As House Weighs Budget Cuts, Law Enforcement Groups Speak Out
Law enforcement groups are sounding the alarm on potential budget cuts, as House Republicans move toward reducing the Department of Justice (DOJ) budget.
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies recently advanced a bill that cuts funding for most of the agencies it covers for the next fiscal year, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Commerce, and the National Science Foundation (NSF), giving those agencies a combined $23.7 billion less than the current fiscal year.
For DOJ, funding for Fiscal Year 2024 would be reduced by $2 billion, with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) dropping by nine percent.
House Republicans on the committee have aired grievances against the FBI and DOJ, over the perceived weaponization of the Justice Department against Republicans, particularly former President Trump. Republican committee members said the bill “utilizes the power of the purse to address the weaponization of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and bring an end to the overreach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).”
The bill is not sitting well with law enforcement and other groups who say the funding cuts will not only hit federal law enforcement agencies, but also state and local organizations as well, many of which are already grappling with a recruitment and retention crisis.
“If Congress is concerned about the American people’s trust in our law enforcement agencies, crippling their capacity is not the manner to deal with these concerns–especially considering the proposal cuts community relations services by 60 percent and information sharing technology by 72 percent. These cuts are antithetical to the goal of building trust across the nation and will make law enforcement at all levels unable to effectively respond to rising crime,” said Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) President Larry Cosme.
DOJ says that reverting back to Fiscal Year 2022 levels could lead to furloughs, layoffs, and a reduction in grants awarded to state and local agencies.
Andrea Edmiston, the director of governmental affairs for the National Association of Police Organizations said keeping the grant money is critical particularly in smaller and more rural states.
“It’s reached the point where state and local law enforcement agencies — a lot of them, right — rely on federal funding to make their budgets work,” Edmiston told RollCall.
The Subcommittee passed bill now moves to the full Committee.
In the Senate, bipartisan legislation that unanimously passed out of the Appropriations Committee last week would reduce law enforcement agency funding slightly, but less than the House measure. The Senate bill provides $37.956 billion for the Department of Justice, including funding to support state and local law enforcement with new resources to hire over 1,400 additional officers nationwide and investing $611.5 million in dedicated grant funding to respond to the substance use disorder.
The full Senate and House will need to vote on appropriations legislation and reconcile their differences to avoid a shutdown.