[Senate Hearing 117-650]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        S. Hrg. 117-650

  COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2022

=======================================================================

                                HEARINGS

                               BEFORE THE

                          SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE

            COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                                   on

                               H.R. 4505

   AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE AND 
 JUSTICE, AND SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING 
               SEPTEMBER 30, 2022, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                               __________

                         Department of Commerce
                         Department of Justice
                    Federal Bureau of Investigation
             National Aeronautics and Space Administration
                      National Science Foundation
                Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
                       Nondepartmental Witnesses

                               __________

         Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations
         
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]         


        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

                               __________
                               
                                
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
44-162 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
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                      COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

                    PATRICK LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman

PATTY MURRAY, Washington             RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama, Vice 
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California             Chairman
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois          MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
JACK REED, Rhode Island              SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
JON TESTER, Montana                  LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire        LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 ROY BLUNT, Missouri
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware       JERRY MORAN, Kansas
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut      SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
JOE MANCHIN, III, West Virginia          Virginia
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland           JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana
MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico          CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
                                     MIKE BRAUN, Indiana
                                     BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
                                     MARCO RUBIO, Florida

                   Charles E. Kieffer, Staff Director
           Shannon Hutcherson Hines, Minority Staff Director

                                 ------                                

    Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies

                JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire, Chairman

PATRICK LEAHY, Vermont               JERRY MORAN, Kansas, Ranking 
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California             Member
JACK REED, Rhode Island              LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware       SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
JOE MANCHIN, III, West Virginia      JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland           SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                     Virginia
                                     JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana
                                     BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
                                     MIKE BRAUN, Indiana
                                     RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama, (ex 
                                         officio)

                           Professional Staff

                            Jean Toal Eisen
                           Michael Bednarczyk
                             Jennifer Eskra
                            Blaise Sheridan

                         Brian Daner (Minority)
                        Allen Cutler (Minority)
                         Matt Womble (Minority)

                         Administrative Support
                             Angela Caalim
                       Sydney Crawford (Minority)
                            
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                                hearings

                        Tuesday, April 13, 2021

                                                                   Page

National Science Foundation......................................     1

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative..........................    63

                        Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Department of Commerce...........................................    99

                        Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Department of Justice............................................   135

                         Tuesday, June 15, 2021

National Aeronautics and Space Administration....................   189

                        Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Federal Bureau of Investigation..................................   215

          Statements and Letters of Nondepartmental Witnesses

Nondepartmental Witnesses........................................   259

                              ----------                              

                              back matter

List of Witnesses, Communications, and Prepared Statements.......   405

Nondepartmental Witnesses........................................   259

Subject Index:

    Department of Commerce.......................................   409

    Department of Justice........................................   409

    Federal Bureau of Investigation..............................   410

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration................   410

    National Science Foundation..................................   411

    Office of the U.S. Trade Representative......................   412

 
  COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2022

                              ----------                              


                        TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The subcommittee met at 2:05 p.m., in room SD-106, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeanne Shaheen (Chairman) 
presiding.
    Present: Senators Shaheen, Reed, Manchin, Van Hollen, 
Moran, Boozman, Capito, Hagerty, and Braun.

                      NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


              opening statement of senator jeanne shaheen


    Senator Shaheen. Good afternoon, everybody. We are going to 
go ahead and start. We are in a big room, making the assumption 
that everybody on the subcommittee is going to come to this 
hearing.
    Since that is not likely to happen, at least not all at 
once, we wanted to make sure we had accommodations for them, 
and we are--we are going to start this hearing, and we are 
going to recess in a few minutes because of votes. We will try 
and go to the end of the first vote and the beginning of the 
second vote. So we will recess for those votes, and then 
Senator Moran and I will come back and finish the hearing, and 
hopefully Members will come in and out during this period.
    So thank you very much, Director Panchanathan, for being 
here this afternoon. You are the first witness of this 
subcommittee for this Congress in open session. So we are 
delighted that you are here. And today the subcommittee will 
consider the fiscal year 2022 budget request of the National 
Science Foundation, and discuss the agency's role in securing 
U.S. competitiveness.
    I really think it is appropriate that we start this year's 
budget hearing with the National Science Foundation, because 
the agency is so instrumental in our country's economic 
success, and given the challenges ahead of us, it is 
particularly fitting this year.
    Much of the Nation's global leadership and economic 
prosperity over the 20th century and early 21st century stems 
from innovation which is rooted in scientific discovery, and 
this would not have been possible without significant public 
investment in research and development.
    Federal R&D help drive the space race in the 1960s, the 
development of the Internet and GPS in the 1970s and 1980s, and 
the mapping of the human genome in the 1990s and early part of 
this century.
    Without investment of significant taxpayer resources, these 
milestones and, importantly, all the industry's and innovations 
that have resulted would not have occurred.
    As a country, we are now at a crossroads. Our global 
competitors, particularly China, are pouring resources into 
scientific and technological innovation. And if we want to 
sustain our economic prosperity, global leadership and national 
security we cannot afford to be caught flat-footed.
    Fortunately, after several years of anemic budget requests 
for the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the previous 
administration, President Biden has requested 10.l2 billion for 
NSF. This is an increase of 1.7 billion, or 20 percent above 
the fiscal year 2021 enacted level.
    While we only have limited information regarding the fiscal 
year 2022 budget right now, as we await the release of the full 
budget later this spring, it is clear that the NSF request 
would make important investments in research, in technology 
development, and in education.
    The President's fiscal year 2022 request includes the 
creation of a new NSF directorate to focus on technology, 
innovation and partnerships. This directorate would focus on 
critical technologies that will define the next several 
decades. Like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and 
clean energy.
    Further, as part of his infrastructure proposal, the 
American Jobs Plan, the President proposes investing $50 
billion in NSF technology and competitiveness projects. This 
proposal is similar to bipartisan legislation that will soon be 
re-introduced in the Senate, called the Endless Frontier Act.
    I am very pleased that we are talking about making 
investments in R&D to maintain U.S. competitiveness. I think 
these investments are vital to our economic competitiveness and 
to our national security, but I also think we need to be 
thoughtful about how we proceed.
    We should devote resources to successful existing programs 
whenever possible, where there are proposals to create new 
programs we need to ensure that the agency's task are the right 
ones and that there are no other agencies that are better 
positioned to carry out the goals, or that are already serving 
in the role.
    As we push forward to beat our global competitors, we need 
to ensure that we do not lose what makes NSF so special. To 
this point, I am pleased to see that the President's budget 
request does not overlook making investments in curiosity-
driven, exploratory research that sets the stage for future 
breakthroughs.
    NSF has a fundamental role in both technology development 
and basic research, but no agency is better at nurturing 
exploratory research than NSF. The budget request includes $9.4 
billion to support fundamental research and related activities, 
an increase of $1.6 billion above fiscal year 2021. This 
includes a total of $1.2 billion for climate and clean energy 
research as we work to reduce emissions and create energy 
efficiency and renewable energy jobs.
    As part of these investments in research and development, 
we need to think about how we are training the next generation 
for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, or 
STEM, and ensuring that we have a diverse inclusive workforce 
ready to lead in STEM is something that I have, and will 
continue to fight for in the Senate. And I think it is 
something that Members of this subcommittee have supported.
    NSF makes critical STEM education investments in States 
around the country. Just last year, the University of New 
Hampshire received $2 million from NSF to support a new 
innovative project that aims to strengthen teaching curriculums 
for STEM subjects. To that end, I am pleased to see that the 
budget request includes an increase of $100 million to increase 
STEM participation within under-represented groups.
    So, as you can see by my opening remarks, which are longer 
than usual, we have a lot to discuss.
    So I will now ask my Ranking Member, Senator Moran, to 
offer his opening remarks.


                opening statement of senator jerry moran


    Senator Moran. Senator Shaheen, thank you for convening 
this hearing, and thanks for your consultation with me about 
its importance. And I agree with you, this is a good place for 
us to start as we begin our first efforts at developing a 
fiscal year 2022 bill writing for Commerce, Justice, and 
Science (CJS).
    You and I have had a successful and productive relationship 
together here on this subcommittee. And I look forward to 
working with you again to produce a bipartisan fiscal year 2022 
bill.
    Dr. Panchanathan--I am sure I did not do that right--but I 
hope I am close, Doctor. I look forward to knowing you well 
enough in which I will get your name correct, I want to welcome 
you to this subcommittee.
    As I indicated to you briefly before the subcommittee 
hearing began, it is good to have you here. I am anxious to 
hear your views. I think the role of the National Science 
Foundation is important as it--as it supports research across 
all scientific fields.
    The proposed budget before us of $10.2 billion is a 
significant increase for the Foundation. It represents a $1.7 
billion, nearly 20 percent increase over the budget that we 
provided last year. With that proposal comes some 
responsibility on our part and yours as well, we need to make 
certain--as we fund ground-breaking research, we need to make 
certain that the investments are made wisely, and that they can 
contribute to the benefit of our Nation.
    Absent many budgetary deals today because of this so-called 
``skinny'' budget, I would hope that the proposed increases 
will enable NSF to make strides in increasing its success rate 
for high quality proposals to be funded, and that it will 
enable much broader participation. And I emphasize this. It 
would enable much broader participation in basic research from 
institutions across the country.
    I have had the opportunity to hear from researchers around 
the country, and they tell me there is no geographic 
limitations, no boundaries on where good ideas come from, 
quality research can be found in all corners of our country, 
including Kansas, and certainly in the Heartland.
    NSF has the opportunity to build up research capabilities 
around the Nation, and in places if it is currently not funding 
applications to any significant degree, we need to enlarge that 
base where research, technical science and engineering happens. 
And I hope that once we see the details of the NSF budget, that 
such emphasis will be evident.
    While their is great excitement to increase investments in 
basic research, and I have been involved in a number of those 
here in my time in the Senate, this transition--those that we 
need to transition those results from that research into 
drivers of economic and job growth. We also cannot forget that 
we need a technically-skilled workforce for the jobs in the 
future.
    NSF should be a part of preparing workers for tomorrow's 
jobs created by the technologies being invested in today. The 
U.S. will need a workforce to push the frontiers of knowledge, 
and that has the skills, and to thrive in knowledge and 
technology-intensive economy.
    An example from my State of NSF taking advantage of a local 
opportunity is found in the Manhattan Area Technical College, 
Manhattan, Kansas Area Technical College, the Department of 
Homeland Security's National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, 
soon to be open in Manhattan, is in great need of a large 
number of technicians trained to operate and maintain clean 
rooms--to maintain clean rooms, but cannot find enough 
qualified technicians.
    Local researchers identified a nexus between this problem 
and work with NSF funds in undergraduate education, creating a 
solution that will be beneficial for years to come locally, 
while supporting nationally, consequential research.
    Director, I look forward to hearing from you as to how you 
envision bringing STEM education and basic research to broader 
audiences in order to tap the intellectual resources of our 
Nation.
    NSF has a long history of coordinating, convening and 
partnering nationally and internationally to address these 
complex issues, and to reach innovative solutions. But the 
success of NSF comes with a risk. We have seen a rise in 
attempts to capitalize on innovations created through NSF 
funding by taking intellectual property and sending it outside 
of our borders.
    With the proposed budget increase, and other spending 
proposed, that risk will become even higher and potentially 
harder to track. It is important that NSF have clear 
guidelines, oversight and enforcement discover and to deter 
such activities. We need to be wise in how we plan to move 
forward and funding our engine of basic research, but bold 
enough to stay at the forefront of science and technology. I 
know that by investing in research, I know this, we are 
investing in our future.
    Director, I look forward to hearing your testimony today, 
and working with you to ensure that NSF retains its place as a 
preeminent agency for basic research across a balanced and 
forward-looking, scientific portfolio.
    I can hardly see you, Doctor, but it is nice to have you 
here. And I look forward to developing a good and solid working 
relationship with you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Senator Moran.
    And Director, I will turn it over to you. We ask that you 
try and make your statement in seven minutes, but if you are 
not able to do that we welcome your submitting the entire 
statement for the record. Thank you.
STATEMENT OF HON. SETHURAMAN PANCHANATHAN, DIRECTOR, 
            NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
    Dr. Panchanathan. Thank you very much. And good afternoon, 
Chair Shaheen, and Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
subcommittee.
    It is truly a pleasure to be with all of you today. And 
being the first person, in-person testimony makes me feel so 
special about NSF. It is truly an honor to appear before you 
today to discuss NSF's many amazing accomplishments, and how we 
can accelerate innovation for the benefit of all Americans.
    I would like to start by thanking this subcommittee for the 
continued strong support for NSF. Your support has enabled NSF 
to advance research and innovation, which has brought 
remarkable benefits to our Nation. For over seven decades NSF 
has played a leading role in building U.S. leadership in 
science, engineering, and technology, and has an incredibly 
strong record of investing in the brightest minds with 
outstanding ideas.
    The Internet, 3D printing, the economic theory of 
underpinning spectrum auctioning and kidney exchanges, 
companies like Qualcomm, and even polymerase chain reaction 
(PCR) testing, which has been critical to the fight against 
COVID-19, are just a few examples of the outcomes and benefits 
of NSF investments.
    From piloting the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 
program in the 1970s to the world renowned, Entrepreneurial I-
Corps Training Program, NSF has a rich history of fostering the 
innovative spirit that permeates the research enterprise.
    I would also like to thank Congress for the funding in the 
CARES Act, and the American Rescue Plan to address the impacts 
of COVID-19. The research community has been integral to our 
ability to combat the virus.
    However, COVID has had a profound impact on them, 
especially the early-career researchers. NSF will invest these 
funds wisely, helping the most-severely impacted, and most 
vulnerable. We are also at a pivotal time in our Nation's 
history. For the first time in decades, the United States 
leadership in science and engineering is facing intense global 
competition.
    Other nations, especially China, are investing vast 
resources in basic research and industries of the future, like 
artificial intelligence, quantum information science, and next-
generation wireless.
    The United States needs to take a comprehensive approach to 
R&D investment that brings science, engineering, and 
technological innovations to market much more rapidly. Doing so 
requires creating engines of economic and talent development 
across the entire Nation, and more tightly integrating 
curiosity-driven research and use-inspired outcomes.
    The scientific pursuit of knowledge and understanding 
cannot be separated from the development of new technological 
capabilities. NSF's capacity to produce breakthroughs, to 
innovate, to cultivate the industries we cannot even imagine 
today, and to inspire the domestic talent needed to power our 
country forward must be strengthened at speed and scale.
    My leadership team and I have crafted a bold vision for the 
agency. We must first advance the frontiers of science and 
engineering research into the future. Through strategic 
investments NSF steers the frontiers of discovery and 
innovation and produces breakthroughs that keep U.S. at the 
forefront of global leadership.
    Second, we must ensure accessibility and inclusivity in 
STEM. There is tremendous untapped potential throughout our 
Nation. Every demographic and social economic group in every 
geographic region is full of talent that must be inspired and 
given the opportunity to participate in STEM.
    Finally, America must lead by our actions and our values. 
We will work with like-minded partners who share these values, 
and we must and we will take the necessary steps to safeguard 
taxpayer investments. The foundation for this vision is 
partnerships. They are powerful tools to leverage resources and 
deliver more impactful results. NSF has a history of 
cultivating and fostering environments where partnerships 
thrive.
    Over the past few weeks, the administration has released 
the American Jobs Plan and the fiscal year 2022 discretionary 
request. These proposals invest in research and development 
across the government. The proposals also include increased 
investments at NSF, including a $50 billion investment in a new 
technology directorate and a 20 percent increase to the NSF 
budget in fiscal year 2022.
    The budget increases and funding for fundamental R&D will 
strengthen NSF's ability to champion the basic research that is 
critical to our future. In addition, we know there are 
opportunities for transformational impact in all science and 
engineering fields that hold enormous potential benefits.
    The proposed directorate will be a cross-cutting platform 
that leverages, energizes, and rapidly brings these innovations 
to market. NSF will not abandon our current mission, or be 
redundant with other agencies who are doing vital work. We all 
know we have a large gap in bringing fantastic, innovative 
ideas to market and society. This is our opportunity to rapidly 
change that.
    The budget request also invests in increasing the 
participation of under-represented groups in science and 
engineering, which is exceedingly important for our Nation. 
Advances in technologies, like artificial intelligence, quantum 
information science, and even the technologies we cannot yet 
conceive of will influence the global balance of power for 
generations.
    We must commit ourselves to this challenge so that we are 
leaping forward and ensuring that the race for global 
leadership is not even close.
    Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. 
With the continued support of this subcommittee and the 
Congress, NSF will bolster fundamental research across all 
fields of science and engineering and unleash rapid 
innovations, securing our future for generations to come.
    Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member Moran.

    [The statement follows:]
      Prepared Statement of Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director
   The National Science Foundation's Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request
                              introduction
    Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
subcommittee, it is a privilege to appear before you today as the 15th 
Director of the National Science Foundation to discuss how the agency 
can build upon decades of successful investments and breakthroughs to 
ensure that the United States remains the global leader in science, 
engineering and innovation into the future.
    Established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (Public 
Law 81-507), NSF is an independent Federal agency charged with the 
mission ``to promote the progress of science; to advance the national 
health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and 
for other purposes.'' NSF is unique in carrying out its mission by 
supporting research across all fields of science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics, and all levels of STEM education. NSF 
investments contribute significantly to the economic and national 
security interests of the Nation and development of a future-focused 
science and engineering workforce that draws on the talents of all 
Americans that creates new businesses, new jobs, and more exports.
    Last year, NSF celebrated its 70th anniversary. Over the past seven 
decades, NSF has funded research, researchers, innovations and 
innovators, and world-class infrastructure that has garnered incredible 
benefits to the Nation. The Internet, 3D printing, the economic theory 
underpinning spectrum auctioning and kidney exchanges, and even the 
polymerase chain reaction testing technique that has been critical in 
the fight against COVID-19 are all examples of the outcomes and 
benefits of NSF investments. Many of the technologies and industries 
that are the focus of national conversations around competitiveness 
today--artificial intelligence, quantum information science, advanced 
manufacturing, advanced wireless and biotechnology, to name a few--are 
rooted in sustained NSF support for research at the frontiers of 
science and engineering.
                       the fight against covid-19
    Over the past year, the research community has been integral to the 
ability to combat the SARS-CoV-2 virus by modeling its structure to 
reveal how the virus attacks the body, creating new products to 
mitigate the virus's spread and developing new treatments and vaccines 
to combat the virus. In the ``Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 
Security Act,'' or ``CARES Act,'' NSF was appropriated $75 million for 
urgent research to understand, predict the spread of, and enable 
approaches that mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on public 
health, society, and the economy. NSF's CARES Act funds were fully 
obligated by September 2020. NSF has continued to make awards for 
COVID-19 research and has made more than 1,000 awards totaling over 
$200 million to address important research questions.
    This funding has already yielded results for the American people. 
For example, a team of researchers from the University of Florida 
received funding to understand the transmission modes of SARS-CoV-2. 
The resulting study provided the first-ever demonstration that the live 
virus can travel through the air in a hospital room. One of the most 
well-known projects on COVID-19 supported by an NSF award is the 
ongoing operation of the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The 
data dashboard was first released publicly on Jan. 22, 2020, to 
visualize and track the COVID-19 outbreak in real time, and it has 
since served as a preeminent centralized source of COVID-19 
epidemiological data. NSF funding was instrumental in automating the 
collection and curation of dashboard data, broadening its data sources, 
and supporting data analysis and modeling research to improve 
understanding of the pandemic and future outbreaks.
    Even as the research community rose to this challenge, COVID-19 has 
had a profound impact on them. Labs were closed, research field 
campaigns were postponed, and access to equipment and personnel was 
limited or impossible. Those hardest hit included early career 
researchers at vulnerable transition points in their careers. The $600 
million entrusted to NSF through the American Rescue Plan is critically 
important. NSF will utilize its existing mechanisms, either through 
award supplements or new awards, to distribute these funds to those 
most severely impacted and most vulnerable. NSF will also make 
investments in programs that support undergraduate researchers, such as 
the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Sites and Supplements 
program. Finally, through EPSCoR and existing mechanisms that support 
minority-serving institutions and 2-year colleges, NSF will provide 
support for those institutions hardest hit by the pandemic as we 
support the Nation's researchers and institutions so that they may 
continue to produce the amazing innovations that make the Nation's 
economy and national security stronger. I want to again thank the 
administration and Congress for this critical funding at this important 
time.
                        a vision for the future
    As NSF looks to the future, the agency's capacity to produce 
breakthroughs, to innovate, to identify the industries we cannot even 
imagine today, and to cultivate the domestic talent needed to power our 
country forward will be strengthened at speed and scale.
    Since my confirmation last June, my leadership team and I have 
developed a vision for the future of the agency comprising of three 
core pillars:

  --Advancing the frontiers of research into the future.
  --Ensuring accessibility and inclusivity.
  --Securing global leadership in science and technology.

    The first pillar is advancing the frontiers of science and 
engineering research into the future. This has been the heart of NSF's 
mission for over seven decades and will be further strengthened in the 
years to come. By seeding strategic investments, NSF steers the 
frontiers of discovery and innovation toward breakthroughs that put the 
United States at the forefront of global leadership in science and 
technology.
    Curiosity-driven research has proven to be an engine of economic 
growth. Since its inception, NSF has been a foundation for industries 
of the future. NSF funds the high-risk, high-reward research that has 
the potential to bring the world new discoveries. Each year, thousands 
of researchers expand the base of human knowledge and, in doing so, 
unlock new possibilities. They have built autonomous vehicles; 
revolutionized our wireless networks; developed life-saving medical 
technologies; transformed manufacturing; and brought digital tools to 
agriculture. Curiosity-driven, exploratory research is a critical 
component to the Nation's current and future success.
    Equally important to our Nation's competitiveness and success is 
use-inspired research, which has been a critical part of NSF's mission 
throughout its history. NSF fosters an environment ripe for innovation 
and focused on economic and societal progress. Many of today's foremost 
national and societal challenges--healthcare, education, climate--
demand deeply multidisciplinary, multi-sector, solution-oriented 
research leading to science and technology innovations. We must enable 
collaborations spanning diverse institutions, sectors and geographies 
to co-create new technologies and solutions to these challenges that 
accelerate prosperity.
    The second pillar is ensuring accessibility and inclusivity in STEM 
fields. This is increasingly important. There is tremendous untapped 
STEM potential throughout the Nation. To meet the needs of the future 
workforce, every person needs access to a quality STEM education. Every 
demographic and socioeconomic group in every geographic region of the 
country is full of talent that must be inspired and motivated to 
participate in STEM and contribute to the research and innovation 
enterprise. We must scale up existing pathways into STEM fields and 
create new tracks into science and engineering.
    The third pillar is securing global leadership in science and 
technology. America must lead by our actions and our values. Key tenets 
of this leadership are transparency, reciprocity and research 
integrity. NSF will work with like-minded partners who share these 
values and commitment to advancing scientific progress and prosperity. 
We will take the necessary steps to safeguard taxpayer investments and 
to ensure everyone is playing by the same set of rules. And we will 
help to give our workers and companies the tools and training they need 
to compete on the global stage.
    The foundation for these pillars is the partnerships that NSF 
cultivates. NSF has a rich history of not only pursuing direct 
partnerships with other agencies, private industry and like-minded 
countries, but also fostering environments where partnerships thrive, 
because they are powerful ways to leverage resources and deliver 
results. We need partnerships for accessing a broader network of ideas, 
innovations and experiences to address and solve real-world problems.
    This vision relies on a mindset of innovation. It permeates the 
culture at NSF and thereby unleashes the innovative spirit throughout 
the research enterprise across the entire Nation.
                        investing in innovation
    On March 31, the administration released the American Jobs Plan, 
which will create millions of good jobs, rebuild our country's 
infrastructure, and position the United States for the future. As part 
of that proposal, the administration proposes investing $50 billion 
over 8 years in a new directorate for technology at NSF that will 
collaborate with and build on existing programs across the government. 
It will focus on fields like semiconductors and advanced computing, 
advanced communications technology, and biotechnology. The American 
Jobs Plan also seeks $30 billion in additional funding for research and 
development that spurs innovation and job creation, including in rural 
areas; invests $40 billion in upgrading research infrastructure in 
laboratories across the country; and invests in historically Black 
colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions.
    In furtherance of those goals, on April 9th, the administration 
released the President's Fiscal Year 2022 Discretionary Request, which 
firmly supports NSF's mission to advance the frontiers of science and 
engineering and aligns with NSF's vision for the future. The request 
includes $10.17 billion for NSF, an increase of 20 percent from the 
current budget. With this increase, the administration is positioning 
NSF to do the following:
Enhance Fundamental Research and Development
    The administration's discretionary request provides $9.43 billion, 
an increase of $1.55 billion above the fiscal year 2021 enacted level, 
to support research across the spectrum of science, engineering and 
technology, including biological sciences; computer and information 
sciences; engineering; geosciences; math and physical sciences; social, 
behavioral, and economic sciences; and education. With this additional 
funding, NSF will continue to be the champion of basic and fundamental 
research and will strengthen it at speed and scale.
    These investments will allow the agency to fund more of the 
groundbreaking research and support the development of STEM talent 
critical to our future success. Each year, NSF investments reach 
approximately 300,000 people at almost 2,000 institutions in every 
State and territory. Through their work on NSF-supported grants, 
students, researchers, faculty, technicians, entrepreneurs and others 
develop the skills and knowledge they will bring with them into the 
future. Over its 70-year history, NSF has done a remarkable job of 
supporting the brightest minds with outstanding ideas. This includes 
248 Nobel Prize winners; supported entrepreneurs responsible for 
incubating companies; and ushered in technological revolutions. A great 
example is Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awardee 
SensorHound in Indiana, which is seeking to increase the reliability 
and robustness of cyber-physical systems (CPS). CPS technology is 
directly applicable to a broad range of sectors, including utility 
grids, smart buildings, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and 
other sectors.
    The national innovation economy is powered in part by NSF programs 
that bring ideas from the lab into the marketplace. For example, the 
Small Business Innovation Research program was conceived of and piloted 
by NSF in the late 1970s. Today, SBIR programs across the Federal 
Government invest nearly $3 billion in small businesses annually. NSF 
also uses experiential education to help researchers gain valuable 
insight into starting a business and bringing an idea to market. The 
NSF Innovation Corps program helps entrepreneurs and small businesses 
understand market needs and opportunities, thus increasing their 
chances of successfully translating new technologies. More than 1,300 
teams have participated in the I-Corps program since 2011. With 
expanded funding to enhance fundamental research and development, NSF 
will unleash additional talent, create new knowledge, and plant the 
seeds of future industry.
    Partnerships are critically important in accelerating scientific 
and engineering discoveries funded by NSF to the marketplace. In 
addition to small business, entrepreneurship and translation programs, 
NSF manages the Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers to 
better engage industry and academia. Existing NSF innovation research 
alliances such as Engineering Research Centers, Science and Technology 
Centers, Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers and Materials 
Research Science and Engineering Centers complement NSF's significant 
investments in fundamental scientific and engineering research. They do 
so by offering multiple pathways to advance discoveries to innovations, 
to emerging technologies.
Strengthens U.S. Leadership in Emerging Technologies
    As described in the American Jobs Plan, the administration's 
discretionary request includes the establishment of a new directorate 
for technology, innovation and partnerships within NSF to help 
translate research into practical applications. The directorate will 
work with programs across NSF and with other Federal and non-Federal 
entities to expedite technology development in emerging areas that are 
crucial for the United States' technological leadership, including 
artificial intelligence, high performance computing, disaster response 
and resilience, quantum information systems, robotics, advanced 
communications technologies, biotechnology, and cybersecurity.
    Intense global competition and a rapidly changing technological 
landscape requires the United States to take a different approach to 
research and development investment that brings science and technology 
innovations to market much more rapidly. Doing so requires unleashing 
the potential of economies of innovation across the Nation and tightly 
integrating curiosity-driven research and use-inspired outcomes. The 
scientific pursuit of knowledge and understanding cannot be separated 
from the development of new technological capabilities. And, in turn, 
those new capabilities allow us to pursue new research questions that 
were either unseen or out of reach.
    NSF has been investing in basic research and use-inspired outcomes 
for decades. A prime example is the Internet. NSF had established 
supercomputer centers in the 1980s and launched NSFNET in 1985 to link 
researchers to these resources. The computing power harnessed was the 
result of decades of investments in basic research in computer science, 
electrical engineering and many other fields, all of which happened 
alongside use-inspired engineering to build new computing capabilities 
and network capacity. NSFNET was the first large-scale implementation 
of the Internet technology that is the backbone of major components of 
our economic vitality today. As it continued to grow, it presented new 
practical problems that needed to be investigated--and new research 
questions that needed to be answered. And answering those questions 
allowed new solutions and technology to be designed that supported the 
growth of the Internet and the many different science and engineering 
fields that underpin it today.
    As we look to the future, artificial intelligence is an example of 
a technology that offers tremendous promising potential across a broad 
range of societal and national challenge areas. NSF is the largest non-
defense funder of artificial intelligence research. In addition to 
foundational research advancing the frontiers of learning, reasoning, 
planning and so on, the key to harnessing the promise of artificial 
intelligence is the use-inspired, translational research that links 
artificial intelligence and economic sectors such as agriculture, 
manufacturing, transportation and personalized medicine. Equally 
important is the investment in education and learning, including 
growing the human capital and institutional capacity needed to nurture 
the next generation of artificial intelligence researchers and 
practitioners. Under the administration's discretionary budget request, 
NSF will supercharge investments and work collaboratively with our 
Federal counterparts and other partners to rapidly catalyze results in 
areas of national importance.
Advances Racial Equity in Science and Engineering
    The administration's discretionary request seeks $100 million--or 
roughly a 50 percent increase--in funding for programs that aim to 
increase participation in science and engineering of individuals from 
racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in these fields. Funding will 
support curriculum design, research on successful recruitment and 
retention methods, development of outreach or mentorship programs, 
fellowships, and building science and engineering research and 
education capacity at HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions.
    Advancing racial equity requires that NSF look internally at our 
own policies and practices as well as externally at how the agency's 
policies and programs impact the research and innovation enterprise. As 
I mentioned earlier, my vision for the agency includes a central pillar 
of ensuring accessibility and inclusivity. That is why, shortly after 
becoming Director, I established an internal Racial Equity Task Force 
to ensure the agency addresses racial inequities and works to identify 
and remove any barriers to opportunities both internally and 
externally. That task force recently submitted their preliminary 
recommendations to me, and I look forward to sharing the steps that NSF 
plans to take with the committee over the coming weeks and months.
    To be successful in continued global leadership in science and 
technology, domestic talent needs to be inspired, nurtured and advanced 
across our nation. The future depends on investment in inclusion, in 
diversity, in training of STEM teachers, and in inspiring the next 
generations through formal and informal learning. Continued global 
leadership also requires investment in the next generation of 
scientists trained to pursue questions beyond the traditional 
scientific disciplines. NSF is investing in education research across 
all levels of learning--from preK-12 through graduate education and 
beyond--which then informs education and training programs to better 
develop skill sets in cutting-edge technologies, promote highly 
collaborative team science, and foster greater diversity in the 
workforce. NSF will continue to invest robustly across its suite of 
broadening participation programs. In so doing, NSF will work 
tirelessly to ensure that there are no barriers to equal opportunity at 
NSF or in the delivery of its programs. These investments will be 
central to our ability to achieve those goals.
Advances Climate Science and Sustainability Research
    The administration's discretionary request provides $1.2 billion 
for climate and clean energy-related research. NSF will fund a broad 
portfolio of research related to climate science and clean energy, 
including research on atmospheric composition, water and carbon cycles, 
modeling climate systems, renewable energy technologies, materials 
sciences, and social, behavioral, and economic research on human 
responses to climate change.
    NSF has been investing in the fundamental research at the heart of 
global climate issues for several decades. Long-term, continuous, and 
consistent observational records are a cornerstone of global climate 
science and resilience research. NSF supports a variety of research 
observing networks that complement, and are dependent on, the climate 
monitoring systems maintained by our Federal partners. The results of 
NSF investments have helped us understand climatic phenomenon, and 
helped communities address challenges associated with mitigation, 
adaptation, and building resilient futures.
    For example, NSF played a major role in the Tropical Ocean Global 
Atmosphere (TOGA) program along with NOAA and NASA to understand 
coupling between the atmosphere and the ocean. Foundational to our 
current understanding of complex climate systems, TOGA directly 
resulted in improved theoretical understanding and dynamic modeling of 
the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. Operational centers use 
dynamical models in their suite of tools to provide routine seasonal 
forecasts of immense practical value to society at large that have 
saved lives.
    NSF's investments in research impact nearly every aspect of 
America's clean energy future--from fundamental physics, chemistry, and 
materials science to large-scale systems engineering and cyber-
infrastructure. NSF's clean energy investments support innovative 
interdisciplinary research related to sustainability science and 
engineering, such as the conversion, storage, and distribution of 
diverse power sources (including smart grids); the science and 
engineering of energy materials, energy use, and energy efficiency; and 
the ways that people think about and use energy. Clean energy 
investments also create vital research and education partnerships in 
science.
Continues Construction of Major Research Facilities
    The administration's discretionary request invests in the continued 
construction of major NSF research facilities, including long-term 
upgrades of NSF's major Antarctic infrastructure. It also supports 
construction of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory to enable astronomy 
research. In addition, the discretionary request seeks funding for the 
construction and procurement of smaller research facilities and 
equipment across the Nation.
    NSF invests in world-class research facilities, instrumentation, 
and capabilities to ensure that researchers have access to the most 
cutting-edge scientific equipment. Through the Major Research Equipment 
and Facilities Construction projects, NSF has built the world's most 
powerful solar telescope, transformative optical and radio telescopes, 
state-of-the-art research vessels, and complex facilities in the 
harshest environments, including at the South Pole.
    With the introduction of the Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure 
program, NSF is investing in smaller scale, but equally important 
research infrastructure and filling a vital need for the United States 
research and innovation enterprise. The Mid-scale Research 
Infrastructure program is aimed at transforming scientific and 
engineering research fields as well as inspiring STEM talent. The need 
for this program has been recognized by stakeholders in the scientific 
community and by Congress in the American Innovation and 
Competitiveness Act of 2017. Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure can also 
serve as a proving ground for new and innovative major research 
facilities.
                               conclusion
    At a time of intense global competition, NSF is prepared to lead 
the nation in innovation, discovery, and STEM education to help build a 
diverse and inclusive workforce to unleash economic and societal 
progress. NSF is well positioned to identify emerging opportunities and 
innovate to create future opportunities to unlock their potential for 
American people. Every day, we benefit directly from NSF-funded 
advances, from the technology that powers our smartphones and the 
capabilities that connect them, to improved weather forecasts, to a 
better understanding of the world around us.
    The United States is focused on leadership in science and 
technology and leaping ahead of the competition into the future. That 
leadership is built upon a uniquely American innovation system in which 
sustained investment in research innovations is intertwined with a 
strong partnership among government, academia, and industry. This 
public-private partnership has ensured the United States as the world 
leader in discovery and innovation for decades and will no doubt propel 
American leadership well into the future. Fields such as artificial 
intelligence and quantum information science hold the promise of 
incredible job growth, prosperity, and strengthened national security. 
A robust, sustained commitment and expansion of this American system of 
foundational and use-inspired research and innovation will be crucial 
to seek continued preeminence in science and engineering.
    Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. With the 
continued support of this Committee and the Congress, NSF will unleash 
rapid innovations, creating ecosystems of prosperity across the Nation 
and securing our future.

    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much for your testimony, 
Director.
    We are going to open it up to questions. Unlike usual, we 
will not take people in order of arrival, but take them in 
order of seniority because we expect some people to be coming 
to us remotely. So I will begin.

             COMPETITIVE RESEARCH PROPOSALS FUNDING LEVELS

    Director, we do not have a lot of details at this time on 
the 2022 budget. So I want to ask more about what the agency is 
doing currently. Can you tell us what percentage of competitive 
research proposals NSF currently funds?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Thank you. We fund about 20 percent on 
average of proposals that we receive.
    Senator Shaheen. I think 20 percent, you said?
    Dr. Panchanathan. About 20 percent on an average across 
several years.
    Senator Shaheen. And what percentage of total proposals--
are highly meritorious as determined by reviewers?
    Dr. Panchanathan. About one-third of the proposals that we 
receive are deemed as highly meritorious and worthy of 
investment.
    Senator Shaheen. So you have about 10 percent that you 
receive that you are not able to fund.
    Dr. Panchanathan. That is correct.
    Senator Shaheen. Do you have any way to quantify what kinds 
of opportunities were missing by not being able to fund that 
additional 10 percent?
    Dr. Panchanathan. These are fantastic ideas that we are 
leaving behind. And my worry is that when we leave behind these 
ideas, somebody else picks up on those ideas, namely, our 
global competitors. We cannot and must not leave those ideas to 
be taken by anybody else. We should be investing in them and 
advancing those technologies so that we might create the many, 
many companies, and industries, and societally-meaningful 
innovation outcomes that we realize here, right here in our 
Nation.

                                 GRANTS

    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. And what is the average length 
of an NSF grant?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Typically 3 years, around 3 years is our 
average.
    Senator Shaheen. And is that normally the time that the 
researcher needs in order to do the--to get the conclusions 
they are looking for?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Typically the researcher, having been a 
researcher myself, and having had graduate students in my team, 
typically, I would say a 4- to 5-year timeframe would be the 
most optimal because PhD students typically take that length of 
time to complete their research work.
    Senator Shaheen. And what is the average size of an NSF 
grant?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Currently it is about $200,000.
    Senator Shaheen. And is that the average that people ask 
for, or is that the average that you were able to provide based 
on funding?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Based on funding, that is the average, 
typically, that we are able to provide, and people do know what 
is the right size to ask for, although they know that it is not 
the size that would, essentially, express their talent and 
ideas in the best possible way; so a current average, ideally, 
would be about $300,000 for a grant because we have not 
increased this in several years.
    Senator Shaheen. Great. So you say several years the last 
time that this changed? Do you know?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Changes have happened over the years, but 
if you look at the cumulative lag, you would say that we ought 
to be at the size of $300,000 rather than the small increases 
that we have been able to provide over the years.
    Senator Shaheen. So you would recommend increasing the size 
of the awards if we can?
    Dr. Panchanathan. About a 50 percent increase in the award 
size is where we should be in order to be able to execute the 
work that is being proposed.
    Senator Shaheen. So if today you were going to be able to 
fund every meritorious proposal that came before the agency, 
how much additional funding would you need? And----
    Dr. Panchanathan. Today----
    Senator Shaheen. And if you were also able to increase it 
to that $300,000?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Today, if you were to take these factors 
into consideration, where we are able to fund all the proposals 
that needed to be funded, which are highly ranked, there is 33 
percent success rates, approximately. The duration being about 
four to 5 years, and the size being about 50 percent more to, 
let us say, $300,000, and you are now talking about a doubling 
of the size of the existing budget, because that takes us to 
about $8 to $9 billion of great ideas and talent that is left 
behind.
    And this is why the current proposed budget increase that 
the President has put forth in the fiscal year 2022 budget, as 
well as the American Jobs Plan, are excellent frameworks, 
because what happens is that not only are these ideas, that are 
important, Chair Shaheen, it is also that these ideas further 
have to be brought to the market, and there is a lot of gaps 
that have to be addressed.
    Now, if you start to bring those programs like I-Corps, 
Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business 
Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR), our new innovation centers and 
accelerators that you need to build in order for us to be in 
the vanguard of competition, then you are actually looking at 
probably doubling that, even more. It is almost like a 
quadrupling of funding. And that is why this aligns with the 
American Jobs Plan, as well as the Endless Frontier Act in 
terms of concept. The spirit of the Endless Frontier Act is 
very much aligned with where we need to be as a nation so that 
we don't miss out on these important ideas, and not let any 
other country take advantage of us.
    Senator Shaheen. So, do you feel like you have the 
authorities you need currently, and it is just a question of 
resources?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Yes. Resources will be the most important 
thing. And then comes with that, the kind of frameworks that we 
are talking about. For example, we have proposed the crosscut 
of a directorate of technology, not a separate directorate, but 
a crosscut that further enriches the science and technology 
innovations, but also leverages, and energizes the technology 
innovation and brings it to market right away, and brings it 
to, societally, good initiatives right away. This is what we 
need to do more of, I call it: strengthening at speed and 
scale.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you.

                        BROADENING PARTICIPATION

    Senator Moran.
    Senator Moran. Dr. Panchanathan, as I said in my opening 
statement, and I will try to flesh this out a bit more, as you 
would know, just 10 States receive more than half of all NSF 
award funding. I think it is important for us to ensure robust, 
academic research across the country, opportunities for all 
students.
    In my own State of Kansas one of my goals, as a citizen, 
and perhaps as a Senator, is to see that we emphasize research, 
science, mathematics engineering. And I want the students who 
grow up in Kansas and attend Kansas universities I want them to 
have the opportunity to participate in nationally-important 
research.
    Each State, no matter how small, has something to offer our 
Nation, and has the talents and expertise to contribute to our 
country's research. How do you plan to address? And I know the 
Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) 
is one way, but it is such a small component of the overall 
research budget at NSF. How do you plan to address broadening 
the participation across the country in terms of opportunities 
that are currently being missed because of the nature of the 
way the program is administered?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Senator, thank you. You know, when I came 
to NSF I laid out a vision, three pillars. The central pillar, 
which I will focus on, I call it: accessibility and 
inclusivity. Talent and ideas, as you rightly point out, is 
everywhere across our great Nation. It is therefore our 
responsibility to ensure that they are given the environments 
that are going to bring out the talent at speed and scale.
    How do you inspire, nurture, and motivate talent 
everywhere? This is the time that we need the domestic talent 
at the highest level of intensity to make sure that we are 
leaping forward ahead of our competition.
    So, to specifically address your question; when I came in, 
we were launching the AI Institutes program, and I immediately 
said, ``AI institutes'' has to be ``AI in every State.'' Every 
State of our Nation has AIe expertise either already available, 
or we have an obligation to train the AI expertise because AI 
is going to be part of us. It is like electricity in the 
future. It is part of us. It is part of everything that is 
going to happen. So we want the talent to be trained 
everywhere. We want the talent to be nurtured, as well as ideas 
to be nurtured and connected everywhere.
    You are right about the fact that EPSCoR program can be an 
augmentative additive, but it cannot be the only vehicle for 
ensuring that we have talent ideas across the Nation inspired 
and nurtured.
    So NSF is doing everything to make sure that these 
programs, like AI, and even the quantum, we are talking about a 
national quantum platform, which means any, a 5th grader, or an 
8th grader who is inspired by STEM from Manhattan, Kansas, can 
dial into the quantum platform and be inspired by that. And 
that way they get to build their STEM talent and contribute to 
the great State of Kansas and our Nation.
    And, more importantly, as the STEM talent, in your opening 
remarks you mentioned, the skilled technical workforce that is 
being developed out of community colleges, out of 4-year 
colleges, out of research universities, we need all of the 
above in order to be able to bring out, bring forth the 
businesses of the future. We need to have in every area, every 
region of our country, those areas that are best for that 
particular region.
    Let us speak, for example, in Kansas. Where else would you 
do agriculture as a smart agriculture of the future than a 
State like Kansas? That you will build an ecosystem around 
agriculture in a State like Kansas, working with other States 
like Iowa and others, working together, creating an ecosystem 
of prosperity, jobs, new industries, and entrepreneurial 
environments. This is the kind of thing that we need everywhere 
in our Nation.
    And NSF is going to be working really hard. And when I made 
the comments, the chair's question about the funding, this is 
where I think NSF is very well positioned and unique as an 
agency to be able to nicely synergize the curiosity-driven 
research, and the use-inspired outcomes, and generating the 
industries of the future.
    I will leave you with this last comment. NSF is not only 
thinking about taking AI Quantum, which are the industries of 
today, or tomorrow, but we are also working on the future of 
the industries of the future.
    What is going to be that industry like AI is today in 2035 
or 2050? That is what NSF makes possible. Why? Because AI was 
an investment made at NSF for the last four or five decades, 
and today we are seeing the fruits of it. Not only what NSF is 
able to advance, but also what other agencies and industries 
are able to advance, this is what makes NSF unique and 
powerful, and we should take full advantage of such an agency, 
and its potential, and what it can do for our Nation.

