Announcement for 04/18/11

Congress Passes Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Bill: $83 M for SCA

On Thursday the House passed the continuing resolution (CR) for the rest of the fiscal year by a 260-167 vote. The Senate followed quickly with a 81-19 vote, avoiding a government shutdown.

All Department of Justice (DOJ) programs were cut by 17 percent. Several programs were exempt from this cut, including the Office of Violence Against Women, National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Regional Information Sharing Systems, Justice for All, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s programs.

Council of State Government Justice Center priority programs—the Second Chance Act program, the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) program, and the Justice Reinvestment program—fall under state and local law enforcement assistance programs, which were cut by $434 million from the FY10 levels. A summary of key programs follows:

Department of Justice Summary

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is funded at $27.4 billion. This is $2.3 billion, or 8 percent, less than the President’s FY 2011 budget request and $194 million above H.R. 1.

• State and Local Law Enforcement Activities – Provides $2.8 billion, which is $101 million above H.R. 1, $434 million below the FY 2010 enacted level (excluding earmarks) and $675 million below the President’s FY 2011 budget request, for grants to aid local and state law enforcement and crime victims. Each grant program under the headings of State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Juvenile Justice and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) will be reduced approximately 17 percent from 2010 levels. Specifically, the bill provides:
  • $1.12 billion for State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, which includes Byrne grants and State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) funding;
  • $276 million for Juvenile Justice;
  • $496 million for COPS, which includes hiring, bulletproof vests and DNA backlog grants;
  • $235 million for Justice Assistance programs, which includes Regional Information Sharing Systems grants and Missing and Exploited Children’s Programs;
  • $419 million for domestic violence and sexual assault grants;
  • $0 for the Weed and Seed fund (the program was terminated); and
  • $187 million for the management and administration of grants.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation – Provides $7.8 billion for FBI Salaries and Expenses, which is $176 million above the FY 2010 enacted level and H.R. 1, and $249 million below the President’s FY 2011 request.
• Bureau of Prisons – Provides $6.3 billion for BOP salaries and expenses, which is $209 million above the FY 2010 enacted level, but $30 million below H.R. 1 and $239 million below the President’s FY 2011 budget request.
• Office of the Federal Detention Trustee – Provides $1.52 billion, which is $15 million below the both H.R. 1 and the President’s FY 2011 budget request.
• General Legal Activities – Provides $865.1 million for the Justice Department’s legal components, which is equal to H.R. 1, $10 million below the FY 2010 enacted level and $111.3 million below the President’s FY 2011 request.
• Justice Information-Sharing Technology (JIST) – Provides $60.3 million, which is $18 million below H.R. 1 and $119.5 million below the President’s FY 2011 request.
• National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) – Provides $34 million for NDIC, which is $34 million above H.R. 1, which would have eliminated the Center, and $10.6 million below the President’s FY 2011 request.
• Law Enforcement Wireless Communications (LEWC) – Provides $100 million for DOJ’s tactical wireless communications network. This is $36 million below H.R. 1 and $108 million below the President’s request.
• 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Administration – Makes the administrative costs for victim compensation payments eligible expenses of the Fund starting in FY 2012.

For more details or to view the bill text, visit:

• http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=285
• http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=27b9de6b-d348-4946-944b-aa6c6478375d