NNB News : Appropriations Committee Releases Fiscal Year 2022 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Funding Bill

WASHINGTON — The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies today approved by voice vote its fiscal year 2022 bill.

For 2022, the bill provides $81.3 billion, an increase of $10.2 billion – 14 percent – above 2021.  In total, the bill provides funding of $81.6 billion. The legislation:

Creates good-paying American jobs with investments in economic development in distressed communities with support for small businesses, including small and medium-sized American manufacturers

Supports safer communities with funding for local law enforcement while bolstering police and criminal justice reform and expanding gun violence prevention efforts

Addresses gender-based violence with strong increases for Violence Against Women Act prevention and prosecution programs, as well as efforts to reduce the backlog of unprocessed rape kits

Confronts the climate crisis with strong funding for climate resilience and research at NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Science Foundation

The bill next heads to the full Committee for the markup.

“This legislation provides strong funding increases to help improve the lives of our nation’s working people,” Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee Chair Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08) said. “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.”

“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,” Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “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.”

Bill Summary:
Department of Commerce – The bill includes $10.95 billion for the Commerce Department, an increase of $2.03 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level. This includes funding for the following agencies.
International Trade Administration:  $577.4 million is provided, an increase of $36.4 million above FY 2021, to help create U.S. jobs by expanding exports and by fighting the unfair trade practices of other countries.
 
Census Bureau – The bill provides $1.44 billion for the Census Bureau, an increase of $335.8 million above the FY 2021 enacted level.
 
Economic Development Administration (EDA) – The legislation includes $433 million for the EDA, an increase of $87 million above the FY 2021 level. These funds will help improve our nation’s infrastructure, boost economically recovering communities, and launch innovative community development efforts.
 
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA):  The legislation includes $70 million for MBDA, an increase of $22 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, to help create jobs and expand business growth opportunities among minority-owned U.S. companies.
 
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – NIST is funded at $1.35 billion in the bill, an increase of $320 million above the FY2021 level.  This includes $275 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, an increase of $125 million.  $938 million is also included for core NIST research activities, to help advance U.S. competitiveness, economic growth, cybersecurity, and other important efforts.
 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – The legislation contains $6.46 billion for NOAA, which is $1.03 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level.  Funding will help address important priorities such as climate research, improvements in weather forecasting, understanding sea level rise, supporting offshore wind energy, fisheries management, and STEM education.
 
Department of Justice (DOJ) – The bill funds DOJ at $36.04 billion, an increase of $2.64 billion above the FY 2021 discretionary enacted level.  This includes funding for the following:
Byrne Justice Assistance formula grants and COPS Hiring grants are funded at the FY 2021 levels of $360.1 million and $156.5 million, respectively.Requires state and local governments, as a precondition for receiving any fiscal year 2022 COPS or Byrne JAG funds, to comply with nine conditions aimed at improving police 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.
Requires at least 25 percent of each recipient’s Byrne JAG formula funds to be spent in specified ways aimed at improving police practices.
 
Further Efforts at Police Reform and Racial Justice – Takes concrete actions and provides resources for meaningful change, including:$100 million for community-based violence intervention initiatives
$110 million for Youth Mentoring grants
$42 million for grants to train State and local law enforcement officers on racial profiling, implicit bias, de-escalation, use of force, and procedural justice
$100 million to assist states in conducting pattern and practice investigations of law enforcement
Funding increases within the FBI, U.S. Attorneys, and Civil Rights Division for pattern and practice investigations, as well as an additional Civil Rights Division increase for voting rights enforcement and other civil rights priorities
$7.2 million for grants to help State and local law enforcement comply with consent decrees and other reform efforts
$250 million to implement statutes providing for independent investigation of law enforcement
$4 million to develop best practices for, and to create, civilian review boards
Requires state and local law enforcement agencies to begin or complete the process of obtaining accreditation from a certified law enforcement accreditation organization, as a precondition for receiving any fiscal year 2022 Justice Department funds.
$5 million for a National Police Misconduct Registry
$5 million for a National Task Force on Law Enforcement Oversight
$25 million for grants to support community-based law enforcement improvement efforts
$25 million for pilot programs to address police misconduct
$70 million for Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention and Prosecution Grants, an increase of $65 million above FY 2021
$30 million in new funding for community groups for efforts to prevent hate crimes
$13.5 million in support of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act, to investigate and prosecute unresolved civil rights era “cold case” murders
$50 million for alternatives to youth incarceration
$125 million for Second Chance Act grants, an increase of $25 million above FY 2021
$7 million to support family-based alternative sentencing programs for parents in the criminal justice system
$45 million for the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program
$15 million for Capital Litigation Improvement and Wrongful Conviction Review, an increase of $8 million above FY 2021
$15 million for technical assistance grants to Tribes and small law enforcement agencies to help them comply with the requirements of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
$5 million to create local task forces on public safety innovation
$6 million for the National Center for Restorative Justice, double the FY 2021 amount
$12 million for domestic radicalization research, including research on white supremacist extremism
 
