reflects Democrats’ vision for funding the Depts. of Commerce and Justice along with science agencies. It ensures law enforcement funding goes to reforming policing practices, while also advancing diversity and inclusion goals through its funding toward projects that will put the first woman and person of color on the moon.

Argument opposed

Democrats’ partisan bill inappropriately includes a wishlist of ideological goals, such as expanding funding for gun control initiatives like buyback programs and red flag laws. Even worse, it freezes funding for major law enforcement grant programs while state and local agencies to comply with numerous mandates in order to access them.

Impact

The Dept. of Justice; the Commerce Dept.; and science-related federal agencies such as NASA and the NSF.

Cost of H.R. 4505

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) offered the following statement on her committee’s passage of the commerce, justice, and science appropriations package:

“As our nation emerges from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government must invest in the American people to create good-paying jobs and growth that benefits all. This legislation takes critical steps to support economic development, strengthen small businesses and American manufacturers, and fund research on the Earth’s changing climate. At the same time, the legislation makes our communities safer by funding local law enforcement who deserve our respect as they work in a period of great challenge. The bill also supports police and criminal justice reform efforts and addresses gender-based violence.”

Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee Chair Matt Cartwright (D-PA) added:

“This legislation provides strong funding increases to help improve the lives of our nation’s working people. It supports American manufacturing, economic development, and infrastructure improvements to get more people back to work and strengthen our economy. It helps our law enforcement officials everywhere fight crime and combat the opioid epidemic, while reforming criminal justice practices. And it funds innovative research, advances our trade competitiveness, and prepares us for the harsh realities of climate change. This legislation makes very effective use of taxpayer dollars and will help us build a more prosperous, safe, and competitive America for all of us.”

Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX) and Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee Ranking Member Robert Aderholt (R-AL) explained their opposition to the package in the bill’s committee report:

“The bill imposes new, unauthorized conditions on many State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance programs, including the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) program, and on all of the Community Oriented Policing Services programs. It also imposes these unauthorized conditions on the Byrne Discretionary and COPS Technology and Equipment community projects. Besides encumbering Members’ community projects, these conditions will effectively halt funding for many authorized programs with strong bipartisan support. This funding supports training and equipment purchases across the United States, as well as many other programs, including active shooter response training under the POLICE Act and suicide prevention measures for police officers under the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act. Conditioning needed funding for local police departments on policies far outside the control of law enforcement is inappropriate, and it may impede communities’ efforts to pursue their own police reform agendas.

We are also concerned that this bill eliminates several longstanding riders that historically have enjoyed bipartisan support. For example, four Second Amendment protections are not retained and language protecting taxpayer dollars from being used by the Department of Justice for abortions is removed. These modifications are particularly objectionable and should be reversed before the bill is finalized.”

This legislation passed the House Appropriations Committee on a party-line vote of 33-26.

Media:

• House Appropriations Committee Democrats Press Release

• House Appropriations Committee Democrats Summary

• House Appropriations Committee Report