                            EXPANDING ACCESS

    Senator Moran. Doctor, I am out of time. I will ask just a 
follow-up question, and hopefully we will have a chance to ask 
additional questions later. But if we are successful, if we 
support, Congress supports, the Senate, the subcommittee 
supports additional funding for NSF, would I see a different 
result than 50 percent of the research funding going to 10 
States? Does it come with that additional resources? Will there 
be something different?
    Dr. Panchanathan. So, Senator, I can answer it to you very 
directly. When I came into the agency, I came from the State of 
Arizona. I know first-hand what every State can do, small or 
big, for our Nation and that we are missing a lot of talent and 
ideas right now. I know that. I have first-hand experience 
having seen that.
    And I know that when you provide the right environment for 
those ideas and talent to manifest and express, we can realize 
unbelievable progress and prosperity for our Nation.
    So I am committed. I am committed. And that is why I say my 
central pillar is about advancing inclusivity and 
accessibility. I am committed to ensuring that these regional 
prosperity innovation centers are everywhere across our Nation. 
So you will see that in action.
    Senator Moran. Thank you, Doctor.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator. We will now recess, 
hopefully until--for about 20 minutes or so, while we go do our 
two votes.
    So, thank you, Director.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Thank you, Chair, and Ranking Member.
    [Recess.]
    Senator Shaheen. This hearing will come back to order.
    I think Senator Moran will be here shortly. But why don't 
we go ahead and begin.
    Director, we thought we had Senator Manchin remotely, but 
he has stepped away so, hopefully, he will come back, and we 
will get a chance to go to him. But in the meantime, I am going 
to go ahead and ask some additional questions.

                                  TIP

    So we talked a little bit, I did in my opening remarks 
about the proposal that would create a new National Science 
Foundation directorate focused on technology development. And 
it is an idea that is also in the Endless Frontier Act that the 
Senate is expected to take up soon. The directorate would be 
focused on 10 priority topics. Some of them you mentioned that 
you are already looking at, but those include AI, quantum 
computing, robotics, clean energy, and President Biden's 
infrastructure plan proposes investing $50 billion in this new 
technology directorate.
    So can you talk about whether you need any authorities to 
do the kinds of things that the new directorate is proposing? 
And how would the creation of that technology directorate 
benefit NSF? Or what kinds of challenges would it present to 
NSF?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Okay. So, as I said earlier in my 
comments, this directorate that we are going to build is going 
to be a cross-cutting directorate, which means that it does not 
stand alone, but actually leverages the technologies that are 
being sourced out of the various science directorates.
    Let us take AI and quantum and others. These were decades 
of basic research investments that have gotten us to the point 
where we have the maturity in some of those cases that they can 
be transferred into technologies that then positions us in a 
very highly competitive way at speed and scale.
    Otherwise these things take a long time to develop because 
of the nature of the curiosity-driven research and use-inspired 
research being highly synergistic, it is possible to take these 
out very rapidly if only there is a tight integration between 
the two.
    And that is why the crosscut is very helpful. So that, as I 
said, it leverages those technologies, it also contributes to 
advancing future technologies. And in the crosscut, we are able 
to take those technologies through various programs, like the 
I-Corps program, or the SBIR/STTR program, or new programs like 
innovation accelerator programs where you have a public-private 
partnership model, where academia, industry, and the community, 
and others work together in building ecosystems of excellence 
in various parts of our Nation, so all of these things can be 
done through this directorate.
    So, what is proposed in the Jobs Plan by the President 
recently, as well as the Endless Frontier Act legislation, 
potential legislation, so what these things give you is the 
spirit of what we are trying to do, at speed and scale, can be 
accomplished by these activities. So the new activities that we 
need to do require us to be able to get those things done 
when--and I am talking about the cross-cut directorate--the 
appropriate flexibilities that are given to NSF and it is 
important for us to be able to execute on them.
    And when we have those flexibilities, I am confident that 
we will be able to execute them. And there are many examples 
here that we will draw from, may not be necessarily replicating 
them. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has 
talked about--or other kinds of agencies that have 
transformational programs, including NSF, can be taken into 
consideration in terms of building the new models that we need 
to build in addition to scaling our existing models. So we will 
need both of those happening at the same time.

                   COLLABORATING WITH OTHER AGENCIES

    Senator Shaheen. So, earlier today we had a hearing in the 
Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and we heard from 
representatives from DARPA, and from the research and 
engineering aspect of DOD. And one of the things they talked 
about is the work that they are doing on quantum computing, on 
AI, on basically the same list that you ticked off earlier.
    So can you talk about how you work with the other agencies 
within the Federal Government that are also working on similar 
kinds of research, and innovation, and how do you avoid overlap 
in the work that is being done?
    Dr. Panchanathan. So partnership is a very, very important 
imperative for me. When I talked about the three pillars, I 
said the foundation of the pillars is partnerships, 
partnerships of every form, of every type is very, very 
important for us to advance these technologies. And one of the 
first things that you partner with is fellow agencies who are 
also working on these technologies, but with a specific focus.
    One of the things that makes NSF unique is that it has the 
basic science and technology platform, all of which can be 
translated into technologies of the future. And there are 
focused technologies; for example, in the case of the 
Department of Defense, defense-related technologies.
    So where there is opportunity to partner, NSF will be 
partnering with all those agencies. I will tell you. When I 
took office in July of last year, the first couple of weeks I 
picked up the phone and talked to almost every leader of 
various agencies so that we might partner even more, I told 
them, not only what they are already doing, but partnering at a 
macro scale around these topical and thematic areas, be it AI, 
be it quantum, be it climate, be it advanced manufacturing, to 
find the appropriate partners.
    Because I think we need to partner and leverage our 
individual expertise, but with uniqueness in each of our 
agencies in NSF, to be able to take all those technologies that 
are out there and bring them to market as rapidly as we can.
    That is what we need to do at NSF. And some of those, for 
example, energy technologies, clearly, can be in partnership 
with the Department of Energy, and there is value in doing 
that.
    Senator Shaheen. I want to come back to that question. But 
I am out of time. And so let me go to Senator Hagerty, and then 
I will come back in the next round.

  OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY R&D GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES

    Senator Hagerty. Chairman Shaheen, thank you very much for 
hosting us today.
    Director, thank you for being here.
    This is a critical area for us. The United States spends 
billions upon billions of dollars in research and development, 
we do it each year with government agencies that range from 
your agency at the National Science Foundation, the Department 
of Energy, and the Department of Defense. The Office of Science 
and Technology Policy is charged with coordinating all of this, 
this effort, so that it is estoppel, so that it is strategic.
    But unfortunately so many times we see our agencies get 
siloed in their efforts. You talk about partnerships, and I am 
delighted to hear you doing that, because I want to make 
certain we are making the most of our research and development 
expenditures, and not duplicating or competing in areas where 
we ought not to be.
    In an attempt to solve the problems of some of our Nation's 
most serious challenges, when you talk about artificial 
intelligence, you talked about quantum computing, when I think 
about biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, we want to advance 
as rapidly as possible. We do not want to be left in any 
position other than first in the world.
    And I want to make certain as we do this, we know very well 
what we are doing as a Nation. Earlier, last year and the 
beginning of this year, Congress worked on a bipartisan basis 
to enact the Industries of the Futures Act, it was enacted on 
January 1 of this year.
    And that law charged the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy with providing Congress with an assessment and a set of 
recommendations that would relate to our investments in 
research and development. And that report is due to us on May 
1st. And it is supposed to take a broad view of the full 
expanse of government R&D expenditures.
    I would like to know first, Director, has the National 
Science Foundation been participating in this report? And if 
so, what are you learning?
    Dr. Panchanathan. So, Senator, thank you for asking this 
question. So basically what we found when it came to NSF is, 
that there is already a very strong partnership within NSF and 
the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). I found 
that.
    Senator Hagerty. Yes.
    Dr. Panchanathan. And I have further strengthened this 
partnership, because as you rightly point out, OSTP is a 
coordinator of sorts, you can think of it that way, in terms of 
making sure the agencies can work together even more strongly 
in addition to what we reach out and do ourselves.
    So we are working with OSTP very closely, and including the 
AI activities. And it is our intent to make sure that we will 
have a significant contribution in the report that you 
mentioned. And that is the way we operate. And we have co-
chaired, as you know, as part of the NSTC, we co-chair the AI 
Task Force, NSF participates very, very actively in that, in 
that activity.

                     MAY 1 DEADLINE FOR OSTP REPORT

    Senator Hagerty. Is your sense the administration will make 
the statutory deadline, the May 1st deadline?
    Dr. Panchanathan. I have no knowledge of that. I am happy 
to find more details, but we do not have any knowledge of that, 
Senator.

    [The information follows:]

    At this time NSF does not have more details to share about OSTP's 
plan regarding their reporting requirements under the Industries of the 
Future Act.

    Senator Hagerty. Well, one thing I want to make certain 
that you agree with is that it makes sense that we understand 
how much, where, and exactly the precise nature of Federal 
Government expenditures, and how we are allocating those 
expenditures today before we begin to add billions of more 
dollars to those expenditures.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Can you--can you repeat the question? I--
--
    Senator Hagerty. From a timing standpoint, do you agree 
that we ought to have the benefit of this report so that we can 
understand precisely where and how we are allocating our 
research and development resources before we begin to add more, 
billions of dollars there?

                              PARTNERSHIPS

    Dr. Panchanathan. Senator, as you know, I can only talk 
about what NSF can do in terms of what we are doing in AI. And 
I can give you some examples of what we have been doing in AI, 
because you specifically addressed AI.
    Just last year we launched seven AI institutes, and now at 
this time we are launching eight more institutes and we put the 
call out. And one of those calls is made possible because of 
our strong partnership with industry. I mean, we have Amazon, 
Google, Accenture, and Intel, we went to them and we said, 
``How might we work together to build a $20 million 
partnership, and each of these institutes is a $20 million 
scale.''
    So now instead of seven institutes, they are going to be 
launching eight because of the partnerships.
    Senator Hagerty. Yes.
    Dr. Panchanathan. So if we are doing everything at NSF to 
see how we might, through partnership----
    Senator Hagerty. Leveraging the private sector, so, yes.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Leveraging partnerships to see how we can 
scale the AI activities, the quantum activities. You know, we 
work very closely with other agencies in AI, including the 
Department of Energy. For example, in quantum we launched the 
institutes together with them. So we will be doing everything 
at NSF.
    Senator Hagerty. Yes.
    Dr. Panchanathan. To partner, partner, partner with 
industry, with other agencies, with communities, so that we 
might leverage the assets that we have at NSF to produce the 
best outcomes in terms of unleashing ideas and talent.
    Senator Hagerty. I think that is going to be absolutely 
critical because the magnitude of the increase that we are 
talking about here is going to far exceed your current 
infrastructure. And if you do not have the ability to leverage 
and coordinate well, I think we are going to have a serious 
challenge in your hands. You do have a serious challenge with 
what is coming down the pike. We are challenged as a nation 
from a technology standpoint.
    So I wish you the very best as you approach this challenge 
and encourage you to continue to exercise these partnerships in 
an aggressive manner. Thanks.

                              COMPETITION

    Dr. Panchanathan. Thank you very much, Senator, for the 
question. I agree with you, our competition, as I always say, 
the moment we look back and check our competition that is not a 
good thing. We should be leaping forward so far ahead that our 
competition is not something to even bother to check back.
    And that is the position that I would like us to be in. We 
have always been the vanguard of competition, and now is the 
time for us to accelerate. Again, I will repeat the tagline I 
use all the time: strengthen at speed and scale. We need to be 
leaping forward, and at NSF we are focused intensely on that, 
intentionally and intensely to make sure that we are leaping 
forward in progress, and that the support of Congress, and 
support of all of you, is very vital for us to get there.
    Senator Hagerty. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Hagerty.
    I think we have Senator Reed coming to us remotely, 
virtually.

                                 EPSCOR

    Senator Reed. Hi. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
    And, thank you, Director, for your service at the NSF, 
which is a critical agency. And I have always been a strong 
supporter of EPSCoR and its key role at NSF, and I have also 
tried to expand it to the Department of Defense and Department 
of Energy.
    But can you describe in your restructuring and expansion of 
NSF, how you are going to ensure that EPSCoR States like Rhode 
Island, are full participants in the research and technology 
development envisioned under these changes. And is there 
anything we can do to enhance those efforts?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Thank you. You know, when I was talking 
about my central pillar of my vision when I came into the 
agency, which is focused on inclusivity and accessibility, I 
feel talent and ideas are across the Nation in every part of 
Nation. That is the fantastic thing that we have in our Nation. 
The domestic talent and the ideas that we have, that we 
creating every day, domestically, is just fantastic.
    How do we tap into the potential of ideas and talent? How 
do we nurture the talent? How do we make this talent possible 
to take real form so that we might create the industries of the 
future, the entrepreneurial activities of the future, so we 
might have the impact that we desire to have?
    And that is not only what we do with EPSCoR programs, 
having as an augmentation effect of ensuring that we do much 
more in terms of specific technology focus areas, but I would 
like to see that we will nurture talent everywhere as part of 
the mainstream activities at NSF, and push us forward into the 
future.
    At the same time I would also like to make sure that the 
regional innovation accelerators are everywhere, everywhere 
across our Nation. And this requires not only the EPSCoR 
support being augmentative, but the mainstream activities of 
NSF are going to make all of these things possible in all parts 
of our Nation.
    And so I am committed to that. And I know that we can get 
this done because of all the support that the Congress is 
providing, and will provide into the future, and the 
administration is providing. And again, you know, the thematic 
activities, like what EFA provides, and the American Jobs Plan 
provides, I think is the perfect timing for what we can do into 
the future in terms of accelerating all of this, and making 
sure that progress happens across our Nation, everywhere 
geographically.

                             SMALL BUSINESS

    Senator Reed. I think one of the other advantages, Mr. 
Director, of EPSCoR is that it tends to reach out to the small, 
innovative companies that have relationships with university 
communities throughout the United States. So this, I believe, 
would be another effective way of mobilizing small business, 
which in many respects is the most innovative parts of our 
economy. And I think--I hope you share that feeling.
    Dr. Panchanathan. I definitely share the feeling Senator, 
because that is why when I talked about the SBIR and STTR 
programs, these are rich programs that we can further expand 
and scale to have even more impact in terms of what we can do 
for various companies, small businesses, to not only grow and 
scale, but then through that, actually inspire more new 
companies, and more new entrepreneurial ventures happening in 
every State.
    Like the State of Rhode Island, I have had the good fortune 
of being part of shaping the Innovation Campus idea in Rhode 
Island, partnering with the University of Rhode Island when I 
was in Arizona.
    So I know the potential and the promise that is there in 
the State of Rhode Island, for example, that I know is 
everywhere across our Nation. It is in Arizona where I came 
from. So I know it is everywhere and it is for us to make sure 
that we are ensuring that the talent is nurtured and brought to 
life. We are ensuring that these small businesses and 
entrepreneurial ventures are given a chance to scale and 
succeed.
    Senator Reed. Thank you, Mr. Director.
    Thank you, Madam Chairman. Thank you very much.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Reed.
    Senator Van Hollen.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, thank you, Madam Chairman, 
and to the Ranking Member.
    Mr. Director, great to see you here. As you know, the State 
of Maryland is a great engine of research and technology in the 
United States, home to many Federal agencies, had two large 
academic research institutions, lots of other important assets. 
And I was pleased to hear your enthusiasm for both the American 
Jobs Plan, and also the budget that is been submitted by the 
Biden administration, which is, as the Chair said, is important 
to making sure the United States maintains an edge and does not 
fall behind.
    And I think all of us do worry that if you look at the 
global numbers and our share of R&D we are slipping, 
potentially, farther behind if we don't act. In 1960 the United 
States contributed close to 70 percent of global research and 
development investments, by the year 2018 we accounted for 
about 27 percent of those investments.
    As you know, in 2015, China launched the Made in China 
Initiative. You have mentioned China's efforts in your 
testimony today. That was a strategic plan to try to promote 
and become dominant in certain technologies by the year 2025. 
And they now represent about 26 percent of global investment in 
R&D. So we are really at a, I think a tipping point here in the 
United States. And that is why it is so essential that we move 
forward.
    Senator Roy blunt and I are going to introduce this week, 
something I call the National Strategy to Ensure American 
Leadership Act, the SEAL Act, where we are going to ask--ask 
the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, to 
look around the corner a little bit, as you say, and identify 
areas where the United States has to focus in order not to get 
caught behind.
    And obviously NSF will play a critical role in whatever 
findings they make as part of that effort. One of those areas 
that we know of now is, of course, quantum information science. 
And the University of Maryland, NIST, ARL, IonQ, these are all 
Maryland entities that are very engaged in that space.
    President Biden's budget includes a proposal for a new NSF 
directorate to expedite technology development in areas that 
are critical to our competitiveness. How do you envision that 
sort of unfolding, and what role do you see for quantum 
technologies within that new directorate?

                       QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY AND TIP

    Dr. Panchanathan. Thank you. I see quantum as one of those 
technologies that is very, very important and vital for us to 
ensure that we are far ahead of any other nation. We have the 
capacities to do that simply because of the fact that all 
aspects of quantum information science have been what NSF's 
investments, and other investments, have made possible over 
several decades to get where we are today.
    So we should be leveraging every bit of that set of 
investments and translating them as quickly as we can, as well 
as building newer technologies and newer ideas around science, 
engineering, and other realms, so that quantum might be 
something that we will be, as I said, far ahead of any others.
    With respect to the technology directorate that you 
mentioned, this is the purpose of the technology directorate, 
is that it might take these early ideas and technologies that 
are emerging, quantum being one of them, AivNO is another, and 
biotechnology is another, and we can go down the set of 
technologies that are emerging, and some are just yet in the 
labs, what I call: How do we take the bench ideas to benefits? 
They are still in the lab.
    How do we take all these technologies, and the technology 
directorate, therefore, is how do we leverage these 
technologies that are emerging from the science directorates? 
How do we then energize the activities in quantum even more so 
that we are ready for the next set of ideas that are coming 
out, next set of technologies that are coming out, even in the 
quantum realm?
    How do we then take those ideas and then quickly translate 
them into entrepreneurial ventures? How do we work with 
companies so that the companies then can be more competitive 
than ever before? How do we develop regional ecosystems of 
prosperity around quantum where it is most ideally located in 
our Nation?
    All of these things have to be done. And that is why we are 
really excited by the fiscal year 2022 budget request, the 
American Jobs Plan request, as well as the concept of the 
Endless Frontier Act, which is all talking about how we might 
leverage what we have already invested in over several decades 
in the United States and leapfrog into the future.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you.
    Dr. Panchanathan. You rightly point out about the 
competition. And I agree with that.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Director. I see my time 
is short, so I am going to mention a couple of things, maybe 
you can get back to me on the record. One is in order to 
maximize our potential we need all of our scientific sort of 
players on the field here. We need everybody involved. HBCUs 
have been under-represented when it comes to NSF investments in 
the past, even though 25 percent of African-Americans earned 
their degrees in STEM at HBCUs that look forward to your 
strategy for addressing those issues.
    Also the labs impacted by COVID-19. And finally, some 
information on alternative protein research which a lot of 
people have been looking into. So I will be submitting 
questions for the record on those topics. So, thank you.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Thank you, Senator. We will be happy to 
answer all of those.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Senator Van Hollen.
    Senator Braun.

                   SPENDING PLAN FOR BUDGET INCREASE

    Senator Braun. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    I don't want to repeat what was, maybe, already discussed, 
but in the time I have been here, which is a little over 2 
years, I think we are probably at the most perilous point, in 
my observation, of what I was concerned about before I got 
here. And that is how we continue to do the things that are 
most important for the American public and do it in a way that 
we honestly can say it is going to be there down the road.
    And I know what you do, and the amount of dollars we are 
talking about, and this does not hardly register anymore when 
the new denomination is trillions, but I do think it is always 
worth mentioning that even for good functions like this, or the 
NIH, which to me is investing in something that is about as 
close to being tangible as you can get. But I think it is in 
peril in the mid--in the long run, when we do not exercise the 
political will around here to rein in what is now a trillion-
dollar structural deficit, a trillion dollars.
    And if you look at what we have added to our balance sheet 
just through COVID, to me some of that was obviously necessary, 
but a lot of it you can argue that it was not absolutely 
necessary. And all of that puts us in peril to where, when we 
are no longer the reserve currency the pain starts to come in 
immediately that may not occur for a while when we do fully 
deplete the Medicare Trust Fund, and maybe the Social Security 
Trust Fund, which I think is earmarked for early in the 2030s, 
that is what bothers me.
    So, when I look here, in terms of what is being requested, 
from the $8.5 billion up to $10 billion, or even $50 billion 
that to me seems like a very reasonable figure, even at the 
higher amount. But when it is in the context of how we run this 
place, in general, I think it is incumbent for any one of us 
when we are interested in and really like something, and it 
makes sense, especially this, which I consider an investment, 
that we cannot lose sight of where we are at in general, and 
especially the American public understanding it.
    I think there was some discussion earlier about how you 
would ramp up when you would take either, or roughly, 15 to 20 
percent increase, let alone afford a 500 percent increase. How 
long would it take for you, actually, to build up to where you 
had enough critical mass to actually spend that kind of money 
if, in fact, it fell into your lap?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Thank you, Senator. The first thing I 
wanted to say is, this is an investment with a return on 
investment. And I want to start with that so that you know I 
appreciate the point that you made, absolutely.
    When you look at the Digital Libraries project that was 
funded by NSF in the early-1990s, and a couple of years later 
we had a final report on the project, which said that we are 
launching the company Google. That was the final report on that 
project that NSF received back. And we know that it is one of 
the companies that is competing fairly and squarely and far 
ahead and keeping us ahead. Likewise, Qualcomm was an SBIR, 
Small Business Innovation Research project that was funded by 
NSF in the 1980s.
    So you can clearly see that there are a lot of examples to 
be seen where we can actually have a significant return on 
investment, not only in terms of the trained talent, but also 
in terms of the companies that get spun out, and 
entrepreneurial ventures that get spun out, which makes 
possible regional innovation ecosystems of significant 
vibrancy.
    Now, when you talk about the ramp up, I was just mentioning 
earlier that if you look at the existing projects that are at 
NSF that should be funded that are not being funded, and these 
are ideas that we are leaving behind, that I fear that our 
competitors are going to take advantage of those ideas by their 
investments, and move that forward. That would not be a good 
thing for us as a Nation.
    So we need to make sure that every bit of ideas that have 
been reviewed and shown to be worthy of investment need to be 
invested in, because our Nation cannot let those ideas not be 
nurtured right here and developed right here, and then the 
translation happening right here in our Nation. Right there, 
Senator, we are talking about a doubling of the budget.

                          $50 BILLION FOR TIP

    Senator Braun. I have got one follow-up question, because 
my time is running short. On the $50 billion figure, was that 
your suggestion or the administration's, in terms of the 
amount?
    Dr. Panchanathan. So I put forth a vision, basically, in 
terms of what we can do. I talked about the concept of what we 
can do. I have been talking about it since I joined NSF, I laid 
out the vision for NSF, where I talked about how we can take 
all the fantastic science and technology activities that NSF 
has been doing, and how we might leverage this by a cross-cut 
thinking of technology as part of that.
    So the vision and the ideas are something that I have been 
talking about for several months now, since I got here. And 
that is, Senator, based on my experience in Arizona, in my 
previous role I have seen firsthand, how when you take 
research, technology development, economic development, 
partnership with industry, and bringing the regional economic 
development activities together, you can really make a region 
prosper, and it attracts new companies.
    So I know that this can be done nationally, and this is the 
time for us to do that. You refer to our competition, this is 
the time for us to do that at speed and scale across our 
Nation. So it can be done. And so the concept is something that 
I have been talking about.
    Senator Braun. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Braun.
    Senator Hagerty, I understand that you would like a second 
round. So let me go to you.

                             SUPERCOMPUTING

    Senator Hagerty. It might help if I turn this on. Thank 
you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that.
    I just want to follow up on the questions that Senator Van 
Hollen asked, particularly focused on supercomputing, quantum 
computing. And I think the Senator from Maryland made a great 
point, that this is an area of great competition that we are in 
right now, and the United States' share of research dollars is 
declining, even though our absolute expenditures are going up. 
It is because China is investing so heavily in these areas.
    And if that investment continues, if they achieve the 
breakthrough that they are looking for, they may be in a 
position to, by brute force, break our encryption technology. 
That is not a place that we ever want to be.
    I would like, if I might, turn to my home State of 
Tennessee. There, as you well know, Oak Ridge National Lab is a 
gem of the United States, and we run the Summit supercomputer. 
It is our country's fastest supercomputer to date. And later 
year we are going to introduce an exascale computer. Again, 
supercomputing is a great strength of ours there in Tennessee, 
at Oak Ridge National Lab. I understand also that the National 
Science Foundation has supercomputing capacity.
    Back to the original theme, I want to encourage you, 
Director, to make certain that we are coordinating as best as 
we possibly can because as we put billions of dollars to work, 
billions of American tax dollars to work, as Senator Braun 
rightly mentioned, are scarce and precious even more now than 
ever before. We need to make sure that we get the most of that 
investment, and it is going to require a great deal of 
coordination.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Thank you, Senator. I will tell you two 
things in quick response. I am all about partnerships. I 
mentioned that to you.
    Senator Hagerty. Yes.
    Dr. Panchanathan. When the COVID hit, the pandemic hit, we 
quickly constituted what we call the high-performance computing 
consortium. This was partnership between Department of Energy, 
NSF, and companies like IBM coming together and saying: how 
might we provide the high-performance computing cycles that are 
necessary to combat this pandemic by the models that we need to 
look at, and understand how the virus behaves, and how we might 
combat the pandemic through the thinking.
    So we are working very closely with the Department of 
Energy, not only in the high-performance computing realm, but 
in quantum and other emerging areas.
    And I will leave with the second thought. Last week I had 
my first conversation with Secretary Granholm. I reached out 
and I said: Secretary, I would like to have a conversation with 
you. And she was kind enough to give me the time. And I said: 
how might we work together, Secretary? We might be partnering 
with each other because, you know, Department of Energy and NSF 
can do even greater things as we move things forward.
    So you can count on my DNA of partnership that I have to 
see how I can reach out and talk to every agency out there to 
see how we might work together. Because as a nation we need 
that----
    Senator Hagerty. I agree.
    Dr. Panchanathan [continuing]. To move us forward at speed 
and scale now.
    Senator Hagerty. Yes. Well, I applaud that effort. Thank 
you.
    And Madam Chair, thank you very much for the additional 
time.
    Senator Shaheen. Sure. Senator Manchin, if you are ready, 
we can take you right now.
    Senator Manchin. I am more than ready.
    Senator Shaheen. You can sit wherever you want.
    Senator Manchin. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you 
very much, Senator.
    Doctor, it is so good to have you here. Thank you very 
much. Okay?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Okay.

                          PARTNERSHIP WITH DOE

    Senator Manchin. Last year the Energy Committee worked in a 
bipartisan manner to assemble and pass the Energy Act, as you 
recall, proving the commitment that my colleagues and I shared 
advancing innovation across many technology areas, that law and 
several others focus on the Department of Energy and the 
National Labs, leadership role in research development and 
commercialization of several energy technologies, as well as 
advances in computing, manufacturing, and so many other areas.
    And I understand the roles that National Science 
Foundation, and the Department of Energy, and National 
Laboratories play in the broader innovation landscape. And I 
support the mission of each organization. I want to focus my 
question on the relationship between the DOE and the NSF with 
regards to research and development.
    So I think I can ask, Doctor, if you agree that the 
Department of Energy and National Labs play a critical, a very 
critical role in the technology research development, 
commercialization and the fields mentioned in the Endless 
Frontier Act?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Senator, just before you walked in, I was 
just talking about the strong partnership that we have the 
Department of Energy in the areas of quantum, in the high-
performance computing area, Senator, we partnered with them in 
ensuring that high-performance cycles were available between 
our two high-performance computing infrastructure that we have, 
so that we might combat the pandemic fairly and squarely.
    We partnered with energy in the area of AI. We partnered 
with energy in a lot of other projects and most importantly 
facilities, the fantastic facilities that we have, you know. 
And whether it is the facility in Switzerland, or whether it is 
the facility in Chile, we partnered with DOE and we look 
forward to strengthening those partnerships. So this is 
something that I am very, very keen to do.
    Senator Manchin. Yes.
    Dr. Panchanathan. I was just saying that I spoke to Senator 
Granholm last week.
    Senator Manchin. Yes.
    Dr. Panchanathan. And I reached out to Senator Granholm and 
said, I would very much like to talk to you about how we might 
strengthen this partnership even more.
    Senator Manchin. Right.
    Dr. Panchanathan. She and I are absolutely committed to 
seeing how we might work together, you know, much more----
    Senator Manchin. What we are trying to prevent from 
happening is reinventing the wheel.
    And Madam Chairman, if you will, allow me?
    Senator Shaheen. Yes.

             PREVENTING DUPLICATION IN RESEARCH AND FUNDING

    Senator Manchin. The DOE has already got the National Labs 
all over the country, as you know, the amount of money that 
they were trying to move around now, and maybe investing again. 
Are we trying to reinvent the wheel where we are paying double 
for what we already have already done?
    So in doing that you have a hundred million--it was a $100 
million I think was going to be invested for us to be able to 
compete at the levels we need to compete globally and be--still 
be a global leader.
    Do you believe that money should go to the National Labs, 
or part of that money? Or do you think all of it should come to 
NSF?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Senator that is up to Congress to decide 
what is the right thing to do. I can only tell you from the 
point of view of NSF. There are unbelievable technologies at 
NSF. It is not only about energy technologies, clearly in 
energy technologies we need to partner with Department of 
Energy Labs, and others. But when we talk about NSF, NSF pilots 
all technologies, broad spectrum of technologies. And so 
whether it is, you know, the GEO directorate, or BIO 
directorate, or computing directorate, or engineering 
directorate, whatever the directorate might be, there are many, 
many technologies that are emerging from NSF.

                   COMMERCIALIZATION OF TECHNOLOGIES

    Senator Manchin. Are you able to commercialize these 
technologies?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Yes.
    Senator Manchin. Do you have the experience of 
commercializing them, such as the labs?
    Dr. Panchanathan. So that is the infrastructure that we 
already have, Senator. In terms of, if you look at our I-Corps 
program, our own SBIR/STTR program, and the proposals that we 
have in terms of the innovation centers and accelerators that 
we think are necessary to be built as a public-private 
partnership.
    And that partnership, Senator, can also include other 
agencies. No question about that. I think I look at this as: 
this is a time where all technologies that need to be brought 
rapidly to market is exceedingly important for us to compete 
against our competitors, like China. We need to unify ourselves 
and see how we can do this faster.

                           WEST VIRGINIA LABS

    Senator Manchin. And we would like, in West Virginia, you 
know, we do a lot of the heavy lifting, and it is something we 
are proud of. We would like to invite you to make sure that you 
come to our Green Bank Observatory. Have you been to that? I do 
not think----
    Dr. Panchanathan. I have not yet, Senator.
    Senator Manchin. Please come.
    Dr. Panchanathan. But I would most certainly welcome the 
opportunity----
    Senator Manchin. We are inviting you with our open arms to 
come and visit.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Yes.
    Senator Manchin. Because I think it would be exciting for 
you.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Accepted.
    Senator Manchin. And also, maybe in Morgantown to see our 
lab, our NET Lab, National Energy Technology Lab----
    Dr. Panchanathan. Yes.
    Senator Manchin [continuing]. Which has done so much in the 
areas of energy production for our country, at maximum 
efficiencies. Also Marshall University's Robert C. Byrd 
Institute (RCBI), the Apprentice workshops and you all work I 
think with that.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Yes.
    Senator Manchin. And you all do a lot----
    Dr. Panchanathan. Yes.
    Senator Manchin [continuing]. With the Apprentice 
workshops, which has been very, very instrumental and done a 
great job. So we look forward to working with you. I appreciate 
the hard work. I hope that we can work together, myself on 
energy, and basically with the NSF, and also through our labs, 
so that we don't have a redundancy or a competition. We take 
what each one does and expertise you have, and make sure that 
we build off of that so we get the best return.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Yes.

                              PARTNERSHIPS

    Senator Manchin. And then sharing information back and 
forth.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Senator, I would agree with you. I think 
as a Nation, we need to advance all science, technology 
aspirations. More importantly, Senator, you brought up 
something that is very important and dear to my heart is: how 
do we get talent everywhere energized? In the great State of 
West Virginia, for example, there are talents and there are 
pathways.
    Senator Manchin. Yes.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Some talent may go through a 4-year 
university, some may go through a research university, some may 
go through a community college, some may go through after a K 
through 12 with a vocational training. All STEM talent needs to 
be inspired, motivated, nurtured, that is where I think NSF 
shines.
    The NSF programs ensure us that we not only take care of 
how do we get the best science teachers inspiring the K through 
12 talent, best K through 12 programs, understanding how people 
learn so we can develop better outcomes through learning, and 
then ensuring that all pathways are energized.
    So this is something that I believe is very important for 
us, the talent part, for all parts of our Nation, including 
West Virginia.
    Senator Manchin. Yes.
    Dr. Panchanathan. And I look forward to the opportunity of 
being with you in the Green Bank Observatory.
    I know my time is short, but I will tell you I have 
personal attachment to that. My father was a radio astronomer, 
so I know how important the radio astronomy facilities are, and 
so----
    Senator Manchin. I will have my staff reach out. We will 
set up an appointment. And I will just meet you there, or we 
will take you there, whatever. And I think it will be extremely 
interesting. It is called the Quiet Zone.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Yes, Quiet Zone, yes. We value that 
immensely. Thank you so much.
    Senator Manchin. I look forward to working with you. Thanks 
so much.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Likewise, I look forward to working with 
you, too.

                             STEM EDUCATION

    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Manchin.
    And I am glad you came back to that topic, Director, 
because I have another round, and it is about exactly that.
    I talked in my opening statement about the importance of 
STEM education. You talked in your testimony about the 
importance of inclusivity, and how do we bring more people in 
to have the STEM backgrounds that they need so that they can do 
the research and the innovation that the country needs.
    The 2022 budget request has an additional $100 million to 
help address this. Can you talk a little more, with 
specificity, about how you see using that hundred million, and 
how you envision reaching out to make STEM opportunities more 
inclusive for people?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Senator, as you know, additional details 
on specific things will come out when the President's budget 
request formally comes out, and we will have all of the 
details. But I can speak to the principles of what we are doing 
right now and----
    Senator Shaheen. Yes. Well, speak to your vision for how 
you see----
    Dr. Panchanathan. Yes. Yes.
    Senator Shaheen [continuing]. Being more diverse and 
inclusive, and how we--how we get those folks into what we are 
trying to do?
    Dr. Panchanathan. Senator, thank you. As I said, I am very, 
very passionate about talent everywhere being energized, and 
particularly in our MSIs, HBCUs, HSIs, and Tribal Colleges and 
Universities, TCUPs, and our community colleges. We need to 
make sure that talent is everywhere, and that the talent has 
the opportunity, therefore, to be nurtured right where the 
talent is. To give opportunities that they don't have to, 
therefore, go to some other place. They may do so by choosing 
to do that, but not because they have no other choice where 
they are.
    And so we are ensuring that they are listening to HBCUs, 
asking them and so, pretending that we know the answer to 
everything, NSF is really good at convening through workshops, 
and seminars, and through advisory committees, and constantly 
listening to people. How can we do even more, better? How can 
we do this at a larger scale?
    So we have a number of pilot programs. Let us take HBCUs, 
for example, the HBCU STEM Undergraduate program is a very 
successful program. And that program, for example, consults 
with the 50 HBCUs to see how we can energize the undergraduate 
talent to think about going for post-graduate, as well as 
industry jobs, and other career opportunities.
    So we are going to be working through our various pilot 
programs, right now I call them pilots, some of them are 
pilots, and how do we scale them. So when we talk about new 
investments, it is really for scaling these ideas. And by 
listening to the community we can shape these programs, so they 
achieve the success that we desire. So there are so many ideas 
that are out there, and talent that is out there, but we need 
resources to be able to scale them fast.
    And that is why I am very enthusiastic. I repeat this 
again, very enthusiastic about the fiscal year 2022 budget, 
very enthusiastic about the American Jobs Plan, very 
enthusiastic about the spirit of EFA, because these things make 
possible because this is the time for us to do that.
    And I can assure you, and I can, in fact, give you the 
details offline in order to make sure that you have a complete 
coverage of all the things that we have going on right now at 
NSF in terms of what we call the Education and Human Resources 
Directorate, pioneering programs, but also working in 
partnership with our other directorates to ensure that talent, 
wherever it is, has a chance to be successful, and that there 
are no barriers to that success.

    [The information follows:]

    NSF is committed to increasing participation in the STEM 
enterprise, especially by groups that have historically been 
underserved and underrepresented in STEM fields. The NSF program 
portfolio reflects an ongoing effort to expand opportunities for 
participation.
    Minority serving institutions (MSIs) serve an important role in 
educating students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM. 
Several programs are of particular importance for building research 
capacity and enhancing STEM education at MSIs:

  --The Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology 
        (CREST) program provides support to enhance the research 
        capabilities of MSIs by the establishment of centers that 
        effectively integrate education and research. As part of the 
        CREST program HBCU Research Infrastructure for Science and 
        Engineering (HBCU-RISE) track supports the expansion of 
        institutional research capacity as well as the production of 
        doctoral students, especially those from groups 
        underrepresented in STEM, at HBCUs.
  --The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate 
        Program (HBCU-UP) provides funding to strengthen STEM 
        undergraduate education and research at HBCUs.
  --The HBCU Excellence in Research (HBCU EiR) program, managed through 
        the Office of Integrative Activities, provides opportunities 
        for HBCUs, particularly for those that have not been successful 
        in larger NSF R&RA competitions, in order to stimulate 
        sustainable improvement in their research and development 
        capacity.
  --The Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Hispanic-Serving 
        Institutions (HSI) program is directed toward enhancing the 
        quality of undergraduate STEM education and to increase the 
        recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students 
        pursuing degrees in STEM at the Nation's HSIs.
  --The Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUP) program provides 
        support to Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native-
        serving institutions, and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions 
        to promote high quality STEM education and research.

    Other efforts increase the participation of groups historically 
underrepresented in STEM include programs:

  --This Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) 
        directed toward removing barriers for participation of 
        underrepresented students in the STEM education enterprise,
  --Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) 
        focused on increasing the number of historically 
        underrepresented minority faculty in STEM by building and 
        sharing successful models,
  --Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic 
        Professions (ADVANCE) catalyzing institutional change to 
        enhance the systemic factors that support equity and inclusion 
        and to mitigate the systemic factors that create inequities in 
        the academic profession and workplaces, and
  --Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of 
        Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF 
        INCLUDES) building collaborative infrastructure to catalyze the 
        STEM enterprise to work collaboratively for inclusive change, 
        resulting in a STEM workforce that reflects the population of 
        the Nation.

    In additional to NSF's longstanding programs NSF some examples of 
new initiatives are:

  --Within SBE, a new program was initiated in fiscal year 2020, Build 
        and Broaden (B2), which fosters research collaborations between 
        scholars at MSIs and scholars in other institutions or 
        organizations.
  --New in fiscal year 2021, the CISE-MSI Research Expansion Program, 
        will broaden participation by increasing the number of CISE-
        funded research projects from MSIs.
  --The Directorate of Education and Human Resources released a new 
        Program Description, ``Racial Equity in STEM Education,'' that 
        seeks proposals that would advance racial equity in STEM 
        education and workforce development through research and 
        practice.

    And so this is something that you will find in my vision. 
You alluded to my vision. My vision is to ensure there are no 
barriers to success, there are no barriers to scaling and that 
people who have the talent are able to exercise that.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you very much. I agree. It is 
a very exciting time, and that the Jobs Plan, and the other 
initiatives that have been offered provide very exciting 
opportunities. But we have to make sure that they work in the 
way that we envision, and that we are getting the best bang for 
the buck out of the dollars that we spend.
    So I look forward to working with you on that. I know the 
subcommittee looks forward to working with you on that.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    At this point I don't think we have any more people 
waiting, virtually. So I will close the hearing. If there are 
any questions for the record, we will submit those. And we hope 
that NSF can respond to any questions within 30 days.
    So, again, thank you very much, Director. It is exciting. I 
really appreciate your being our kickoff hearing of the year, 
and look forward to what will be accomplished at NSF.
    Dr. Panchanathan. Thank you, Chair Shaheen, and the 
subcommittee Members.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you.
    [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but 
were submitted to the National Science Foundation for response 
subsequent to the hearing.]
      Questions Submitted to Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director
             Questions Submitted by Senator Jeanne Shaheen
 A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2022 Funding Request for the 
     National Science Foundation and Securing U.S. Competitiveness
                          new nsf directorate
    Question 1a. The fiscal year 2022 budget outline proposes a new 
National Science Foundation directorate focused on technology 
development. This idea is similar to the bipartisan Endless Frontier 
Act that creates a new NSF Technology Directorate focused on 10 
priority topics. These priority topics include artificial intelligence, 
quantum computing, robotics and clean energy.
    How would the creation of a Technology Directorate, either through 
the Endless Frontier Act or as proposed in the President's budget 
outline, benefit the National Science Foundation?

    Answer. Intense global competition and a rapidly-changing 
technological landscape requires the United States to take a different 
approach to research and development investment that brings science and 
technology innovations to market much more rapidly. Doing so requires 
unleashing the potential of economies of innovation across the Nation 
and tightly integrating curiosity-driven and use-inspired research to 
address societal challenges. The scientific pursuit of knowledge and 
understanding cannot be separated from the development of new 
technological capabilities. And, in turn, those new capabilities allow 
us to pursue new research questions that were either unseen or out of 
reach.
    The creation of a new directorate will allow the agency to continue 
to support innovation across all disciplines of science and 
engineering, at the speed that is required in today's rapidly changing 
landscape, and to harness the profound technological opportunities to 
produce another seven decades of transformational innovations for the 
country.
    The new directorate will work with programs across NSF and with 
other Federal and non-Federal entities to expedite technology 
development in emerging areas that are crucial for the United States' 
technological leadership, including artificial intelligence, high 
performance computing, disaster response and resilience, quantum 
information systems, robotics, advanced communications technologies, 
biotechnology, cybersecurity, and materials science.

    Question 1b. Obviously multiple departments and agencies fund 
research into Artificial Intelligence, quantum and other topics within 
the priority list, including the Department of Defense, the Department 
of Energy's Office of Science and the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology. How would NSF work with these other agencies and how do 
the agencies all fit together in the innovation pipeline?

    Answer. NSF is the Nation's leader in supporting fundamental 
research in all areas of science and engineering, including AI, 
advanced manufacturing, advanced wireless, biotechnology, 
microelectronics and semiconductors, and quantum information science 
(QIS). NSF has a long history of collaborating with other Federal 
agencies through various avenues. For example:

  --The NSF Director co-chairs the National Science and Technology 
        Council's (NSTC) Select Committee on AI, which advises the 
        White House on interagency AI R&D priorities and establishes 
        structures to improve government planning and coordination. NSF 
        leadership also co-chairs the NSTC Machine Learning and 
        Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee as well as the NSTC Future 
        Advanced Computing Ecosystem Subcommittee.
  --NSF leadership co-chairs the Federal Government's Networking and 
        Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) 
        Subcommittee of the NSTC, which coordinates investments in 
        networking and information technology research and development 
        across more than 20 Federal departments, agencies, and offices.
  --NSF leadership co-chairs the NSTC Subcommittee on Quantum 
        Information Science, ensuring coordination in our Nation's QIS 
        investments.

    NSF also has a proven track record of partnering with other Federal 
agencies to support research in areas of shared interest. Some examples 
of this include the Cyber-Physical Systems, National AI Research 
Institutes, National Robotics Initiative, and Smart and Connected 
Health programs. For example, in fiscal year 2020, the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture wholly funded 
two AI Institutes. In general, NSF partners with other agencies to 
pursue use-inspired innovations that advance fundamental research and 
accelerate transition to practice while addressing other agencies' 
mission spaces.