Gun Violence Reduction Grants—The bill funds the following programs aimed at reducing gun violence:$100 million for grants to help states improve their submissions into the National Instant Criminal Background Check system for gun purchases
$40 million for a pilot program to incentivize states to establish or refine Red Flag and Gun Licensing Laws
$10 million for a pilot program to develop and expand gun buyback and relinquishment programs
 
Anti-Opioid Programs – $458 million for grant programs authorized under the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, an increase of $64 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, including for drug courts, treatment, prescription drug monitoring, and overdose-reversal drugs. 
 
Other Justice Grant Programs – The bill additionally includes further responsible and effective investments in state and local justice, including:$753.8 million for Violence Against Women Act programs, an increase of $240.3 million above FY 2021
$50 million for legal representation of immigrant children and families
$158 million for DNA Initiative Grants
$60 million for Grants to Reduce the Sexual Assault Kit Backlog
$140 million for STOP School Violence Act programs
$95 million for Victims of Trafficking grants
$109 million for Missing and Exploited Children programs
$40 million for Victims of Child Abuse programs
 
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – $10.2 billion for salaries and expenses, an increase of $471.2 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, including funding for enhanced civil rights enforcement and new initiatives to counter domestic terrorism and to address cybercrime and cyberthreats.
 
Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) – $891.2 million is provided, an increase of $157.2 million above the FY 2021 enacted level. This increase will allow for the continued hiring of immigration judges and support staff to address the immigration case backlog.
 
Community Relations Service (CRS) – $22 million, an increase of $4 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, to help expand CRS’s efforts to help defuse tensions in neighborhoods and communities.
 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) – The legislation contains $1.55 billion for ATF, an increase of $70.6 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, to help expand efforts to reduce violent gun crime.
 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – $25.04 billion, $1.77 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level. This funding includes continued investments in human space exploration efforts, as well as other investments, including the following:
$935 million for Aeronautics research, an increase of $106.3 million above the FY 2021 enacted level and $20.2 million above the President’s budget request, to continue efforts to improve passenger safety, fuel efficiency, and noise reduction, and to make air travel more environmentally sustainable.
 
$7.97 billion for Science, an increase of $668.5 million above FY 2021, to continue efforts to explore the solar system, other planets, and other solar systems, including through space telescopes and planetary satellites and rovers, as well as efforts to gain scientific knowledge about the Earth’s changing climate.
 
$7.28 billion for Exploration, an increase of $723.9 million above FY 2021, to continue human space exploration efforts, including eventually landing the first American woman and person of color on the surface of the Moon.
 
$147 million for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement, an increase of $20 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, to inspire young people to pursue future careers in science and engineering.
National Science Foundation (NSF) –$9.63 billion, an increase of $1.15 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level.  These funds will foster innovation and U.S. economic competitiveness, including funding for climate science and sustainable research, as well as research on artificial intelligence, quantum information science, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and many other critical areas.   The bill also invests in important scientific infrastructure.   Within this total:
Research and Related Activities are funded at $7.7 billion, an increase of $785.97 million above the FY 2021 enacted level; and
Education and Human Resources are funded at $1.27 billion, an increase of $306.3 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, to help broaden participation in STEM research and STEM careers among underrepresented populations.
 
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) – $445.9 million, an increase of $41.4 million above the FY 2021 enacted level and equal to the Administration’s request.

Legal Services Corporation:  The legislation provides $600 million for the Legal Services Corporation, an increase of $135 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, to help increase the availability of legal assistance in underserved communities.

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: $13 million is included, including $1 million in support of the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative:  $72.9 million is included, an increase of $2.8 million above FY 2021

International Trade Commission:  $118.5 million is included, an increase of $15.5 million above FY 2021