Republicans Defund Law Enforcement, Hurt Communities, Advantage Tax Cheats in 2024 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Funding Bill

Republican cuts make American communities less safe and hurt rural businesses and the economy.

WASHINGTON — House Republicans today released the draft fiscal year 2024 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies funding bill, which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow. The legislation defunds law enforcement, makes us less safe, and hurts our economy.

While Republicans dangerously cut programs hardworking families depend on, they are making it easier for billionaires and big corporations to continue not paying their fair share in taxes. The bill cuts $22 billion from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement and operations support, providing tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks and making it easier for the ultrawealthy and well-connected to cheat on their taxes.

For 2024, the bill provides $58.7 billion, a decrease of $25 billion – 29 percent – below 2023. The legislation:

• Defunds law enforcement, eliminating thousands of Federal agent, analyst, and prosecutor positions.
• Harms communities and hurts the economy by gutting Economic Development Administration (EDA) programs that predominately serve rural communities, as well as the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).
• Makes families and children less safe by slashing Missing and Exploited Children Programs, legal services, and other resources that prevent violence.
• Opens our schools, grocery stores, churches, concerts, and communities up to more devastating mass shootings by making it easier for guns to end up in the wrong hands.

“This appropriations bill is deeply concerning to me.  The primary duty of government is to protect the citizens we serve, and yet the proposed cuts do the opposite,” Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee Ranking Member Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08) said. “These deep reductions will result in fewer FBI agents and analysts, fewer Federal prosecutors, and fewer personnel at other Federal law enforcement agencies, all while making it easier for wealthy tax cheats to get away with fraud.  This legislation would also slash Federal grant programs that support good-paying jobs in distressed communities, especially rural areas. I urge my colleagues to join me in rejecting this misguided bill.”

“House Republican cuts in their 2024 Commerce, Justice, Science bill defund law enforcement, science, and rural development – all while opening the door for the wealthiest individuals and corporations to cheat on their taxes,” Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “It is shameful that the majority’s baseless attacks on federal law enforcement have made the leap from irresponsible rhetoric to real cuts that would kick people out of their jobs and make our country less safe. While claiming to support rural communities, they are gutting Economic Development Administration programs when two-thirds of these grants go to these communities. Their bill includes attacks on children and families by slashing Missing and Exploited Children Programs and services that prevent violence against women. It is time for my Republican colleagues to stop protecting billionaires and start focusing on the needs of all Americans.”

Key provisions in the draft fiscal year 2024 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies bill are below. The text of the draft bill is here. The subcommittee markup will be webcast live and linked on the House Committee on Appropriations website.

The 2024 funding bill includes:

U.S. Department of Commerce – $9.6 billion for the Department of Commerce, a reduction of $1.6 billion below 2023.

• International Trade Administration (ITA) – $570 million, $55 million below 2023. 
• Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) – $191 million, equal to 2023 but $31.4 million below the request. 
• Economic Development Administration (EDA) – Guts economic development assistance for distressed local communities by providing just $211 million for EDA grant programs, a level not seen since 2014, and amounting to a reduction of $219 million, 51 percent, below 2023 and 37 percent below 2022. 
• Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) – $55 million, a cut of $15 million, 21 percent, below 2023.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – $5.43 billion is provided, a reduction of $921.5 million below 2023.

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) – $36.5 billion, $2.2 billion below 2023.

Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) – $700 million, equal to 2023. Within this amount:

• The bill eliminates funding for the following programs that were funded in 2023:
  • Restorative Justice Responses ($15 million was provided in 2023)
  • Culturally Specific Services ($11 million was provided in 2023)
  • Underserved Populations ($5 million was provided in 2023)
  • Financial Assistance Program ($4 million was provided in 2023)
  • Campus Assault Program ($1.5 million was provided in 2023)
  • LGBT Specific Services Program (authorized in section 206 of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization Act of 2022) ($1 million was provided in 2023)

State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance/Office of Justice Programs – $2.478 billion, an increase of $61.1 million over 2023. However, this is misleading, because the bill shoves various Juvenile Justice, Research, and COPS programs into this account, while many legacy programs in this account are greatly underfunded and/or eliminated. For example: 