    Question 1c. How does NSF balance investing in known priority 
fields that still have significant questions outstanding, like quantum 
computing, versus exploratory research that helps determine these 
future fields?

    Answer. NSF ardently believes in and supports the full spectrum of 
research from foundational to use-inspired. Innovations in foundational 
research drive use-inspired advances, and use-inspired advances in turn 
serve to motivate additional foundational work. This iterative process 
has been at the heart of the NSF-funded innovations that have, over 
many decades, paid dividends on taxpayers' investments. NSF views 
growing support for all aspects of fundamental research and workforce 
development as the key to shaping emerging technologies and driving the 
industries of tomorrow.

    Question 1d. I have heard concerns that the proposal to create a 
new Technology Directorate will move NSF away from its basic research 
mission. Can you reaffirm NSF's commitment to basic research and also 
explain your vision for how the existing structure of the agency would 
be protected?

    Answer. NSF is fully committed to its founding mission to advance 
fundamental research in all areas of science and engineering. While NSF 
is also committed to the creation of a directorate for technology, 
innovation, and partnerships, this new directorate could not exist 
without the rest of NSF continuing to produce the groundbreaking 
results it always has. These results will pave the way for new 
technologies and innovations that this directorate can in turn further 
advance and transition to practice. Thus, NSF must continue to support 
the full spectrum of research--from foundational to use-inspired to 
translational--to ensure that the results of NSF's investments are 
fully realized, giving rise to new technologies and positive impacts on 
individuals' lives, the Nation's economy, and global competitiveness.
    NSF has been investing in foundational research and use-inspired 
outcomes for decades. At a time of intense global competition, NSF is 
prepared to lead the Nation in equal parts discovery and innovation, 
along with STEM education, to help build a diverse and inclusive 
workforce and unleash economic and societal progress. NSF is well 
positioned to identify emerging opportunities and innovate to create 
future opportunities to unlock their potential for the American people. 
Every day, we benefit directly from NSF-funded advances, from the 
technology that powers our smartphones and the capabilities that 
connect them, to improved weather forecasts, to a better understanding 
of the world around us. These are the sorts of groundbreaking advances 
that we expect through the formation of collaborations between the new 
directorate and existing NSF directorates.

    Question 1e. How do we ensure that the new program reaches all 
geographic areas? Innovation should not be limited to a few standout 
regions. I want to make sure that the benefits of innovation are 
broadly shared. Will EPSCoR States be prioritized in this new 
Technology Directorate?

    Answer. NSF is committed to harnessing the talent for innovation 
that exists throughout the U.S. Any individual, regardless of 
geographic or demographic background, might be inspired to pursue a 
career in STEM research and innovation--and the participation of people 
with different backgrounds strengthens the research enterprise by 
bringing varied perspectives to the table. For example, NSF-funded 
research has demonstrated the power of diverse perspectives in 
advancing use-inspired research for equitable AI systems.
    Given this context, NSF envisions that the new directorate would 
support the creation and development of novel local and regional 
innovation ecosystems, throughout the U.S., capable of addressing 
local-level challenges, ranging from food and agriculture to 
transportation to healthcare delivery to equitable access to education. 
These regional innovation accelerators would result in new products and 
services contributing to economic growth and new jobs in every corner 
of the country--presenting opportunities for every American.
    NSF operates through merit review; therefore, funding flows to 
meritorious projects wherever they are located. In addition, NSF works 
diligently to develop the research capacity of every EPSCoR 
jurisdiction so that the Nation can leverage its full research 
potential. The EPSCoR program's outreach mechanisms enable NSF staff to 
directly engage and inform the EPSCoR research community about NSF 
opportunities, priorities, programs, and policies. We anticipate that 
staff from the new directorate will participate in such EPSCoR-focused 
outreach. Through these efforts, EPSCoR jurisdictions' abilities to 
submit competitive proposals for varying projects sizes and scopes will 
be strengthened.
    NSF's fiscal year 2022 budget request to Congress includes more 
details about planned activities and investments through the new 
directorate.
                           covid-19 pandemic
    Question 2a. The pandemic has profoundly affected all our lives, 
and the scientific and research enterprise is no exception. The 
pandemic has stretched resources and limited in-person interaction, 
which has required putting projects on hold or even shutting down 
experiments. Yet, the scientific community has responded in ways that 
many only dreamt were possible--most notably developing not one, but 
multiple novel vaccines in less than a year. We owe the scientific 
community a great debt of gratitude.
    How has the pandemic affected the scientific community as well as 
the NSF directly?

    Answer. As it relates to NSF directly, the pandemic has certainly 
had a significant effect on NSF's staff, both in how NSF conducts 
business and through the burdens staff need to manage in their personal 
lives. However, NSF has mitigated these challenges and continues to 
effectively achieve the agency's mission.
    Examples of actions NSF has taken to successfully meet its mission 
during the pandemic:

  --Ensured all NSF staff were telework-ready and had telework 
        agreements in place at the start of the pandemic to allow for a 
        maximum virtual posture.
  --Prior to the pandemic, invested significantly in laptops and mobile 
        devices as well as remote access tools, allowing staff to work 
        seamlessly in any location.
  --Expedited the rollout of the Zoom technology to facilitate remote 
        work by providing an agency-wide virtual collaboration 
        platform. Zoom has been effective and well-received by NSF 
        staff and stakeholders since the start of the pandemic.
  --Created new business processes appropriate in a virtual 
        environment, such as employee onboarding and offboarding as 
        well as virtual information technology help for teleworking 
        staff.
  --Provided workforce flexibilities, including weather and safety 
        leave, to help employees deal with personal responsibilities 
        such as the closure of schools, dependent care and senior care.

    As it related to the scientific community, early reports released 
in 2020 suggested that the pandemic had a tremendous impact. Student 
and faculty researchers had to abruptly cease work, which resulted in 
lost data, samples, and years of work causing disruptions to career 
trajectories for early career scientists. NSF's major facilities were 
also affected. Some had to curtail operations and shut down equipment 
that is costly to restart and some are still operating at a limited 
capacity. Some academic institutions instituted layoffs or paused 
hiring to offset reductions in available financial resources, and some 
of the gains made in broadening participation may be shrinking. In 
addition, NSF has gathered qualitative information about the impacts of 
the COVID-19 pandemic on STEM communities through listening sessions 
and formal presentations from the Association of Public and Land-Grant 
Universities, Association of American Universities, meetings with 
University Vice Presidents of Research, NSF Advisory Committees, the 
Committee on Equal Opportunity in Science and Engineering, the National 
Science Board, and the 20-year celebration of NSF's ADVANCE program. 
These anecdotal reports emphasized the potential for impact at 
transition points early in academic career pathways (undergraduate to 
graduate student, graduate student to post-doc, post-doc to new faculty 
member). They also emphasized challenges experienced by academic 
researchers (students, post-docs, faculty members, and technicians) who 
had young families, because of extended school closures. For women, 
this information is supported by the findings of the National 
Academies' report, The Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in 
Academic Science,\1\ Engineering, and Medicine. This report, sponsored 
in part by NSF, summarized additional evidence about the impacts of the 
COVID-19 on women.
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    \1\ www.nap.edu/resource/26061/ReportHighlights_WomenCOVID-
19_FINAL.pdf
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    NSF acted quickly in response to the pandemic and used $75 million 
in CARES Act funding together with funds from its regular appropriation 
to fund over 900 Rapid Response Research (RAPID) and EAGER awards. The 
awards were to model and understand the spread of COVID, inform and 
educate about transmission and prevention, and develop processes and 
actions to address the global challenge. This funding energized the 
research community, while other initiatives were put into place to 
provide support at all levels to mitigate losses and catalyze the 
recovery of research, maintain the STEM talent pipeline, and ensure 
that NSF had staffing to implement necessary recovery mechanisms.
    NSF's fiscal year 2021 Current Plan, American Rescue Plan, and 
fiscal year 2022 request support funding for COVID recovery, including 
support for individuals and institutions disproportionately affected by 
the impacts of the pandemic. For example, in the Directorate for 
Education and Human Resources, home to programs focusing on HBCUs, 
Tribal Colleges, and Hispanic Serving Institutions, funding is 
available to support postdoctoral scholars, community colleges, and 
research focused on racial equity. Funding opportunities for post-docs 
and other new investigators have been created or augmented in several 
other research domains such as computer science, ocean science, polar 
science, mathematical and physical sciences, and engineering.
    Faculty members with young families were one of the groups whose 
work was adversely affected by the pandemic. In response, NSF issued a 
Dear Colleague Letter \2\ that expanded the availability of support for 
Career Life Balance supplements to all research personnel on any 
research grant. In addition, during the course of the pandemic, 
proposal deadlines \3\ for over 30 funding opportunities were delayed 
to provide potential principal investigators with additional time to 
prepare proposals.
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    \2\ www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21021/nsf21021.jsp
    \3\ www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/covid19/covid19_deadlines.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As NSF continues to monitor the situation among our varied 
communities, we stand ready to respond to ongoing COVID-19 related 
impacts by using funding from the fiscal year 2022 Request to increase 
investments in STEM education, EPSCoR states, community colleges, and 
MSIs, using established programs across the Foundation. Additionally, 
funding within the fiscal year 2022 Request serves to:

  --Expand research on the biology, ecology, and evolution of 
        infectious diseases through investment in projects that advance 
        understanding of the origins of emerging infectious diseases 
        and their transmission, and the biotechnologies needed for 
        detection and intervention;
  --Initiate new funding opportunities to support development of 
        predictive intelligence for pandemic prevention by leveraging 
        convergent approaches across scientific disciplines; and
  --Increase understanding of social factors for pandemic prevention 
        through investment in foundational research in social, 
        behavioral, and economic impacts of pandemics, including 
        improved public understanding, international collaborations to 
        hasten recovery, and research that improves operations and 
        logistics of pandemic-related supply networks and vaccine 
        distribution.

    Question 2b. The pandemic also caused delays in the STEM pipeline 
for those researchers where their graduate and postdocs were 
interrupted, or those that had to pause their work to take care of 
loved ones during the pandemic. Through the American Rescue Plan, 
Congress provided $600 million through NSF to support researchers. The 
agency is also setting aside some additional money within the regular 
fiscal year 2021 appropriation. Could you explain what NSF is doing to 
help the scientific community respond to the pandemic, including 
ensuring we do not lose this talent?

    Answer. ARP funding is complemented by over $350 million 
prioritized for COVID-related impacts in the fiscal year 2021 Current 
Plan. The Nation's research communities have been hard hit by COVID 
with research plans jeopardized and training for the next generation of 
STEM leaders put in limbo.
    Through listening sessions and community outreach we know that the 
need for support exceeds the $950 million in total that NSF will invest 
in fiscal year 2021. The STEM communities, particularly those 
institutions and individuals disproportionately affected, require NSF's 
focused support in order to regain their momentum and to lessen the 
long-term effects of COVID on their research and education plans. This 
will allow the Nation's basic research community to emerge from the 
epidemic intact and move forward. Examples of how this funding is being 
deployed include supplements to existing research awards and 
dissertation grants; added support for long-standing workforce programs 
such as NSF Research Traineeships; expanded opportunities for 
fellowships; and support for early to mid-career transitions such as 
those funded through the CAREER program.
    NSF will continue this focused effort in fiscal year 2022. As noted 
above, NSF continues to monitor the situation among our varied 
communities, we stand ready to respond to ongoing COVID-19 related 
impacts by using funding from the fiscal year 2022 request to increase 
investments in STEM education, EPSCoR States, community colleges, and 
MSIs, using established programs across the Foundation. Additionally, 
funding within the fiscal year 2022 request serves to:

  --Expand research on the biology, ecology, and evolution of 
        infectious diseases through investment in projects that advance 
        understanding of the origins of emerging infectious diseases 
        and their transmission, and the biotechnologies needed for 
        detection and intervention;
  --Initiate new funding opportunities to support development of 
        predictive intelligence for pandemic prevention by leveraging 
        convergent approaches across scientific disciplines; and
  --Increase understanding of social factors for pandemic prevention 
        through investment in foundational research in social, 
        behavioral, and economic impacts of pandemics, including 
        improved public understanding, international collaborations to 
        hasten recovery, and research that improves operations and 
        logistics of pandemic-related supply networks and vaccine 
        distribution.

    Question 2c. Studies have shown that the pandemic has 
disproportionately affected women scientists, particularly those with 
young children. One survey published in the scientific journal Nature 
Human Behavior found that scientists with at least one child 5 years 
old or younger experienced a 17 percent larger decline in research time 
than scientists without children. How does NSF plan to support 
scientists, many who are early in their careers, who have been 
significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic?

    Answer. Thank you for drawing attention to the Nature Human 
Behavior study, Unequal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on scientists, 
which was in part supported by NSF. Subsequently, the National 
Academies released, The Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in 
Academic Science, Engineering, and Medicine.\4\ This report includes 
additional information about the disproportionate impacts of the 
pandemic on women scientists.
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    \4\ www.nap.edu/resource/26061/ReportHighlights_WomenCOVID-
19_FINAL.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Soon after the pandemic began, NSF took several important steps. 
First, we called for RAPID research proposals to not only understand 
the spread of COVID-19 but to study its effects. NSF has funded RAPID 
research awards on topics such as supporting remote work using 
technology, documenting the effects on family life, studying inequities 
in how different households have been affected, and building resilience 
to stress during the pandemic. Looking across the scientific and 
education communities, NSF has supported RAPIDs relating to higher 
education faculty and K-12 teachers, and students ranging from graduate 
school to undergraduate to community college to K-12. Many of these 
RAPID projects are still under way, but we expect to learn from these 
projects and build preparation and resilience for the Nation.
    At NSF we know that the pandemic affected the researchers, and the 
students, we support. We also know that health, safety, and family are 
priorities above all. As the pandemic began, we were flexible with 
proposal submission dates. We have allowed flexibility in spending and 
budgeting as plans changed during the pandemic. When possible, we have 
been able to make supplements to awards, to keep projects going and 
responding to requirement changes. These actions could not eliminate 
the effects of the pandemic on the scientific and educational 
communities, but they have given individuals some more control over the 
timing of their projects and in some cases bring in additional support. 
These efforts are intended to help our communities succeed.
    In a recently updated Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) NSF 21-021,\5\ 
NSF offered Career-Life Balance support to those who are confronted 
with a short-term increase in dependent care responsibilities, to 
ensure that the research activities supported by an NSF award can 
continue. These additional funds are available to support work by 
scientific faculty and project staff, postdoctoral scholars, and 
graduate students. This support will not eliminate the effects of the 
pandemic but should help to mitigate some of the most severe 
inequities.
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    \5\ www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21021/nsf21021.jsp
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    NSF supports the advancement of women in their academic careers 
through several programs. One example is the NSF ADVANCE: 
Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Progressions 
program (NSF 20-554).\6\ NSF ADVANCE emphasizes that individuals cannot 
be defined by a single identity or factor (e.g., gender), and projects 
now focus on multi-factors or identities (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, 
et.al.) or intersectionality, as they address systemic change and 
gender equity work in academic environments.
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    In addition, NSF has a suite of programs that support postdoctoral 
scholars in several disciplines, including Astronomy and Astrophysics 
(NSF 18-574),\7\ Biology (NSF 20-602),\8\ Geosciences (NSF 18-565),\9\ 
and Mathematical and Physical Sciences (20-573).\10\ Additionally, in 
response to COVID-19 the Directorate for Education and Human Resources 
released a DCL (21-066) \11\ for supplemental support for STEM 
education postdoctoral researcher affected by the pandemic.
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    As we emerge from the pandemic with hope, across all of NSF is 
looking for additional ways to strengthen our support of early career 
faculty and those who are at vulnerable career stages and have been 
disproportionately affected by the pandemic. I can assure you that this 
is at the highest level of priority for NSF.

    Question 2d. Could you discuss any additional needs that the agency 
lacks the resources to cover, especially any delays to construction of 
major NSF facilities due to COVID-19?

    Answer. NSF has carefully monitored the impacts of COVID-19 on the 
progress of its major facilities under construction. There are delays 
and consequent cost increases to all facilities under construction 
because of travel restrictions, social distancing and quarantines, and 
supply-chain issues. NSF has described the specific impacts on both 
facilities under construction and those in operations in periodic 
reports (recently transitioned from biweekly to monthly) that have been 
submitted to congressional staff. A copy of the most recent report is 
attached.
    Near-term cost increases to major facilities under construction 
have been covered by reprogramming funds between projects within the 
Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) account 
and by funds made available through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP). 
Cost increases in fiscal year 2022 are reflected in the NSF budget 
requests, and future budgets will reflect the results of additional 
analysis on cost impacts to major facilities.
    NSF identified additional materials and activities required to 
allow for uninterrupted operations during the pandemic. NSF was 
provided funds in fiscal year 2020 via the CARES Act and ARP in fiscal 
year 2021. NSF's pandemic-related needs for operations were covered by 
these two Acts.

                              ATTACHMENT 1

            NSF Major Facility COVID-19 Status--May 5, 2021
Entries with significant changes in the past few weeks are bracketed 
with bold brackets (ex: [ ]).
                      operations stage facilities
BIO
  --National Ecological Observatory Network: [As of May 3, 2021, 16 of 
        18 Domain Support Facilities (DSFs) and 71 of 81 field sites 
        were in full operation, with two DSFs (covering three domains) 
        and nine field sites in limited operation. One field site 
        remains closed. The DSF and five field sites in the mid-
        Atlantic region went from open to limited operation and back to 
        open during the month of April. Limited operation of Airborne 
        Observation Platforms resumed at the end of March 2021, under 
        strict COVID-19 safety precautions.]
ENG
  --Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI): NHERI 
        is a mix of (1) staff continuing to work remotely and (2) 
        operations by the experimental and field labs with restricted 
        staff/user access and institutional EH&S/COVID-19 restrictions. 
        User workshops are being conducted online. Shake table upgrade 
        work at UCSD is proceeding under social distancing; delay in 
        completion to about October 2021 is anticipated due to COVID-19 
        and hardware issues.
GEO
  --Academic Research Fleet: Operations continue under COVID-19 
        protocols. [Seventeen of the 18 vessels have been in operation 
        in the last month.]
  --Antarctic logistics: Access to McMurdo Station and South Pole 
        Station has closed for the season; both are in winter status. 
        ``Air bridge'' cargo flights to McMurdo concluded before the 
        closure. [The Palmer Station winter-over crew sailed from Chile 
        on May 1, 2021, with a crew exchange planned to conclude this 
        month.] Industry Day for the recompetition of the Antarctic 
        Support Contract was held on February 16, 2021.
  --Geodetic facility for Advancement of Geosciences (GAGE): Data 
        flowing, most staff teleworking. Summer internships are 
        currently being planned as a mix of virtual and in person.
  --IceCube: Two winter-over IceCube technicians are in place at South 
        Pole. Operations continue. Computing infrastructure is 
        supported at Wisconsin, with some in-person work resumed. The 
        upgrade project is in hiatus.
  --International Ocean Discovery Program: [A JOIDES Resolution 
        engineering cruise began on April 15, 2021. The next science 
        expedition is now expected no sooner than August 2021.]
  --National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR): Aircraft field 
        campaigns deferred or canceled. [Completion of the new aviation 
        facility at Broomfield has been delayed primarily due to 
        challenges in obtaining final inspections from the county; 
        occupancy is now expected in approximately July 2021.] The 
        Wyoming supercomputer center is part of National COVID-19 
        Computing Consortium. NCAR facilities remain closed to the 
        public with most of the staff teleworking. Many planned field 
        campaigns are being deferred further into 2022 and 2023 because 
        of ongoing travel restrictions. Most internships, fellowships, 
        and workshops have moved on-line.
  --Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI): Servicing cruises for all OOI 
        arrays have been concluded after resumption during the summer 
        of 2020. Repair of a fault in the Southern Line of the Regional 
        Cabled Array is likely to occur in summer 2021.
  --Seismological facility for Advancement of Geosciences (SAGE): Data 
        flowing, all staff teleworking. Removal of the Alaska 
        Transportable Array is expected to be possible in summer 2021, 
        with data flow continuing until September 30, 2021 for those 
        stations that have not yet been removed.
MPS
  --Arecibo Observatory: The Arecibo 305-m telescope platform collapsed 
        due to cable failure on December 1, 2020. Post-hurricane (2017) 
        repairs to other portions of the Observatory are being 
        expedited as safety permits during the 305-m cleanup process.
  --Center for High-Energy X-ray Sciences (CHEXS) at Cornell High-
        Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS): User experiments on all 
        beamlines resumed in late September 2020, with 100 percent 
        remote users. After a normal (non-COVID-related) maintenance 
        period, remote beamline runs resumed on January 20, 2021.
  --Green Bank Observatory: All public activities, meetings, and 
        conferences halted. Science operations continue.
  --Large Hadron Collider (LHC): [CERN continues to request that 
        employees and visitors (including NSF-funded researchers) 
        telework full time if possible. CERN has implemented measures 
        to reduce on-site vulnerability to infection so that essential 
        work can continue. At the end of April 2021, CERN reported that 
        plans for resuming accelerator operation in 2022 are unchanged, 
        with beam circulation beginning in February 2022.] 
        Collaborations in the U.S. work under the constraints of 
        individual university policies. See High-Luminosity LHC below.
  --Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO): LIGO is 
        now in scheduled maintenance/upgrade time. The fourth 
        observation session (O4) is now projected to begin no earlier 
        than June 2022.
  --National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL): Some user 
        experiments resumed on June 15, 2020. [At present, labs at all 
        three sites (Florida State, U. Florida, and Los Alamos National 
        Laboratory) are operational, with precautions, and a number of 
        staff are still working remotely. NHMFL user experiments 
        continue, but with few or no visitors; visitor numbers are 
        expected to increase gradually over the summer.]
  --NSF's National Optical-infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory 
        (NOIRLab): Primarily in telework status. All public activities 
        ceased. The Gemini North and South telescopes resumed night-
        time operations in May and October 2020, respectively. 
        Nighttime science operations and instrument commissioning with 
        4-meter-class telescopes resumed in October and November 2020. 
        [The COVID-19 lockdown in and around the base operations area 
        in La Serena, Chile has been partially lifted;] night-time 
        operations of telescopes in Chile continue.
  --National Radio Astronomy Observatory: All public activities, 
        meetings, and conferences halted. Very Large Array and Very 
        Long Baseline Array science operations are continuing. The 
        Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile 
        resumed scientific observations on March 17, 2021 after a 1-
        year outage. [A scheduled ALMA move to more extended array 
        configurations has been deferred until at least May 2021 
        because of COVID-19 conditions in Chile.]
  --National Solar Observatory (NSO): Primarily telework with some 
        staff allowed on site for high-priority activities, with 
        observatory management approval. GONG synoptic solar 
        observations continue. Observations with the Dunn Solar 
        Telescope, now being operated by New Mexico State University, 
        were halted for a short period in mid-November 2020 due to 
        COVID-19 restrictions; those observations have now resumed. See 
        below for DKIST construction.
  --National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory: Limited user 
        operations restarted on June 9, 2020, with strict social 
        distancing guidelines. [Operations were halted for maintenance 
        in November 2020 and resumed in April 2021, with the full user 
        program scheduled to resume on May 12, 2021.] Construction on 
        the DOE Facility for Rare Isotope Beams continues.
                     construction stage facilities
  --Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization for Science (AIMS): 
        Logistics challenges are expected for upcoming procurements. No 
        AIMS work on-ice occurred during the 2020/2021 season. [COVID-
        19 limitations also will preclude on-ice construction work in 
        the 2021/2022 season.]
  --Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST): High-priority 
        construction activities have resumed on site, with workforce 
        split into two overlapping shifts of approximately 35 workers 
        per shift to reduce worker density. Scientists from the 
        continental U.S. have begun to travel to Hawaii to integrate 
        and commission instruments, depending on restrictions by Hawaii 
        and their home institutions.
  --High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider: ATLAS and CMS re-organized 
        work plans to focus on tasks that can be carried out remotely. 
        Lab and shop spaces at U.S. universities contributing to the 
        NSF-funded program are being utilized under COVID-19 
        restrictions.
  --Regional Class Research Vessels: Work on vessel construction at the 
        shipyard continues under social-distancing guidelines.
  --Vera C. Rubin Observatory: Construction operations on site halted 
        in March 2020. A slow ramp-up of summit activity began on 
        September 28, 2020, currently with about 60 project personnel 
        and contractors working on site under COVID-19 safety 
        protocols. The telescope dome is substantially closed. Work on 
        the telescope mount assembly has ramped back up, but is 
        hampered by the inability of contract workers to travel to 
        Chile under current COVID conditions. COVID-19 conditions in 
        Chile, and especially in the La Serena area, are causing some 
        activities to be delayed. Data management development continues 
        with remote workforce.
                             post covid-19
    All facilities have been impacted in some way and most are 
executing multi-phase restoration programs that depend on local COVID-
19 conditions. Costs and delays for construction project completion 
depend on the lengths of project suspensions or slowdowns. Project re-
baselining will be needed to formalize revised costs and schedules as 
the duration and severity of COVID19 impacts evolves.
                           nsf epscor program
    Question 3. The NSF EPSCoR program is instrumental to building 
capacity in States around the country, including my home State of New 
Hampshire. However, equally important is making sure EPSCoR States are 
well-represented in NSF's signature large-scale programs, such as the 
Science and Technology Centers, Engineering Research Centers, Mid-Scale 
Infrastructure, and A.I. Institutes, among others. We cannot build true 
capacity if these States are only small players in NSF's signature 
advanced research programs. How do you plan to ensure progress is made 
with more EPSCoR State universities leading these large-scale projects, 
not just participating?

    Answer. An output of EPSCoR achieving its goal will be to see more 
institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions leading large-scale research 
projects. As such, NSF EPSCoR is committed to continuing its three main 
investment strategies, which help strengthen STEM capacity and 
capability across all of its participating jurisdictions:

  --Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII), which funds awards 
        supporting physical, human, and cyberinfrastructure 
        development;
  --Co-funding in partnership with NSF directorates and offices that 
        support individual investigators and groups within EPSCoR 
        jurisdictions that would not be funded without combined, 
        leveraged support from EPSCoR; and
  --Outreach, Conferences, and Workshops that bring EPSCoR jurisdiction 
        investigators together with program staff from across the 
        Foundation to explore opportunities in emerging areas of 
        science and engineering aligned with NSF strategic priorities 
        and with jurisdictional science and technology (S&T) goals.

    For example, through the EPSCoR Co-funding strategy and during the 
past few years, higher levels of co-funding for Center-scale projects 
have been prioritized. EPSCoR has worked with the Mid-scale RI-1 
Working Group to increase the number of competitive proposals from 
EPSCoR jurisdictions. EPSCoR aims to increase co-funding in other areas 
aligned with NSF's priorities, including future manufacturing, 
artificial intelligence, and quantum engineering.
    Through NSF's EPSCoR outreach activities to EPSCoR jurisdictions, 
NSF is able to increase awareness of its funding opportunities 
including larger-scale programs that align with a jurisdiction's S&T 
plan. By effectively leveraging capacity built through prior NSF EPSCoR 
investments, institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions should be able to 
submit more competitive proposals in which that institution is lead. 
NSF's commitment to the EPSCoR goals will ensure that EPSCoR-based lead 
institutions partnering with institutions in non-EPSCoR jurisdictions 
will receive meaningful benefits to further enhance competitiveness 
within a jurisdiction and institution.
                      new major research projects
    Question 4a. While we do not have the details for the fiscal year 
2022 request yet, I'm concerned that in recent budget requests, NSF has 
not proposed new major research projects. With the National Academy of 
Sciences likely releasing the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey 
later this year, I expect that we'll see a suggested plan for future 
astronomy investments. But, it's difficult for Congress to quickly ramp 
up and down funding to accommodate large requests.
    What are the major new facilities investments that you see coming?

    Answer. NSF shares your anticipation of the release of the 
Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. While we are not privy to 
the results, previous surveys have informed NSF in establishing 
priorities for new instrumentation and facility investments, including 
the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and Karl G. Jansky 
Very Large Array (VLA) radio astronomy facilities, and the Vera C. 
Rubin Observatory, currently under construction. NSF has active awards 
supporting early development of an extremely large optical/infrared 
telescope, the next generation VLA, and the Cosmic Microwave Background 
Stage 4 experiment, any of which may be identified as priorities in the 
Decadal Survey. Future NSF budget requests in this area will rely 
strongly on the community prioritization from the Decadal Survey, which 
is expected to be released in Summer 2021.
    A future construction project must progress through a formal design 
stage to reach a level of readiness where NSF can feel confident that 
the project is mature enough that it can be proposed for construction, 
and where the cost is well-enough defined for NSF and the National 
Science Board to consider a funding request to Congress and a 
subsequent construction award. At present, NSF has one potential major 
facility project in the design stage. That project is the Leadership 
Class Computing Facility; if constructed, it is expected to support a 
computing system with an approximately ten-fold time-to-solution 
performance improvement over Frontera, the current NSF leadership 
system.
    Other projects are in the development stage within individual NSF 
divisions and directorates but have not yet reached the technical and 
programmatic readiness for admission to the design stage. Those 
projects include several of the candidate astronomy projects mentioned 
above, research vessels such as a state-of-the-art Antarctic research 
vessel and a next-generation ocean drilling platform, and a new-
technology superconducting magnet.

    Question 4b. Often times, as newer facilities come online, the 
legacy facilities are still critical for fundamental scientific 
research purposes, so it's important to maintain their operations. How 
does NSF balance paying for the new facilities while maintaining 
operations at the legacy facilities?

    Answer. In contrast to space-based facilities that usually have a 
relatively short lifetime, NSF's ground-based scientific research 
facilities typically have productive scientific lifetimes in the range 
of 30 to 50 years. Furthermore, new facilities enabling research at the 
scientific frontier tend to be more costly to operate than those that 
were constructed half a century ago. Therefore, the integrated 
operations cost of an NSF facility over its full life cycle is 
typically much higher than the capital cost for construction.
    NSF strives to maintain a balance in which it does not start so 
many new facilities in the near term that it risks the ability to 
support a broad portfolio of research, both facility-based and 
independent of facilities, 10-30 years in the future. Of necessity, 
this requires making assumptions about future appropriation levels and 
national priorities, which may change over periods shorter than the 
time scale to develop, design, construct, and bring into operation a 
new facility. NSF makes use of studies by the National Academies of 
Science, Engineering, and Medicine, as well as portfolio reviews 
carried out by other advisory committees operating under the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act, to prioritize the science that can be carried 
out by both new and legacy facilities. NSF leadership also works 
closely with the National Science Board in assessing strategic 
priorities across the agency and weighing the science return enabled by 
new facilities with the opportunity cost of committing to long-term 
operations of those facilities.
    A key element of NSF's decision process is the philosophy that NSF 
should focus on world-leading facilities that are on a scale where 
Federal investment and engagement are necessary to bring those 
facilities to successful operation. Older facilities that may no longer 
be world-leading, that may no longer be strategic scientific 
priorities, or that serve limited scientific communities, are prime 
candidates for divestment from the NSF budget in order to make room for 
newer research infrastructure.
                 new facility transition funding pilot
    Question 5. Historically, as NSF transitions new facility projects 
from construction to operations, the cost of operating the facilities 
falls directly on the science directorates, which cuts into available 
R&D funding. In fiscal year 2020, the Committee funded a pilot project 
to cover the operations costs of newly completed facilities to give the 
research directorates time to absorb the increased costs into their own 
budgets. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope was the first project to 
use this transition funding. What has NSF learned from this pilot 
project, and previous examples, and what do you see as the future of 
transitioning these facilities from the MREFC account to the 
directorates?

    Answer. In the report accompanying the fiscal year 2021 
Appropriations Bill, Congress requested a report on the NSF response to 
the 2018 National Science Board Report on Operations and Maintenance of 
NSF Major Facilities, including an assessment of the Facility Operation 
Transition pilot project. That report has just been completed and was 
delivered separately. Briefly, NSF has learned that it is 
straightforward to assign a portion of the funds from the Facility 
Operations Transition pilot to appropriate facilities that have 
recently moved into operations, and there are no showstoppers to 
executing this type of program. NSF is assessing various options for 
providing a level of funding assurance for the operating facilities 
while still remaining flexible enough to respond to differing 
priorities and appropriation levels in the intervening time period.
                            arctic research
    Question 6. In 2016, NSF unveiled a set of ``Big Ideas,'' 10 bold, 
long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future 
investment at the frontiers of science and engineering. One of these 
Big Ideas is ``Navigating a New Arctic.'' With Arctic temperatures 
warming faster than nearly everywhere else on Earth, some climate 
models project that continued warming could produce an ice-free Arctic 
Ocean in a few decades. These changes offer new opportunities and 
unprecedented risks to the region. Navigating the New Arctic is an 
important program, especially for New Hampshire where we're already 
seeing the impacts of climate change firsthand, including 
infrastructure affected by rising sea levels and flooding during high 
tides. Can you describe NSF's plans for expanding Arctic research in 
fiscal year 2022 and beyond?

    Answer. The Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) Big Idea funds research 
into the opportunities and risks to natural systems; social and 
cultural systems; economic, political, and legal systems; and built 
environments around the world by supporting convergence research needed 
to inform the economy, security, and resilience of the Nation, the 
larger region, and the globe. NSF's NNA activities in fiscal year 2022 
will focus on enabling advances in priority areas, which will be 
developed by building on outcomes from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 
2021 activities. Recently, NSF issued a revised NNA solicitation (NSF 
21-524, fiscal year 2021) that focuses on convergent social/built/
natural-environment systems science; advances in observation, 
communication, computation, and data systems; and community-
coordination activities. This solicitation added a new `Collaboratory' 
track (in addition to our primary `Planning' and `Research' tracks) for 
proposal submissions. Collaboratory Grants submitted to NNA will 
support the cultivation of long-term ideas, collaborations, research, 
synthesis, and investment in the future of convergence science in and 
regarding Arctic change. These awards will support the research 
community to build new teams and pursue creative and ambitious projects 
that may not fit into the NNA Planning or Research grant tracks.
    The NNA solicitation that NSF expects to issue in fiscal year 2022, 
will also leverage the fiscal year 2020 multi-year cooperative 
agreement award creating the NNA Community Office. This collaboration 
with three offices (Alaska Pacific University, the University of Alaska 
Fairbanks, and the University of Colorado Boulder) will support 
coordination among NNA projects; build and strengthen relationships 
between NNA researchers and Arctic residents; and coordinate effective 
knowledge dissemination, education, and outreach related to NNA and 
convergence research in the Arctic. In fiscal year 2022, NSF also 
expects to build on a recently released Dear Colleague Letter titled, 
``Update on NSF's Efforts to Improve the Inclusion of Local and 
Indigenous Voices in Arctic Research'' with an accompanying website 
(nsf.gov/ace) that summarizes efforts made and available resources on 
broadening participation and inclusion of Indigenous peoples in Arctic 
research.
    In addition to the NNA program, NSF, through the Office of Polar 
Programs' Arctic Sciences Section, invests in research about the Arctic 
region and its connectivity with lower latitudes. This program 
portfolio funds research proposals that advance a fundamental, process, 
and/or systems-level understanding of the Arctic's rapidly changing 
natural environment, social and cultural systems, and, where 
appropriate, to improve our capacity to project future change. OPP also 
funds Arctic logistical infrastructure and field support capabilities 
that are available to enable research projects that require field 
support at sea, in Alaska, Greenland, and other international 
locations. The OPP Arctic Sciences Section released a new solicitation, 
without deadlines, in fiscal year 2021 (21-526) \12\ seeking full 
proposals in Arctic Natural Sciences, Arctic Social Sciences, Arctic 
System Science, Arctic Observing Network, Arctic Cyberinfrastructure, 
and Arctic Research and Policy Support.
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    NSF will continue to coordinate and leverage both its core Arctic 
Sciences programs and NNA-related activities with external 
stakeholders, including other Federal agencies through the Interagency 
Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) chaired by the NSF Director; 
local residents and Indigenous peoples through State and local 
governance structures of Alaska; and international partners through 
forums such as the biannual International Arctic Science Ministerial.
                                 ______
                                 
               Questions Submitted by Senator Jerry Moran
                      proposed nsf budget increase
    Question 1a. Of the proposed increases for the National Science 
Foundation, $1.6 billion is indicated to be for fundamental research 
and $100 million for increasing participation. This accounts for the 
total amount of the proposed budget increase for NSF.
    Can you please explain how is NSF proposing to fund an entirely new 
directorate and its associated activities?

    Answer. Funding ($864.87 million) for the new Directorate for 
Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) is built into NSF's 
fiscal year 2022 budget request. TIP will be organizationally 
structured to house three divisions (Technology Frontiers, Innovation 
Ecosystem, and Translational Impact) and one office (Partnerships). The 
fiscal year 2022 budget request describes repositioning a set of 
existing programs focused on cultivating innovation ecosystems and 
creating pathways for the translation of research solutions to 
practice; these investments total $364.87 million. In addition, new 
research funding for TIP ($500.0 million) is provided within the 
proposed budget increase for NSF to advance the mission of the 
directorate. The President's budget request for fiscal year 2022 for 
NSF includes additional details about planned activities and 
investments through the new directorate.

    Question 1b. Does NSF have adequate resources and personnel to 
stand up the new directorate?

    Answer. The fiscal year 2022 request to Congress includes adequate 
resources and personnel to stand up the new directorate at the funding 
level specified in the Request. Specifically, the Request includes an 
increase in the Agency Operations and Awards Management account as well 
as 100 additional FTEs to support activities across the agency, 
including activities and FTEs required to stand up the new directorate.
                 artificial intelligence (ai) research
    Question 2a. The Congress has been supportive of Artificial 
Intelligence (AI) research, and proposals from the Administration and 
legislation proposed by the Congress also identify AI as a priority. 
This area of national importance was further highlighted in the recent 
report of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. 
The country that can harness the power of this computing capability 
will have an economic and national security advantage that we cannot 
afford to fall behind on.
    How does NSF perceive the importance of AI funding and NSF's role 
in maintaining the country's leadership in this important area of 
research?

    Answer. AI is advancing rapidly and holds the potential to vastly 
transform our lives. NSF has a long and rich history of supporting AI 
research, setting the stage for today's widespread use of AI 
technologies in a range of sectors, from e-commerce to healthcare to 
transportation. NSF's significant investments in foundational and use-
inspired AI research over the last several decades have enhanced our 
Nation's economic competitiveness and national security in direct 
alignment with NSF's mission, all the while giving rise to 
fundamentally new research directions and opportunities for the future.
    Current NSF-funded research is laying the seeds for advances in AI 
that will transform essentially every area of human endeavor, including 
science, education, energy, manufacturing, and agriculture, in the 
years ahead. Cross-cutting these areas are investments in trustworthy 
AI, and the ethics and safety of AI systems that are central to the 
field overall. NSF's ability to bring together numerous fields of 
scientific inquiry uniquely positions the agency to lead the Nation in 
expanding the frontiers of AI.
    Through collaboration and coordination with the Office of Science 
and Technology Policy, NSF leadership is helping to drive and 
coordinate AI R&D efforts across the Federal Government. For example, 
the NSF Director co-chairs the National Science and Technology 
Council's Select Committee on AI, which advises the White House on 
interagency AI R&D priorities and establishes structures to improve 
government planning and coordination. NSF leadership also co-chairs the 
Machine Learning and AI (MLAI) Subcommittee of the NSTC Committee on 
Science, which serves as the implementation arm for the Select 
Committee on AI.

    Question 2b. How will the priority of AI research be reflected in 
the fiscal year 2022 budget request?

    Answer. NSF supports fundamental research, education and workforce 
development, and access to data and advanced computing research 
infrastructure that collectively enhance AI. In particular, NSF's AI 
portfolio spans AI algorithms, robotics, human-AI interaction, and 
advanced hardware and systems for AI, as well as use-inspired research 
in computational neuroscience, computational biology, and many other 
disciplines across the full breadth of science and engineering in which 
NSF invests.
    In the fiscal year 2022 Request, AI funding totals $734.41 million, 
which includes $69.11 million in for the National AI Research 
Institutes. NSF will continue support for foundational research in AI, 
including machine learning (ML) and deep learning, natural language 
technologies, knowledge representation and reasoning, robotics, and 
computer vision, along with the fairness, accountability, transparency, 
explainability, safety, security, and robustness across all areas of 
AI. In addition to foundational research in these areas, NSF will 
continue to support translational research that links AI innovation 
with science and the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing, 
biotechnology, and health. Equally important NSF will continue to 
invest in education and learning to grow the human capital and 
institutional capacity needed to nurture the next generation of AI 
researchers and practitioners.
    NSF's budget request for fiscal year 2022 includes details about 
planned activities and investments in AI research, education, and 
infrastructure.
                          science and security
    Question 3. Please provide NSF's current efforts to combat the 
growing and evolving problem of foreign influence and how NSF balances 
the security of our research enterprise and the NSF's culture of 
openness in research and collaboration internationally?

    Answer. The National Science Foundation seeks to maintain a vibrant 
science and engineering community for the benefit of the Nation. 
Participation in this community relies on individuals to uphold core 
principles and values such as openness, transparency, reciprocity, 
collaboration, and integrity. In recognition of the issues of balance 
between security and the benefits of openness in research, NSF 
requested a detailed report on balance and risks from the JASON 
advisory group in 2019; that report has been used as important input 
for NSF in sustaining the appropriate balance and in educating our 
academic science and engineering community about security risks. 
However, open scientific exchange and research face a challenge from 
some foreign governments. These governments deliberately disregard 
these core principles and incentivize participants to acquire U.S. 
funded scientific research and provide this information to the foreign 
government. These foreign government efforts target scientists, 
engineers, and educators of all nationalities working or educated in 
the United States.
    Over the past 3 years, NSF has taken steps to mitigate threats 
posed by foreign government talent recruitment programs. NSF focuses on 
the following risks to its funded research from foreign government 
interference:

  --Conflicts of interest and commitment;
  --Undisclosed research duplication and researcher commitments to 
        research entities outside their U.S. employer;
  --Compromises to the merit review system; and
  --Unauthorized use of pre-publication data and information.

    Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Program Prohibition for NSF 
Staff: In July 2019, NSF issued a policy \13\ prohibiting NSF personnel 
and rotators such as Intergovernmental Personnel Act personnel (IPAs) 
detailed to NSF from participating in foreign government talent 
recruitment programs. This policy helps prevent inappropriate foreign 
influence on NSF personnel.
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    \13\ www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/researchprotection/
PersonnelPolicyForeignGovTalentRecruitment%20Programs07_11_2019.pdf
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    Establishment of the Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy 
(CRSSP) Position and Leadership Teams: NSF has reprogrammed existing 
resources to mitigate risks to research security. Specifically, NSF 
created and filled the first-in-government position of CRSSP in March 
2020--a leadership position which reports to the NSF Director--and the 
position of CRSSP Chief Data Officer in September 2020.
    Internal Communication and Training: CRSSP and relevant offices 
have set up an ``NSF Research Protection Group'' email alias to receive 
and respond to questions from within NSF on issues such as post-award 
information disclosure and other issues such as how to respond to a 
PI's request for extended leave to work for a foreign company.
    In March 2020, NSF released mandatory training for all NSF 
personnel on science and security. In summer 2021, NSF will release a 
second phase of training aimed at staff in positions such as program 
directors and grants officials that directly communicate with recipient 
organizations and principal investigators.
    Outreach to and Training for the Academic Community: To increase 
awareness of the risks and compliance with NSF's policies and 
procedures, NSF participated in numerous meetings and conferences for 
the domestic and international research community.
    NSF and NIH co-chair the Research Security Education and Training 
Working Group that is part of the National Counter-Intelligence Task 
Force on Research Security. Through this effort, NSF is coordinating 
with interagency partners to develop research security training for the 
research community.
    Strengthening Disclosure Requirements and Processes: As part of its 
revision to the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide 
(PAPPG),\14\ NSF announced that use of an NSF-approved format will be 
required to be used by senior personnel in preparation of both the 
biographical sketch \15\ and current and pending support \16\ sections 
of the proposal. To streamline the process, NSF worked with the 
National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use SciENcv:Science Experts 
Network Curriculum Vitae \17\ as an NSF-approved format for both 
sections of the proposal.
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    \14\ www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/researchprotection/
PersonnelPolicyForeignGovTalentRecruitment%20Programs07_11_2019.pdf
    \15\ www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/biosketch.jsp
    \16\ www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/cps.jsp
    \17\ www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/
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    Effective October 2020, NSF has implemented new policy for 
submission of postaward updates to current and pending support 
information. Additionally, in annual reports, researchers on NSF awards 
must now notify NSF when active other support has changed since the 
award was made or since the last reporting period. They must include a 
revised current and pending support document as part of this 
notification.
    As of October 5, 2020, NSF-funded major facilities must provide NSF 
with advance notification of potential collaboration with non-U.S. 
organizations or governments in connection with its NSF-funded award 
and must await guidance from NSF prior to negotiating terms of any 
potential agreement.
    Partnering with the Office of Inspector General (OIG): Following 
referrals by the OIG, NSF has recouped millions of taxpayer dollars 
through actions on awards given to institutions of higher education, 
and small businesses through NSF award suspension, government-wide 
suspension, and NSF award termination. NSF has taken additional actions 
such as removal of PIs from NSF awards and NSF debarment from serving 
as a reviewer, panelist, or consultant.
    Interagency Coordination: In recognition of the importance of 
working closely with the rest of the U.S. government, NSF participates 
in the Joint Committee on the Research Environment (JCORE) that was 
launched by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 
(OSTP) under the National Science and Technology Council in 2019. NSF 
co-chairs the JCORE subcommittee on research security, the group that 
brought science agencies and law enforcement together to develop the 
recommendations that served as the foundation for National Security 
Presidential Memorandum 33 \18\ and Recommended Practices for 
Strengthening the Security and Integrity of America's Science and 
Technology Research Enterprise.\19\
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    \18\ https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/
presidential-memorandum-united-states-government-supported-research-
development-national-security-policy/
    \19\ https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/
01/NSTC-Research-Security-Best-Practices-Jan2021.pdf
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    Promoting and Protecting International R&D Cooperation: NSF engaged 
with foreign allies and partners in bilateral and multilateral settings 
to promote policies and practices that increase awareness of risk to 
research security and improve cooperation on international protection 
and response efforts. NSF's messaging also underscored that 
international collaboration is essential to pursuing the frontiers of 
science.
    NSF will continue to work diligently to address the risks of 
foreign government interference in NSF-funded research so that our 
research community can continue to contribute to the U.S. economy and 
to U.S. security.
                 geographic diversity of award funding
    Question 4. NSF has historically had a concentration of a majority 
of its funds being awarded to a minority of States. There is no 
limitation on where good research ideas can emerge from and the demand 
for technically skilled workers can be found across the country. How 
will NSF's proposed budget, and its current research programs, improve 
geographic diversity and contribute to having a technically capable 
workforce across the Nation?

    Answer. NSF's mandate is to promote science nationwide. EPSCoR 
allows NSF to truly fulfil that duty, making sure that ``across the 
Nation'' means across all of the Nation, not just places fortunate 
enough to have extensive research infrastructure. EPSCoR enhances the 
research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions (States, 
Territories, commonwealth) by strengthening STEM capacity and 
capability. To achieve this goal, EPSCoR aims to stimulate research 
that is fully competitive in NSF disciplinary and multidisciplinary 
research programs. These activities promote and catalyze STEM workforce 
development, broadening participation, and economic growth. Developing 
research capacity in participating institutions of all types and 
serving varied student populations is an integral part of EPSCoR's 
vision and mission.
    In addition to EPSCoR, NSF supports numerous activities to expand 
the U.S. STEM enterprise regardless of gender, race or ethnicity, 
geographic location, socioeconomic status, or physical capability. 
Examples of these activities include:

  --NSF's Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program supports STEM 
        learning opportunities outside of schools, for example at local 
        science museums and community centers. This program encourages 
        projects based in rural communities. One recent AISL project 
        based in New Hampshire established a network of more than 100 
        rural libraries to support STEM learning in small towns across 
        America.
  --NSF's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program focuses on the 
        education of technicians for the cutting-edge, high-technology 
        fields that drive our nation's economy. These awards to 
        community colleges, which are widely distributed throughout 
        America, feature strong engagement with employers to educate 
        science and engineering technicians for the good jobs of the 
        future.
                  new directorate organizational model
    Question 5. It is being suggested that NSF treat the proposed 
Technology Directorate contained in the budget request as a DARPA like 
organization. Does the DARPA model fit within NSF and its longstanding 
history of peer reviewed science?

    Answer. The proposed directorate for technology, innovation, and 
partnerships will serve to accelerate use-inspired research. Past 
practice has shown the value in defining milestones and metrics for 
such research, and in additional oversight that tracks appropriate 
progress. NSF has experience with these approaches in specific programs 
and will look to build upon these going forward. In short, NSF views 
the new directorate not as a DARPA-like organization, but rather as a 
means to establish a new model for research and innovation 
advancement--one that enhances existing award and oversight approaches 
and pilots new ones in support of accelerating technology outcomes.
                new directorate legislative authorities
    Question 6. There are proposals both in the Congress and from the 
Administration that propose to create a new technology directorate to 
fund a number of activities within NSF. They propose to enable 
partnerships, create new research centers, and fund graduate students. 
These are all activities NSF currently engages in, and has done so for 
decades. Does NSF need any new legislative authorities to implement the 
activities envisioned in the fiscal year 2022 budget request or the 
American Jobs Plan? If so, what are they?

    Answer. Congress provided NSF the authority to make this kind of 
change to its organizational structure. The agency greatly values our 
close relationships with the Congress and we look forward to working 
with you throughout the process as this proposal is considered.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Joe Manchin, III
            green bank observatory operations (gbo) planning
    Question 1. The fiscal year 2021 Omnibus shared the Appropriations 
Committee's support of NSF's effort to develop multi-agency plans at 
Green Bank and provides no less than the request level to support 
operations and maintenance at Green Bank through these plans or 
directly through NSF. What can you tell me about the agency's efforts 
to develop a multi-agency plans since this bill has passed? Can you 
provide me assurances that the fiscal year 2022 budget request will 
fully sustain the current operations of GBO and staff levels?

    Answer. The combined NSF and partner funding for fiscal year 2021 
will fully support GBO operations and maintenance. Partner 
contributions represent approximately 30-35 percent of the total 
operations budget of GBO. These contributions come mostly from non-
Federal partners; however, NSF continues to work within both the 
Federal and non-Federal communities to develop new viable partnerships 
and collaborations. The recent proof-of-concept test of a GBO radar 
transmitter opens a new range of capabilities and potential partnership 
opportunities for GBO. The fiscal year 2022 budget request encompasses 
support for GBO telescope operations, maintenance, infrastructure 
upgrades, telescope management, as well as funds for education and 
public outreach.
nsf's major infrastructure maintenance and upgrade processes, including 
                               green bank
    Question 2. The collapse of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico 
last year was shocking. I understand that a review is underway to 
determine what happened. Please explain to me the process NSF uses to 
determine maintenance and upgrade requirements for its science 
infrastructure. Is the NSF undertaking a review of its other major 
assets, including Green Bank, to ensure that another significant 
structural failure is avoided? How would you grade the infrastructure 
at Green Bank and what steps are you taking to ensure that it is 
upgraded in a timely fashion to ensure its continued contribution to 
science and competitiveness? What is in the fiscal year 2022 budget to 
upgrade and provide maintenance at Green Bank?

    Answer. Maintenance of the infrastructure at NSF's major facilities 
is an important responsibility of the awardees who operate the 
facilities, and the status of that maintenance is part of NSF's annual 
program plan reviews and renewal/competition decisions. As a result of 
the Arecibo platform collapse, NSF is undertaking a portfolio-wide 
review of how major facility conditions assessments are conducted and 
incorporated into the planning cycle, how they are reported to and 
evaluated by NSF, and subsequent steps that NSF takes based on those 
evaluations. This review could result in more standardized approaches 
across the major facility portfolio as well as changes to the award 
terms and conditions. NSF expects preliminary findings from this review 
in Q4 fiscal year 2021.
    The fiscal year 2022 budget request for GBO encompasses support for 
telescope operations, maintenance, infrastructure upgrades, telescope 
management, as well as funds for education and public outreach. GBO 
conducts regular inspections and maintenance of numerous components of 
its telescopes and site infrastructure. The Green Bank Telescope (GBT), 
dedicated in August 2000, undergoes periodic rigorous structural 
reviews; the last full structural inspection of GBT by an independent 
engineering firm was completed in 2018, and additional inspections are 
scheduled to be completed in 2021 and 2024. NSF-funded upgrades to the 
GBT are reviewed through the standard merit review process and are 
often driven by community priorities and strategic initiatives. For 
instance, in fiscal year 2020, NSF funded two upgrades (GBT Data 
Archive and a Cyclic Spectroscopy system) through the Windows on the 
Universe Big Idea that will keep the GBT competitive for multi-
messenger astrophysics. Some upgrades to the GBT are externally funded, 
such as the recently tested radar transmitter system, developed as part 
of a cooperative research and development agreement between NRAO, GBO, 
and Raytheon Intelligence and Space.
                   green bank telescope capabilities
    Question 3. In November of 2020 at the Green Bank Observatory, the 
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) collaborated on a proof-of-
concept experiment to test the feasibility of adding a transmit 
capability to the Green Bank Telescope. A signal was sent by an 
experimental transmitter from Green Bank to the Apollo 15 landing site 
on the Moon. When the signal was received back on earth, a stunning 
image of that section of the moon emerged. What did we learn from the 
experiment? How can this new capability contribute to our study of the 
solar system and other observing requirements? What are the next steps, 
and is there funding the fiscal year 2022 budget to continue this work?

    Answer. The proof-of-concept test, developed as part of a 
cooperative research and development agreement between NRAO, GBO, and 
Raytheon Intelligence and Space, positively demonstrated the 
capabilities of a prototype modern GBT radar system transmitter and the 
10 VLBA antennas to function as a radar imaging system. This 
demonstration opens a range of new capabilities for both NRAO and the 
GBO and allows both to pursue new lines of research with potential 
applications for planetary astronomy and planetary defense. Leveraging 
lessons learned from the development and testing of the 700-watt 
transmitter, NRAO, GBO, and Raytheon are exploring options to develop a 
500-kilowatt system that could image objects in the Solar System with 
unprecedented detail and sensitivity.
                        apprenticeship programs
    Question 4. The United States needs a highly trained and skilled 
workforce to compete internationally--including highly trained 
machinists to build and maintain the large structural parts of our 
great observatories. In my State, Marshall University has partnered 
with the Green Bank Observatory to develop the skilled workforce needed 
to maintain operations of its numerous radio telescopes and other 
critical instruments at the facility. The Observatory's Mechanical 
Division has teamed with the Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) at 
Marshall University to manufacture everything from large structural 
parts to small, high-precision receive components, all while providing 
the framework, support, and training to grow its own talent. Today, 
RCBI assists companies and organizations in 19 States to establish 
registered apprenticeship programs in manufacturing. In your view, what 
should we be doing to ensure we have a pipeline of young people in 
these fields? How can we expand or better support critical programs 
like the Apprentice Works initiative at the Robert C. Byrd Institute 
(RCBI) at Marshall University?
    In your view, what should we be doing to ensure we have a pipeline 
of young people in these fields?

    Answer. The Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program is a 
congressionally mandated program that is specifically focused on 
preparation of the technical workforces that you describe. It 
intentionally focuses on career pathways that have multiple entry 
points and multiple career destinations.

  --Many ATE projects support efforts that bring technical education 
        into high schools. Typically, these projects enable high school 
        students to earn credentials that count toward their high 
        school diploma as well as toward an associate degree at the 
        partnering community college. These efforts help to create 
        pathways from high school to community college to careers in 
        advanced technological fields.
  --ATE projects support career pathways from community college and 
        associate degrees into 4-year technical programs, such as 
        engineering technology.
  --ATE projects also support entry of current technical workers into 
        new technical areas, such as quantum technology.

    Through ATE, NSF is supporting the right kinds of efforts, but we 
need help to solve the major reasons that more people are not pursuing 
advanced technological careers: perception. These trades-related 
technical fields are not considered as valued career options by 
potential students or their families. As a result, it can be difficult 
to maintain the necessary enrollment to ensure continued institutional 
support for various technical education programs.
    In addition, community/technical colleges often do not have 
sufficient funds to purchase, maintain, and update the high-cost 
equipment on which students need to train. The issue of how to sustain 
programs is one with which NSF grapples frequently, since we typically 
view our funding as catalytic rather than permanent.
    We anticipate that partnerships between NSF and industries that 
need advanced technological workers could help to address both the 
reputation of technical fields and equipment needs. In addition, some 
of our ATE projects are experimenting with simulations and remotely 
operated equipment to enable students to learn how to use the 
equipment. Such approaches can help institutions share equipment 
resources with each other and, perhaps, with industry facilities.
    As it relates to supporting programs such as the Apprentice Works 
initiative at the Robert C. Byrd Institute, supporting apprenticeships 
is a key element of GBO's robust program of skilled workforce 
development and fortification of the STEM pipeline, which includes:

  --a hands-on summer program in Observatory maintenance for 
        undergraduate students and recent high school graduates,
  --opportunities for local co-op students to work with the Electronics 
        and Mechanical Engineering divisions and be considered for 
        potential hiring,
  --serving as the hub for the NSF INCLUDES-funded First2 STEM Success 
        Alliance in West Virginia, which aims to increase the 
        persistence of rural first-generation students in STEM fields 
        through their first 2 years of post-secondary education, and
  --a variety of other education and public outreach programs for K-12 
        students and beyond.

    In our view, these efforts are best served by ensuring that they 
are well-integrated into GBO's core mission of advancing radio 
astronomical research and supporting complementary research and 
educational activities. This is because fundamental research and the 
activities surrounding it can be beneficial locally, regionally, and 
nationally, and observatories such as GBO are key engines of innovation 
and growth, often providing the necessary infrastructure for them.
    The ATE Program also supports apprenticeships and other workplace 
experiences for both students and faculty. For example, students and 
faculty can receive funding to work in an Industry-University 
Cooperative Research Center, thus gaining hands on support in emerging 
technical fields.\20\ In addition, every ATE project has its own 
business/industry partnerships, and these partnerships provide access 
to apprenticeship opportunities and mentoring for students in relevant 
technician programs. However, smaller or newer companies may be unable 
to pay students for their internship experiences.
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                  equity in investments beyond epscor
    Question 5. Federal research funding has economic and quality of 
life implications for States, communities and individuals across the 
Nation. Unfortunately, that Federal research funding is not widely 
distributed but concentrated in a few States and institutions. The NSF 
EPSCoR program was created by Congress in 1979 to ensure that 
significant scientific discovery not be limited just to those States 
with substantial resources. However, currently the 25 States, including 
WV, and three jurisdictions that are under the NSF Established Program 
to Stimulate Competitive Research receive about 10.15 percent of NSF 
research funding. What additional measures steps can NSF take, beyond 
EPSCoR, to improve equity in its investments to help smaller, more 
rural States like WV, nurture our talent in emerging new advanced 
technologies? Do underrepresented groups include first generation 
students from rural areas as in Appalachia?

    Answer. NSF strongly supports nurturing STEM talent in rural areas. 
Each of the NSF research units make use of national data to monitor 
workforce trends and needs. In addition to workforce development 
programs in EHR, several directorates have funded disciplinary-focused 
projects targeting the career development of rural students, such as 
GEO's GP-EXTRA: Expanding GeoFORCE Alaska, a Pathway to STEM Degrees 
for Rural, First-Generation, and Alaska Native Students (#1701259--
University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus); and ENG's Research: Looks Like 
Me: Leveraging Funds of Identity to Enhance Engineering Career Pursuits 
in Rural/Reservation Communities (# Montana State University) and 
EAGER: MAKER: Maker Fridays: Engaging Rural and Underrepresented High 
School Students in Pre-Engineering Design and Creativity (#1723704--
Northeast Community College).
    At a roundtable on rural STEM education held in July 2019, the 
Assistant Director for Education and Human Resources reported that at 
that time in EHR alone, there were 350 active awards involving rural 
STEM education across 21 different programs. Several programs are of 
particular importance for nurturing talent in rural America: Teacher 
recruitment and preparation is important everywhere but there are 
special challenges in recruiting rural teachers and helping them stay 
current. NSF's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program addresses 
recruitment and preparation, while NSF's Computer Science for All 
program supports K-12 teachers with the support needed to teach 
computer science and computational thinking. NSF's Innovative 
Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program 
supports innovative models to engage preK-12 students in the 
technology-rich experiences that will excite them about STEM and STEM 
careers while also engaging their teachers. STEM learning opportunities 
in informal environments can contribute to STEM education for the 
entire community. NSF's program on Advancing Informal STEM Learning 
(AISL) supports these experiences and research on what is most 
effective.
    NSF's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program focuses on the 
education of technicians for the cutting-edge, high-technology fields 
that drive our Nation's economy. These awards to community colleges 
feature strong engagement with employers to educate science and 
engineering technicians for the good jobs of the future.
    Depending on the definition of ``rural,'' there are now either 
about 200 (Department of Education) or 600-800 (Rural Community College 
Alliance) rural community colleges in America. In addition to the ATE 
program, which focuses primarily on the skilled technical workforce at 
community colleges, a recently published Program Description entitled 
``Advancing Innovation and Impact in Undergraduate STEM Education at 
Two-year Institutions of Higher Education.'' focuses on STEM at 
community colleges.
    Because the effort to nurture talent may involve a whole community, 
NSF INCLUDES supports projects that involve multiple parts of the 
educational system and organizations within communities. One such 
example is the NSF INCLUDES Alliance: Expanding the First2STEM Success 
Network, whose primary place of performance is the Green Bank 
Observatory in West Virginia. The Alliance aims to improve the college 
enrollment rate and success of undergraduate STEM students, with 
emphasis on rural first-generation students through their first 2 years 
of college. This innovative project was co-funded by EPSCoR.
    Institutions and individuals in EPSCoR jurisdictions should 
continue to leverage NSF EPSCoR's outreach mechanism, which supports 
outreach travel that enables NSF staff to directly engage and inform 
the EPSCoR research community about NSF opportunities, priorities, 
programs, and policies. From fiscal year 2016 through fiscal year 2020, 
11.3 percent of total NSF funding supported institutions and 
individuals in EPSCoR jurisdictions. The NSF EPSCoR program continues 
to promote engagement of the EPSCoR community in NSF and other national 
activities.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Jeff Merkley
                    covid-19 impact on stem research
    Question 1a. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted scientific and 
academic research in unparalleled ways. One January 2021 study from 
NORC at the University of Chicago found that graduate academic 
institutions reported that 67 percent of their STEM research was 
delayed or discontinued due to the pandemic. We also know that students 
from underrepresented backgrounds--including students of color, women, 
students with caring responsibilities, and those hailing from rural 
communities--have shouldered the impacts of these delays the hardest.
    What, if any, flexibilities is the NSF arranging for previous 
grantees to adjust grant timelines and requirements in recognition of 
the unalterable delays in research associated with academic closures 
and other COVID-19 impacts?

    Answer. Many of the most impactful efforts to assist the research 
community and workforce were contained in flexibilities authorized by 
the Office of Management and Budget from the requirements specified in 
2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles 
and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. NSF implemented 
flexibilities authorized by the following OMB Memoranda to support the 
research enterprise through the COVID-19 pandemic:

  --NSF Implementation of OMB Memorandum M-21-20, Appendix C \21\
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  --NSF Implementation of OMB Memorandum M-20-26 \22\
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  --NSF Implementation of OMB Memorandum M-20-20 \23\
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covid19_nsfomb2020implementation.pdf
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  --NSF Implementation of OMB Memorandum M-20-17 \24\
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    \24\ www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/covid19/
covid19_nsfombimplementation.pdf

    With specific regard to implementation of OMB Memorandum (M-20-26), 
NSF worked closely with colleagues at the National Institutes of Health 
(NIH) to develop consistent implementation language that was to be used 
by both NSF and NIH. This standardization was vital to the research 
community to help mitigate the reduction of administrative burden 
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associated with individual agency implementation of OMB flexibilities.

    Question 1b. As research institutions continue to recover from the 
COVID-19 pandemic, acknowledging the disproportionate impacts felt by 
some members of the academic community, how can the NSF best support 
these institutions in ensuring an equitable and sustainable recovery?

    Answer. NSF recognizes that the pandemic has disproportionately 
impacted institutions that serve students from underrepresented 
backgrounds. We also recognize the heterogenous nature of these 
institutions and consequently, the support must address a wide range of 
challenges. NSF's emphasis has focused on increased support for 
undergraduate researchers through stipends, internships, and 
scholarship programs, as well as postdoctoral fellowships and support 
for internship programs. NSF is dedicating both fiscal year 2021 
Current Plan and American Rescue Plan funding to COVID recovery, 
including support for individuals and institutions disproportionately 
affected by the impacts of the pandemic. For example, in the 
Directorate for Education and Human Resources, home to programs 
focusing on HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, and Hispanic Serving Institutions, 
funding is available to support for postdoctoral scholars, community 
colleges, and research focused on racial equity. Funding opportunities 
for post-docs and other new investigators have been created or 
augmented in several other research domains, for example, in computer 
science, ocean science, polar science, mathematical and physical 
sciences, and engineering.
    Faculty members with young families were one of the groups whose 
work was adversely affected by the pandemic. In response, NSF issued a 
Dear Colleague Letter \25\ that expanded the availability of support 
for Career Life Balance supplements to all research personnel on any 
research grant. In addition, during the course of the pandemic, 
proposal deadlines \26\ for over 30 funding opportunities were delayed 
to provide potential principal investigators with additional time to 
prepare proposals.
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    \25\ www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21021/nsf21021.jsp
    \26\ www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/covid19/covid19_deadlines.pdf

    Question 1c. How can Congress further support NSF as we consider 
the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the science and 
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technology research community?

    Answer. Congress can further support NSF's ongoing response to the 
public health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by 
continuing to support in helping research communities, institutions, 
and people adversely impacted by COVID. Beginning in fiscal year 2020 
and continuing into fiscal year 2022, NSF has increased investments in 
programs that aid institutions and groups of people most affected by 
COVID-19, with an emphasis on supporting individuals at vulnerable 
career transition points.
    The disruption of COVID-19 has impacted the academic and research 
community, curtailing research activity and creating barriers to 
advancement in STEM careers. NSF recognizes the critical need to 
mitigate these impacts on the Nation's current and future scientific 
workforce. In fiscal year 2021, NSF will invest R&RA and EHR funds to 
assist the most severely impacted and most vulnerable, including 
individuals at vulnerable career transition points, especially 
students, postdoctoral fellows, and early career faculty. NSF will 
support this effort through new awards, supplements, and extensions of 
existing awards. To this end, NSF will increase investments in STEM 
education, EPSCoR States, community colleges, and Master of Science in 
Information Systems programs, using established programs across the 
Foundation. Additional funds provided via The American Rescue Plan of 
2021 (Public Law 117-2), from which NSF received $600 million, will be 
similarly devoted to these priorities. NSF continues to monitor the 
situation among our varied communities and stands ready to respond 
further as needed in fiscal year 2022, as we have in fiscal year 2020 
and fiscal year 2021.

    Fiscal year 2022 investments include these areas:

  --Expand research on the biology, ecology, and evolution of 
        infectious diseases. NSF will invest in projects that advance 
        understanding of the origins of emerging infectious diseases 
        and their transmission, and the biotechnologies needed for 
        detection and intervention. fiscal year 2022 investments will 
        be increased in biotechnology, programs such as Ecology and 
        Evolution of Infectious Diseases, Enabling Discovery through 
        Genomic, and Designing Synthetic Cells Beyond the Bounds of 
        Evolution, and the Sentinel Cells for Surveillance and Response 
        to Emergent Infectious Diseases Dear Colleague Letter.
  --Initiate new funding opportunities to support development of 
        predictive intelligence for pandemic prevention. NSF will 
        support planning and research activities for highly convergent 
        approaches that combine biological science, computer and 
        information sciences, engineering, and social and behavioral 
        sciences to detect, model, and contain emerging infectious 
        diseases before they can spread to a pandemic stage.
  --Increase understanding of social factors for pandemic prevention. 
        NSF will invest in foundational research in social, behavioral, 
        and economic impacts of pandemics, including improved public 
        understanding, international collaborations to hasten recovery, 
        and research that improves operations and logistics of 
        pandemic-related supply networks and vaccine distribution.
                                 ______
                                 
          Questions Submitted by Senator Shelley Moore Capito
           pandemic period support for green bank observatory
    Question 1. What efforts in particular has NSF made during the 
pandemic period to support operations at Green Bank Observatory?

    Answer. NSF has continued to support GBO's operations, maintenance, 
infrastructure upgrades, telescope management, and education and public 
outreach activities during the pandemic period. NSF supported the 
implementation of flexibilities defined in OMB memos, allowing GBO to 
adapt its operational model while continuing to support its staff 
through critical transitions. This has permitted GBO to adapt to 
operating under pandemic conditions, conducting remote observations 
with the GBT and, when possible, migrating its community engagement 
activities to virtual formats. A phased return to on-site work is 
occurring and being closely monitored, with extensive safety measures 
in place; the site remains closed to visitors. In its oversight role, 
NSF is actively assessing the impacts of the pandemic on GBO to inform 
budget requests beyond fiscal year 2022.
                         ``open skies'' science
    Question 2. On ``open skies'' science being used at NSF--Would you 
please explain why this program is so important? Is this program 
oversubscribed and what does oversubscription in this instance mean?

    Answer. Open Skies time is made available to the broad astronomical 
community through a peer review process, selecting the best proposals 
based on scientific merit. This NSF-sponsored observing time is 
critical to ensuring that the scientists with the best ideas have 
access to the telescope to make the observations necessary to advance 
their science. The GBT is currently used for observations approximately 
6,500 hours per year. Of these, approximately 4,500 hours are available 
as Open Skies and are allocated to members of the general scientific 
community through community-based merit review managed by GBO. Hundreds 
of scientists use the GBT each year for research that spans virtually 
every field of modern astrophysics. The ``oversubscription rate'', or 
the ratio of the Open Skies time requested to the time allocated, has 
been in the range 2-3 since fiscal year 2015; this level is generally 
considered healthy for astronomical facilities. Non-open-skies time 
(about 2,000 hours) at GBT is provided to GBO partners who make 
significant financial contributions to facility operations.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
             covid-19 impact on public scientific research
    Question 1. I am concerned about the disruption caused by the 
pandemic to public scientific research, including at universities like 
the University of Maine, which is led by your former colleague, Joan 
Ferrini-Mundy. I am a cosponsor of the Research Investment to the Spark 
the Economy (RISE Act), which would direct nearly $25 billion in relief 
for research workforce and institutions, including $3 billion to NSF. 
What are NSF's plans to support the research community so that 
federally funded work that was underway before the pandemic can be 
completed?

    Answer. Throughout the pandemic NSF Program officers have been 
working closely with award recipients to provide supplements, no cost 
extensions, and other forms of support to help with the impacts and 
challenges COVID-19 has presented. It is of utmost importance to NSF 
that our awardees have every opportunity to complete their research and 
we are exhausting all possibilities to accomplish that goal.
    In response to the COVID-19 virus, NSF mobilized funding from the 
``Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security'' (CARES) Act, as well 
as NSF's regular appropriations, to help the country respond to and 
recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. NSF supports a wide range of 
research funding mechanisms, including Rapid Response Research, or 
RAPID, a fast-tracked grant process to accelerate critical discoveries.
    In addition to funding provided through the targeted American 
Rescue Plan legislation, NSF is providing focused support through 
regular fiscal year 2021 appropriations and the fiscal year 2022 
Request. This funding will help people who are at vulnerable transition 
points in their research careers, such as those who have recently 
received their graduate degrees and other early career scientists, as 
well as disadvantaged institutions, such as those in EPSCoR states and 
minority-serving institutions. The investments are spread across new 
and existing post-doctoral programs, research initiation awards for 
early-career faculty, supplements to existing awards, and targeted 
investment in several programs including the Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities--Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities--Excellence in Research 
(HBCU-EiR), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and 
University Program (TCUP), and others across the directorates. NSF 
recently posted a Science Matters article \27\ highlighting NSF's 
efforts in the fight against the pandemic and current efforts to help 
researcher get back on track and supporting efforts to prepare for 
future pandemics.
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    \27\ https://beta.nsf.gov/science-matters/researchers-apply-covid-
19-lessons-prevent-future-pandemics
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                 rapid grants using covid-relief funds
    Question 2. I commend NSF's work over the past year to make RAPID 
grants available using COVID-relief funds, which have been granted to 
researchers who are helping the U.S. better understand and fight the 
pandemic. Would you summarize some of the key findings and learnings 
that are coming out of that collective body of work?

    Answer. The RAPID proposal type is specifically implemented by the 
Foundation to address funding requests where there is a severe urgency 
with regard to availability of, or access to, data, facilities, or 
specialized equipment, including quick-response research on natural or 
anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events. The Project 
Description in a proposal is expected to be brief--no more than five 
pages--and must include clear statements as to why the proposed 
research is urgent and why RAPID is the appropriate mechanism for 
supporting the proposed work.
    Given that RAPID awards support projects requiring a rapid release 
of funds and thus an expedited merit review process, this mechanism 
provides NSF with the ability to make funding decisions quickly and in 
accordance with NSF policies and procedures. Since March 2020, the 
Foundation has made over 750 RAPID awards related to COVID-19. These 
total over $109 million from both regular fiscal year 2021 and CARES 
Act appropriations.
                post-pandemic investment recommendations
    Question 3. After a full year of battling COVID-19, it's important 
to understand the long-term ramifications of the pandemic on all 
aspects of our society. What investments do you recommend for 
supporting science, technology, education, and innovation in a post-
pandemic time?

    Answer. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the scientific 
challenges that must be overcome to prevent and contain emerging and 
future infectious diseases and highlighted our vulnerability as a 
nation to the continuous threat they pose. NSF has set three closely 
interrelated strategic goals to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on 
the Nation's scientific community and enable better predictions of 
future outbreaks.

  --Promote interdisciplinary research to improve our understanding of 
        how pathogens arise, evolve, and spread, and on new ways to 
        reduce their transmission, infectivity, and virulence.
  --Develop a more effective intelligence capability for emerging 
        infectious diseases by leveraging advances in ``omics,'' 
        synthetic biology, structural and computational biology, remote 
        sensing, the Internet of Things/networked sensors, data 
        integration and analytics, artificial intelligence, and 
        predictive modeling that incorporates human and social 
        behavior.
  --Further our understanding of the societal factors essential to 
        strengthen the national resilience to future outbreaks and 
        other natural disasters, through research on risk 
        communication, robust supply chains, market responses and 
        collaborative, virtual learning environments.

    NSF recommends three investments areas in fiscal year 2022 and 
beyond for supporting science, technology, education, and innovation in 
a post-pandemic time.

  --Expand research on the biology, ecology, and evolution of 
        infectious diseases. NSF will invest in projects that advance 
        understanding of the origins of emerging infectious diseases 
        and their transmission, and the biotechnologies needed for 
        detection and intervention. fiscal year 2022 investments will 
        be increased in biotechnology, programs such as Ecology and 
        Evolution of Infectious Diseases, Enabling Discovery through 
        Genomic Tools, and Designing Synthetic Cells Beyond the Bounds 
        of Evolution, and the Sentinel Cells for Surveillance and 
        Response to Emergent Infectious Diseases Dear Colleague Letter.
  --Initiate new funding opportunities to support development of 
        predictive intelligence for pandemic prevention. NSF will 
        support planning and research activities for highly convergent 
        approaches that combine biological science, computer and 
        information sciences, engineering, and social and behavioral 
        sciences to detect, model, and contain emerging infectious 
        diseases before they can spread to a pandemic stage.
  --Increase understanding of societal factors for pandemic prevention. 
        NSF will invest in foundational research in social, behavioral, 
        and economic impacts of pandemics, including improved public 
        understanding, international collaborations to hasten recovery, 
        and research that improves operations and logistics of 
        pandemic-related supply networks and vaccine distribution.

    The continuous support from Congress will be critical to make new 
research, infrastructure, and workforce investments to strengthen the 
Nation's scientific and technological capacity to predict and prevent 
future pandemics.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator John Kennedy
                      taxpayer dollar stewardship
    Question 1. We all agree that the United States has to be the world 
leader in terms of scientific technology. However, we also must be 
conscientious stewards of taxpayers' dollars. Are there any areas of 
scientific funding by the U.S. Government that you see as wasteful, or 
at least as not benefiting our Nation's scientific competitiveness? And 
how much do these areas/programs/etc. receive?

    Answer. Being a conscientious steward of taxpayers' dollars is at 
the very heart of NSF's merit review process. Over its more than 70-
year history NSF has exemplified the merit review process which has 
been emulated throughout the world as the gold standard. It is designed 
to ensure that, as far as possible, competitive peer review identifies 
the best portfolio of ideas for funding in accord with the Foundation's 
two main review criteria--Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts.
    The National Science Board, NSF's policy body, issues a yearly 
merit review process digest to assure its stakeholders that NSF 
implements the merit review process with integrity, and in a fair, 
competitive, and transparent manner. The 2019 Digest was published in 
December 2020 \28\ and the 2020 Digest will be out shortly.
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    \28\ www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2020/merit_review/FY-2019/
nsb202038.pdf
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    Additional high-level NSF mechanisms for understanding, 
safeguarding, and improving this critical Foundation process include 
meetings of external Advisory Committees (ACs), Committee of Visitor 
(COV) reports, and biennial surveys of proposers and reviewers. COV 
reports are a key factor in maintaining the quality and integrity of 
NSF's merit review process. They provide input on such critical 
elements as the qualifications of the reviewers, whether the reviews 
provide substantive explanatory comments and a well-documented 
rationale, and whether the resulting program portfolio is appropriately 
balanced.
    It is also important to note that the benefits of basic research 
can take years, even decades, to show societal and economic benefit. 
Some of the most remarkable discoveries and innovations were not even 
the focus of the original research; consider for example, Polymerase 
Chain Reaction (PCR). Clinical tests for COVID-19 rely on the genetic 
identification of the virus, a process made feasible by an NSF-funded 
discovery of bacteria from thermal pools at Yellowstone National Park. 
These unique bacteria contain thermostable enzymes that allow for the 
rapid copying of genetic material through a process called Polymerase 
Chain Reaction (PCR). Only a tiny amount of genetic material is 
retrieved through a nasal swab, far too small an amount to be readily 
detected. Using PCR, scientists can amplify the tiny amounts retrieved 
to a measurable quantity and can then confirm whether a patient has 
been infected with SARS-CoV-2.
                      epscor funding in louisiana
    Question 2. Louisiana is an Established Program to Stimulate 
Competitive Research (EPSCoR) State supported by the National Science 
Foundation (NSF) that develops innovative research and opportunities 
for students and faculty at many of Louisiana's prominent Universities. 
With Louisiana Universities' role in innovative scientific research 
through the National Science Foundation, will you continue to ensure 
these students receive the funding they need to advance their research?

    Answer. Yes, for the United States to be a global leader in 
scientific and technological innovation, NSF commits resources to 
support science and engineering discoveries and develop a technically 
capable workforce from across the Nation: rural, suburban, urban, and 
in-between. EPSCoR enhances the research competitiveness of targeted 
jurisdictions (States, Territories, commonwealth) by strengthening STEM 
capacity and capability. To achieve this goal, EPSCoR aims to stimulate 
research that is fully competitive in NSF disciplinary and 
multidisciplinary research programs. These activities promote and 
catalyze STEM workforce development, broadening participation, and 
economic growth. In addition to EPSCoR funding, NSF will continue to 
support meritorious science and engineering research and the individual 
researchers, including students, from across the Nation.

           Estimated Student Participants in Fiscal Year 2020
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Level of Education                      Student Count
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graduate Students...................................  45
Undergraduate Students..............................  40
K-12 Students.......................................  3,705
------------------------------------------------------------------------


             Students Externally Engaged in Fiscal Year 2020
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Type of Institution                     Student Count
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Research Institutions......................  585
Primarily Undergraduate Institutions................  65
Minority-Serving Institutions.......................  25
------------------------------------------------------------------------

            geographic diversity of sbir/sttr award funding
    Question 3. Out of the $2.98 billion Small Business Innovation 
Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards 
that the National Science Foundation has issued, just over $16 million 
went to Louisiana. That is compared to a State like California 
receiving $626 million or Massachusetts receiving $323 million from the 
NSF, which accounts for roughly a third of total SBIR/STTR awards from 
the NSF. I'm concerned that awards are becoming concentrated in certain 
States. The purpose of the SBIR & STTR programs are to expand the role 
of small businesses in Federal research and development (R&D). Does it 
concern you that the NSF's SBIR/STTR funding is propping up R&D funding 
in certain States, while other States are being left behind? What 
outreach is the NSF doing to ensure that SBIR/STTR awards are being 
disbursed throughout the United States? How can we get more SBIR/STTR 
awards to historically underserved States?

    Answer. NSF actively conducts outreach to States/communities 
throughout the U.S., particularly in ones that are underserved. These 
outreach activities take the form of road shows, workshops, 
conferences, and office hours. Indeed, they are an essential means to 
growing awareness about the SBIR/STTR program in all communities.
    In addition, through planned investments by the new directorate, 
NSF anticipates growing the opportunity space for individuals and 
organizations throughout the country, and particularly in long 
underserved areas. NSF anticipates catalyzing collaborations between 
academic researchers, companies, and investors that will in turn spur 
new small businesses positioned for NSF's SBIR/STTR programs. In this 
way, the new directorate will serve to address the desire to expand the 
geography of innovation, well beyond what we are currently able to do.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Chris Van Hollen
              minority-serving institutions award funding
    Question 1. Our Nation's Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities (HBCUs) are leaders in conducting vital research and 
educating the next generation of our Science, Technology, Engineering, 
and Math (STEM) workforce, graduating 25 percent of African Americans 
who earn degrees in STEM. Unfortunately, the Center for the Study of 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities reported in January of 
this year that only 1.7 percent of National Science Foundation (NSF) 
research & development funding for institutions of higher educations is 
awarded to HBCUs. In 2018, only 5.7 percent of NSF funding for 
institutions of higher education was awarded to all Minority-Serving 
Institutions, including HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other 
MSIs.
    What steps are you taking to evaluate how funding is awarded across 
your programs to ensure this massive disparity is closed?

    Answer. NSF continuously evaluates its investment portfolio to 
address how effectively it is meeting its mission. NSF is committed to 
enhancing and expanding its impact and reach, as well as disseminating 
knowledge on the science of broadening participation across the Nation. 
These evaluations are essential for NSF to enable science and 
engineering discoveries, ideas, and develop STEM talent from across the 
Nation.
    The fiscal year 2022 Request to Congress seeks an additional $100 
million, roughly a 50 percent increase, in funding for programs that 
aim to increase participation in science and engineering of individuals 
from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in these fields. Funding 
will support curriculum design, research on successful recruitment and 
retention methods, development of outreach or mentorship programs, 
fellowships, and building science and engineering research and 
education capacity at HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions.
    The following information is excerpted and adapted from NSF's 
Report to Congress on fiscal year 2019 Funding to Minority-Serving 
Institutions as required by the National Science Foundation 
Authorization Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-368, Section 18).
    NSF's total investment to all MSIs in fiscal year 2019 was $798.6 
million. This amount represents 12.9 percent of the $6,196.6 million 
awarded to all institutions of higher education (IHEs). Within that 
total, 8.8 percent of NSF's Research and Related Activities account 
funded research activities at MSIs. From fiscal year 2010 to fiscal 
year 2019, there has been a 312 percent increase in nominal dollars in 
NSF's total funding for MSIs. In fiscal year 2019, the investment rose 
from $771.9 million to $798.6 million. This increase of $26.7 million 
was due to the following NSF programmatic activities:

  --Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) 
        Research Infrastructure Improvement, and EPSCoR Co-Funding;
  --Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Excellence in Research 
        (HBCU-EiR);
  --Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI);
  --Major Research Instrumentation (MRI);
  --Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM);
  --Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP);
  --Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12);
  --Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP);
  --Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce);
  --NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and 
        Mathematics (S-STEM); and
  --CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service (SFS).

    NSF Direct Funding to All Categories of Minority-Serving Institutions: Fiscal Year 2010-Fiscal Year 2019
                                              (Millions of Dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Funding to All Categories of Minority-Serving                 MSIs as a
                                                          Institutions                       Funding    Percent
                Year                -------------------------------------------------------   to All     of IHE
                                        EHR        MRE        R&RA       H-1B      Total       IHEs     Funding
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal Year 2010...................     $116.2         $0     $127.4      $12.4     $255.9   $5,080.5       5.0%
Fiscal Year 2011...................     $121.5         $0     $147.3      $11.9     $280.7   $5,136.0       5.5%
Fiscal Year 2012...................     $115.8         $0     $131.8      $17.3     $265.0   $5,230.7       5.1%
Fiscal Year 2013...................     $125.6         $0     $138.6      $15.9     $280.1   $5,116.3       5.5%
Fiscal Year 2014...................     $124.8         $0     $187.0      $15.2     $327.0   $5,253.6       6.2%
Fiscal Year 2015...................     $131.5         $0     $192.3      $22.5     $346.2   $5,560.7       6.2%
Fiscal Year 2016...................     $152.1         $0     $314.0      $38.5     $504.6   $5,547.6       9.1%
Fiscal Year 2017...................     $124.7         $0     $275.4      $12.7     $412.8   $5,628.8       7.3%
Fiscal Year 2018...................     $210.7         $0     $507.0      $54.2     $771.9   $5,898.3      13.1%
Fiscal Year 2019...................     $219.0         $0     $544.0      $35.6     $798.6   $6,196.6      12.9%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                 covid-19 impact on gender in research
    Question 2. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified deep challenges and 
inequities faced by researchers from underrepresented communities, 
putting our current and future research workforce in jeopardy. A 
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report found 
that women researchers have disproportionately borne the brunt of the 
impacts of COVID-19, leading to disruptions in their research and a 
decline in authorship which can hurt long-term career prospects.
    What measures has NSF taken to address the underrepresentation of 
women researchers, particularly women of color and those early in their 
career, and the toll COVID-19 has had on the careers of these 
researchers? And what can Congress do to help support these efforts?