• Byrne JAG formula Grants, a critical source of funding especially for small, local law enforcement agencies, receive $406 million, a decrease of $6.2 million below 2023
• The following research programs are shoved into this account:
  • Bureau of Justice Statistics–$35 million is provided, a $7 million decrease below 2023
  • National Institute of Justice–$25 million is provided, a $10 million decrease below 2023
• Several Juvenile Justice Programs are shoved into this account, including the Part B – State Formula Grants and Missing and Exploited Children Grants programs.
• Several grant programs are eliminated, including:
  • Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Grants ($50 million was provided in 2023). 
  • Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act Grants, which help law enforcement prevent, investigate, and prosecute hate crimes ($25 million was provided in 2023);
  • Community-based Approaches to Advancing Justice (a separate hate crime prevention program for community organizations, for which $10 million was provided in 2023); and
  • The National Center for Restorative Justice ($3 million was provided in 2023).

Juvenile Justice Programs – This bill eliminates the separate Juvenile Justice account and moves several Juvenile Justice programs to the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account. In the process, the bill also cuts the following individual Juvenile Justice programs:

• It zeroes out funding for Title V – Delinquency Prevention Incentive Grants ($65 million was provided in 2023). 
• Zeroes out funding for the Juvenile Indigent Defense Program ($2.5 million was provided in 2023)

Executive Office for Immigration Review – $760 million, a decrease of $100 million below 2023.

FBI Salaries and Expenses – $10.276 billion is included, a cut of $415.3 million below 2023, which will inevitably force reductions in FBI agent and analyst positions. 

United States Attorneys – $2.31 billion is included, a huge cut of $320 million below 2023 and $558.4 million below the request. This will inevitably result in a loss of Federal prosecutor positions. 

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) – $1.53 billion is provided, a cut of $149.9 million below 2023 and $344.4 million below the request.  

Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) salaries and expenses – $8.5 billion, an increase of $100 million above 2023 but $151.7 million below the request.  

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – $25.4 billion is provided, a cut of $17.3 million below 2023.  Within this total, the NASA Science account is cut by $415 million below 2023.

National Science Foundation STEM Education – $1.006 billion, a cut of $240 million, or nearly 20 percent below 2023, amounting to a major disinvestment in programs that help develop the scientific talent and technical workforce we need to remain competitive with our largest global competitors.

Legal Services Corporation (LSC) – $489 million, a cut of $71 million (13 percent) below 2023. LSC provides basic civil legal aid to the lowest income Americans. A cut of this magnitude would likely result in hundreds of thousands fewer seniors, veterans, children, domestic violence survivors, and disabled persons receiving basic legal assistance that helps them remain in their homes, keep families safe and together, access needed services, exercise their individual rights, and ensure due process protections.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – $420 million is provided, $35 million below 2023 and $61.1 million below the request.

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative – $71 million is provided, a cut of $5 million below 2023.

The bill also includes new dangerous, partisan policy riders, including on:

Guns

• The bill includes a number of funding prohibitions that would:
  • Eliminate requirements for licensed firearm dealers to report to the Justice Department on the sale of multiple rifles or shotguns to the same individual (Section 537);
  • Forbid the implementation, enforcement, and legal defense of the ATF’s Frame or Receiver firearm Final rule aimed at regulating ghost guns, a weapon of choice for criminals (Section 544) as well as the ATF’s Stabilizing Brace Final rule (Section 550), and the administration and enforcement of Executive Order 14092, “Reducing Gun Violence and Making Our Communities Safer” issued by President Biden on March 14, 2023 (Section 545);
  • Bar the implementation of any measure, regulation, or guidance issued or finalized by the ATF after January 21, 2021, effectively blocking many of the Biden Administration’s current and any future efforts to reduce gun violence (Section 549);
  • Block funds for gun buyback or relinquishment programs (Section 566), the implementation of red flag laws or extreme risk protection orders (Section 568) and the Demand 2 program – a program designed to increase oversight of federal firearm licensees with a high number of sales of guns used in crimes within three years of their purchase –unless reporting thresholds are modified (Section 572);
  • Require notification and hearing opportunities to gun owners prior to the confiscation of a firearm – effectively jeopardizing law enforcement (Section 567);
  • Prohibit the study, preparation, or proposal for any future administrative or executive actions that would be interpreted as a restriction on the production, purchase, sale, or transfer of any firearm unless expressly authorized by Congress (Section 569);
  • Eliminate funds to advise, promote, or otherwise support any civil actions to which the ATF is not a named party against any person purported to be subject to the regulation and oversight of the ATF (Section 571); and
  • Bar the Department’s ability to classify, tax, or register any firearm with an attached stabilizing brace, like the one used in the mass shooting at Christian Covenant School in Nashville, TN earlier this year (Section 573).