    Answer. The NSF is committed to increasing participation in the 
STEM enterprise, especially by groups that have been historically 
underrepresented in STEM fields. The NSB Vision 2030 document \29\ 
highlighted a need for faster progress in increasing diversity in the 
STEM enterprise, including a call to double the number of women in the 
STEM workforce by 2030. NSF's program portfolio reflects targeted 
strategies to broaden participation, many which benefit researchers who 
are women or women of color. The program portfolio also supports 
activities directed specifically toward early career researchers.
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    \29\ www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2020/nsb202015.pdf
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    NSF supports the advancement of women in their academic careers 
through several programs. One example is the NSF ADVANCE: 
Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Progressions 
program (NSF 20-554).\30\ NSF ADVANCE emphasizes that individuals 
cannot be defined by a single identity or factor (e.g., gender), and 
projects now focus on multi-factors or identities (e.g., gender, race/
ethnicity, et.al.) or intersectionality, as they address systemic 
change and gender equity work in academic environments. This emphasis 
has resulted in greater attention toward addressing issues for faculty 
women of color and faculty that are members of other marginalized 
groups.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \30\ www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20554/nsf20554.htm
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    The ADVANCE program hosted a panel in March 2021 entitled ``Faculty 
Equity in a Time of COVID.'' \31\ The focus of the panel discussion was 
on the short and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on faculty 
diversity, equity, and inclusion, noting that the pandemic will likely 
have long lasting impacts on the educational and career progression of 
faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars.
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    \31\ https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_Gf5S1V4PRJW5-
m25N8tQpQ
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    There are additional NSF efforts that provide opportunities for 
women and early career researchers. Four NSF Directorates and one 
Office joined forces to issue a Dear Colleague Letter (NSF 21-023) \32\ 
entitled ``Broadening Participation in STEM Entrepreneurship and 
Innovation'' that encourages investigators to develop comprehensive 
studies that use the intersectionality of identities as a framework to 
examine interventions and phenomena within the innovation and 
entrepreneurial space. The Directorate for Computer and Information 
Science and Engineering (CISE) is committed to broadening participation 
in computing (BPC). CISE strongly encourages meaningful actions that 
address the longstanding underrepresentation of various populations, 
including women, in computing and closely related disciplines. In July 
2017, CISE began a pilot effort for broadening participation in 
computing. The BPC pilot encourages CISE Principal Investigators (PIs) 
to include meaningful Project BPC plans in proposals submitted to a 
subset of CISE's research programs and requires them at time of award. 
The Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) recently 
released a new solicitation (NSF 21-570) \33\ entitled ``Launching 
Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical 
Sciences (LEAPS-MPS). The goal of LEAPS-MPS program is to support MPS 
principal investigators initiating their research programs, especially 
those at minority-serving institutions (MSIs).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \32\ www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21023/nsf21023.jsp
    \33\ www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505892
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    Many NSF programs support women researchers as Principal 
Investigators in a variety of projects. NSF also supports researchers 
early in their careers through additional programs and funding 
mechanisms. One example is the CAREER program,\34\ which embodies NSF's 
commitment to encourage faculty and academic institutions to value and 
support the integration of research and education. Successful principal 
investigators propose creative, effective research and education plans, 
developed within the context of the mission, goals, and resources of 
their organizations, while building a firm foundation for a lifetime of 
contributions to research, education, and their integration. Other 
types of support include research initiation awards, pilot project 
support, faculty fellowship and professional development, and planning 
grants through different NSF programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \34\ www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In fiscal year 2020, the NSF RAPID award mechanism was used to 
support projects related to the impact of COVID-19, including projects 
directed to understanding the impact on researchers, such as ``RAPID: 
Effect of The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on the Psychosocial, 
Emotional, Academic and Career Functioning of Academic Communities'' 
(Award #2032386) \35\ and ``RAPID: Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on 
the Biomedical Research Workforce: Productivity and Progress in 
Academia'' (Award #2035112).\36\ Congress can add value by 
communicating these opportunities to their constituencies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \35\ www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/
showAward?AWD_ID=2032386&HistoricalAwards=false
    \36\ www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/
showAward?AWD_ID=2035112&HistoricalAwards=false
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                    covid-19 driven research delays
    Question 3. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, labs were shut down, and 
universities and other researchers have been significantly impacted--
Johns Hopkins University in my State, the Nation's leader in Federal 
research funding for more than 40 years, estimates their research 
grants could see as much as $90 million in impacts from slowdowns 
related to the pandemic. Recognizing the need to ensure our Nation 
remains a world leader in innovation, have you identified a funding 
level necessary to recover from the research that is likely lost?

    Answer. COVID-19 has indeed had a profound impact on the research 
community. Labs were closed, research campaigns were postponed, and 
access to equipment and personnel was limited or impossible. The 
funding requested in the fiscal year 2022 budget request for NSF and 
the American Jobs Plan would ensure that the nation remains a world 
leader in innovation and takes important steps to recover from the 
COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the requested funding would preserve 
STEM research pathways for the current generation of students and 
vulnerable minorities. Examples of such costs include temporarily 
increasing the opportunities for postdoctoral, graduate and 
undergraduate research fellowships and stipends, enhancing investments 
in programs aimed at advancing diversity and inclusion in STEM, and 
restoring the operation and construction of NSF's major research 
facilities.
            climate change and alternative protein research
    Question 4. The President's 2022 discretionary request includes a 
significant increase to the NSF budget for climate-related science and 
emerging technologies. In 2019, agricultural activities contributed to 
more than 10 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions. While there are 
many options for addressing agricultural emissions, experts have 
pointed to developments in emerging field of alternative protein 
technologies, like plant-based and cultivated meat. I was glad to see 
that NSF made the first-ever U.S. Government grant for cultivated 
protein research last year. This is a good start, but much larger 
investments into alternative protein research seems warranted. Can you 
outline how NSF can increase research and innovation in this promising 
sector?

    Answer. NSF is seeing an increase in the number of proposals and 
awards in the area of alternative proteins in many of our programs. 
Alternative proteins for food include the use of lignocellulose, 
mushrooms/fungi, bacteria and yeasts, and insects (for both human and 
animal/fish consumption). Cultivated meat production is the process of 
growing animal muscle, fat, and connective tissue cells, such as beef, 
chicken, pork, turkey or fish, in large-scale fermenters to produce a 
protein-rich meat product.
    NSF has recently funded a project led by UC-Davis (2021132; PI: 
David Block) under the Growing Convergence Research) program (GCR; NSF 
19-551) \37\ to study the science, engineering, economics, 
sustainability, and consumer acceptance of cultivated meat production. 
The project goals are to establish the scientific and engineering 
foundation for the nascent cultivated meat industry, address critical 
scientific and engineering bottlenecks and knowledge gaps that inhibit 
commercialization, and train the scientists and engineers that will 
build the industry.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \37\ www.nsf.gov/publications/
pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505637&ods_key=nsf19551
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    NSF has also supported a number of SBIR awards, including a recent 
SBIR Phase II award entitled, ``Sustainable Alternative Protein 
Cultivation from Fungal Mycelium for Human Consumption (1926981). This 
research, which started as an I-Corps project (1661734), makes 
environmentally sustainable protein as synthetic ``meat'' from fungi 
and recently raised $28 million. Meati's process is highly efficient 
and sustainable, using 1 percent of the land, water, and energy 
compared to traditional animal meats.\38\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \38\ www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2020/10/30/Meati-Foods-
raises-28m-to-expand-its-fungi-based-protein-platform
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                                 ______
                                 
             Questions Submitted by Senator Lisa Murkowski
                new directorate and partnership with doe
    Question 1. In your written testimony, you highlighted President 
Biden's proposal in the American Jobs Plan to establish a new NSF 
directorate for technology, innovation, and partnerships. The Endless 
Frontier Act (EFA) would similarly restructure NSF to include a new 
technology directorate that would focus on 10 specific areas. It would 
also allocate NSF $100 billion over the next 5 years, a dramatic 
increase relative to NSF's fiscal year 2021 budget of just under $8.5 
billion. The Department of Energy (DOE) already conducts basic or 
applied research and development (R&D) in all 10 of the EFA technology 
focus areas at its Office of Science or through its National Labs. I 
appreciated your emphasis during the hearing on the partnership between 
DOE and NSF on artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and 
facilities, as well as your commitment to work closely with Secretary 
Granholm. How do you envision NSF's increased R&D efforts in the EFA 
focus areas interacting with, but not duplicating, existing efforts at 
DOE? Do you believe that securing U.S. competitiveness requires that 
both NSF and DOE work on the development and commercialization of novel 
technologies in these fields?

    Answer. We are currently facing a defining moment for the Nation. 
Global competition for leadership and talent in science, engineering 
and technology is at an all-time high. For the United States to remain 
the global leader, we must recommit to investing in people, fostering 
partnerships, and encouraging the innovative spirit that has been the 
source of our leadership over the past seven decades. Partnerships are 
a powerful way to leverage resources and deliver results.
    As I noted at the hearing, NSF has a strong partnership with the 
Department of Energy (DOE) in quantum and high-performance computing 
that is helping to combat the current pandemic. We also partner in 
artificial intelligence and several other projects, but perhaps most 
importantly facilities--CERN in Switzerland, and the Rubin Observatory 
in Chile. NSF looks forward to strengthening all of these partnerships.
    NSF pilots all technologies across a broad spectrum, and we have 
the expertise to facilitate the commercialization of these technologies 
through the I-CorpsTM program, the SBIR/STTR program, 
innovation centers, as well as accelerators that need to be built as 
public/private partnerships, which can include DOE and other agencies. 
With respect to energy technologies in particular, NSF would actively 
seek to partner with DOE.
    This is a time when all technologies need to be brought rapidly to 
market. It is exceedingly important to compete against our strongest 
competitors, like China. We need to unify ourselves to see how we can 
do so faster.
                new directorate and alaskan universities
    Question 2. How do you envision Alaskan universities and research 
fitting into the proposed new directorate at NSF?

    Answer. NSF envisions a new directorate that will support the 
creation of new local and regional innovation ecosystems capable of 
addressing local-level challenges, ranging from food and agriculture to 
transportation to healthcare delivery to equitable access to education. 
Alaskan universities would be quite competitive for such regional 
innovation accelerators, particularly when paired with local businesses 
and other investors. Not only will these activities result in new 
products and services contributing to economic growth and new jobs, but 
they will also serve to address some of the foremost challenges facing 
Alaskans today.
                       expanding epscor in alaska
    Question 3. Alaska universities and communities have greatly 
benefited from the NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive 
Research (EPSCoR). I am grateful for NSF's commitment to build capacity 
and support research and researchers in States like mine that receive 
limited Federal R&D funding. How can we build out and expand EPSCoR in 
Alaska?

    Answer. The fiscal year 2022 request for EPSCoR is $239.62 million, 
a 19.8 percent increase over the fiscal year 2021 Current Plan, 
commensurate with the change in total NSF funding.
    Over the past 5 years, Alaska has been awarded approximately $250 
million in total from NSF. The NSF EPSCoR program has been instrumental 
in catalyzing the engagement of Alaska's researchers and educators in 
NSF programs; however, additional actions that could continue to 
contribute to Alaska's progress include:

  --Researchers should actively peruse the NSF website for information 
        on NSF strategic priorities and funding opportunities.
  --NSF EPSCoR routinely disseminates information of funding 
        opportunities to the EPSCoR community via the State's project 
        director and/or webinars. Individuals should take full 
        advantage of these items.
  --In fiscal year 2020, approximately 160 proposals were submitted to 
        NSF from Alaska; with a success rate of approximately 40 
        percent well above the approximately 28 percent for NSF 
        overall.
  --Proposers are strongly encouraged to review the feedback on 
        declined actions and revise and resubmit to future 
        competitions. In addition, serving on merit review panels 
        provides insight on what constitutes a meritorious proposal and 
        this could be useful as future proposals are developed by 
        individuals from Alaska.
  --Institutions and individuals should take advantage of NSF EPSCoR's 
        outreach mechanism, which supports outreach travel that enables 
        NSF staff to directly engage and inform the EPSCoR research 
        community about NSF opportunities, priorities, programs, and 
        policies.
  --Individuals should not hesitate to reach out to NSF program 
        officers to obtain further clarification of program 
        solicitations and/or funding opportunities.
  --Institutions and investigators in Alaska are encouraged to 
        establish new and expand existing partnerships to engages with 
        partners in multiple sectors within and beyond Alaska's borders 
        (i.e., State and local governments, private industry, non-
        profits, and 2-year and 4-year institutions of higher 
        education). Partnerships with underserved and underrepresented 
        communities will further leverage Alaska's resources. A diverse 
        network of partnerships will deliver results, and access a 
        broader network of ideas, innovations, and experiences to solve 
        problems facing Alaska and the Nation overall.

    Following through on these items as well as other items locally to 
strengthen sponsored research offices at institutions across Alaska 
could expand EPSCoR within the State as well as lead to an increased 
participation in NSF opportunities.
 use-inspired research and inclusion of native voices and perspectives
    Question 4. In your written testimony, you emphasized the 
importance of use-inspired research and ``collaborations spanning 
diverse institutions, sectors and geographies to co-create new 
technologies and solutions'' in maximizing American competitiveness and 
addressing some of our greatest challenges. Will you commit to better 
including indigenous voices and perspectives, including those of Alaska 
Natives, in this co-creation of knowledge and the proposal evaluation 
process, especially on issues related to climate and Arctic change?

    Answer. For NSF to fulfil its mission of advancing science for the 
prosperity of the Nation, diverse perspectives must be engaged both in 
the creation of knowledge and the evaluation of proposals. The review 
process identifies innovative and transformative ideas; to accomplish 
this goal individuals who bring different expertise and experiences 
must be engaged in the evaluation of projects, including indigenous 
voices. As NSF continues to make the research enterprise more 
inclusive, funding opportunities explicitly ask for perspectives from 
communities directly impacted by environmental change to be part of 
project design. NSF is committed to strengthening the science and 
engineering community, and that can only be accomplished by engaging 
diverse voices in the creation of knowledge and the review process. NSF 
is developing an action plan for respectful and meaningful consultation 
strengthening the nation-to-nation relationships with federally 
recognized Tribal nations. In addition, NSF recognizes the importance 
of including Indigenous people in its research efforts and has a range 
of programs, initiatives, external collaborations, and other resources 
that aim to facilitate effective and respectful engagement with 
Indigenous peoples.
 nsf usarray transportable array transfer to national mesonet program 
                                 (nmp)
    Question 5. In 2019-2020, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) 
acquired nearly 100 real-time seismic and weather stations installed 
across Alaska as part of the NSF USArray Transportable Array. This 
network provides crucial seismic and atmospheric data to the U.S. 
Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), the Department of Defense, and other agencies. 
With USGS support, the Alaska Earthquake Center assumed the management 
of 43 USArray stations in southern Alaska, but the fate of the 
remaining stations in the State is still unclear. In fiscal year 2021, 
UAF joined the National Weather Service's National Mesonet Program 
(NMP) with the goal of incorporating 70 of the remaining stations 
(mostly in northern and western Alaska) into the NMP and supplementing 
their weather and atmospheric monitoring capabilities. Should this 
incorporation take place, can you commit to coordinating with NOAA to 
transfer operational responsibility for these stations to the NMP?

    Answer. NSF has operated the Alaska Transportable Array (ATA) 2 
years longer than initially planned to maximize the number of stations 
adopted by external groups for continued operation. NSF constructed 194 
stations as part of the ATA and through collaborations with Federal and 
Alaskan stakeholders, 112 stations (60 percent) have been adopted. 
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) adopted 96 of these stations. Most 
these stations also host meteorological equipment, which provides data 
to the new UAF Mesonet Array. This data enables critical observations 
of weather, wildfires, and permafrost. In 2020, the NSF Office of Polar 
Programs provided nearly $9 million in funding to UAF to support 
operation of the 45 stations in northern and western Alaska. These 
stations were identified by UAF as high priority for maintaining high 
station density and cost efficiency. In total, NSF has transitioned 139 
state-of-the-art scientific observing platforms that will continue to 
provide observations of weather, earthquakes, volcanos, tsunamis, and 
landslides in Alaska. The remaining 80 stations that UAF and other 
stakeholders have elected not to adopt will be removed throughout the 
summer of 2021.
            new landslide warning system (lws) and research
    Question 6. I would like to thank NSF for providing the grant 
funding behind Alaska's first landslide warning system (LWS) through 
the Smart & Connected Communities program. After more than 60 
landslides occurred in and around Sitka in August 2015--resulting in 
three deaths and extensive damage to infrastructure--Sitka residents 
partnered with the Sitka Sound Science Center, the Sitka Tribe of 
Alaska, several State and Federal agencies, two universities, and the 
RAND Corporation to obtain NSF funding to develop the LWS. In this 
project, both trained geoscientists and community members collect a 
range of geological and meteorological measurements to assess landslide 
risk and inform citizen and community decisionmaking. How can we adapt 
this effort to create LWSs for other vulnerable communities and areas 
in Alaska such as Haines, Whittier, and the Prince William Sound, as 
well as other parts of the U.S. with significant landslide risk? More 
broadly, do you support the authorization of programs at NSF and other 
agencies to enable research on the causes, risks, and possible 
prediction of landslides?

    Answer. The adaptation effort for the Landslide Warning System to 
other communities in Alaska could be an implementation project, which 
may fall outside of NSF's mission to support basic scientific research. 
To the broader question, NSF is supportive of programs that research 
the causes, risks and prediction of landslides. Several programs in ENG 
and GEO and the Big Idea Navigating the New Arctic have active or 
previously funded awards addressing these issues.

                          SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

    Hearing is adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 3:45 p.m., Tuesday, April 13, the 
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of 
the Chair.]


  COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2022

                              ----------                              


                       WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The subcommittee met at 9:30 a.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeanne Shaheen (Chairwoman) 
presiding.
    Present: Senators Shaheen, Van Hollen, Moran, Murkowski, 
Hagerty, Collins, and Braun.

                OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

              OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN

    Senator Shaheen. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to today's 
Commerce, Justice and Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee 
Hearing to review the activities and fiscal year 2022 funding 
priorities of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
    We're especially pleased today to have Ambassador Katherine 
Tai with us, our United States Trade Representative. I look 
forward to hearing what you have to say and to hearing the 
questions that we have. So, welcome. Congratulations on your 
historic nomination and unanimous confirmation. I know that I 
speak for everyone on the subcommittee when I say that we're 
excited to have you testify on the topics of importance to the 
country and to all of our constituents.
    The Office of U.S. Trade Representative is responsible for 
developing and coordinating U.S. international trade, 
commodity, and direct investment policy, and overseeing 
negotiations with other countries. And I think it's no 
exaggeration to say that these responsibilities affect every 
American in every facet of our lives, from protecting American 
workers, helping American businesses thrive, and enhancing 
national security, to building a world with clean air and 
water, while preventing catastrophic climate change.
    In order for USTR to succeed, Congress and, in particular, 
this subcommittee, must ensure it has sufficient resources to 
carry out its important mission. And to that end, the fiscal 
year 2021 Omnibus Spending Bill included $70 million for the 
Office of USTR. While the President's initial fiscal year 2022 
request did not include a top line proposal for USTR, we look 
forward to learning more today about your funding requests.
    And while we consider these funding needs, it's important 
to consider the new administration's trade policies and 
strategy. In 2018 and 2019, the previous administration imposed 
a series of wide-ranging import tariffs the likes of which this 
country has not seen in years.
    The repeated use of tariffs, the crudest form of trade 
instruments, and the predictable tit-for-tat retaliatory 
tariffs that followed wreaked havoc on global supply chains, 
and, by extension, on too many businesses and working people in 
my State of New Hampshire, and throughout the country.
    New Hampshire's a small business State, but it's also an 
exporting State. And in a previous life as Governor of the 
Granite State, I personally led the first overseas trade 
mission to Europe, and that was followed by several others to 
bring more investment into the State and to help businesses tap 
into new export markets. People in my State understand what's 
at stake in trade negotiations.
    One small business I've heard from is Walkin' Pets, a 35-
person pet supply company in Amherst, New Hampshire. The 
company signature product, a wheelchair for dogs, is produced 
in China, and is subject to tariffs. Now, the company believed 
that the tariff was a mistake on its business, so they retained 
a lawyer to help navigate the Byzantine exclusion process. 
Unfortunately, the company wasn't able to get an exclusion 
because of an imprecise classification.
    Now, after hiring a lawyer, and having braved the exclusion 
process, the company is still at square one, stuck with the 
tariff, and struggling to stay afloat.
    So, understandably, there is still a great deal of concern 
about the Section 301 tariffs especially now that, as of the 
end of calendar year, exclusions are no longer an option. I'm 
eager to learn more about your plans for Section 301 tariffs, 
and I'm pleased that in your confirmation hearing, you 
committed to further engagement of reunilateral action. You 
also committed to using all the tools at your disposal, not 
just more and more tariffs, to advance USTR's critical mission.
    In my view, taking a tough, but more thoughtful, approach 
will help level the playing field for American workers, while 
allowing the United States to once again set the rules of the 
road for global trade. Your successful negotiation of USMCA is 
proof positive that this is a winning playbook. Trade done 
right is a race to the top instead of a race to the bottom, as 
you know.
    Finally, let me conclude my opening statement by noting 
that I was very pleased that you used your first major policy 
address to embrace USTR's critical role in protecting our 
environment and addressing climate change. Trade policy, in my 
view, can't be divorced from environmental policy as our future 
prosperity is tied to tackling climate change.
    Ambassador Tai, we clearly have a lot to discuss this 
morning. I look forward to hearing your testimony, and the 
opportunity to engage with you and your thoughts about what we 
should be doing with respect to trade.
    So, thank you again for being here, and now I'd like to 
turn it over to my Ranking Member, Senator Moran, from Kansas, 
for his opening remarks. Senator.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JERRY MORAN

    Senator Moran. Senator Shaheen, thank you very much for 
convening this hearing. Ambassador Tai, welcome and 
congratulations on your unanimous confirmation. I always 
wondered if I was nominated for something whether I could get 
my colleagues in total to vote for me, and I doubt that's the 
case, so congratulations. It's a significant accomplishment in 
this environment. And I certainly appreciate you being here. 
Thank you for the moment that we had to visit in the hallway.
    You're stepping into your role at USTR at a time in which 
trade policy and trade enforcement has arguably never been more 
important, and perhaps more challenging. The Trump 
administration pursued and effectuated an aggressive and 
sometimes untraditional trade strategy, and it now falls to you 
and others in the Biden administration to carry our trade 
policies forward.
    Due to their importance to my home State of Kansas, I'm 
very interested in USMCA, and the Phase One China Trade Deal. I 
always remind myself and my constituents that Kansas is 
dependent upon our exports, and our economic future rests with 
feeding and supplying the rest of the world. Trade and exports 
is how many Kansans make a living, and Mexico, Canada, China, 
and many other countries are very important to us, but those 
three are consistently at the top of our list.
    That's why I believe it's so important for us to ensure 
that these trading partners live up to their commitments 
codified in USMCA and in the Phase One Deal. This is the first 
USTR-specific hearing this subcommittee has held since these 
trade agreements were entered into, and I'm eager to receive an 
update from you about current compliance with those agreements.
    Ambassador, you're also inheriting the responsibility, as 
Senator Shaheen said, of managing a full suite of 301--Section 
301 investigations, including ongoing investigations into 
digital services, taxes, and overseeing active tariffs 
targeting billions of product. That is a significant challenge 
but a very important one for the outcome to our Kansas 
manufacturers and American manufacturers. In today's 
environment, a most common conversation I have with Kansans is 
about the expense of buying a home, and the expense of building 
a home, and the lack of supply chain in regard to lumber and 
steel.
    While those trade agreements are important, and tariffs 
Section 301 is a huge issue for you, I remain concerned about 
the harm that tariffs have caused to U.S. families, to 
businesses, farmers, manufacturers, and workers. This concern 
is what caused this subcommittee on a bipartisan basis to 
require--we did this during fiscal year 2019 Appropriations 
Bill--that USTR execute an exclusion process for all rounds of 
Section 301 China tariffs.
    I don't think that was a necessary expected outcome when 
the tariffs were put in place, but this subcommittee, in doing 
its work, insisted on an exclusion process, and we've lived 
with that exclusion process, its ups and downs, ever since. We 
continue to carry that requirement in all subsequent CGS 
appropriation bills, and I will continue to ensure that this 
direction is carried out as long as the China tariffs remain in 
place.
    I also believe that USTR ought to begin a process to 
consider renewing expired exclusions and restart the process 
for companies to apply for those exclusions. Ambassador Tai, 
you've already heard from me on this matter via a letter, and I 
look forward to working with you to ensure that businesses have 
continued opportunities to petition their government for relief 
from tariffs.
    In addition to the many legacy responsibilities that I've 
highlighted, I'm mindful that the Biden administration has also 
developed in its early stages of--and is in its early stages of 
pursuing its own trade strategies. As we consider USTR's 
funding needs for fiscal year 2022 during this hearing today, 
I'm looking forward to learning more about President Biden's 
trade strategies and priorities, and also a better 
understanding of what level of resources USTR requires to 
perform its growing responsibilities.
    To this end, Ambassador, I was surprised that the 
administration's, quote, ``skinny budget'' released on April 9 
contained no information about fiscal year 2022 request for 
USTR. I hope this omission is nothing more than a result of 
this year's budget development process, and not a reflection 
upon any suggestion that trade policy is going to take a back 
seat to other domestic administration priorities.
    USTR's mission and its pursuit of free and fair trade 
opportunities for U.S. businesses is a domestic priority, and I 
hope that the Biden administration continues to view it as 
such.
    Ambassador, I thank you for joining us this morning. I look 
forward to hearing your testimony today, and I, even more 
importantly, look forward to working with you in a very solid 
and, hopefully, valuable way for both of us for years to come. 
Thank you very much.
    Senator Shaheen. Go ahead, Ambassador.
STATEMENT OF HON. KATHERINE TAI, AMBASSADOR, U.S. TRADE 
            REPRESENTATIVE
    Ms. Tai. Thank you, Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member 
Moran, and Members of the subcommittee for inviting me to 
testify before you today. It is a great honor to be here, just 
as it is a great honor to return to USTR and lead the dedicated 
public servants who carry out this agency's important mission 
on behalf of the American people.
    We are working hard to support the Biden-Harris 
administration's efforts to end the pandemic and recover from 
the economic crisis. The American Rescue Plan, passed by 
Congress, has already helped get shots in arms and money in the 
pockets of millions of Americans.
    While we're seeing the economic benefits of that quick 
action, more needs to be done. Our goal is not a return to the 
economy we had before the pandemic, but to seize this 
opportunity to set America on a strong and clear path to a 
competitive future. That's why President Biden proposed the 
American Jobs Plan that would make bold investments and build a 
better foundation for decades of economic growth and good-
paying jobs for this generation of Americans and future 
generations.
    This is why USTR is developing and implementing what we are 
calling a worker-centered trade policy that complements and 
supports the domestic investments in the American Jobs Plan. 
The President's trade agenda will foster broad-based, equitable 
growth that increases innovation and enhances this country's 
competitive edge and--that's crafted with workers at the table.
    For the first time, we committed to using trade policy to 
address racial equity and to support underserved communities. 
Through thoughtful, sustained engagement and utilizing hard 
data, the Biden administration will develop a better 
understanding of how proposed trade policies affect all 
Americans as people and in their communities, especially 
communities of color. And we will consider those impacts as we 
make our policy decisions.
    As part of our whole of government approach, I recently 
outlined my vision for leveraging trade tools, and how USTR 
will enthusiastically embrace our responsibility to create 
opportunities to lead in creating new clean-energy technologies 
and new jobs, while averting an unfolding economic crisis and 
protecting our planet. We will meet this moment by working 
collaboratively with our trading partners, with Congress, 
underrepresented communities, and other key stakeholders to 
find creative solutions that create good-paying jobs and 
incentivize that race to the top.
    In my first conversations with my foreign counterparts, I 
have made clear that the United States will rebuild our 
international alliances and partnerships while reengaging 
global institutions.
    In just a few short months, USTR has already delivered 
results for American workers. In March, USTR announced a 4-
month suspension of tariffs with both the United Kingdom and 
the European Union related to our long-running WTO dispute over 
certain large civil aircraft subsidies. This was a bold step 
towards finally resolving the issues that have impacted the 
U.S. industry and its workers.
    Earlier this month, USTR helped to resolve a significant 
dispute between two South Korean companies that make electric 
vehicle batteries in America. This settlement builds confidence 
in these companies' reliability and responsibility as suppliers 
to the U.S. auto industry, and it puts our country in a 
stronger position to drive innovation and growth of clean 
energy technology envisioned in the American Jobs Plan. The 
settlement is the type of trade policy that I believe we need. 
It supports a larger strategy for creating jobs and investing 
in innovation and manufacturing leadership by bolstering 
sustainable renewable energy supply chains, levelling the 
playing field, and discouraging regulatory arbitrage.
    As we continue to pursue the President's trade agenda, we 
will promote and defend our values of democracy, human rights, 
and economic opportunity in service of producing a more 
inclusive prosperity. USTR will be directly involved in 
assembling what the President has termed a united front of U.S. 
allies, and I will carry the strength and creativity of this 
agency into every room that I enter.
    I want to close by thanking the talented public servants at 
USTR for their sacrifice and professionalism during this 
unprecedented time. They have been tested in ways that we could 
not have imagined, but they have continued to rise to the 
occasion with determination and integrity. I am so proud to 
represent them here today and appreciate the robust support of 
this subcommittee. Thank you, and I look forward to answering 
your questions.

    [The statement follows:]
   Prepared Statement of Hon. Katherine Tai, Ambassador, U.S. Trade 
                             Representative
    Thank you Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of 
the Committee for inviting me to testify before you today.
    It is a great honor to return to USTR and lead the dedicated public 
servants who carry out the agency's important mission on behalf of the 
American people.
    We are working hard to support the Biden-Harris administration's 
efforts to end the pandemic and recover from the economic crisis. The 
American Rescue Plan passed by Congress has already helped get shots in 
arms and money in the pockets of millions of Americans.
    While we're seeing the economic benefits of that quick action, more 
needs to be done. Our goal is not a return to the economy we had before 
the pandemic, but to seize the opportunity to set America on a strong 
and clear path to a competitive future. That's why President Biden 
proposed the American Jobs Plan that would make bold investments and 
build a better foundation for decades of economic growth and good-
paying jobs for this generation of Americans and future generations.
    This is why USTR is developing and implementing a worker-centered 
trade policy that complements and supports the domestic investments in 
the American Jobs Plan. The President's Trade agenda will foster broad-
based, equitable growth that increases innovation and enhances the 
country's competitive edge and that's crafted with workers at the 
table.
    For the first time, we committed to using trade policy to address 
racial equity and support underserved communities. Through thoughtful, 
sustained engagement and utilizing data, the Biden administration will 
develop a better understanding of how proposed trade policies affect 
all Americans as people and their communities, especially communities 
of color. And we will consider those impacts as we make policy 
decisions.
    As part of our ``whole-of-government approach,'' I recently 
outlined my vision for leveraging trade tools and how USTR will 
enthusiastically embrace our responsibility to create opportunities to 
lead in creating new clean energy technologies and new jobs while 
averting an unfolding economic crisis and protecting our planet. We 
will meet the moment by working collaboratively with our trading 
partners, Congress, underrepresented communities and other key 
stakeholders to find creative solutions that create good-paying jobs 
and incentivize a race to the top.
    In my first conversations with my foreign counterparts, I have made 
clear that the United States will rebuild our international alliances 
and partnerships while re-engaging global institutions.
    In just a few short months, USTR has already delivered results for 
American workers. In March, USTR announced a four-month suspension of 
tariffs with both the United Kingdom and the European Union related to 
the long-running World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over certain 
large civil aircraft subsidies. This was a bold step towards finally 
resolving the issues that have impacted the U.S. industry and its 
workers.
    Earlier this month, USTR helped resolve a significant dispute 
between two South Korean companies that make electric vehicle batteries 
in America. The settlement builds confidence in these companies' 
reliability and responsibility as suppliers to the U.S. auto industry. 
And it puts our country in a stronger position to drive innovation and 
growth of clean energy technology envisioned in the American Jobs Plan. 
The settlement is the type of trade policy I believe we need: it 
supports a larger strategy for creating jobs and investing in 
innovation and manufacturing leadership by bolstering sustainable 
renewable energy supply chains, leveling the playing field, 
discouraging regulatory arbitrage.
    As we continue to pursue the President's trade agenda, we will 
promote and defend our values of, democracy, human rights, and economic 
opportunity in service of producing a more inclusive prosperity. USTR 
will be directly involved in assembling what the President has termed 
``a united front of U.S. allies.'' And I will carry the strength and 
creativity of this agency into every room I enter.
Conclusion
    I want to close by thanking the talented public servants at USTR 
for their sacrifice and professionalism during this unprecedented time. 
They have been tested in ways we could not have imagined, but they have 
continued to rise to the occasion with determination and integrity. I 
am proud to represent them today and appreciate the robust support of 
this committee.
    Thank you, and I look forward to answering your questions.

    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much. I just want to, at 
the start, remind everyone that this is a hybrid hearing and 
that some of our colleagues may be joining remotely. So we're 
going to do our best to try and keep people informed of the 
order of questioning, but, as we know, that doesn't always go 
the way we hope. So, that's just a warning that--I'm going to 
ask Senator Moran to go first. He has a mark-up and another 
committee in a few minutes, and I know he wanted to ask some 
questions before he has to leave. So, Senator Moran.
    Senator Moran. Ambassador--Chairman, thank you for your 
courtesies. And Ambassador, I will return. I hope the mark-up 
of two bills of mine is non-controversial, and I'll be back 
shortly, because I do want to hear what you say in response to 
other Members' questions.
    Let me start with something you mentioned in your opening 
statement. I applaud you, Ambassador, for the goal of resolving 
the number of long-running trade disputes. Kansas is an 
aviation State. Those large aircraft--civil aircraft 
manufacturers call Kansas home, and we are very encouraged by 
the announcement that the tariffs related to WTO's dispute 
would be paused for a period of 4 months in order to create 
space for a negotiated settlement. We're about a month into 
that pause. Can you provide me with an update of the status of 
those discussions and the likelihood that an agreement would be 
reached during that 4-month period?
    Ms. Tai. I would love to engage with you on this question, 
Senator Moran. We are about a month into the 4-month period. I 
am very serious when I say that it is time for us to resolve 
these disputes. They've been going on for 16 years, and as you 
know, these disputes aren't born on the day that we file them. 
They come out of a couple years of incubation, as well, so, 
these are 20-year-old disputes.
    They're disputes between the United States and the European 
Union. We're both strong manufacturers in this industry, and 
we're both facing increasing competition from other parts of 
the world. We need to figure out how to resolve our differences 
in order for us to come together to meet the challenges that we 
have today, and that we will have tomorrow. And so, I am very 
committed, USTR is committed to making the most of this 4-month 
period to close out a chapter of our relationship and our 
tensions with the European Union.
    I have been in touch with my counterparts in both the 
United Kingdom and the European Union. Our teams are in touch. 
I am, at this point, very motivated and hopeful that we will 
get the traction that we need with our trading partners, and 
very much hope that they see this opportunity as I do, as one 
that we really need to seize to prove to ourselves and to the 
rest of the world that we can move on because we have to.
    Senator Moran. I'll take that answer as you are working 
hard to accomplish that goal, and you are hopeful to achieve 
that during that 4-month period. I wish you well.
    Ambassador, I don't know of any score card that's out there 
in regard to China's compliance with Phase One. How would you 
rate or grade the Phase One Agreement compliance? What has 
happened and what hasn't happened?
    Ms. Tai. Well, that's a very important question, and one 
that I know there's a lot of interest up here in the Senate, in 
the House, on the Hill, in general with stakeholders in our 
entire economy, and certainly one of the questions that is at 
the forefront of my mind coming in as U.S. Trade 
Representative.
    I would like to just take a step back and look at the 
contours of this U.S.-China trade and economic agreement. It 
has a number of parts. There's a lot of focus on the purchase 
commitments that China made as part of this agreement. There 
are also a set of rules related to intellectual property, 
financial services, services access, biotech approvals that 
China also committed to, and we are drilling down at USTR using 
the usual discipline that we have to look at the overall 
compliance picture, and to examine China's performance under 
this agreement in all of its component parts.
    What I would share with you right now, Senator Moran, 
because we are still in the middle of this review, is that the 
picture is more nuanced than you might think by just looking at 
the trade data. And so, I look forward to coming back to you 
with a better picture, and with a more clear sense for where we 
need to drive harder with our Chinese counterpart.
    Senator Moran. I think that's a fair answer for this point 
in your tenure at USTR, So, thank you. At least you know the 
importance it has, and it's good for you to remind me of not 
just the agricultural commodity purchases, which are hugely 
important to Kansas, but also those trade and intellectual 
aspects of the agreement as well.
    In the 30 seconds I have left, let me see if I can get an 
additional question in. Steel and lumber prices, they're at 
record highs. The Biden administration is proposing 
infrastructure investments. I assume that will increase the 
demand for those items. I'm thinking about the absence of 
softwood lumber agreement with Canada, and the associated 
tariffs, as well as the Section 232 tariffs on steel and 
aluminum. Where do negotiations stand with Canada on softwood 
lumber, and what's the administration further considering to do 
to increase the affordability of two very important components 
to infrastructure and housing?
    Ms. Tai. Well, on softwood lumber, let me say this. I think 
that it will always be a component of the conversation between 
the U.S. Trade Representative and her or his Canadian 
counterpart. In my initial conversation with my Canadian 
counterpart, Minister Ng of Canada, we did raise our bilateral 
issues, the longstanding ones especially. They're ones that 
require maintenance and care and attention. So, what I would 
say to you, Senator Moran, is softwood lumber will always be in 
my sights in the conversation with Canada.
    We have a lot of tools. We have traditionally used them 
robustly. I intend to continue to do so, and to continue to 
raise the concerns that we have. And try to engage our Canadian 
counterparts in some out-of-the-box thinking, on this issue and 
others, in terms of how we manage longstanding differences that 
we have that really make an economic impact for our 
stakeholders and our economy.
    The other question that you've asked is on the steel 
tariffs in particular. What I would say here is that we 
continue to have a global overcapacity problem that is 
distorting the international market. But what we have right now 
in the Biden administration is a team of people who are intent 
on looking for solutions that come through cooperation with our 
close partners and allies. So, on that, what I'd like to convey 
to you is I and others in the administration, including 
Secretary Raimondo at Commerce, are working hard on 
conversations with the Europeans in particular to examine how 
we address the problems that the 232 tariffs have raised in 
particular in our relationships, while keeping our eye on the 
overall steel and aluminum market problems that we really need 
others' help to address.
    Senator Moran. I wish you well, and I look forward to 
working with you.
    Ms. Tai. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Moran. Hopefully, 
you'll be able to get back to join us. I should have announced 
when I pointed out this is a hybrid hearing that we will 
therefore take Members in order of seniority on the 
subcommittee so that--since we don't know who will have shown 
up first online.
    I want to follow up with Senator Moran's question about the 
Phase One Trade Deal with China, because I understand that the 
deal included the creation of Bilateral Evaluation and Dispute 
Resolution Office. Is that office up and running, and can you 
describe to us how you expect that to work?
    Ms. Tai. Well, thank you for the question, Senator Shaheen. 
I think the office is not a--it's a--I think it stands for a 
flow----
    Senator Shaheen. A process, maybe?
    Ms. Tai. Organization of process, thank you. Looking for 
that word. And so, we have had continued contact at the 
designated official's level to continue to push and examine 
performance of this agreement. Right now, we are looking at the 
agreement holistically through the lens of an overall China 
strategy.
    And so, what I would say to you right now is we are looking 
at the tools that we have across the board, in particular in 
this agreement. It is a tool that looks a little bit different 
from our other agreements or traditional agreements, but we're 
interested, as I will always say, open-minded and interested in 
out-of-the-box and new tools.
    So, I feel like the bottom line here. We are very focused 
on this agreement, which is the agreement that we have, and 
testing its utility, and maximizing our use of the tools that 
are included in this agreement.
    Senator Shaheen. So, once that process is up and running, 
do we expect companies and individuals to be able to actually 
make use of that process when they have a concern or dispute 
that they want to get negotiated?
    Ms. Tai. So, I would say that one of USTR's functions is to 
be open to, and we traditionally have been very open to the 
engagement with the public, with our stakeholders. 
Increasingly, we are trying to expand out the circle of 
stakeholders who are used to interacting with USTR. So, 
absolutely, our stakeholders are part of that process.
    Senator Shaheen. Right. And I understand that the Phase One 
Agreement also included a provision for USTR to meet every 6 
months with the Chinese Vice Premier. Is that--that meeting's a 
little overdue. Has that been scheduled?
    Ms. Tai. It has not yet been scheduled, Senator Shaheen. I 
will be having my first contact with my Chinese counterpart, 
which I'm looking forward to, at the right time, and I expect 
to be able to come back to you with an update in the near term.
    Senator Shaheen. Great, thank you. I want to go back to the 
301 tariffs on imported goods because, as I said, that has been 
a real concern that I've heard from New Hampshire businesses. 
So, can you give us any sense of how the administration is 
going to approach the existing section in the near term, and 
what your view is about how to use that authority?
    Ms. Tai. Senator Shaheen, I know very directly, and I know 
this as a strong fact, that the tariffs and the exclusion 
process really do touch a very wide swath of our economy, our 
businesses, both large and small. So, this is very much on my 
mind. At my confirmation hearing, Senator Portman asked me for 
a commitment which I was very ready to make. To undertake a top 
to bottom review on China, at USTR in particular. And he 
recommended it as something that he had done in his time as 
U.S. Trade Representative.
    So, the tariffs, this agreement, the exclusion process will 
be very critical parts of this top-to-bottom review, and I am 
looking forward to kicking it off and being able to come back 
to you with a thoughtful and strategic recommendation in terms 
of how we will proceed from there.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you. Do you have any sense of 
how long this is going to take, your review?
    Ms. Tai. It is something that we are looking at in our 
design right now, and I do know that time is of the essence.
    Senator Shaheen. Okay, thank you. Well, and then, just to 
follow up a little bit on the exclusion process, which, as you 
know, has been very opaque. It's been challenging for companies 
to figure out. How do you expect to--will the review include 
that exclusion process, as well?
    Ms. Tai. Yes, it will.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. Let me now go to Senator 
Murkowski.
    Senator Murkowski. Ambassador, thank you. Appreciate it. 
You need to know that you were the subject of conversation in 
Kodiak, Alaska, this weekend. Everyone is pinning their hopes 
on our trade representative when it comes to seafood issues.
    So, I want to raise that with you. As you know, we've seen 
some good news for U.S. agriculture commodities, corn and 
soybeans, under the Phase One Agreement, but when it comes to 
seafood, the fact of the matter is China is not meeting those 
commitments.
    In 2020, its imports of U.S. seafood were below the 2017 
baseline, and yet at the same time, what we're seeing is that 
China is increasing their imports from other areas. Non-U.S. 
imports up 89 percent in 2019 compared to the 2017 baseline. 
Still up by 35 percent in 2020, despite the pandemic.
    So, the question that the fine folks in Kodiak had is, 
what's going on? Basically, what is happening? Why do we 
continue to see this shortfall by China in terms of its seafood 
purchases? Does USTR recognize what this is doing to our U.S. 
seafood competitiveness, and more importantly, how can we hold 
China accountable for failing on its commitments? And so, if 
you can please address this for me and for all these fishermen 
in Kodiak that are quite anxious about what we've seen.
    Ms. Tai. Senator Murkowski, thank you. I have been advised 
and informed of the excellence of the seafood product that is a 
hallmark of Alaska. I don't know that I've ever had the 
opportunity to experience the full aspects of what Alaska has 
to offer, but the reputation of Alaska's seafood precedes it, 
really. And----
    Senator Murkowski. You are invited, by the way, to come 
north.
    Ms. Tai. Thank you very much. I was definitely maybe a 
little bit fishing for that invitation. But----
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Murkowski. We will accommodate.
    Ms. Tai. The seafood is certainly in our sights in terms of 
the commitments that the Chinese made in this agreement. 
They're really, really important for a number of reasons. 
Economically, they're important to us, but they're also 
important as commitments that China undertook of its own free 
will to make, and that we need to ensure that their promises 
are worth the paper that they are written on.
    So, let me just assure you and the fishermen in Kodiak, I 
hear you loud and clear. And in our engagement with China on 
this particular agreement, we will need to engage with China 
across the board in our trade and economic relationship, but 
this is the agreement that we have, and this is the agreement 
that needs to stand up. So, please let your fishermen know that 
I care deeply about their livelihoods, about the integrity of 
this agreement, and that we will be making use of the tools 
that we have and really pushing the tools that we have on 
their--for their benefit.
    Senator Murkowski. Well, I appreciate that, and I'm 
probably not going to need to report back to them because 
they're probably watching this hearing, even though it's just 6 
o'clock in the morning. So, I appreciate that commitment, but 
again, you have pointed out this was part of their deal. 
They've seen fit to make better on their word when it comes to 
other products, but seafood is a glaring example of where they 
have failed. So, if we can just be aggressive in that area.
    Another area, in addition to our seafood, that has seen 
impacts because of tariffs is what we have seen with regards to 
some of our timber products. This is a part of the State that 
has seen particular devastation as a result of drop-off in 
tourism traffic, so the economy in southeast is really 
depressed right now. But they're also seeing the impacts of a 
25 percent tariff rate on Alaska spruce and hemlock. And under 
the Phase One Agreement, there was a waiver for the timber 
tariffs, but Alaska spruce exports to China, which is our 
primary buyer of spruce, flatlined over the past couple years, 
and the future is not very good. So, hoping that you can help 
us work through these tariff issues, as well, on the timber 
export side.
    Ms. Tai. Absolutely. I hear you loud and clear on the 
timber, as well.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. I believe we have Senator Van 
Hollen on the line.
    Senator Van Hollen. Yes, thank you, Madam Chairman, and 
thank you, Madam Ambassador for your leadership. I have some 
questions on the solar panel tariffs that were imposed by the 
Trump administration. Back in 2018, they imposed tariff rates 
on the import of solar cells and modules, under Section 201. 
That was in addition to the preexisting duties that applied to 
these products. The tariff was set at over 30 percent, and then 
declined by 5 percent over the years.
    In 2020, so just last year, the Trump administration moved 
to increase the 2021 tariff from 15 percent, which it had come 
down to, to 18 percent. That's what it is today. These tariffs 
have hit workers in Maryland hard, especially in the clean 
energy industry, costing us many jobs. People laid off because 
solar panel installers were no longer able to do it at a 
competitive price, and nationally, according to the Solar 
Energy Industries Association, these Trump tariffs have cost 
62,000 American job opportunities.
    The Biden administration, as I understand it, you've said 
is going to be reviewing these tariffs. This one is scheduled 
to expire in February of next year, and I listened carefully to 
the President's statement about jobs and clean energy jobs here 
in the United States. Have you heard and looked at the reports 
of how those solar panel tariffs have hurt jobs here in the 
United States?
    Ms. Tai. Thank you, Senator Van Hollen. The issue of the 
solar tariffs are very much on my mind, both in terms of the 
impacts and the dilemmas that they present to our economy right 
now, and the different stakeholders in our economy specific to 
the solar tariffs, the role that solar panels play in a future 
where we are running cleaner energy, but also for me, the story 
of the solar panel industry in the United States really gets at 
a fundamental issue that we need to confront in our competition 
with China.
    First thing that I'd like to say is Section 201 is--and 
this particular Section 201 set of tariffs, were sought by an 
industry here in the United States, so that there are producers 
who petitioned for relief from the United States Government. 
And today, we have a sole producer left in the United States 
for solar panels, when 10, 12 years ago, we had quite a few in 
this burgeoning industry. Given the role that we think these 
types of products are going to play, it's actually a very sad 
story that we are in right now, where we are struggling with 
the application of these tariffs that are meant to save maybe 
the last producer that we have here in the United States.
    And so, stepping aside a little bit, what I would say is 
that I recognize the nuance and the complexity that is 
presented by the solar tariffs question in particular. I do 
want to raise the profile of the overall, bigger picture so 
that we don't lose it, which is if we don't keep our eye on the 
ball, we will continue to experience these types of fights over 
the last scraps of an industry that we have lost to a 
competitor, and in particular to the Chinese.
    It is a pattern that we see over and over again. I will say 
that steel and aluminum are a leading contender here, solar. 
And we can see where this pattern will play out again and again 
if we are not ready to anticipate the loss of industries to 
anti-competitive practices and massive subsidies that are 
coming from our biggest competitors.
    Senator Van Hollen. Right. Madam Ambassador, I appreciate 
that, and you know, my time is running out. I--we all--I 
strongly support the American Jobs Bill, and we need to be 
investing a lot more in developing these capabilities here at 
home, but that should not come right now at the cost of 
thousands and thousands of jobs in Maryland and other places 
with respect to installing solar panels. We should be able to 
do two things at one time. You know, the president has talked 
about his clean energy goals. These tariffs have resulted in 
the equivalent of seven coal plants, or five point five million 
automobiles being put back on the road because of the fact that 
the solar panel installation industry was made less competitive 
here at home.
    So, we have big issues that you mentioned, in terms of our 
own domestic capacity, but we should not do one at the cost of 
the other. We need to make those investments here at home, but 
not be harming those who are trying to make people's homes more 
efficient.
    So, Madam Chairman, I see the time is up. I am going to 
submit some questions for the record with regard to the 
enforcement of the USMCA, and I look forward to your responses 
in writing. Thank you, Madam Ambassador. Thank you, Madam 
Chairman.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Van Hollen. Senator 
Collins.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Ambassador, 
welcome. The Maine lobster industry has been hard hit by the 25 
percent retaliatory tariff that China imposed on the U.S. 
lobster industry in 2018. The Phase One Trade Agreement between 
the U.S. and China was a first step toward regaining Chinese 
market share, and indeed inspected growth--expected growth in 
that market share. Before the tariff, China was the second 
largest importer of U.S. lobster, purchasing $128 million worth 
in 2017. During the first month under the new tariffs, however, 
live lobster exports to China declined by 64 percent, and 
indeed, one lobster exporter in Maine saw a 90 percent decrease 
in exports to China.
    Your predecessor made real progress by securing a 
commitment from the Chinese to match or exceed their pre-tariff 
purchase levels. And at first, there really was progress under 
the agreement. We saw sales to China start going up. But now 
that's not carried through into this year, into 2021. And 
currently, the totals are nowhere near the promised purchase 
levels or the pre-tariff levels.
    What steps is the administration planning to take to ensure 
that China lives up to its promise and its purchase agreements 
that it made in the Phase One Agreement?
    Ms. Tai. Senator Collins, thank you for that. The lobster 
exports from Maine and from the United States are very much at 
top of mind given the strength of our industry in our ability 
to supply other markets. And I'm very aware of the story of the 
hit to our exports, and then the hope and the promise that the 
Chinese have made.
    What I would say to you is that, with respect to the 
purchase commitments that the Chinese made in the U.S.-China 
Trade Agreement, we are in the process of examining their 
performance, and are scrutinizing all of the aspects of what 
they have done, and what they have yet to do, and what they 
have not done at the levels that they promised.
    Your raising it with me here today is one of the most 
powerful ways of showing how much of a priority these promises 
and China's ability to keep them are to us in managing our 
relationship with China. So, I would like to assure you that 
this is going to be--is a priority as we are examining 
performance and will be a priority for us as we examine our 
options for engagement with China and all of our enforcement 
options.
    Senator Collins. Thank you. As a result of the worldwide 
Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, which my colleagues 
have all mentioned today, the European Union is said to double 
retaliatory tariffs to 50 percent on certain imported products, 
including recreational boats, on June 1st. This would have an 
adverse impact on boat builders in the State of Maine. Is the 
administration working with the UE to prevent this increase 
from taking place?
    Ms. Tai. Senator Collins, yes, across the board on Section 
232, this administration is committed to working on the larger 
issue of the global overcapacity and glut in steel and aluminum 
production capacity, but with our allies, in particular, with 
the European Union. So, we are engaging with our European Union 
counterparts that is from my perspective and also, I know 
Secretary Raimondo at the Commerce Department. And the point, I 
think, is that we find ways to work together with allies like 
the European Union on an overall problem that we actually 
share. So, yes, my bottom line answer is yes, we are working on 
this.
    Senator Collins. Thank you. And I only have 5 seconds left, 
so I will submit my rest of my questions for the record. But 
let me just say that I agree with my colleagues on the need for 
there to be a negotiation with Canada to renew the softwood 
lumber agreement. We've seen lumber prices go sky high. We 
obviously prefer domestic sources, but when domestic sources 
can't meet the demand, as is the case right now, and prices are 
so high, we desperately need a new agreement to be negotiated 
so that we're not involved in imposing under failing and anti-
dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber imports.
    We want Canada to play by the rules, but we need a new 
agreement. So, I just wanted to reinforce what my colleagues 
have said, and I'll submit my question for the record. Thank 
you, Madam Chairman.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Senator Collins. And 
let me just add my voice to Senator Collins with respect to 
lobster. That is--we don't have as many in New Hampshire as 
Maine does, but it is also an issue for us, and we have seen a 
devastation in the market from companies that were sending 
lobsters to China. And that market doesn't exist anymore. So, 
Senator Hagerty. Oh, no. I'm sorry. Do we have anybody online? 
So, Senator Hagerty.
    Senator Hagerty. Well, Chairman Shaheen, thank you very 
much for holding this hearing. And Ambassador, I want to 
congratulate you. Your reputation is excellent. We've talked 
about that, and I look forward to working with you. I also want 
to thank you for the negotiations you undertook with SK and LG 
in electric batteries. Tennessee is an automotive-producing 
State. We're at the cutting edge of automotive production, and 
having that capacity nearby is going to be absolutely critical 
for us to move into the next stage of automotive excellence. 
So, I applaud the actions that you've taken. It's going to have 
a very significant impact on the supply chain that's so 
critical to the automotive industry in our State.
    I'd like to talk about another industry, though, that's 
critical to our State. You know that I'm from Tennessee, and 
I'm sure you're not going to be surprised at this question. But 
as my colleague, Ranking Member Moran mentioned, there's been a 
4-month hiatus that's taken place to negotiate between 
airlines, aircraft frames. There have also been a number of 
beverages included in that hiatus on those tariffs. But what's 
missing is American whiskey. American whiskey remains subject 
to a 25 percent tariff, and that tariff is going to go up to 50 
percent in June if something isn't done about it.
    American whiskey is critical to Tennessee's industry. More 
important, it's critical to our brand as a nation. I think you 
could go anywhere in the world, and ask people about my home 
State of Tennessee, and they could tell you that whiskey is a 
big part of our culture. People abroad aren't going to be able 
to buy our whiskey at a 50 percent tariff rate, so I'm 
interested in what you'll be able to do to take on the problems 
of American whiskey being taxed at 50 percent.
    Ms. Tai. Senator Hagerty, you are--it's very nice to see 
you in person, and you're right. Whiskey, bourbon from 
Tennessee--Kentucky, also, I know is a big producing State--are 
very much on our minds, and we hear from these stakeholders 
directly about their concerns from these EU retaliatory 
tariffs.
    What I would share with you is this. So, first, I want to--
I want you to know I think a lot about this, and we are working 
on this. But let me just frame this up a little bit in terms of 
the tariffs that the Europeans have on our whiskey, which is 
they're part of the Section 232 suite of tariffs. This is where 
we are, and this is actually, in terms of enforcement, using 
tariffs for enforcement, this is actually the logic for how 
they're supposed to work. We impose them, our counterparts, 
when they have the right, will impose them back. And it's not 
for the sake, usually, of just hitting each other with tariffs. 
It's usually to motivate the two sides to get at resolving the 
issue.
    In the case of the 232s, the issue that we need to resolve 
is the global overcapacity problem. And so, here I'm using a 
slightly different set of words and tact to convey to you, but 
the same message, that we really do need to work with others, 
especially the European Union, on the overall steel 
overcapacity problem. And so, what I am hoping is that they see 
that problem, and they see it to be as serious a challenge to 
our ability to produce and compete in steelmaking as we see it, 
and that, working together, we will be able to resolve these 
sets of tariffs so that we can join forces on the bigger 
picture.
    So, that's how I'm approaching these conversations. I know 
that there are others in the administration who are working on 
this, as well, and we will be working together to get at more 
effective solutions to the problems that we have.
    Senator Hagerty. As you can imagine, I don't want Tennessee 
whiskey or Kentucky bourbon to be a casualty of this. Certain 
beverages have been included. Others have not. I'm not certain 
the logic of how one was chosen, the other was not, but our 
situations are similar. In fact, maybe even more important 
given the identity associated with Tennessee whiskey and our 
brethren in other States, and it's critically important to our 
State. So, I appreciate your attention to that.
    I'd like to turn, if I could, to the role that you play 
with the World Trade Organization and talk about something that 
has deeply concerned me and I'm sure many Members of the 
subcommittee. And that's the way China is treated at the WTO. 
They enjoy preferential treatment. They take on weaker 
commitments, and they've done a very good job of doing this in 
a number of multilateral organizations. I'm sure you're aware 
of the disparate treatment that they receive, and I would be 
very interested in hearing your thoughts on that, and what we 
might be able to do about rectifying the situation.
    Ms. Tai. Senator Hagerty, I know I'm running out of your 
time, so let me try to be succinct here. It is very concerning, 
the rules at the WTO that allow for countries to designate 
themselves as developing and to allow them to have 
dispensations from the rules, and this is something that we 
will continue to work on at the WTO, and work with others on. 
We are making some progress, and I am hopeful that we will be 
able to make a difference at the WTO.
    Senator Hagerty. If I can help in any way, I know some 
other nations that I think feel the same way we do, and I'd be 
happy to work with you on that.
    Ms. Tai. Thank you.
    Senator Hagerty. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Chairman.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Hagerty. And I just 
want to clarify something. The Ambassador is not suggesting 
that there is an oversupply of whiskey in the world, are you?
    [Laughter.]
    Ms. Tai. I'm sorry if I--that wasn't clear. Okay.
    Senator Hagerty. I got it.
    Senator Shaheen. Just wanted to clarify that.
    Senator Braun. Nobody would complain.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Shaheen. Senator Braun.
    Senator Braun. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good to be talking 
with you. Indiana is a top steel-producing State in the U.S. As 
a result of repeated surges in steel imports, the Trump 
administration implemented Section 232 tariffs, which helped 
kind of stabilize the domestic steel industry, allowed steel 
makers to invest billions of dollars in new facilities and 
upgrades to existing mills. I think nearly half of the world's 
excess steel capacity is housed within China. These efforts 
saved thousands of jobs.
    As you know, the tariffs are designed to protect against 
that global overcapacity, and you've got some anti-market 
policies that go along with the glut, so it really creates a 
condition to where you can get predatory actions that don't 
play by the rules necessarily.
    I know that a number of foreign governments are pressing to 
have the tariffs lifted, but I remain concerned, because I 
don't know that any of the underlying practices are going to 
change, and I think certainly that capacity's going to be 
there. Very tempting to try to use it. What assurances can you 
provide that the Biden administration will preserve the steel 
tariffs program to prevent a new surge of imports, and to use 
it as a tool until you see real change happening within the way 
the Chinese handle this excess capacity?
    Ms. Tai. Senator Braun, that is a really critical question 
because the 232 tariffs are very much on everyone's minds, 
because of the tariffs themselves, and also because of 
retaliatory actions that our trading partners have taken, 
including on Tennessee whiskey, as we just heard from Senator 
Hagerty.
    I want to assure you that I understand, see and fully 
accept that there is a global overcapacity problem with the 
steel market, and that the tools that have been used, the 232 
tariffs, have had an impact on steel production here in the 
United States, a positive one. But they have also carried with 
them costs. And so, for the Biden administration, as the U.S. 
Trade Representative, my focus is to figure out how we improve 
and the effectiveness of the tools that we use in support of 
American steelmaking, but to try to address some of the 
unintended consequences, I think, in terms of the frictions 
that this has generated with our trading partners.
    And so, solutions that we come to with our trading 
partners, I believe, in my core, really have to address the 
larger issue around the overcapacity in the market.
    Senator Braun. In your conversation with Senator Van 
Hollen, you said keep your eye on the ball. Be watchful. Cited 
maybe other industries. Steel is so important to Indiana. What 
would be the top two or three, in order of concern, other 
industries that you think we can have similar issues dealing 
with the Chinese?
    Ms. Tai. Senator Braun, I want to be careful here in terms 
of prioritizing because all of our industries, they're like our 
children. They're important. They're important to all of us. 
But let me say this. I think that if you look at trend lines in 
industrial sectors, and you also look at the ambitions and the 
policies that China has put forward in its plans, made in China 
2025, its 13th 5-year plan, 14th 5-year plan, you can mark and 
see where trends are going to go. And so, some of them are 
because of overcapacity. Some----
    Senator Braun. Could you name a few, not necessarily 
putting them in order that you might be concerned with?
    Ms. Tai. I can provide a couple examples. I think that we 
also see with cement, for example, that there is domination by 
China in the global market. Vitamin C, actually, had been a 
subject of an international antitrust case here in the United 
States, getting at the Chinese market dominance in this area. 
So, those are a couple examples that have been around, and if 
there are others, and this is of interest to you, I'd be very 
happy to continue this conversation with you.
    Senator Braun. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Senator Braun. 
Ambassador, we don't have anyone currently on the line or any 
other people in the queue, but I have some more questions, so, 
I'm going to do a second, maybe a third round here.
    I want to go back to climate change, and to your remarks. I 
mentioned this in my opening statement. I was very encouraged 
by the--your comments around climate change in your Earth Day 
policy speech, and one of the things you talked about, you 
said--and I think I'm quoting you accurately--is that, ``Our 
trade system itself creates an incentive to compete by 
maintaining lower environmental standards, or worse yet, by 
lowering those standards even further.''
    Given the President's recent announcement about further 
slashing our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and the 
commitment of the Biden administration to climate change, can 
you talk a little bit about how you see trade policy helping us 
to address climate change?
    Ms. Tai. I would be delighted to, Senator Shaheen. As I 
discussed some in those remarks, we have wanted to expand out 
the disciplines in our trade agreements, in our trade policies, 
in our trade conversations beyond tariffs and these border 
rules. And we have done so very successfully in a number of 
areas. If you look at the WTO agreements, it evolved from the 
general agreement on tariffs on trade to get at other types of 
issues that impact trade.
    But even in the WTO agreements, despite a very bold and 
really poetically written preamble that talks about standards 
of living, full employment, and the preservation of our natural 
resources for a sustainable economic future, there aren't any 
disciplines there. And I think that what is really important 
about the moment that we are in right now is here in the United 
States, we have made tremendous progress from 25 years ago, 
where our trade agreements, as a matter of course now, on a 
bipartisan accepted and supported basis, include labor and 
environment provisions. Full chapters that indicate that the 
terms of worker protections and environmental protections, 
these are economic issues. They impact the terms of trade. They 
impact how our economy is run.
    And we've made a lot of progress just in the last 4 years, 
in terms of building out enhanced rules, enhanced enforcement 
mechanisms, to ensure better terms of competition in terms of 
worker protections and labor as an input into our economy.
    Now is really the time to focus on increasing and 
improving, building out these environmental provisions, because 
it is very clear to the world right now that climate and the 
environment are not just policies in and of themselves for 
their own goods, but they're also public health policies, and 
then more fundamentally, they are economic policies. They are 
going to be critical to our ability to be the strong economic 
power that we are so used to, and so lucky to have been. And 
they're going to be critical to our ability to compete and lead 
as we go into the next decades of our future.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, I think one place where the 
importance of trade agreements in addressing that was USMCA, 
and your involvement in, I think, and Democrats' involvement in 
trying to improve that agreement were significant. It's 
something that we pay a lot of attention to in New Hampshire, 
because we do a lot of trade with China and with Mexico. And 
one of the real concerns as the first phase of--the first draft 
of that agreement was rolled out was the lack of those 
environmental policies that meant that we were not competing on 
a level playing field.
    So, can you talk about how you see USMCA now actually 
implementing some of the climate opportunities that we have as 
we're looking at trade?
    Ms. Tai. Well, I really appreciate this question. USMCA 
does actually have, and I think it does set the bar right now 
for the environmental provisions in our trade agreements. And 
while there isn't explicitly built out climate provisions, 
there are a lot of provisions in here that do impact the 
climate, chief among them, conservation provisions, enforcement 
provisions that are intended to enhance our enforcement and our 
coordinated enforcement against trade in illegally harvested 
timber, illegally taken wildlife, and all of these do impact 
the climate.
    So, I think that USMCA is an important base to build off 
of, but we shouldn't be afraid to be more bold, and to demand 
more from our trading partners, given that environmental 
issues, like our health issues, are ones where we are actually 
need to be working with others in order to make a difference 
for ourselves and for the world.
    Senator Shaheen. And so, are you feeling pretty confident 
if there are disputes that exist that the mechanisms that are 
there to try and resolve those will be able to work?
    Ms. Tai. That's a great question. I so appreciate that 
you've asked me this question. My view is that we did our very 
best to put in the most effective tools for enforcement that we 
know how. And they may not be perfect, but we're not going to 
know how effective they're going to be if we don't use them.
    And so, I am very committed. I am not afraid to use the 
enforcement tools. Some of them are cooperative, some of them 
are more confrontational, some are a mix, but I really think 
that in order to do the USMCA justice, and in order to do the 
partnership that we've renewed with Mexico and Canada, give 
them the respect that they deserve, we need to use all of these 
tools to see if they work. And then improve them, and improve 
our use of them, because that is the point of doing a trade 
agreement. It's not to put it on the shelf and look at it. It's 
to make sure that it works.
    Senator Shaheen. So, we don't have any examples yet of 
using the dispute resolution mechanisms to see how companies 
are responding to that?
    Ms. Tai. We do have one example. Actually, there are two 
examples of where USTR has initiated the first steps in an 
enforcement tool. So, the first one was done under the Trump 
administration by Ambassador Lighthizer. He requested 
consultations with Canada on dairy.
    And the other initiation we undertook earlier in, I think 
it was late March or early April, we activated a customs 
verification cooperation agreement that we have with Mexico, 
seeking information from Mexico, Mexican customs, on leads that 
we have that there is illegal wildlife or timber traffic that 
is happening through the Mexican ports, and we are expecting to 
hear back from Mexico on that soon.
    But absolutely we have taken the first steps, and we will 
continue to make sure that we've used every one of the tools 
that we have.
    Senator Shaheen. That's good to hear. I look forward to 
hearing more about how those mechanisms are used, and how, I 
don't think pleased is the right word, but how companies feel 
after they've had a chance to use those.
    The other concern that I've heard from New Hampshire 
companies about with respect to USMCA, and again, they were 
very pleased when it got done, but one issue has been the de 
minimis thresholds, which of course, those are very important 
for small businesses that export. In New Hampshire, most of our 
businesses are small, so they are paying real attention to 
what's happening there.
    Can you talk about what USTR is doing to ensure that Mexico 
is following the agreement when it comes to de minimis 
thresholds?
    Ms. Tai. Absolutely. I was going to say that I would be 
happy to remind my Mexican and Canadian counterparts how 
disappointed stakeholders are in the United States with where 
they were willing to commit themselves on, their de minimis 
thresholds. But with respect to Mexico, let me say this. There 
are a number of concerns that we have with Mexico's performance 
of its commitments under USMCA.
    I want to recognize here, maybe a little belatedly, and 
this probably applies to our review of our own performance, but 
also the performance of our trading partners under our 
agreements. The last year has not been a normal year, and I do 
want to recognize that COVID-19 has impacted all of us in lots 
of different ways.
    So, my conversations with Mexico. I am very cognizant of 
the challenges that they are facing, just as we are facing 
challenges. But that doesn't stop us from wanting to make sure 
that trade is still happening and that promises are being 
fulfilled. So, I have raised bilateral issues that we have with 
Mexico. My counterpart in Mexico, Secretary Clouthier, she was 
not shy about raising Mexico's concerns about what we are doing 
here in the United States.
    On USMCA, I am looking forward to a free trade commission. 
This is sort of the annual get-together to review performance 
and to take care of the agreement. We will be setting that up 
in the coming weeks, and I will be happy to report back to you 
after that takes place.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you, and thank you for adding 
Canada to that, because obviously Canada is also an issue. I 
had the opportunity several years ago to raise the--our 
concerns about their de minimis thresholds with the foreign 
minister, and he was very responsive. I think when he got back 
to the government, they were less so. So, I do recognize that 
this is an issue in both participants with USMCA.
    Finally, I just want to ask how the pandemic has affected 
your agency's operations. I know it's really been hard on 
everyone. And are there costs that the agency has incurred that 
we should be paying attention to as we're looking at the budget 
that's presented both by the administration and as we're 
thinking about what we need to do for the next year?
    Ms. Tai. I so appreciate that question, because, being a 
returnee to USTR, and having spent some very formative years 
there, I care very much about the people who make USTR work, 
and what I would say in terms of the costs of the pandemic, I 
would say that the costs are probably more to morale and more 
personal, in terms of the uncertainty and in terms of the 
difficulties that it has imposed on people.
    And, you know, workers at USTR are not alone. I know that 
for families with children, especially young children, for 
colleagues who are single, that they are some of the ones who 
have been hit the hardest by the reality of needing to work 
through the pandemic. So, what is interesting is as we look at 
the USTR as an agency, and the impact of the pandemic, what I 
would say is mostly it's that we have not spent our funds at 
the rate that we expected because of pandemic restrictions, and 
because we are placing the health and safety of our colleagues 
and those of our counterparts really at the priority of what we 
are doing.
    So, that's probably my message to you in terms of the 
pandemic's impact on USTR, which is most of our budget is 
dedicated to travel and to personnel. We are a small but mighty 
machine, and in a pandemic, it is hard to travel, and unsafe. 
And it is also hard to replace personnel and recruit personnel. 
So, those are probably the largest impacts of the pandemic that 
I have to share with you.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, I hope you will stay in touch with 
this subcommittee as you're continuing to work on your budget, 
because the more information we have, the better job we can do 
in trying to address what your needs are.
    Ms. Tai. Understood.
    Senator Shaheen. Senator Moran.
    Senator Moran. Chairman, I know you're disappointed that I 
made it back, but----
    Senator Shaheen. Oh, I'm so glad. I was out of questions.
    Senator Moran. Thank you very much for--again for 
conducting this hearing. Ambassador, thank you for being here. 
Let me go back to a topic that I raised with you in my earlier 
questions and in my opening statement.
    I mentioned to you that I have joined 39 of my Senate 
colleagues, so 40 of us have written to you urging that you 
restart the exclusion process for imports from China, subject 
to tariffs under Section 301. Again, this subcommittee on a 
bipartisan basis led the effort to persuade the prior 
administration to set up exclusion process. I'm not sure that 
was their intention when we started that effort, and I remain 
in my strong belief that Americans ought to continue to have 
that opportunity to petition their government for relief from 
tariffs. The question is more specific. Do you agree with that 
sentiment? Do you agree with me that Americans should continue 
to have that opportunity to find exclusions under Section 301?
    Ms. Tai. Senator Moran, I would say that in general, yes, I 
do agree. And I don't want to raise any consternation here, I 
just want to be--have the opportunity to fill in a little bit. 
At my confirmation hearing, Senator Portman, who I believe is 
also on that letter, had asked me to commit to a top-to-bottom 
review at USTR, and he really recommended it to me as something 
that he had done when he was USTR. And this is a top-to-bottom 
review specifically on China.
    And at the time when Senator Portman was U.S. Trade 
Representative was 2005, 2006, China had been in the WTO for 
about four or 5 years, and it was actually I think a really 
excellent idea to do that top-to-bottom review and to think 
strategically about that particular relationship.
    Well, it's 2021 now, and we are in a different place in our 
own economic history and in our relationship with China. And 
certainly, China has changed a lot since that last review was 
done. So, I very readily committed to Senator Portman to 
undertaking a top-to-bottom China review at USTR, and we will 
be looking at the full picture, but the tariffs themselves we 
will be looking at, as well as the exclusion process.
    And part of that will also be reviewing how the exclusions 
were done before, the logic behind the tariffs, the logic 
behind the exclusions, and so, my answer to you is I am very 
interested in this. I'm very interested in how we make our 
trade policies across the board more effective and more 
strategic. I think that every challenge is also an opportunity, 
that Ambassador Lighthizer has presented me with many 
opportunities, which I am embracing, and I would like to build 
on the gains that we have made over the past many years and 
make our trade policy work better.
    So, this question about the tariffs and the exclusions I 
know are on the minds of many, and are very consequential to 
stakeholders large and small, and we will be undertaking this 
responsibility with that sense of gravity.
    Senator Moran. Do you think you can complete that review 
and make a decision, and if it is to have an exclusion process, 
that that exclusion process can be in place before 
circumstances are such that the damage is being done to--
particularly to American manufacturers?
    Ms. Tai. I want to convey to you that I am keenly aware of 
how much time is of the essence, in particular in this current 
economic environment.
    Senator Moran. We're delighted to have you here so early in 
the appropriations process, but it gives you the opportunity to 
defer to a point in time in which you have the opportunity to 
have reviewed, which is not what I'm really complaining about, 
only smiling about. So, we'll be back in touch.
    Let me ask one more question. This was in regard to Mexico 
and USMCA. The president of Mexico recently issued a decree 
that would ban glyphosate and biotech corn in Mexican diets by 
2024. This announcement comes on the heels of Mexico also 
imposing certain regulatory barriers to agricultural imports, 
their approval. These actions threaten to cause significant 
trade disruption, undercut the commitments our nations just 
agreed to in USMCA. My question is, are you aware of these 
issues, and can you--if so, can you provide me with an overview 
what USTR intends to do or plans to do in addressing them?
    Ms. Tai. I'm very aware of these issues, and I have raised 
them with my Mexican counterpart, just as I raised our Canadian 
issues with my Canadian counterpart. I just conveyed to Chair 
Shaheen that there will be a Free Trade Commission convening 
under the USMCA in the next few weeks, and that will give us an 
opportunity to--at my level, to again raise concerns. But I 
want to let you know that I am committed to using all the tools 
that we have in the USMCA toolbox, and there are a lot. And 
there are some of them that are new, and these issues are 
absolutely on a fairly full radar of areas and concerns that we 
are hearing from Senators, from the stakeholders themselves 
about how the agreement is not operating the way that we would 
like it to.
    So, we have our teams that work on this day in and day out. 
We are looking at it in terms of what our options are to 
resolve these issues soon, and also what other options are if 
we're not able to resolve them in the near term.
    Senator Moran. Ambassador, thank you for your answers. I've 
been impressed by you and the answers as well as the future 
answers I expect to get. So, thank you, thank you very much for 
your leadership.
    Ms. Tai. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Moran, and we can 
always invite Ambassador Tai back, so, I think we should assume 
that.
    Senator Moran. I appreciate you saying that, and welcome 
that opportunity.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. Well, I also want to thank you 
very much, Ambassador, for your appearance here, for your 
testimony, and for your willingness to work with the 
subcommittee, and Members of Congress on the challenges that we 
face going forward with trade.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    If there are no further questions this afternoon, Senators 
may submit additional questions for the subcommittee's official 
hearing record. We ask that USTR respond within 30 days of 
receiving those questions, and the subcommittee will stand in 
recess. Thank you.
    [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but 
were submitted to the U.S. Trade Representative for response 
subsequent to the hearing:]
            Questions Submitted to Ambassador Katherine Tai
              Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick Leahy
 a review of the activities and fiscal year 2022 funding priorities of 
              the office of the u.s. trade representative
    Question 1. On March 30, I sent a letter to the President, with 
Senator Tillis, requesting that the administration prioritize the 
appointment of critical intellectual property officials, including the 
Chief Innovation and Intellectual Property Negotiator at USTR. As noted 
in that letter, IP-intensive industries are poised to continue to be an 
engine for growth during this time of economic recovery, which is why 
focusing on promoting and protecting IP-related jobs and economic 
output must be a key priority. Unfortunately, this position at USTR has 
not been filled since its creation in 2016.

    1a.  Do you agree that filling the position of Chief Innovation and 
Intellectual Property Negotiator at USTR must be a priority for the 
Administration?
    1b.  Does the administration intend to put forward a nominee for 
this position? If so, when do you expect the nomination will be sent to 
the Senate?

    Answer. As you note, the Chief Innovation and IP Negotiator 
position has not been filled since it was created by Congress. The 
issue of intellectual property is one where there are strong views on 
both sides, and I will keep that in mind as we consider the path 
forward for filling it.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Joe Manchin, III
    Question 1. For decades, the world's biggest companies have flocked 
to the United States, attracted by our skilled workforce, expansive 
consumers and legal protections. These companies have created millions 
of good American jobs and revitalized many communities, especially in 
rural States like West Virginia. According to the recent government 
data, international companies created 80 percent of all new U.S. 
manufacturing jobs from 2013 to 2018. The Toyota plant in Buffalo, West 
Virginia employs over 2,000 West Virginians in Putnam County. There, 
Toyota continues to provide the economic engine for the area. 
Nonetheless, the United States runs a trillion-dollar annual trade 
deficit because it has lost most of its manufacturing industries. 
Although we created all the industries of the digital age, they have 
predominately migrated overseas.

    1a.  What opportunities do you see for new manufacturing jobs in 
the United States?
    1b.  How do we ensure that our trade policies benefit economically 
depressed and rural areas?
    1c.  How can we ensure that manufacturing jobs do not get 
offshored?

    Answer. The Biden-Harris Administration believes a strong U.S. 
manufacturing base is critical both for U.S. national security and a 
strong recovery from the COVID-19 shock. The new investments in both 
U.S. infrastructure and the U.S. industrial base will be critical to 
creating the new manufacturing jobs the United States needs.
    The American worker is at the center of the Biden Administration's 
trade agenda. President Biden has made it clear that his first priority 
is new domestic investments, not new trade deals. Those investments, 
including in infrastructure, are needed to enable American workers to 
compete effectively for the jobs of the future. The President has made 
his commitment to ``Buy American'' clear, including through the 
creation of a Made in America director within the Office of Management 
and Budget to link Federal procurement with domestic manufacturing. The 
American Jobs Plan recognizes the importance of creating good-paying 
jobs in rural America. Further, the work that emerges from the Biden 
Administration's Executive Order 14017 on America's Supply Chains will 
generate additional recommendations for how to strengthen the 
resilience of U.S. supply chains in four vital product areas--critical 
materials, advanced batteries, active pharmaceutical ingredients and 
semiconductors--as well as key sectors in the U.S. industrial base. The 
Biden Administration's foreign economic policy for the middle class 
recognizes that trade policy must support domestic economic efforts.
    The Biden Administration is also committed to ending the incentives 
in the U.S. tax code that have encouraged the offshoring of U.S. 
manufacturing jobs. The Treasury Department is actively working with a 
number of our key trading partners in the G-20 and the OECD on a 
multilateral agreement to end a race to the bottom on tax rates.
    At USTR, we are reviewing our trade commitments to identify ways in 
which trade agreements can do more to help strengthen U.S. 
manufacturing. We will continue to work to ensure that American workers 
can compete on a level playing field, not one where our trading 
partners gain false competitive advantages through lax labor and 
environmental standards.

    Question 2. It is no secret that the Biden Administration is 
looking to transition our Nation's fleet of gas vehicles to primarily 
electric vehicles. In the Administration's infrastructure plan, it was 
made very clear when they sought $174 billion to support electric 
vehicle manufacturing. I am very concerned about some of the 
questionable mining practices, both on the humanitarian and 
environmental side, in places like the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo, which holds 50 percent of the world's reserves of cobalt, which 
has also been developed in large part by China. I am also concerned 
about our reliance on a small list of countries to provide the 
materials we need to manufacture lithium-ion batteries. If those supply 
chains were interrupted or cut-off entirely, we wouldn't have any 
alternatives at this point. If we are going to build up the EV market 
in the United States, I believe we need to make sure we are sourcing 
these battery materials responsibly and domestically wherever possible 
or looking for sustainable alternatives.

    2a.  As U.S. Trade Representative, how do you plan on shoring up 
domestic supply chains and reducing reliance on foreign materials for 
production of goods, especially in EV production?

    Answer. I share your concerns about the supply chain for the 
critical materials needed for electric vehicle (EV) battery production. 
The full supply chain for advanced batteries is being examined as a 
result of President's Executive Order (EO) on America's Supply Chains. 
The recently released 100-Day reviews, ``Building Resilient Supply 
Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and Fostering Broad-Based 
Growth,'' pursuant to that EO examine this issue in further detail. 
Those reviews assert, in part, that ``the United States should take a 
mineral-by-mineral approach to look for opportunities to sustainably 
produce and refine domestic minerals for key battery materials. For 
battery materials where the United States does not have strong deposits 
suited for economic extraction, the best pathway to getting a stable 
material supply in the near-term is through allies and trading partners 
with responsible environmental and labor standards, and in the long-
term by capturing and recycling the supply of materials in end-of-life 
batteries from EVs and storage. Both extracted and recycled materials 
and minerals will require refining and processing, and refining and 
processing capacity should be scaled up domestically to utilize this 
supply, capture an important stage of the supply chain that fuels 
downstream battery manufacturing, and avoid the need to export raw 
materials and re-import processed components.'' I will work to ensure 
America's trade policies support the recommendations that emerge from 
these supply chain reviews.

    Question 3. In 2017, the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative initiated an investigation to determine whether certain 
Chinese ``laws, policies, practices or actions are unreasonable or 
discriminatory and may be harming American intellectual property 
rights, innovation or technology development.'' Because of this 
investigation, USTR imposed tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act 
of 1974. However, in doing so, they also created an exclusion process 
in which certain businesses and entities could request an exclusion 
from the tariffs for certain goods that were not readily available in 
the United States. Unfortunately, many of these exemptions expired on 
December 31, 2020, and there has yet to be a process for Section 301 
tariff exemptions put back in its place.

    3a.  Does USTR plan to reinstate an exclusion process for these 
tariffs and if so, when can we expect to see that process start?

    Answer. At the request and recommendation of Senator Portman, I 
have committed to doing a top-to-bottom review of our China trade 
policy, with the goal of making our trade policies more effective and 
more strategic. As part of that review, we are looking at the China 301 
tariffs and the exclusions process. Our plan to re-examine the tariffs 
provides us with important opportunities to craft thoughtful and 
effective responses to China's unfair trade practices.

    Question 4. As I have stated numerous times, I have been supportive 
of the efforts to expand steel and aluminum tariffs under Section 232 
of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. In my State of West Virginia, steel 
and aluminum producers are still struggling to survive because of 
foreign traders who circumvent our trade laws and evade duty payments 
by transshipping products through third party countries. While I 
appreciate the Biden Administration's commitment to review the 
effectiveness of existing tariffs, many of my constituents and 
businesses are asking when a decision will be made on the tariffs put 
in place by the prior administration.

    4a.  Given your examination of current trade policies, do you 
believe that the current tariffs on steel and aluminum are effective?
    4b.  When can we expect an announcement on the future of section 
232 steel and aluminum tariffs?

    Answer. With respect to the section 232 tariffs on steel and 
aluminum, we have a very significant problem in the global steel and 
aluminum markets that is driven primarily by overcapacity in China and 
other countries, particularly in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. 
The Administration is working to address the market distorting measures 
in economies that have led to overcapacity in the global steel and 
aluminum industries and the resulting national security threats.
    In addition to the thorough review of the section 232 measures and 
product and country exclusions that is currently underway by the 
Department of Commerce, the Administration is also consulting closely 
with various domestic stakeholders and like-minded partners around the 
world sharing similar national security interests to address market 
distorting measures in non-market economies that pose a serious threat 
to the market-oriented U.S. steel and aluminum industries and the 
workers in those industries. On May 17, 2021, the United States and the 
European Union (EU) announced the start of discussions to address 
global steel and aluminum excess capacity and the market distortions 
that result from this excess capacity. The Administration is committed 
to working with the EU and other like-minded partners to address excess 
capacity, ensure the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum 
industries, and strengthen our democratic alliance.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Chris Van Hollen
    Question 1. The USMCA implementing legislation established the 
Independent Mexico Labor Expert Board (IMLEB) for the purpose of 
monitoring and evaluating the implementation of Mexico's labor reform 
and compliance with its labor obligations. The Board also advises the 
Interagency Labor Committee (co-chaired by the USTR) with respect to 
capacity building activities needed to support such implementation and 
compliance.
    On December 15, 2020, the Board submitted an interim report to 
assist the Interagency Labor Committee and the Congress in their 
assessment of the efforts of Mexico to implement Mexico's labor reform, 
and the manner and extent to which labor laws are generally enforced in 
Mexico. While the first phase of implementation of the new labor 
institutions established under the 2019 reform was delayed until 
November 18, 2020 (due to the Covid-19 pandemic), the Board identified 
a number of serious concerns with Mexico's labor law enforcement 
process that it believed must be addressed promptly. In addition, the 
Board identified issues affecting capacity building activities needed 
to support the implementation of Mexico's labor reform and compliance 
with its labor obligations that also require immediate attention.
    Ambassador Tai, the USMCA imposed new stringent labor standards 
that we hope will become the model for future trade agreements. But 
without effective monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, these labor 
provisions will be toothless.

    1a.  Based on this report from the Independent Mexico Labor Expert 
Board (IMLEB), can you tell us what concrete actions the USTR will be 
prepared to take to address their recommendations, either alone or in 
conjunction with other agencies such as the Department of Labor?

    Answer. USTR has carefully considered the information and 
recommendations included in the IMLEB report, including by integrating 
that information into our monitoring. We are engaging with the 
Government of Mexico on a regular basis to press for progress and 
support their efforts to implement the reforms required by the USMCA, 
including on issues raised by the IMLEB. USTR hosted the first Free 
Trade Commission meeting under the USMCA on May 17 and 18, and plans to 
hold a Labor Council meeting soon. On May 12, USTR submitted the first 
ever USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) request for review to 
Mexico. The request asked Mexico to review whether workers at a General 
Motors (GM) facility are being denied the right of free association and 
collective bargaining. This self-initiated action shows the Biden-
Harris Administration's serious commitment to workers and a worker-
centered trade policy. In addition, the Department of Labor has 
launched several significant technical assistance projects to support 
the Government of Mexico in its labor reform and to strengthen workers' 
ability to exercise their labor rights. USTR collaborates closely with 
the Department of Labor. We look forward to continued reporting from 
the IMLEB.

    1b.  Do you anticipate that an increase in funding will be needed 
to adequately carry out these activities?
    1c.  Or does the funding provided under the USMCA implementing 
legislation provide sufficient funding?

    Answer. USTR is using the funding provided under the USMCA 
implementing legislation, which runs through 2023, to dedicate current 
staff and hire additional staff to support the monitor and enforcement 
activities under USMCA. I look forward to working with members of this 
subcommittee to ensure that USTR has adequate resources to fully 
implement and enforce USMCA.

    Question 2. The Rapid Response Mechanism was a novel innovation of 
the USMCA, which ensured that workers could receive relief through 
facility-level enforcement of USCMA labor violations. The USTR's 2021 
policy agenda notes that the Biden Administration is committed to self-
initiating and advancing petitions under this mechanism.

    2a.  Ambassador Tai, could you tell us a little bit more about what 
the USTR has (or intends to do) on this front to initiate petitions?

    Answer. On May 12, USTR submitted the first ever USMCA Rapid 
Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) request for review to Mexico. The 
request asked Mexico to review whether workers at a General Motors (GM) 
facility are being denied the right of free association and collective 
bargaining. This self-initiated action shows the Biden-Harris 
Administration's serious commitment to workers and a worker-centered 
trade policy. Working with the Department of Labor, USTR engages in 
monitoring efforts, and we will not hesitate to self-initiate 
additional matters when we become aware of facts that warrant such 
action. Additionally, the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring 
and Enforcement (ILC), which I co-chair with the Secretary of Labor, 
receives and reviews USMCA labor petitions from the public. If the ILC 
determines, in response to an RRM petition, that there is sufficient, 
credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good-faith 
invocation of enforcement mechanisms, I will submit a request for 
review to Mexico.

    2b.  How are you monitoring individual facilities, and do you 
believe you have the resources that you need to fully carry this out?
    2c.  If not, what additional funding, resources, or authority would 
be needed to successfully undertake these activities?

    Answer. USTR is using the funding provided under the USMCA 
implementing legislation, which runs through 2023, to dedicate current 
staff and hire additional staff to support the monitor and enforcement 
activities under USMCA. I look forward to working with members of this 
subcommittee to ensure that USTR has adequate resources to fully 
implement and enforce USMCA, including the labor chapter.
                                 ______
                                 
             Questions Submitted by Senator Lisa Murkowski
    Question 1. Ambassador Tai, as we discussed during the April 28 
hearing, China continues to fall short of its seafood purchase 
commitments as outlined in Chapter Six of Phase One of the Economic and 
Trade Agreement between the U.S. and China. This is in spite of the 
fact that China has purchased increasing quantities of U.S. livestock 
and other agricultural exports under the Phase One agreement. This 
seafood-specific failure has resulted in significant economic losses 
for certain fisheries in Alaska and across the Nation, and I urge you 
to take action to alleviate these losses and push China to honor its 
seafood purchase promises. One potential strategy is to secure a 
commitment from China to apply a blanket tariff exclusion on U.S. 
seafood imports. This option would eliminate any difficulties around 
obtaining individual temporary tariff waivers.

    1a.  Will USTR consider pursuing a blanket tariff exclusion to 
restore the Chinese market for American seafood companies?

    Answer. During meetings held under the Phase One Agreement to 
review China's implementation progress, the U.S. side has frequently 
raised concerns about the slow pace of China's purchases of U.S. goods, 
including seafood. While China has established a tariff exclusion 
process that makes tariff exclusions available for U.S. goods like 
seafood that are covered by Chapter Six of the Phase One Agreement, we 
understand from U.S. industry that this tariff exclusion process has 
not been working well for goods in certain industries where the 
practice is to enter into long-term contracts or where importers tend 
to be small, private companies reluctant to make use of the available 
tariff exclusion process as opposed to large State-owned enterprises. 
We have been raising this issue with the Chinese side, and we agree 
with you that a blanket tariff exclusion for these types of goods would 
help to promote increased purchases by Chinese companies.