Immigration

• The bill includes a number of provisions that may further exacerbate the current immigration court backlog:
  • Section 546 prohibits the use of funds for the rule entitled “Procedures or Credible Fear Screening and Consideration of Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection Claims by Asylum Officers” which allows asylum officers to adjudicate asylum claims for individuals subject to expedited removal – an effort intended to help alleviate the immigration court backlog;
  • Section 547 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to implement any new regulations regarding asylum law and process or the administrative closure of cases in immigration court; and
  • Section 557 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to close or dismiss immigration cases without adjudicating the merits of the case.
• Requires EOIR to implement case performance metrics linked to the performance review for immigration judges.
• Section 559 prohibits the use of funds to include undocumented immigrants in the Decennial Census apportionment determinations.
• Section 560 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to pay any settlements related to civil actions brought by undocumented immigrants against the United States.

Culture War

• Section 551 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to implement the Attorney General’s school boards memo (“Partnership Among Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement to Address Threats Against School Administrators, Board Members, Teachers, and Staff”). This would block efforts by the Justice Department to address the rise in violent threats against school administrators, school board members, teachers, and staff.
• Section 553 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for various offices and programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This would prevent the agencies funded in the bill from pursuing a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. It further prevents agencies from implementing DEI programs and training.  
• Section 562 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for diversity, equity, inclusion, critical race theory, implicit bias, unconscious bias, or culturally relevant teachings for Federal employees. This would prevent funding for organizations that train Federal employees on DEI issues and activities.
• Section 565 prohibits the use of funds made available by this or any other Act to discriminate against individuals who define sex to mean biological sex as determined by the type of gamete an individual produces.
• Section 577 prohibits the use of funds made available by this or any other Act to hire a person based on the person’s race, national origin, sex, or religion.
• Section 578 prohibits the use of funds made available by this or any other Act for sex-altering surgeries.
• Section 583 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to discriminate against anyone with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be recognized as a union of one man and one woman.
• Section 597 prohibits funds made available by this Act from being used to classify or facilitate the classification of any communications by a United States person as misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation or to partner with any entity to censor lawful and constitutionally protected speech of United States persons.

Other Justice Department-Related

• Section 543 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to implement or enforce Executive Order 14006, which prohibits the use of private detention facilities.
• Section 548 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to implement section 19 or section 20 of Executive Order 14074, “Advancing Effective, Accountable, Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety.”
• Section 582 prohibits the use of funds made available by this or any other Act to sue a State or local government over its redistricting plans.
• Section 588 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for settlements that require the defendants to donate or contribute funds to an organization or individual.

Environment

• Section 554 prohibits funding in the Act for:
  • the NIST Center of Excellence in Climate Change
  • climate change fisheries research
  • NSF for the U.S. Global Change Research Program or Clean Energy Technology Program; or
  • to enforce Executive Order 14008 (Jan. 27, 2021), entitled, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad”.
• Section 555 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for implementation of Executive Order 14072, relating to the valuation of ecosystem and environmental services and natural assets in Federal regulatory decision-making.
• Section 564 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for the promotion of or any contributions to Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) investments.
• Section 586 prohibits the use of funds made available by this or any other Act for an Office of Environmental Justice.

Women’s Health

• Includes longstanding rider prohibiting DOJ from using funds to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother.
• Section 579 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for the Department of Justice’s Reproductive Rights Task Force.
• Section 580 prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to sue a State or local government over abortion laws.

Other

• Section 552 prohibits the use of funds made available by this or any other Act to implement or enforce the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s August 25, 2022, Memorandum, ‘‘Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research.
• Section 595 prohibits funds made available by this Act from being used for Federal employee union activities.

###