    Question 2. Ambassador Tai, on top of the devastation that 
Southeast Alaska is seeing from a lost tourism season, we also continue 
to suffer from the impacts of a 25 percent tariff rate on Alaska spruce 
and hemlock. Although the Phase One agreement signed by the Trump 
Administration created a waiver for timber tariffs, Alaska spruce 
exports to China--our primary buyer of spruce--flatlined the last 2 
years, and the future remains uncertain.

    2a.  What specific actions are you taking to help us work through 
this tariff?
    2b.  Is there anything that you need from Congress to help on this 
front?

    Answer. During meetings held under the Phase One Agreement to 
review China's implementation progress, the U.S. side has addressed 
China's tariff exclusion process, and specifically Alaska spruce and 
hemlock, with the Chinese side. We understand that China's tariff 
exclusion process has been regularly used to secure tariff exclusions 
for goods that are covered by Chapter Six of the Phase One Agreement. 
In addition, for Alaska spruce and hemlock, we have clarified that 
China makes tariff exclusions available for these products for 1 year 
from the date that a tariff exclusion has been granted, subject to 
periodic updates on the purchases being made. We have also communicated 
this information to U.S. industry.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Susan Collins
    Question 1. In February, Sen. Sinema, Sen. Kelley, and I led 
several of our colleagues in writing to President Biden to urge him to 
remove the Section 301 tariffs that had been levied on food and 
beverage imported from the EU since October 2019 due to the large civil 
aircraft subsidies dispute. A few weeks later, on March 5, the White 
House announced that these tariffs would be suspended for an initial 4 
months. I greatly appreciate that the Administration heeded our call 
since these tariffs have been extremely detrimental to small businesses 
in Maine. Is the Administration working with the E.U. to make this 
suspension permanent?

    Answer. USTR is engaging intensively with the EU and the UK in an 
attempt to reach a balanced settlement to the large civil aircraft 
disputes that will ensure a level playing field and address the harms 
to our workers and businesses. We are also seeking a joint vision with 
the EU and the UK to address the challenges posed by non-market 
economic practices of China and other new entrants to the large civil 
aircraft market.
                                 ______
                                 
             Questions Submitted by Senator Lindsey Graham
    Question 1. What will be the impact on small and medium sized 
domestic remodeling/renovation businesses if tariffs are imposed on 
building materials such as flooring and countertops as a response to 
Turkey's Digital Services Tax (DST)?

    Answer. USTR recently requested public comments and held a hearing 
on a proposed Section 301 action arising from the investigation of 
Turkey's Digital Services Tax on May 7, 2021. In determining what 
action, if any, to take, USTR will carefully consider the potential 
impact on small and medium sized businesses.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator John Boozman
    Question 1. I have always been supportive of holding our trading 
partners accountable, especially in the agriculture sector. As you 
know, India is often at the top of the list of employing tariff and 
non-tariff trade barriers as well as providing their domestic 
agriculture producers with support that far exceeds their WTO 
commitments.
    Arkansas grows over half of the U.S. rice crop, and in the past 
decade, rice imports from India have soared, displacing U.S. production 
that simply cannot compete with the generously subsidized Indian rice.
    In late March, USTR announced proposed action against India, among 
other countries, for an investigation into digital services taxes 
imposed by those countries. Part of the list of proposed retaliatory 
duties to be imposed is a 25 percent duty on brown Basmati imports. 
However, rice producers would like to see USTR expand the proposed 
retaliatory duties to all other rice and rice products imported from 
India.
    USTR is currently taking comments on this issue, and I know there 
are plans to hold hearings in May to determine final retaliatory duties 
later this year.
    I cannot stress enough the importance of expanding the proposed 
retaliatory duties to apply to all rice and rice products imported from 
India.
    Ambassador Tai, I appreciate you taking into consideration my 
comments and those of the U.S. rice industry. Can I count on you to 
give this matter your full consideration and support?

    Answer. USTR recently requested public comments and held a hearing 
on a proposed Section 301 action arising from the investigation of 
India's Digital Services Tax on May 10, 2021. In determining what 
action, if any, to take, USTR will carefully consider your comments 
regarding the inclusion of rice and rice products on the final product 
list.

    Question 2. Since the United Kingdom (UK) formally left the 
European Union (EU), the UK offers a significant market for our farmers 
and ranchers. In particular, two of the top ag products from my home 
state--poultry and rice--have significant potential to gain market 
access through a UK Free Trade Agreement.
    Before Brexit, the UK was tied to the EU's practices of employing 
tariff and non-tariff trade barriers. For poultry, it is an 
unscientific ban on products treated with certain pathogen reduction 
treatments, and for rice, it was protectionist tariffs meant to prop up 
EU rice farmers elsewhere in the EU. Now that the UK is free to make 
their own trade deals, I have been supportive of a Free Trade Agreement 
with the UK that is rules-based, mutually beneficial, with standards 
rooted in science.
    What are your plans for a Free Trade Agreement with the UK that 
includes more market access for U.S. farmers and ranchers?

    Answer. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration's focus on the 
Build Back Better agenda and supporting a worker-centric trade policy, 
it is currently reviewing the objectives of the negotiations with the 
United Kingdom that were begun under the prior Administration. 
Agricultural exports, including poultry and rice, are important U.S. 
exports and potential access to the UK and other markets will factor 
into decisions on how best to deepen our trade relationships with key 
partners.

    Question 3. Historically, the European Union (EU) has been an 
important market for U.S. peanut production.
    Unfortunately, since 2018 the US peanut industry has lost 
approximately $160 million in the EU market due to non-tariff trade 
barriers regarding additional aflatoxin testing protocols above and 
beyond the testing done in the US.
    The U.S. peanut industry has engaged with both USTR and USDA and is 
eager to find a solution to this issue. What further steps need to be 
taken to remedy this situation?

    Answer. We recognize the importance of the European market for U.S. 
peanut production, and the challenges that concern the industry. We 
will continue to work closely with USDA and the industry to address 
this issue, including pursuing a solution with the Europeans.
                                 ______
                                 
          Questions Submitted by Senator Shelley Moore Capito
    Question 1. Last week, I joined Senator Portman and a group of 38 
bipartisan Senators to echo support for the Administration to continue 
efforts to address unfair Chinese trade practices while also restarting 
the Section 301 Tariff Exclusion Process. Doing so would provide 
domestic manufacturers with much needed relief.

    1a.  Can you provide and update on where things stand on this 
matter at USTR?
    1b.  When can manufacturers expect this process to be up and 
running?

    Answer. At the request and recommendation of Senator Portman, I 
have committed to doing a top-to-bottom review of our China trade 
policy, with the goal of making our trade policies more effective and 
more strategic. As part of that review, we are looking at the China 301 
tariffs and the exclusions process. Our plan to re-examine the tariffs 
provides us with important opportunities to craft thoughtful and 
effective responses to China's unfair trade practices.

    Question 2. Last summer, it was brought to my attention that Jingye 
Group, a Chinese steel and iron manufacturer, had purchased British 
Steel--a steel manufacturer with facilities across the UK and Europe. 
As we continue to place focus on China's trade practices, I worry that 
acquisitions such as these could lead to the circumvention of U.S. 
trade law.

    2a.  Are you aware of this matter or similar instances?

    Answer. USTR is aware of the acquisition of British Steel by Jingye 
Group and is monitoring this development closely. We will continue to 
raise concerns about the foreign investment activities of Chinese steel 
producers in fora such as the OECD Steel Committee and the Global Forum 
on Steel Excess Capacity, and bilaterally with those countries 
affected. In addition to this acquisition, we are also aware of recent 
cross-border and joint venture investments by Chinese steel enterprises 
in the UK and in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the 
Philippines, Cambodia, and others. USTR will continue to consult with 
domestic stakeholders and work closely with like-minded partners, such 
as the UK and the EU, to find creative and effective responses to 
prevent further job and technology losses in sectors China is 
targeting.

    2b.  Can you commit to addressing these concerns during your 
continued negotiations with the United Kingdom?

    Answer. The Administration is currently reviewing the objectives of 
the negotiations with the United Kingdom. We intend to work closely 
with the UK and other like-minded partners to address excess capacity 
and market distortive measures through all the appropriate mechanisms 
and engagements we have with these partners.

    Question 3. As a result of the pandemic and indefinite work from 
home policies, many Americans are considering the option to move to 
rural areas, like my State of West Virginia. However, lumber prices 
have more than tripled since last spring and are further increased by 
tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber.

    3a.  Is your team working on a new softwood lumber agreement with 
Canada?
    3b.  Will you make this a priority?

    Answer. I discussed softwood lumber with my Canadian counterpart in 
our first USMCA FTC meeting and we agreed to keep in touch on the 
issue. The United States is open to resolving our differences with 
Canada over softwood lumber, but it would require addressing Canadian 
policies that create an uneven playing field for the U.S. industry. 
Unfortunately, to date, Canada has not been willing to address these 
concerns adequately.

    Question 4. The Phase One Agreement with China addressed key trade 
imbalances between our two nations, such as forced tech transfer, IP 
theft, and currency manipulation.

    4a.  Do you intend to continue to build upon the framework of the 
Phase One deal to further solidify China's commitment to uphold the 
changes agreed upon?

    Answer. With regard to the Phase One Agreement, we are committed to 
ensuring China's implementation of its obligations under the Agreement. 
We will continue to make use of and push the tools that we have for the 
benefit of U.S. farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, service suppliers, 
and small businesses.
    The Administration is currently engaged in a comprehensive and 
coordinated review of U.S. strategy for addressing the many challenges 
that China poses, both for the United States and the world. USTR is 
actively participating in the development of this strategy, which will 
encompass all policy areas, including trade policy.

    4b.  What additional areas do you believe should be addressed/
targeted?

    Answer. With regard to the Administration's trade policy toward 
China, USTR is currently conducting a top-to-bottom review of the U.S.-
China trade relationship, with a view toward ensuring that our trade 
policy supports and complements the Administration's broader China 
strategy. A key focus of this effort is on China's non-market and 
unfair policies and practices that are inadequately disciplined by the 
WTO or the Phase One Agreement, such as industrial subsidies, excess 
capacity, forced technology transfer, and State-owned enterprises. The 
results of this review, as well as our ongoing engagement with allies 
and like-minded partners, with whom we share values and interests, will 
inform our thinking of how we proceed.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator John Kennedy
    Question 1. As you know we are still under a declared national 
public health emergency and we continue to have supply chain challenges 
particularly related to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Recently 
United States Customs and Border Protection seized imports from the 
world's largest rubber glove manufacturer, Top Glove in Malaysia, for 
sufficient evidence of its use of forced labor. This underscores the 
need for domestically manufactured PPE. We need to stand up and support 
US-based PPE manufacturing and as part of that provide Section 301 
exclusions for essential manufacturing equipment and raw materials 
needed to establish and support domestic PPE production.

    1a.  Given the ongoing public health emergency and resulting need 
for PPE, would you consider having a separate fast-track Section 301 
exclusion process for essential manufacturing equipment and raw 
materials needed to establish and support domestic PPE production?''

    Answer. In March 2020, USTR established a process in which U.S. 
stakeholders could provide comments on possible modifications to remove 
the additional 301 duties from medical-care products. Medical-care 
products included products directly used to treat COVID-19 or to limit 
the outbreak and products used in the production of needed medical-care 
products. Based on the comments received, in December 2020, USTR 
published a list of exclusions for products to combat COVID-19. 
Currently, these exclusions are scheduled to remain in effect until 
September 30, 2021.
    As you are aware, I have committed to doing a top-to-bottom review 
of our China Trade policy. As part of that review, we are reviewing the 
China 301 tariffs and the exclusions process, including the exclusions 
for products to combat COVID-19.

    Question 2. Do you believe China is a ``developing country?''

    Answer. In the World Trade Organization, Members are currently 
permitted to self-declare as ``developing countries'' to take advantage 
of certain flexibilities in WTO rules. However, WTO Members recognized 
at the time of China's accession to the WTO that China should not be 
able to avail itself of flexibilities afforded to other developing 
countries. China was permitted to negotiate only a limited set of 
flexibilities at the time of its accession. The United States believes 
that China is an advanced, wealthy and influential Member of the WTO 
that can negotiate the flexibilities it may need in any future WTO 
negotiation, and that China should not be able to avail itself of any 
blanket flexibilities reserved for developing countries.

    Question 3. Do you believe, like the last administration declared, 
that China is committing crimes against humanity towards the Muslim 
Uyghur population?

    Answer. Secretary of State Blinken has made clear that China is 
committing genocide and crimes against humanity. In the 2020 Country 
Reports on Human Rights Practices, issued on March 30, 2021, the State 
Department declared that ``[g]enocide and crimes against humanity 
occurred during the year against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and 
other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.'' I agree with 
this assessment. China should immediately end these atrocities and 
respect the human rights of Uyghurs and all others across China.

    Question 4. How do you intend on preventing the import of goods 
made with forced labor and the export of technologies used for 
repression?

    Answer. I commit to utilizing the full range of trade tools at my 
disposal to combat forced labor and the export of technologies used for 
repression. This includes ensuring President Biden's Build Back Better 
agenda promotes a trade agenda that respects the dignity of work and 
pursues a fair, rules-based international trading system and does not 
undermine our core values. A fair international trading system is one 
in which individuals are not forced to work against their will, and 
products made out of forced labor do not enter the global trading 
system. I will champion trade policies that support good jobs that are 
protected by robust and enforced labor laws, including laws that 
prohibit forced labor in traded goods.
    One recent example of our commitment is that in the first Free 
Trade Commission of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), 
held just this month, the United States, Mexico, and Canada discussed 
our shared obligation to ensure the Agreement's forced labor import 
prohibition and continued our collaboration to bolster each other's 
efforts in this regard. The USMCA includes a ground-breaking forced 
labor provision that obligates all Parties to ``prohibit the 
importation of goods into its territory from other sources produced in 
whole or in part by forced or compulsory labor, including forced or 
compulsory child labor.''
    In addition, USTR uses the worker rights eligibility criteria of 
its trade preference programs to address labor issues, including the 
elimination of forced labor. For example, we recently closed a review 
of Uzbekistan's GSP eligibility after trade engagement on this issue 
encouraged the Uzbek government to eliminate the systematic use of 
forced labor in its annual cotton harvest. Utilizing our trade tools to 
combat forced labor is also a part of the White House's National Action 
Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. Our agency is an active member of the 
President's Interagency Task Force on Trafficking and the Forced Labor 
Enforcement Task Force, as well as various other interagency committees 
to coordinate efforts to combat forced labor.
    USTR is also engaged with other agencies to ensure that the U.S. 
technology is not exported for use in repression overseas. We are 
active participants in discussions over the full range of existing 
tools, including investment screening and export controls such as the 
Entity List and the Military End-User (MEU) List maintained by the 
Department of Commerce.

    Question 5. China's fallen back on its word to purchase $468 
billion worth of U.S. goods, as they agreed to during the ``Phase One'' 
agreement. How do you intend on holding them to their word?

    Answer. China's purchases shortfall is certainly in our sights. 
These commitments are important to the United States economically, but 
they are also important as commitments that China undertook of its own 
free will to make. We will work to ensure that these commitments are 
implemented, and where they are not, we will utilize the tools 
available, including those under the Phase One Agreement, to stand up 
for U.S. farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, service suppliers, and small 
businesses.

    Question 6. Prior to the lack of quorum under the Trump 
Administration the World Trade Organization faced significant criticism 
because of its sluggish dispute settlement process.

    6a.  Is the administration committed to maintaining an active role 
in reforming and upgrading the World Trade Organization, or does it 
intend to allow for the revival of the dysfunctional appellate body?

    Answer. The Biden Administration shares longstanding bipartisan, 
bicameral concerns about the WTO's dispute settlement system. Dispute 
settlement overreaching, including by the Appellate Body, undermines 
support in the U.S. for the international trading system. The 
Administration will actively engage in efforts to reform the WTO, 
including dispute settlement, in order to build a more fair trading 
system and support the WTO as a forum for discussion and negotiations 
where countries come together to find joint solutions to common 
problems.

    Question 7. Do you intend to purse Free Trade Agreement talks with 
Iceland?

    Answer. The Biden Administration highly values our economic and 
security relationship with Iceland. However, as the President has made 
clear, we will not be engaging in new trade agreements before we make 
the necessary investments at home.

    Question 8. Do you believe China is actively trying to build a 
presence in the artic?

    Answer. Yes. China is actively trying to build a presence in the 
Arctic and has publicly announced its intent to increase its 
investments there, including through the development of research and 
observation platforms, arctic shipping routes, and enhanced operational 
capabilities, such as icebreakers. In addition, China has sought to 
create economic leverage and gain a foothold and in the region through 
direct investments in land and infrastructure. Beijing includes the 
Arctic region in its ``Polar Silk Road,'' as part of President Xi's 
signature Belt and Road Initiative.

    Question 9. Is it a priority of the administration to enhance 
security cooperation in the artic to combat increased Chinese and 
Russian influence?

    Answer. Yes. We are working with and through our allies and 
partners to enhance U.S. presence and influence in the Arctic. The 
United States continues to participate in Arctic exercises and training 
to deepen military interoperability with allies and partners. The 
Administration currently discusses security and defense challenges in 
the High North through NATO, bilateral dialogues, and regional 
consultations with like-minded Arctic states. We intend to work with 
Arctic states to uphold international law and standards in the long-
standing spirit of cooperation among Arctic nations in the region. We 
will not hesitate to hold any state accountable for actions that run 
counter to these commitments, or the interests of the United States, 
its allies and partners.

    Question 10. Do you intend to purse Free Trade Agreement talks with 
New Zealand?

    Answer. The Biden Administration highly values our economic and 
security relationship with New Zealand. We are working in close 
connection with New Zealand on trade issues as it hosts and chairs APEC 
(Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation). However, as the President has made 
clear, we will not be engaging in new trade agreements before we make 
the necessary investments at home.

    Question 11. Will you prioritize our expanding trade relations with 
both countries?

    Answer. Yes, our trade relations with both countries are important 
priorities. We regularly engage Iceland and New Zealand bilaterally, 
including through our Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFA), 
to explore ways to expand and enhance our trade ties.

    Question 12. Given recent claims by the Mexican government that 
Mexico's hydrocarbons resources are not covered under USMCA, can you 
state your position regarding how hydrocarbons should treated with 
regard to USMCA?

    Answer. Our view is that the USMCA applies to Mexico's energy 
sector; this is very clear in the USMCA text.

    Question 13. The natural gas and oil industry has experienced 
significant regulatory challenges in Mexico by Mexican regulators 
attempting to complicate and delay investor operations in Mexico to the 
advantage of PEMEX, Mexico's state-owned oil company.

    13a.  Can you detail how you and USTR would ensure that American 
and other foreign investors in Mexico are treated fairly and ensure the 
USCMA provisions on fair treatment will be enforced?

    Answer. We have raised our concerns with Mexico's treatment of U.S. 
energy investors frequently, including during bilateral meetings with 
Mexico on May 17 and during the inaugural meeting of the USMCA Free 
Trade Commission on May 18.

    Question 14. Investor State Dispute Settlements or ISDS, is an 
integral part of USMCA and many other FTA's that the U.S. has around 
the world.

    14a.  Can you please state how you and USTR would prioritize the 
enforcement of ISDS under USMCA and the inclusion of strong ISDS 
provisions in other FTA's the U.S. may pursue?

    Answer. I am committed to enforcing the USMCA agreement, including 
the provisions in the Investment Chapter. Regarding other FTAs, 
President Biden has stated that he does not believe corporations should 
get special tribunals in trade agreements that are not available to 
other organizations and that he opposes the ability of private 
corporations to attack labor, health, and environmental policies 
through the investor-state dispute settlement.

    Question 15. Can you please state your view on how the current Sec. 
301 tariffs on imported goods from Mexico and Sec. 232 tariffs on steel 
and aluminum will be handled under your leadership at USTR?

    Answer. I have committed to doing a top-to-bottom review of our 
China trade policy, with the goal of making our trade policies more 
effective and more strategic. As part of that review, we are looking at 
the China 301 tariffs and the exclusions process. Our plan to re-
examine the tariffs provides us with important opportunities to craft 
thoughtful and effective responses to China's unfair trade practices.
    With respect to the section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, we 
have a very significant problem in the global steel and aluminum 
markets that is driven primarily by overcapacity in China and other 
countries, particularly in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The 
Administration is working to address the market distorting measures in 
economies that have led to overcapacity in the global steel and 
aluminum industries and the resulting national security threats.
    In addition to the thorough review of the section 232 measures and 
product and country exclusions that is currently underway by the 
Department of Commerce, the Administration is also consulting closely 
with various domestic stakeholders and like-minded partners around the 
world sharing similar national security interests to address market 
distorting measures in non-market economies that pose a serious threat 
to the market-oriented U.S. steel and aluminum industries and the 
workers in those industries. On May 17, 2021, the United States and the 
European Union (EU) announced the start of discussions to address 
global steel and aluminum excess capacity and the market distortions 
that result from this excess capacity. The Administration is committed 
to working with the EU and other like-minded partners to address excess 
capacity, ensure the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum 
industries, and strengthen our democratic alliance.

    Question 16. Natural gas and LNG have been instrumental in reducing 
GHG emissions around the world and have served as a strong enticement 
to help the U.S. achieve policy goals and partnerships with other 
countries. That leverage should only be strengthened and improved in 
coming years to maintain and grow U.S. leadership abroad.

    16a.  Can you please elaborate on how USTR under your leadership 
will support and encourage growing US energy exports, particularly that 
of LNG around the world?

    Answer. USTR is committed to the Biden-Harris Administration's 
whole-of-government approach to reduce GHG emissions and reach our net 
zero economy objectives. USTR will work hard to ensure all U.S. exports 
are competing on a level playing field in the global market.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Bill Hagerty
    Question 1. The price of building or renovating a home has recently 
sky-rocketed, and demand for lumber has reached record highs. Lumber 
futures for delivery in May 2021 are at an all-time high and roughly 
four times the typical price for this time of year.\1\ Forestry in 
Tennessee provides more than 98,000 jobs and has an annual economic 
impact of more than $24 billion.\2\ Most of Tennessee's lumber 
production has been hardwood lumber.\3\ The U.S. hardwood lumber 
industry relies heavily on exports; over the last decade, China has 
imported about a quarter of all boards produced by U.S. hardwood 
sawmills.\4\ These exports of U.S. hardwood have an effect on reducing 
the massive trade deficit with China. China has extended the exclusion 
of tariffs on U.S. hardwood, but that exclusion is set to expire on 
September 16, 2021.

    1a.  What is USTR doing to ensure our continued ability to export 
Tennessee lumber to countries like China?

    Answer. During meetings held under the Phase One Agreement to 
review China's implementation progress, the U.S. side has frequently 
pressed China to increase the pace of its purchases of U.S. goods. At 
times, the U.S. side has also raised concerns related to China's tariff 
exclusion process. With regard to hardwood lumber, as you have noted, 
the blanket exclusion for this product expires on September 16, 2021. 
Given China's past practice regarding extensions of existing 
exclusions, we do not expect China to extend the blanket exclusion for 
hardwood lumber until shortly before its expiration.

    Question 2. I am very concerned about threats that Americans faces 
from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and their persistent attempts to 
steal American business secrets and proprietary information. Far too 
many nations and international organizations refuse to hold the CCP 
accountable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Ryan Dezember, Lumber Prices Break New Records, Adding Heat to 
Home Prices, Wall St. J. (May 3, 2021), https://www.wsj.com/articles/
record-lumber-prices-lift-sawmills-while-homeowners-do-it-yourselfers-
pay-up-11620034201.
    \2\ Andrew Muhammad & Adam Taylor, Implications of COVID-19 on 
Tennessee Exports of Forest Products, UT Extension Inst. of 
Agriculture, at 3, https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/
Documents/W913.pdf.
    \3\ See, e.g., Rhonda M. Mathison & Doug Schnabel, Tennessee's 
Timber Industry--An Assessment of Timber Product Output and Use, 2007, 
USDA--Forest Service, https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/rb/
rb_srs152.pdf.
    \4\ Peter Buxbaum, China Trade and COVID-19, Am. J. of 
Transportation (May 26, 2020), https://ajot.com/premium/ajot-china-
trade-and-covid-19-a-one-two-punch-hitting-us-hardwood-producers.

    2a.  Does the Biden Administration and USTR have an overall 
strategy to challenge China's aggressive and unfair trade efforts 
around the world?
    2b.  What role will your office play in the Administration's 
broader strategy toward China?
    2c.  Are you confident that other countries will join our efforts? 
What will it cost the United States to get other countries onboard?
    2d.  How is USTR approaching China's compliance with the U.S.-China 
Phase One Agreement?

    Answer. The Administration is engaged in a comprehensive and 
coordinated review of U.S. strategy for addressing the many challenges 
that China poses, both for the United States and the world. USTR is 
actively participating in the development of this strategy, which will 
encompass all policy areas, including trade policy.
    With regard to the Administration's trade policy toward China, USTR 
is currently conducting a top-to-bottom review of the U.S.-China trade 
relationship, with a view toward ensuring that our trade policy 
supports and complements the Administration's broader China strategy. A 
key focus of this effort is on the many harmful and unfair trade 
policies and practices pursued by China that currently evade discipline 
by WTO rules.
    The United States has shared values and interests with like-minded 
partners across the world. Addressing China's non-market and unfair 
practices is critical for U.S. and our partners' workers and citizens, 
and for the world trading system. We need to be creative and find 
effective responses, to prevent further job and technology losses in 
sectors China is targeting.
    The Phase One Agreement is the agreement that we have, and we are 
committed to ensuring China's full implementation of its obligations 
under the Agreement. We will continue to make use of and push the tools 
that we have for the benefit of U.S. farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, 
service suppliers, and small businesses.

                          SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

    [Whereupon, at 10:48 a.m., Wednesday, April 28, the 
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of 
the Chair.]


  COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2022

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The subcommittee met at 2:00 p.m., in room SD-124, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeanne Shaheen (Chairwoman) 
presiding.
    Present: Senators Shaheen, Reed, Van Hollen, Moran, 
Murkowski, Collins, and Braun.

                         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

              OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN

    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much. Our new Commerce 
Secretary is here today to talk about the Department of 
Commerce and their budget. And I also want to thank you again 
for coming to New Hampshire. I understand it was your first 
official visit, and so it was very nice to have you in New 
England, close to home, in the Granite State.
    The Department of Commerce promotes job creation and 
economic growth by ensuring fair trade, providing the data 
necessary to support commerce, and fostering innovation by 
setting standards and conducting foundational research and 
development. To achieve these important goals the Department 
employees nearly 50,000 people located in all 50 States and 
every U.S. territory, and actually dozens of countries around 
the world.
    Among these employees are Nobel Prize winners, 
statisticians, trade experts, and patent attorneys. This year, 
the President's fiscal year 2022 budget request for the 
Department is $11.4 billion.
    And that is a 28 percent increase compared to the fiscal 
year 2021 enacted level for the Department. This top line 
proposal builds off of the Department's ongoing work to spur 
American job growth in the wake of a devastating pandemic and 
economic recession.
    To do so this budget includes a proposal to increase 
funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
NIST, by at least $400 million, an investment that would be a 
shot in the arm to bolster advanced manufacturing research, and 
manufacturing assistance programs to create good-paying 
American jobs.
    The budget also proposes a historic investment in the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to expand 
investments in climate research and improve community 
resilience to counter the effects of climate change. They also 
come at an inflection point for our planning.
    Last month, for the first time in recorded history, the 
concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide was measured at 
more than 420 parts per million, which is the halfway point on 
our path toward doubling preindustrial levels of carbon 
dioxide. And we know this milestone has been reached because of 
the work of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratories, which 
are the world's gold standard in climate research.
    I am also pleased that this budget request guarantees the 
Department's trade bureaus are sufficiently resourced and 
staffed to ensure a fair trade and U.S. competitiveness.
    And on a lighter note, I want to thank you and Ambassador 
Tai for announcing the start of discussions with the European 
Commission to address global steel and aluminum tariffs. The 
Section 232 Tariffs have overwhelmed many New Hampshire 
businesses that are already reeling from the pandemic. So we 
were really pleased to see this move. And I look forward to 
hearing more about what the Department's strategy is regarding 
the tariffs.
    On a separate topic, I want to congratulate the Census 
Bureau and its employees on executing the 2020 Decennial Census 
under unprecedented conditions. I am interested in hearing 
about the Department's plans for processing the redistricting 
data and whether the Department has any lessons learned from 
the 2020 census.
    And finally, turning to the Economic Development 
Administration, businesses in New Hampshire and around the 
country are very eager to hear about the Department's plans for 
releasing the $3 billion provided under the American Rescue 
Plan. In New Hampshire, especially, the $750 million designated 
to assist community suffering from job losses in the travel and 
tourism and outdoor recreation industries.
    So it is no exaggeration to say that the Department's 
responsibilities affect every facet of American life. And I 
look forward, very much, to your testimony today. Thank you for 
your willingness to appear before us.
    I have a full statement that I will submit for the record.

    [The statement follows:]
                  statement of senator jeanne shaheen
    The Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies 
will come to order.
    Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to today's hearing to review 
the President's fiscal year 2022 funding request for the Department of 
Commerce. Our witness today is Secretary Gina Raimondo.
    Secretary Raimondo, it's great to see you again. I want thank you 
for visiting New Hampshire last month. I hope your first official visit 
as secretary was the first of many you'll make to the Granite State.
    The Department of Commerce promotes job creation and economic 
growth by ensuring fair trade, providing the data necessary to support 
commerce and fostering innovation by setting standards and conducting 
foundational research and development. To achieve these important 
goals, the department employs nearly 50,000 people located in all 50 
States, every U.S. Territory, and dozens of countries around the world. 
Among these employees are Nobel Prize winners, statisticians, trade 
experts, and patent attorneys.
    In order for the Department to carry out its critical missions, 
Congress--and in particular, this subcommittee--must ensure that it has 
sufficient resources.
    To that end, the fiscal year 2021 omnibus spending bill included 
$8.9 billion for the Department of Commerce. I'd like to thank Senator 
Moran and his staff for working in a bipartisan fashion to get that 
funding across the finish line.
    This year, the President's fiscal year 2022 budget request for the 
Department of Commerce is $11.4 billion, a 28 percent increase compared 
to the fiscal year 2021 enacted level for the Department. While we 
await the release of the President's full budget request this Friday, 
it is clear that after 4 years of inadequate requests, this bold 
topline proposal builds off of the Department's ongoing work to spur 
American job growth in the wake of a devastating pandemic and economic 
recession.
    To do so, this budget includes a proposal to increase funding for 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) by at least 
$400 million.
    This investment would be a shot in the arm for the U.S. economy, 
bolstering advanced manufacturing research and manufacturing assistance 
programs to create good-paying American jobs. These programs support 
small- and medium-sized manufacturers in New Hampshire and throughout 
the country, boosting American competitiveness and strengthening 
domestic supply chains.
    The budget also proposes a historic investment in the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to expand investments in 
climate research and improve community resilience to counter the 
effects of climate change. These investments are crucial to support New 
Hampshire's seacoast and fisheries.
    They also come at an inflection point for our planet: last month, 
for the first time in recorded history, the concentration of 
atmospheric carbon dioxide was measured at more than 420 parts per 
million.
    This grim milestone marks the halfway point on our path toward 
doubling pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide.
    How do we know this milestone has been reached? Because of the work 
of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratories, which are the world's 
gold standard in climate research. NOAA truly represents the tip of the 
spear in our fight against climate change, and this budget supports 
their mission.
    New Hampshire is an exporting State, and the Department plays a 
crucial role in opening up new markets for my State's small businesses, 
so I am pleased that this budget request guarantees the Department's 
trade bureaus are sufficiently resourced and staffed to ensure fair 
trade and U.S. competitiveness.
    On a related note, I am also pleased that, last week, you joined 
Ambassador Tai in announcing the start of discussions with the European 
Commission to address global steel and aluminum capacity. The Section 
232 tariffs have overwhelmed many New Hampshire businesses already 
reeling from the pandemic, so this move is encouraging. Today we look 
forward to learning more about the Department's strategy regarding the 
tariffs.
    Now, on a separate topic, I want to congratulate the Census Bureau 
and its employees on executing the 2020 Decennial Census under 
unprecedented conditions. The constitutionally-required decennial count 
has outsized implications for towns, cities, counties, and States 
across our country, directing apportionment and more than $675 billion 
in Federal formula funding every year.
    I am interested in hearing about the Department's plans for 
processing the redistricting data and whether the Department has any 
``lessons learned'' from the 2020 Census.
    Finally, turning to the Economic Development Administration, just 
last week, EDA announced a $300,000 CARES Act grant to help promote the 
Monadnock Region and facilitate economic growth--part of the $1.5 
billion provided to EDA in the CARES Act. Businesses in New Hampshire 
and around the country are also eager to hear about the Department's 
plans for releasing the $3 billion provided under the American Rescue 
Plan, particularly the $750 million designated to assist communities 
suffering from job losses in the travel, tourism, and outdoor 
recreation industries.
    Secretary Raimondo, I have only scratched the surface of the many 
matters we have to discuss. It's no exaggeration to say that the 
Department's responsibilities affect every facet of American life, so I 
very much look forward to your testimony here today. Thank you for your 
willingness to appear before us.
    With that, I now would like to recognize the CJS Subcommittee 
Ranking Member, Senator Moran, for his opening remarks.

    Senator Shaheen. And now I would like to recognize the 
subcommittee Ranking Member, Senator Moran, for his opening 
remarks.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JERRY MORAN

    Senator Moran. Chair Shaheen, Thank you.
    And Secretary Raimondo, I welcome you to the CJS 
Subcommittee. I appreciate the relationship, the conversations 
that we have had since--before your confirmation and look 
forward to working with you.
    As we continue to recover from this pandemic and look to 
continue rebuilding the economy, the Department of Commerce has 
a direct impact on the strength and sustainability of our 
communities and our local businesses.
    For example, I recently announced a nearly $4 million 
Economic Development Administration award to the City of 
Salina, Kansas, that will support infrastructure improvements 
to allow for the expansion of a nearby manufacturing facility. 
EDA is hugely important to economic activities in Kansas and 
across the country.
    Certainly, the work- and school-from-home model driven by 
the pandemic has created renewed emphasis on the Commerce 
Department's role in closing the digital divide and ensuring 
that all people in all communities have access to high-speed 
connectivity on the Internet. It is these types of core 
programs that I believe should be prioritized in this year's 
budget.
    The budget request before us today proposes $11.4 billion 
for the Commerce Department, which is $2.5 billion, or 28 
percent above the enacted amount. This is a significant 
increase.
    I was pleased to see the initial details of the 2020 
budget. When I saw those I noticed that there would be an 
increase in support for--and I am pleased by this--cutting-edge 
research and development that will help maintain U.S. 
leadership in technology, manufacturing, and science, an 
accurate and timely weather prediction and forecasting that 
will help better protect life and property.
    However, I do have questions about how the budget proposal 
balances new investments in operations versus the investments 
in support programs and infrastructure.
    For example, the budget proposes for--proposal calls for 
large, target investments in scientific research in both NOAA 
and NIST, something which I generally support. However, the 
proposal makes no mention of any matching investments in 
scientific facilities or related infrastructure.
    Madam Secretary, we talked during your confirmation hearing 
about the need to invest in the Department's scientific 
infrastructure. And I look forward to working with you on this, 
what I think is a very important issue.
    Similarly, trade policy and trade enforcement has never 
been more important, but the Departments trade-related agencies 
seem to me to have been more or less an afterthought in the 
budget request. Status quo trade promotion and trade 
enforcement is insufficient. Trade is a priority, and I hope 
the Biden administration will begin to prioritize it as such.
    In the last few months, the Department of Commerce's 
cybersecurity shortcomings have been on display. We must make 
the necessary investments to protect our digital 
infrastructure. And I am interested to hear how the 
administration proposed investment in cybersecurity will 
address the Department of Commerce's needs.
    I thank you again for being here. And I look forward to 
hearing your views on these matters, and others, during today's 
hearing.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Senator Moran.
    I will now turn it over to you, Secretary Raimondo.
STATEMENT OF HON. GINA RAIMONDO, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT 
            OF COMMERCE
    Ms. Raimondo. Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you all for 
your time. And it is nice to see you, albeit very far away.
    So thank you Chair Shaheen, and Ranking Member Moran, and 
Members of the subcommittee, and thank you for this opportunity 
to talk about the President's proposed fiscal year 2022 
Discretionary Request for the Department of Commerce.
    President Biden's discretionary request includes, as you 
have both just said, $11.4 billion for the Department of 
Commerce, a 28 percent increase above the 2021 enacted level. 
And with these funds we will maintain existing programs and 
activities, and also make critical investments necessary to 
boost the Nation's ability to address the crises we face today.
    This year's appropriations process arrives during one of 
the most difficult periods in the Nation's history. And as the 
Chairwoman said, the Commerce Department has an impact across 
all of these crises, and indeed impacts every American family.
    We, in the Biden administration, believe America faces four 
simultaneous crises of unprecedented scope. First, a once-in-a-
generation pandemic that has already claimed more than a-half-
a-million American lives. Second, a punishing economic crisis 
that has left nearly 10 million Americans out of work. Third, a 
National reckoning on racial inequity; and this week, of 
course, we are particularly focused on that with the 1-year 
anniversary of George Floyd's passing. And fourth, the growing 
threat of climate change to the American people and economy.
    As we have said, the Department of Commerce is playing an 
integral role in addressing each of these crises. At NIST 
researchers developed a way to increase the sensitivity and 
accuracy of the common swab test for COVID-19. EDA has already 
awarded more than a billion dollars in grants to help 
communities and businesses across the country recover from the 
economic crisis. MBDA enabled technical assistance programs 
that help minority business enterprises execute more than $7.9 
billion in transactions in 2020.
    And NOAA continues to save lives and property by providing 
early-warning systems and decision support tools to avoid the 
most devastating impacts of extreme weather events, which we 
all know are becoming more and more frequent.
    I am proud of the work the Department's doing to address 
these crises. But I think, like all of you, I am very cognizant 
of the work and challenges that remain.
    President Biden's discretionary request puts forward 
investments to do just that, to enable us to meet the needs of 
these simultaneous crises.
    And I look forward to working with each and every one of 
you in the coming year to fund Commerce's programs with the 
appropriate level investment in the following key initiatives:
    First, as the Chairwoman said, to support American 
manufacturing by funding for the Department's most effective 
manufacturing programs, which are the MEP program, and the 
Manufacturing Innovation Institutes and to spur research and 
technological innovation by expanding scientific and 
technological research at NIST, which the Ranking Member 
mentioned.
    Revitalizing former energy communities by supporting the 
EDA's locally driven economic development projects in 
communities across the Nation, including its assistance to 
the--Assistance to Coal Communities Program.
    Improving weather and climate forecasting by investing in 
the next generation of NOAA's satellites, investing in climate 
science and research by ensuring NOAA has the tools it needs to 
expand climate observation, forecasting, and research.
    And strengthening American competitiveness and security by 
ensuring Commerce's International Trade Administration has the 
staff and resources it needs to defend the United States' 
businesses and workers by addressing unfair trade practices and 
barriers, strengthening enforcement of U.S. trade laws, and 
enhancing oversight of foreign government compliance with trade 
agreements.
    So we clearly have our work cut out for us at the Commerce 
Department. And I look forward to working collaboratively with 
each of you and the other Members of this subcommittee to stand 
the economy back up, and make sure that we have an economy that 
works for all by creating jobs and growth that support American 
businesses and workers now and into the future.
    So thank you for having me. And of course, I welcome your 
questions.

    [The statement follows:]
              Prepared Statement of Hon. Gina M. Raimondo
    Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to discuss President 
Biden's Fiscal Year 2022 Discretionary Request for the U.S. Department 
of Commerce. These priorities build upon the important investments you 
enacted in 2021 and I am grateful for your steadfast support of the 
Department.
    As you know, the Department of Commerce is responsible for 
promoting job creation, supporting and overseeing international trade, 
and providing economic, environmental, and scientific information 
needed by businesses, citizens, and governments. President Biden's 
Discretionary Request includes $11.4 billion for the Department of 
Commerce, a 28 percent increase above the 2021 enacted level. With 
these funds we will maintain existing programs and activities and make 
critical investments necessary to boost the Nation's ability to address 
the crises we face today.
    This year's appropriations process arrives during one of the most 
difficult periods in the Nation's history. America faces four 
simultaneous crises of unprecedented scope: a once-in-a-century 
pandemic that has already claimed more than half a million American 
lives; a punishing economic crisis that has left nearly 10 million out 
of work; a national reckoning on racial inequity; and the increasing 
threat of climate change to the American people and economy. The 
Department of Commerce has been providing critical assistance to 
confront and address each of these crises. For example:

  --The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, 
        researchers developed a way to increase the sensitivity and 
        accuracy of the common swab test for COVID-19, improving our 
        understanding of the pandemic;
  --The Economic Development Administration, or EDA, has already 
        awarded more than $1 billion in grants to help communities and 
        businesses across the country recover from the economic crisis 
        and has another $3 billion in the pipeline;
  --The Minority Business Development Agency, or MBDA, enabled 
        technical assistance programs that helped minority business 
        enterprises execute more than $7.9 billion in transactions in 
        2020 and has additional programs in the works this year; and
  --The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, 
        continues to save lives and property by providing early warning 
        systems and decision-support tools to avoid the most 
        devastating impacts of extreme weather events, many of which 
        are increasing in frequency and intensity due to climate 
        change.

    I am very proud of the work the dedicated career employees at the 
Department do every day to address these crises. At the same time, I am 
also cognizant of the immense challenges that remain. To fully address 
these challenges, we must boost strategic investments to support 
American manufacturing, spur research and technological innovation, 
advance economic recovery in underserved communities, invest in climate 
science and research, improve weather and climate forecasting, and 
strengthen American competitiveness and security.
    President Biden's Discretionary Request puts forward investments 
that do just that. I am confident that the request will address today's 
crises and help American businesses create well-paying jobs for 
American workers, allow American businesses of all sizes to compete on 
an equal playing field, and empower a more equitable economy.
    I recognize that none of these investments or goals are possible 
without the support of the Congress and especially the Members of this 
Committee. I look forward to working with you all in the coming year to 
fund all of Commerce's programs, and increase investments in the 
following key initiatives:
Support American Manufacturing
    Manufacturing has long been the backbone of our country and we must 
strengthen our manufacturing to move America forward. To ensure robust 
resurgence of American manufacturing and increase the security and 
resilience of our supply chain, the Discretionary Request more than 
doubles funding for the Department's most effective manufacturing 
programs: the Manufacturing Innovation Institutes Program (MII) and the 
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP).
    A Manufacturing Innovation Institute is a public-private 
partnership of companies, academia, state and local governments, and 
Federal agencies that co-invest in developing world-leading 
technologies and capabilities. The Discretionary Request calls for an 
additional $150 million for two new MIIs, one of which will help 
restore the United States as the global leader in the design and 
manufacture of semiconductors. It also calls for an additional $125 
million for MEP. The MEP National Network consists of 51 MEP Centers 
located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The additional funds will 
enable them to strengthen domestic supply chains and help small and 
medium manufacturers improve their competitiveness.
Spur Research and Technological Innovation
    Public investments in research and development lay the foundation 
for future breakthroughs that generate new businesses, jobs, and 
exportable goods. The Discretionary Request calls for $916 million, an 
increase of $128 million over the 2021 enacted level, to expand 
scientific and technological research at NIST. With this investment, 
NIST will spur research advances in climate-resilient building codes, 
computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, quantum information 
science, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing.
    U.S. leadership in advanced communications requires commercial 
operators to have access to a full array of spectrum bands to share 
with Federal agencies. This Discretionary Request includes $39 million 
for advanced communications research at the National Telecommunications 
and Information Administration, or NTIA, to support the development and 
deployment of broadband and 5G technologies, by identifying innovative 
approaches to spectrum sharing, including research using the Federal 
Advanced Communications Test Site (FACTS) at NTIA's Table Mountain 
field site in Boulder, Colorado.
Advance Economic Recovery in Underserved Communities
    Every American should have an equal chance to pursue their 
potential. Yet, for far too many Americans, this has never been within 
reach. The President's 2022 Discretionary Request calls for $70 million 
for MBDA to expand opportunities for minority-owned businesses and help 
eliminate barriers for minority-owned firms. The request also will 
elevate MBDA's position within the Department of Commerce and establish 
an Assistant Secretary for MBDA.
    The Discretionary Request also will prioritize creating good jobs 
by revitalizing former energy communities. To spur economic 
revitalization and support energy workers, the request includes $84 
million, an increase of $50 million over the 2021 enacted level, for 
EDA's Assistance to Coal Communities Program. These funds will help 
ensure that communities most impacted by the transition to clean energy 
are not left behind. EDA's efforts are part of the POWER+ Initiative 
and complement other targeted investments across the Federal 
Government.
    The Discretionary Request also includes $300 million for EDA to 
support locally driven economic development projects in communities 
across the Nation. These investments will enable local communities to 
establish a foundation for sustainable job growth, and build durable 
regional economies by funding projects that advance equity, support 
workforce education and skills training, enable business expansion and 
technology updates, support growth in exports and foreign direct 
investment, and address the climate crisis.
Invest in Climate Science and Research
    Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Yet 
it is also an opportunity for economic growth and innovation. In the 
Discretionary Request, the Administration proposes a whole of 
government approach to address this challenge and harness this 
opportunity. NOAA climate science provides the data, tools, and 
information that are the foundation for both efforts. The Discretionary 
Request therefore includes $800 million for NOAA to expand climate 
observation, forecasting, and research so that NOAA can provide better 
data, information and tools to Federal agencies, States, Tribes, 
communities, and businesses across America to enable smart policy and 
decisionmaking. This investment will also improve community and coastal 
resilience by investing in modern infrastructure and funding 
competitive grants to help protect communities from the costly economic 
and environmental impacts of severe weather events and climate change. 
The increased resources will also support an expanded and improved 
drought early warning system.
Improve Weather and Climate Forecasting
    Families, businesses, and State and local governments rely on 
NOAA's weather satellites and forecasts every day. When severe weather 
strikes, these forecasts can literally mean the difference between life 
and death in impacted communities. The Discretionary Request invests $2 
billion, approximately $500 million more than the 2021 enacted level, 
in the next generation of satellites. With these additional resources, 
NOAA will be able to enhance its world-leading satellite observing 
systems by incorporating a diverse array of new technologies to improve 
data for weather and climate forecasts and provide critical information 
to the public. This data will allow for more informed decisionmaking 
that protects life and property, safeguards the economy, and supports 
the fight against climate change.
Strengthen American Competitiveness and Security
    American businesses and workers can compete if we all play by the 
same rules. The 2022 Discretionary Request ensures Commerce's 
International Trade Administration has staff and resources it needs to 
defend U.S. workers by addressing unfair foreign trade practices and 
barriers, strengthening enforcement of U.S. trade laws, and enhancing 
oversight of foreign government compliance with trade agreements. It 
also provides additional staff and resources for the Bureau of Industry 
and Security to analyze export control and Entity List proposals, 
enforce related actions, and implement export controls.

                                *  *  *

    I look forward to working with you to create an economy that works 
for all by creating jobs and growth that support American communities, 
businesses, and workers--now and in the future. I am happy to take your 
questions.

                            ITMS DISCUSSION

    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Madam Secretary.
    I am going to begin by asking you about a Washington Post 
story that was reported on Monday morning, about the Department 
of Commerce Investigations and Threat Management Service, also 
called ITMS, which appears to have been acting outside of its 
legal authority.
    They allegedly covertly searched Commerce employees' 
offices at night, ran broad keyboard searches of employees' 
emails, flagged the social media posts of private citizens, and 
a whole variety of other things. I was particularly 
flabbergasted to see the investigative kit that was described 
that was used by that agency.
    These allegations are very troubling, and it is my 
understanding that shortly after you were sworn in, ITMS was 
ordered to pause all criminal investigations, and on May 13 was 
ordered to suspend all activities after preliminary results of 
an ongoing review.
    Can you talk about other steps that the Department has 
taken to address the problems at ITMS, and what you think the 
long-term outcome ought to be for that agency?
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. Well, first let me say, Senator Shaheen, 
that I share your deep disappointment, to say the least. I, 
upon entering the Department there were a number of surprises 
that I found, this one was the biggest and most unfortunate. 
And I commit to you to, personally, give my attention to this 
and make sure that we get to the bottom of what may have 
happened, and make sure we hold people accountable, and make 
any changes that are necessary on a go-forward basis to the way 
that we handle the operations of ITMS.
    First of all, we stopped all investigations. Second of all, 
we have asked, we have directed that all agents turn in, to the 
Department of Commerce, their weapons. Third of all, I have 
directed our General Counsel to do a 90-day review, top to 
bottom, of everything that may have happened; individual 
actions, procedures, processes.
    We are probably 30 days into that review. And what I will 
tell you is that I will commit to be very transparent with you 
and the other Members of this subcommittee as to what we find, 
any repercussions for any individuals that there may be, and 
any changes that we have to make.
    But I will--I guess I would just mostly commit to you that 
I won't stand for that kind of behavior under my watch.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you. I am really pleased to 
hear that. And I hope that you will keep this subcommittee 
informed as your investigation unfolds, and as you come up with 
recommendations for how to address the situation going forward. 
Thank you.
    Obviously, as you talked about in your opening statement, 
the Department has very--some very diverse missions that 
include essential functions, like weather forecasting, patents, 
trademarks, developing standards, conducting the census, and 
now with proposals like the American Jobs Plan, and the U.S. 
Innovation and Competition Act, which is currently on the floor 
of the Senate, there will be new missions and programs added to 
the Department, and the funding for these new programs are 
potentially four or five times bigger than the Department's 
regular discretionary appropriation.
    So as you are thinking about the passage of this new U.S. 
Innovation and Competition Act, how are you looking at 
balancing the existing missions and the new requirements that 
would be placed on the Department?

              UNITED STATES INNOVATION AND COMPETITION ACT

    Ms. Raimondo. Thank you for the question. In this regard, I 
feel fortunate to have been a governor for 6 years, as you can 
relate to, because I have some experience as an executive 
managing a team and putting in place the team, and the process, 
and the accountability metrics to make sure that we can meet 
the mission.
    Having said that, this is--this is like nothing the 
Commerce Department has ever seen. And so what I can tell you 
is we are already hard at work putting together our plans in 
anticipation of potentially receiving $52 billion for 
semiconductor supply chain, $1.5 billion for the O-RAN, 
additional monies for manufacturing.
    We are, you know, putting in--and I would be happy to share 
any of this with all of you, it is preliminary, but I would 
welcome your feedback, down to the level of: what would the org 
chart look like? What is the kind of skills that we would need? 
Where would we attract folks? You know, making sure that we are 
able to implement, you know, as I said, in order to meet the 
mission.
    I will say the Department has expertise in expanding. We do 
it every 10 years with the census. We have done a great job 
with the money received from the Rescue package, and the CARES 
Act. So it is not new to the Department to expand to meet the 
mission, but I am aware of how difficult this will be, and we 
are getting ready to do it.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, I think we would welcome the 
opportunity to give feedback on any plans that you have, if 
that is helpful, and would appreciate that. Thank you very 
much.
    Senator Moran.

                    COUNTERVAILING DUTIES ON LUMBER

    Senator Moran. Chairwoman, thank you.
    Earlier this month, Madam Secretary, the chair and I sent 
you a letter expressing our concerns over record high lumber 
prices, and raised the concern about countervailing duties that 
are being imposed on Canadian softwood lumber imports. Last 
week the Department of Commerce increased--announced its 
intention to double those duties, beginning in November.
    I believe that last week's announcement threatens even 
further challenges to those who are trying to figure out how to 
replace the deck on their house, or build a new home, or even 
find a home, already existing. Significant increases in the 
price of housing--comes at a great challenge for many 
Americans.
    I guess my question at the moment is a simple one. In my 
view, we need to find a short-term solution if the 
countervailing duties are going to stay in place and are going 
to be increased. We can have that debate, but I don't know that 
you could change that outcome yourself anyway, but I would ask 
you, would you be willing to have the Commerce Department 
convene a discussion among Members of Congress, but perhaps 
Senator Shaheen and I, and maybe others, but really the 
industry; Senator Collins as well.
    Would you be able to convene a gathering of industry and 
consumer folks so that we could have a conversation about what 
policy steps could be taken to try to reduce the price of 
lumber and its consequences on the housing market? That is the 
question.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. So, to the question, it is an easy yes. 
In fact, I would be very pleased to do that, and I appreciate 
the suggestion, and we will follow up on it.
    I will say a couple of things. First of all, I share your 
concern. I am in contact with the home builders. I talked to 
them over the weekend. And I have--I have heard you talk about 
it. I mean, this is a real issue. You brought it up with me 
weeks ago, and I am hugely sympathetic to that. It is a real 
issue.
    Some of it is due to just the supply chain, which is to 
say, many sawmills in America have gone out of business. And 
when, now during COVID, we see a huge spike in interest, demand 
for housing, we have a mismatch in our supply chain of that 
lack of supply to meet the increased demand.
    You put your finger on something. Last week the Commerce 
Department put out a preliminary finding, I do want to 
emphasize that, as part of our administrative review to 
identify and quantify the amount of subsidy that the Canadian 
Government may be providing to soft lumber providers. So it is 
thus adding another layer of complexity to this problem.
    I don't have an answer today. What I will tell you is, I am 
very focused on it. The White House and administration is very 
focused on it. I have been doing an enormous amount of 
stakeholder engagement as has my chief economist of Commerce. 
And, you know, I would be very pleased to host, as you say, 
some kind of a convening to get their feedback on what more we 
could do.
    Senator Moran. My notes indicate that it is called a Supply 
Chain Summit, which fits with exactly what you are talking 
about. And I think home builders, and realtors, and others need 
the opportunity to have some input, to see if we can find a 
solution. And I would ask that the Department work with me to 
kind of figure out what that should look like, and utilize our 
input as we try to organize that kind of summit.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. We will do it.
    Senator Moran. Great. I would also indicate that I have had 
this conversation with the trade ambassador at USTR, which puts 
us back to negotiating an agreement with Canada. And it may be 
useful to have USTR in the room at the same time, perhaps, so 
they can provide some education or information, but more 
importantly to me. So perhaps we can create some impetus to get 
something accomplished in those negotiations.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. So the bad news is, we are where we are 
right now. The silver lining could be that we use this as an 
opportunity to all get around the table, including USTR, to 
find a long-term solution with Canada. And that I would be very 
interested to dig into.

             DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

    Senator Moran. I have 31 seconds left, so I will ask 
quickly. The increasing prevalence of cyber attacks, in my 
view, makes it imperative for the Department to better protect, 
nothing here that is new, it needs to protect its digital 
infrastructure and its operating systems. How does the Commerce 
Department's budget fiscal year 2022 request address those 
needs? And to the extent that your answer may include that 
funds will be utilized through the Technology Modernization 
Fund, could you speak to how you understand that might work?
    Ms. Raimondo. Okay. So since we are out of time, I would be 
happy to follow up further. But, listen, clearly you are right. 
We were part--we were significantly impacted by Solar Winds, 
and we have already started to invest in our systems to improve 
our--reduce our cyber vulnerability.
    One of the President's initiatives, which we will, of 
course, be taking on, is that every software vendor that does 
business with the Federal Government is going to have to have 
enhanced cyber standards, which will benefit our department and 
all departments.
    And although the details of the President's budget won't be 
out until, you know, later this week, it is my understanding 
that there will be additional money for Commerce to do exactly 
what you are talking about, which is to enhance our IT systems.
    Senator Moran. I would only highlight for you, Madam 
Secretary; that the Technology Modernization Fund results from 
legislation that I authored, and it was designed to create 
opportunities for departments and agencies to utilize resources 
in advance of a problem to replace their legacy technology 
systems.
    And I would be interested to--I would not necessarily 
expect you to have an answer today, but I would be interested 
in knowing. My understanding is that that fund may be utilized, 
or maybe money put into that fund for purposes that we are 
talking about today. And I am interested in making sure I 
understand----
    Ms. Raimondo. Got it.
    Senator Moran [continuing]. How the plan is intended. Thank 
you.
    Ms. Raimondo. Got it. I will get back to you. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Moran.
    Senator Reed.

                  RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS

    Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much. And welcome Madam 
Secretary.
    As we have discussed, we are currently considering the $50 
billion CHIPS for America Fund. You will supervise that fund. 
And working with Ranking Member Moran, we are proposing an 
amendment that would give you discretionary authority to use 
warrants as a way to recoup some of the funds that we are 
extending to these companies in the future.
    We have had great success with warrants. The TARP funding 
of the--with respect to the banks, earned us about $10 billion, 
and the CARES Act with respect to the airlines based on 
yesterday's stock prices, would yield us a billion dollars. And 
I think it also would give us, and give the American people a 
sense that we are getting something from our investment. And, 
given your experience as a venture capitalist, as well as the 
treasurer of the State of Rhode Island and a governor, could 
you, comment upon whether this would be useful?
    Ms. Raimondo. Mm-hmm. Thank you for the question. I think 
it is a very good idea. I think as one of the tools that we 
would have at the Commerce Department, it could have great 
utility. As you say, it was very successful in TARP, it was 
very successful with the airlines. It is obviously a bit 
different now than with TARP, at that time the financial 
services companies were in crisis and were probably a bit more 
willing to give whatever it would take than the semiconductor 
businesses would now.
    Having said that, we are talking about putting $50 billion 
of taxpayer money to support large profitable companies, and it 
is absolutely reasonable to think that we should--we the 
American taxpayer--should have a share in the upside, should 
there be, you know, upside.
    So as a tool in the toolbox, I think it is a very good 
idea. I think it is a good way to stick up for American 
taxpayers, as you say, in my case, as Commerce Secretary, I am 
very comfortable using that tool because I made a living doing 
that for more than a decade. So, you know, I would support as 
an option.

                        DEPLOYMENT OF NOAA SHIPS

    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Madam Secretary. I want 
to thank you and NOAA for committing to create a home port 
facility at Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island. In fact, as 
you are probably aware, their new ship, Discoverer, is 
currently under construction in Louisiana, and now located 
there, but we have the capacity to accommodate, you know, 
several NOAA ships and make the operation of NOAA more 
efficient.
    And I would--again, I want to thank Chairwoman Shaheen, and 
Ranking Member Moran, they have supported our efforts in this 
regard. But would you commit to work with us to see what we--
that we can get a full deployment of NOAA ships as they have 
envisioned up at Newport?
    Ms. Raimondo. Absolutely. Absolutely. And we are already--
``we'' being NOAA--is already working on the design and pre-
work that is necessary for that. I think it is $15 million 
that--$15 million has already been awarded toward the total 
construction costs. And they are hard at work at the design and 
the permitting. And if we stay on the course that we are on, 
pending appropriations, a contract for construction should be 
awarded in fiscal year 2022.

             COORDINATION OF FEDERAL CYBERSECURITY EFFORTS

    Senator Reed. Now I hope we can stay on that track. And 
just, as my colleagues have suggested, the cyber issue is 
ubiquitous, it is everywhere. NIST, which is part of the 
Department of Commerce, is one of the key roles. They 
coordinate closely with the DHS, cybersecurity information, 
security agency, but we are so disjointed in the Federal 
Government, for example, the regulation of pipelines in terms 
of their cyber is TSA. Now, I don't know how that happened.
    But the moral of the story, I think, is we have to have a 
coordinated effort of every department. And I would hope, under 
the President's leadership, we could do that more effectively. 
And that is a comment as much as a question. So, thank you.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. I support that.
    I neglected to say with Senator Moran. The other thing that 
we are doing on cyber is within NIST in the President's budget 
is additional funding to study cyber. So I think advancing the 
science is going to be a benefit to all of us.
    Senator Reed. Thank you.
    Senator Moran. Thank you, Senator Reed.
    Senator Collins.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, temporarily, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Moran. Why do you emphasize it?
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

                            SOFTWOOD LUMBER

    Madam Secretary, welcome. It is great to have you here 
before us. I want to start by associating myself with Chairman 
Moran's comments about the countervailing duty and the 
antidumping case that is doubling the duties imposed on 
softwood lumber from Canada.
    Just this morning I met with Maine homebuilders who were 
telling me about the doubling of the price of lumber, and this 
creates a real affordability problem. In fact, nationwide, 
since April of last year, the price of an average new single-
family home increased by nearly $36,000, and that is a direct 
result of the increase of materials, lumber in particular.
    I wrote to you where earlier this month about the softwood 
lumber agreement with Canada, it expired in 2015 and a new 
agreement is really needed to provide stability and 
predictability for industry on both sides of the border.
    So my question is; is your team beginning to work on 
developing a new softwood lumber agreement with Canada?
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes, we are. So as I was saying earlier, I 
share the concern. It is that this preliminary finding came at 
a really difficult time. And, you know, what that finding is, 
it was--it was part of an annual administrative review to 
quantify the amount of subsidy. And it could not have come at a 
worse time, as the homebuilders and the American people are in 
the teeth of struggling with increased prices. As I said, 
though, it is preliminary. The final determination will be at 
the end of September or more likely the end of November.
    I would like to use this opportunity, and I have already 
started to talk with Ambassador Tai about: how do we seize this 
moment to come to a more lasting solution to a problem that has 
existed for 40-plus years.
    And so I do plan to rejuvenate our efforts and see what 
might be possible.

                         RIGHT WHALE RULEMAKING

    Senator Collins. Thank you. It won't surprise you that my 
next question has to do with the Right Whale Rulemaking. And 
let me start by thanking you for meeting with the Maine 
congressional delegation. I know, as a former coastal State 
governor, that you have a deep appreciation for how important 
our fisheries are to our economy and to our culture.
    And Maine lobster men and women they have a long-standing 
commitment, not only to protecting the sustainability of the 
lobster, but also to protecting right whales. And over the 
years, they have made significant changes and sacrifices, when 
the science has warranted such actions in order to protect the 
right whale. And the result has been that there has not been a 
single right whale serious injury or mortality attributed to 
the Maine lobster fishery since 2002.
    But on the other hand, NOAA's data show that from 2000 to 
2018, there were 13 confirmed cases of right whales entangled 
in Canadian snow crab gear. And since 2017, there have been at 
least seven right whales that have been killed by Canadian 
vessel strikes.
    Is the Department beginning to discuss, with its Canadian 
fisheries counterparts and regulators, how to hold them 
accountable for their outsized role that is contributing to the 
population decline of the right whale? It is really unfair that 
the lobster industry in Maine is at risk of having to endure 
burdensome, perhaps unworkable new regulations when they are 
simply not the problem.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. So, as I said to you, I really admire 
your advocacy in this regard. And the thing that stuck with me 
most from our conversations in this, is when you said to me, 
you should consider your--you should consider the fact that 
there are 5,000 small businesses that are in the lobster 
fishery in Maine.
    And that stuck with me, which is to say five--putting 5,000 
small businesses at risk is something that we need to take with 
real seriousness. And so I have engaged further after we had 
our initial conversations.
    The answer to your question is, yes, we have been and have 
increased our interaction with our Canadian counterparts, 
particularly with respect to two issues. One is to make sure 
the applicable Canadian fisheries have regulations that are, 
frankly, as tough as ours. So making sure that their Canadian 
fisheries regulations match up with ours, and pushing them on 
that.
    And secondly, looking into vessel speeds, and I think 
NOAA--this year NOAA Fisheries collected comments on our 
assessment of the current Vessel Speed Rule, and evaluating the 
need for future action. So I think--because you have also 
commented that it is the vessel strikes that are a problem. And 
so we are looking into the speed of the vessels.
    Senator Collins. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Moran. Thank you, Senator Collins.
    Senator Van Hollen.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
    And, Madam Secretary, it is great to see you again. And I 
know we are still waiting for the full budget, but I just want 
to commend you and your team, for signaling through the 
``skinny budget'', which we do have your ongoing commitment to 
the Minority Business Development Agency, and not only a 
commitment, but a real effort to elevate the importance of that 
Agency, both in terms of an increased budget that would support 
a dedicated assistant secretary, as well as a significant boost 
in the funding. I look forward to working with you on that.
    I have teamed up with my colleague from Maryland, Senator 
Carter and others to introduce legislation, to make that agency 
permanent, up, and also to provide more opportunities by 
teaming up with HBCUs and the MSIs. We think there can be an 
important synergy between the work done at the MBDA, and HBCUs, 
and the MSI.
    So I look forward to working with you on getting that 
legislation through, and ask you to take a look at it. I also 
want to thank you for all the input you have provided us as we 
work on the Endless Frontier legislation to enhance American 
competitiveness, lots of important provisions in that bill.
    One I want to bring to your attention. I teamed up with 
Senator Blunt, and the bill, essentially, directs you as 
secretary--this is the normal procedure--to enter into a 
contract with the National Academies of Sciences, and 
Engineering, and Medicine, to provide us an update on key areas 
of emerging science and technology that we, as the United 
States, need to keep on top of.
    And then there would be a regular update to that. We all 
got caught behind on 5G technology, and we want to make sure 
that as we make this investment in our competitiveness, that we 
have a process going forward, to make sure that we keep up with 
that. So I want to--I just want to bring that to your 
attention.
    As you know, the Department of Commerce is wide-ranging. 
There are two agencies in Maryland that are important to the 
country and important to our State. One is NOAA, in Silver 
Spring, Maryland, and I look forward to working with you and 
NOAA on their continued efforts to protect the Chesapeake Bay.
    The other is NIST, which of course plays a really important 
role in standard setting, both here and around the world, and 
has many important components to their budget, but quantum 
computing is an area that I strongly believe we need to--we 
need to strengthen going forward.
    Finally, and most of my questions relate to the EDA, the 
Economic Development Administration. You and I have spoken 
about the importance of those funds. And there has been 
bipartisan support on this subcommittee, for funding that 
agency, even when previous administrations have proposed deep 
cuts to that budget.
    And it is because of the flexibility of the funds. And I 
was just on a state-wide Zoom call with constituents in 
Maryland to talk about EDA. And I want to thank members of your 
team who participated in that, so people could understand how 
to go about competing for those grants.
    As you know, the American Rescue Plan had $3 billion in the 
EDA. Can you give us an update on when you are going to be 
releasing guidance on that? I know there is a real interest now 
in moving forward, and I don't--if you could give us an update 
on where that stands.

                   ENHANCING AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS

    Ms. Raimondo. Thank you. By the way, I fully share your 
focus on quantum computing, and the President's budget, the 
``skinny budget'', as you say, does include additional funding 
for AI research, and quantum computing research, and the long-
standing relationship with the University of Maryland, I think 
will only continue to get stronger.
    Senator Van Hollen. Good.

                     EDA AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS

    Ms. Raimondo. So the $3 billion of EDA, the answer is very 
soon, we are working night and day on it. I feel the pressure 
to get it out the door, but to do it--you know, it is a 
balance, right? I would love to get it out the door tomorrow, 
but we have $3 billion, it is bigger than anything EDA has ever 
done. So I would say very soon.
    That there is $750 million specifically for travel and 
tourism, we feel a particular sense of urgency on that. The 
summer season is upon us. We really want to get that out the 
door. So it would be helpful.
    The rest of it is more, as you say, flexible. I can tell 
you that our plan is to have it be broad in its application, 
which is to say, and things we have talked about, allow it to 
be used for infrastructure, for job training, for rebuilding 
particular communities that are especially distressed. So we 
really want to take the full opportunity, and I think you will 
be pleased with the timeline.
    Senator Van Hollen. Well, thank you. I do want to follow up 
with you later about those funds.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes.
    Senator Van Hollen. Because, as you say, there is a lot of 
interest, and we want to make sure that, you know, those who 
have not necessarily participated in a formal grant process, 
and they don't know how to jump through all the hoops----
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes.
    Senator Van Hollen [continuing]. Are fully eligible. So we 
look forward to working with your team. Just if you could make 
people available in the Department----
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes.
    Senator Van Hollen [continuing]. To provide the technical 
assistance to those who are seeking funding.
    Ms. Raimondo. Thank you.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you.
    Senator Murkowski.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
    And Secretary, it is good to see you, although you are a 
long ways away here.
    Ms. Raimondo. Thank you.

                         NOAA FISHERIES SURVEYS

    Senator Murkowski. But thank you for the many conversations 
that we have had. I just want to reinforce for the record 
today, your commitment to monitoring the work of NOAA with 
regards to our fisheries surveys. As I shared with you, last 
year those stock assessments were not able to proceed, which 
was a real concern to our fishermen, and all those who rely on 
our sustainably managed fisheries.
    I had an opportunity just yesterday to speak to the nominee 
for the NOAA administrator, reinforced with him the priority 
here. So I just want your commitment to ensure this full 
schedule of fisheries surveys is conducted in Alaska in 2021. 
And if there is--any challenges that you have in terms of 
implementing this year's survey plan, would you please, make us 
aware so that we can help you with that.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. You do have my commitment. Last year due 
to COVID we suspend--the Department suspended the normal order. 
There is no expectation that that will happen this year, and we 
are on path to kind of be back to business as usual. So I don't 
anticipate that there will be any issues.
    Senator Murkowski. Good. Appreciate that. Another one that 
I would just ask you to be monitoring and keep us apprised in 
terms of updates. One of my long-term priorities has been to 
return the Fairweather to Ketchikan as part of its home port. 
We have worked through that; Senator Sullivan on the 
authorizing side, myself on the appropriation side.
    So it looks like everything is proceeding just as we had 
hoped, and planned, and is on schedule. But I would just ask 
that you commit to periodic updates on the project to ensure 
that we are on track. The people of Ketchikan are quite 
anxious. It is been a long time. But we are feeling pretty 
optimistic about where we are.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes, absolutely.

                     EDA AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS

    Senator Murkowski. Thank you. EDA, one of the--one of the 
real significant impacts that we saw in Alaska due to the 
COVID-19 pandemic, was a significant hit to our tourist sector, 
and in a considerable way. We just passed into law, and the 
President signed on Monday, legislation that will allow cruise 
ships to bypass Canada, so that we can have some semblance of a 
season beginning the end of July.
    So it does not give as much, but it gives us a little bit 
of hope. One of the things that we put into the American Rescue 
Plan was support to EDA to assist communities. There was $3 
billion, 25 percent of those funds go to help States and 
communities that have suffered economic injury, in the areas of 
travel tourism and outdoor recreation.
    This is something that, within Alaska, we are looking very 
critically at this because we think that this can provide a 
level of support and relief. I don't know if you have more 
details on the criteria that EDA will be using, as it is making 
these grants. But we are starting to hear from communities 
about what those might be. So I don't know if you have anything 
that you can provide me and the subcommittee in terms of 
criteria for these EDA grants.
    Ms. Raimondo. I don't. As I was saying to Senator Van 
Hollen, we expect, very soon, to be getting this money out the 
door, both the--particularly the $750 million for travel and 
tourism.
    Senator Murkowski. Right.
    Ms. Raimondo. That is our top priority. So I think, you 
know, weeks away is our goal.
    Senator Murkowski. Okay.
    Ms. Raimondo. I will say it is very likely that the 
criteria will take into account the magnitude of how much an 
area depends on tourism and how affected that community was.
    You know, we are trying to get the money to where it is 
needed most and where people were hardest hit.
    Senator Murkowski. We have got a couple of good examples, 
Skagway and Haines--excuse me--Skagway and Healy, two areas 
where some 80 percent of their community's revenues come from 
tourism. And so they have effectively seen losses that are 
breathtaking. In fact, I think both of these communities top 
the list of the Top 10 Most Dramatically Impacted by economic 
loss due to tourism.
    So they are--I think they probably fit into your criteria. 
I would certainly hope so. But again, the more detail that 
these communities can have on this, it is appreciated.
    Thank you, Madam Chairman. And thank you, Madam Secretary.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Murkowski.

                          SECTION 232 TARIFFS

    Senator Braun. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Good to see you again, Madam Secretary. I come from 
Indiana, we are the biggest steel producing State in the 
country, and the industry has been kind of ravaged over time 
for many reasons, in addition to what has happened most 
recently. And I would not be so concerned about the future of 
the steel industry other than the glut that is out there is 
mostly housed within the country of China.
    So they have got--in a planned economy, I guess they plan 
to use that seal capacity somewhere down the world in a way 
that does not, kind of, urge them to use, kind of, destructive 
methods to sell their capacity. But in the meantime, we have 
been going back and forth with import surges. And the Trump 
administration had the Section 232 Tariffs that I think finally 
gave a respite to that behavior, and keeps an industry like 
steel; and for me, a guy that is a believer in free and of 
course fair trade along with it, think of that is necessary. 
Otherwise, I think sooner or later, if that glut was spread out 
among many countries, I think it would be different when it is 
within one that gives them such a disproportionate incentive to 
try to dump and use it the wrong way.
    Interested to know on the--I know the Biden administration 
is looking at some of the Trump era policies. Are you involved 
in the discussions on the Section 232 Tariffs?
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes, very involved. I will say--I have said 
many times, I know that these tariffs have upset our allies, 
but I have said many times they have worked in so far as--if 
you look at steel production after the tariffs, it is 
significantly higher. And they have helped to level the playing 
field, like you said, and protect American workers, but also 
protect our national security, because we cannot have these 
steel operations going out of business.
    So yes, I am deeply involved in the thick of them. The 
challenge is we have to figure out a way to protect our steel 
workers and our steel industry. But also be conscious of the 
fact that, you know, our allies, particularly in the EU, aren't 
pleased with us for slapping them with national security 
tariffs. So we have to find a balance.
    Senator Braun. So where do you see China's behavior in the 
long-term picture when it comes to kind of being the focal 
point of why we had to do that in the first place?
    Ms. Raimondo. I think we can assume that they will only get 
worse. I think we can assume they are the focal point. I think 
we should take as fact that they are engaged in anti-
competitive practices and dumping, and I think we need to act 
accordingly and if--and we would be foolish to think any other 
way.
    Senator Braun. So I am guessing then, in that one 
particular area, the Trump policies on, you know, Section 232 
Tariffs, working pretty decently?
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes.

                 COUNTERVAILING DUTY/ANTIDUMPING CASES

    Senator Braun. Okay. Another issue, resources within your 
Department, I think that we are going to have increasing 
instances of dumping issues. And, you know, I know when that 
happens, it has got to go through a certain analysis, cases are 
created.
    Do you think with your current funding stream, that you are 
adequately kind of positioned, when it comes to what I would 
think is going to be a constant barrage of having to deal with 
those kinds of cases?
    Ms. Raimondo. I do. But I think it is worth us having a 
continued discussion. In 2016 we had 315 countervailing duty, 
antidumping cases pending. Today it is about 600. So the fact 
that they have doubled, we are keeping up, we are serious about 
enforcement, Congress appropriated us a-million-dollar fund for 
an anti-circumvention team, and then doubled it $2 million for 
an anti-circumvention team.
    So I guess what I am saying is, yes, but I want to reserve 
my right to come back at a later date to ask for more 
appropriations, because we have to be serious about it, and it 
is a lot of work.

                 MANUFACTURING AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

    Senator Braun. So I am going to shift gears to a different 
topic with the time I have got remaining. Indiana is also the 
biggest manufacturing State per capita. We produce the most 
steel, and Indiana and Wisconsin kind of trade back and forth 
with that.
    I was on a school Board for 10 years in my hometown, served 
on the education committee at the State level for 1 year, and a 
lot of what I think ails finding people, the high-demand, high-
wage jobs is that we have, in some cases, stigmatized the 
pathway of a career in technical education preparation.
    I see it changing a little bit, especially among rural high 
schools because, we in Indiana, I think ship out twice as many, 
4-year degrees as were used, and I think that is a great 
pathway, but it is not matching the needs of business and 
commerce with proper training.
    How much do you think not being able to align training with 
high-demand, high-wage jobs is maybe because there is that 
philosophy among higher ed, especially at the State level, that 
the only way to be successful in life is to get a 4-year 
degree? Or do you think we need to do better at actual 
preparing kids for degrees that are marketable and that are not 
going to put them on a pathway where they don't graduate in 
many cases?
    Ms. Raimondo. So, listen, I grew up as the daughter of a 
guy that worked at a factory, the same factory for 30 years. So 
I grew up on a steady diet of being told manufacturing is a 
great job. And as governor, I increased the amount of career 
and technical education programs in high schools by 40 percent, 
aligned our community college with businesses to do exactly 
what you say, match up skills with demand.
    College is not right for everyone. Half of the kids----
people who go to college in America drop out, mostly because 
they cannot afford it. And then they are stuck with debt, no 
degree, and no job.
    So this administration, President Biden, and all of us, are 
committed to pursuing something along the lines of what you are 
talking about, which is career and technical education, to line 
people up with jobs that exist. And what I need to do, as the 
Commerce Secretary is bring business to the table. Show up and 
tell us what skills do you need, and actually commit to hiring 
people.
    Senator Braun. Thank you. I think there will be strong 
bipartisan support for that. And I think you have got the 
unique position to get the message out.
    Ms. Raimondo. Thank you.

                   SEASONAL SMALL BUSINESS WORKFORCE

    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Braun.
    I have a couple more questions and I don't know if we will 
have anybody join us but, hopefully, we can get through these 
before the next vote is called.
    When you were in New Hampshire one of the things that you 
heard loud and clear from our--particularly our tourism 
industry that was represented at that round table was the 
challenge of finding workers. Our unemployment rate in New 
Hampshire is back down to about 3 percent. And it is a huge 
challenge, and it is magnified this year by the inability to 
get visa workers, either H-2B visa workers, or J-1 one student 
visa, students to come and work in our seasonal businesses.
    And I was disappointed first that the administration 
decided to only add 22,000 additional H-2B visas for this year, 
and that it took so long to get the guidance out. It was only--
it is only yesterday that employers are actually able to apply 
for those visas. And we have, as I think you heard at that 
round table, we have a number of seasonal businesses that have 
the same workers who come back every year. So it is not a 
question of vetting them. It is just a question of making sure 
that they can get in assuming that they pass a COVID test.
    So do you have thoughts about how Commerce can help us work 
with our seasonal small businesses to ensure that they get the 
workforce that they need?
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. So thank you for bringing it up. By the 
way, I loved the visit, and I appreciate you inviting me. It 
was my first as Commerce Secretary.
    And I heard the same thing you heard, which is pretty 
heartbreaking stories about small businesses that are hanging 
on by their fingernails because last year they were crushed, 
and this year they need to reopen, and the biggest barrier they 
have is access to labor.
    So I heard it, and I share your concern. The Commerce 
Department--you know, this is in the Department of DHS in the 
area of DHS.
    Senator Shaheen. Right.
    Ms. Raimondo. I will commit to you today to call Ali 
Mayorkas again today and raise the concern, and to continue to 
raise the concern in the administration.
    I guess what the Commerce Department can do, what I will do 
is just be an advocate to explain to the administration, or 
reiterate--reiterate to the administration that these are the 
small businesses, the heart and soul of our communities, that 
is who we saw at New Hampshire.
    Senator Shaheen. Right.
    Ms. Raimondo. Small family-owned businesses that have been 
doing the same thing for 30 years are at risk of going out of 
business if we don't get them the labor they need. And this is 
by and large, temporary in nature, seasonal in nature, 
relatively, you know, low wage.
    So you have inspired me to go at it again. And I will do 
everything I can as an advocate, and if you have specific asks 
that you think I could do, I am all ears.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you. I really appreciate that. 
And actually for many of the jobs in New Hampshire, because the 
labor shortage is so tight, the hourly pay--hourly wage is 
pretty high.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes.
    Senator Shaheen. I mean, it is much higher than the Federal 
minimum wage at this point. Benefits and the long-term 
stability is lacking because they are seasonal jobs, but these 
are not jobs that New Hampshire workers, in general, want 
because the labor force is so tight. So I would appreciate 
anything that you can do.
    Ms. Raimondo. Mm-hmm.

                       FISHERIES MONITORING COSTS

    Senator Shaheen. To go to the other issue you heard about 
when you were in New Hampshire, which is our fisheries and the 
challenges faced by what has become a very small fishing 
industry now in the State. And one of the current concerns is 
the decision to require a hundred percent at-sea monitoring for 
our groundfish fisheries. And one of the things that has been 
really helpful over the last few years has been our ability to 
work with NOAA to help pay the cost of those at-sea monitors.
    Can you commit that you will help us continue to look at 
that and try and help ensure that we can cover some of those 
costs for the fishing industry that is really in dire straits?
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. Yes. NOAA is planning to continue to 
fully fund the at-sea monitoring costs in New England, and 
obviously we will have--we will continue our dialogue.

                        CANADIAN BORDER CLOSURE

    Senator Shaheen. That would be great. And finally, one of 
the real challenges that we are seeing right now, and I am 
hearing from businesses in New Hampshire, about the closure of 
our border with Canada. And I appreciate that this was done to 
address COVID challenges on either side of the border, but as 
we are having more and more people vaccinated, it has become 
less of an issue in the United States. Canada is on a 
trajectory to vaccinate a very high percentage of its citizens 
as well.
    And I would hope that you can help encourage the 
administration to talk to our Canadian friends about the 
importance of opening that border. We have not only a lot of 
Commerce going back and forth across the border, that would 
like to go back and forth across the border, but in New 
Hampshire and in other--I know if Senator Collins were here, 
she would talk about Maine as well.
    We have families who have relatives on the other side of 
the border, and they have had real challenges going back and 
forth. So I think the sooner we can get that border open the 
better in terms of commerce.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. I agree. And I will do that. I will say 
that issue that Senator Murkowski brought up with the cruises, 
I was quite involved in that.
    Senator Shaheen. Good.
    Ms. Raimondo. Quite involved in that, speaking with 
Canadians, speaking with my Canadian counterpart, talking to 
the cruise lines, talking to our own HHS. So this is an area 
where I don't have any particular, you know, authority at all.
    Senator Shaheen. Right? No, I understand.
    Ms. Raimondo. I definitely will do what you ask and raise 
the concern and talk to my Canadian counterparts.
    Senator Shaheen. I think it is really helpful for all of us 
who see this as a concern to raise it, both here and in Canada. 
I know that the inner-parliamentary dialogue that goes on 
between our Congress and the Canadians happened last week, and 
that this came up as an issue for both Canadians and Americans. 
So hopefully this is something we will see change very soon.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    Senator Shaheen. So that is the end of my questions. Thank 
you very much for being here. We have--let me just--we have an 
opportunity for questions for the record that need to be done 
within--I think we have until--the end of when?
    Thirty days.
    Senator Shaheen. Thirty days for the Department to respond. 
Don't we have a deadline for us to submit QFRs? One week. So 
one week from today. And, hopefully if there are any issues, 
either with those QFRs, or as you are looking at your budget 
and thinking about the challenges for the Department, please 
share any concerns with us, and let us know how things are 
progressing.
    Ms. Raimondo. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. And again, I appreciate your being here.
    Ms. Raimondo. Yes. Of course, and your team has been 
terrific, as have you been accessible to me. And I appreciate 
it.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you.

    [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but 
were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the 
hearing:]
              Questions Submitted to Hon. Gina M. Raimondo
             Questions Submitted by Senator Jeanne Shaheen
 a review of the president's fiscal year 2022 funding request for the 
                      u.s. department of commerce
    Question 1. During the last administration, there were several 
incidents where the Department allowed politics to influence scientific 
communication and decisionmaking. Perhaps the most concerning was the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration releasing a statement 
undermining National Weather Service meteorologists' prediction of 
Hurricane Dorian's track at the behest of the White House. The 
incident, which could have put property and lives at risk, was known in 
the media as ``Sharpiegate.''
    The Inspector General investigated the incident and found that, 
``[t]he Statement undercut the NWS's forecasts and potentially undercut 
public trust in NOAA's and the NWS's science and the apolitical nature 
of that science.'' But Department employees who also participated are 
not bound by the agency-specific Scientific Integrity Policy, exposing 
a gap scientific integrity protections across the Department.
    I know that this is an important issue to you and the 
administration, with President Biden releasing a ``Memorandum on 
Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and 
Evidence-Based Policymaking'' in his first week in office.

    1a.  Does the Department of Commerce plan on implementing a 
Department-wide scientific integrity policy? Such a policy should not 
supersede an individual bureau's policy, but should serve as the 
baseline requirement to protect scientific research and communication.

    Answer 1a. Yes. DOC has stated it will develop its own policy. A 
DOC-wide scientific integrity policy would promote a continuing culture 
of scientific excellence and integrity, while informing management and 
policy decisions throughout the department. The DOC policy will 
establish a baseline with which all bureaus must comply and permit 
bureaus to develop their own policies that would be independent of the 
DOC policy as long as they are consistent with the fundamental 
principles of the DOC policy (i.e., not be weaker than the DOC policy). 
Mandatory training for all political appointees, as well as career 
Federal employees and DOC affiliates (such as contractors, interns, 
fellows, etc.), would enable proper implementation of the policy.
    The recent Presidential ``Memorandum on Restoring Trust in 
Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-based 
Policymaking'' requires departments and agencies to have a Chief 
Science Officer and Scientific Integrity Official. The Department is 
working to fill these positions.

    1b.  If so, when can we expect to see a Department-wide scientific 
integrity policy?

    Answer 1b. The Department is consulting with bureaus including 
NOAA, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), and 
the Census Bureau (Census) to provide inputs for a draft Department-
wide policy. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 
Scientific Integrity Task Force findings will also inform the 
Department's policy.
                                 ______
                                 
               Questions Submitted by Senator Jerry Moran
    Question 1. The International Trade Administration's (ITA) trade 
promotion efforts are one important way that the Commerce Department 
helps to support American companies overseas and keep America 
competitive. However, our investments in this area and the reach of 
ITA's international field is lacking in comparison to that of China and 
other competitor nations. This is particularly the case in Africa, 
South America, the Caribbean, and the Western Pacific.

    1a.  How would the fiscal year 2022 budget request help to grow 
ITA's global network and better support the ability of U.S. companies 
to access emerging and competitive foreign markets?

    Answer 1a. The International Trade Administration (ITA) continues 
to strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. industry, promoting trade and 
investment and ensuring fairness through the rigorous enforcement of 
U.S. trade laws and agreements. ITA's Global Markets (GM) and U.S. & 
Foreign Commercial Service business unit helps U.S. companies export 
and/or increase sales to foreign markets through its U.S. Export 
Assistance Centers (USEAC) located throughout the United States, in 
conjunction with its Washington, DC, based staff and overseas offices 
in our U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world. The fiscal year 
2022 budget request fully funds GM's current level of operations, 
enabling it to sustain its existing global footprint and the hiring 
gains achieved in fiscal year 2021.

    1b.  What does it say about how the Biden administration is 
prioritizing trade that under the fiscal year 2022 budget DOC's trade-
related agencies--ITA and BIS--would receive the smallest percentage 
increases of any units within the Department? Is trade-related work a 
priority for the Biden administration?

    Answer 1b. As a key component of the Biden administration's 
objectives to promote post-pandemic economic recovery, job creation, 
and to protect national security, the trade-related work of BIS and ITA 
are priorities for the Department of Commerce. The administration's 
first focus was on critical programs at Commerce that were most in need 
of increased funding following the actions of the prior administration. 
In the case of BIS, given the broadened focus, in recent years, of its 
mission and the use of Commerce's export control tools, the 
administration needed time to carefully evaluate BIS' resource 
requirements for emerging or expanding program areas. Fully funding BIS 
and its national security mission is a priority and working with 
Congress on the future of BIS and necessary resources is a focal point 
for the Department of Commerce. In the case of ITA, the administration 
has proposed additional funding to examine exclusion requests, 
objections by U.S. producers, and rebuttals/surrebuttals in connection 
with Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products. 
Additional funding was also proposed to support the current sample size 
of the Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT) to provide 
additional data required by the U.S. Government and stakeholders to 
design economic programs to help the Travel and Tourism industry 
recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Commerce remains 
focused on working with Congress to ensure that ITA is fully funded in 
order to fulfill its mission to strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. 
industry, promote trade and investment, and ensure fair trade through 
rigorous enforcement of U.S. trade laws and agreements.

    Question 2. The fiscal year 2022 budget request includes full 
funding for two new Manufacturing USA institutes, including one which 
would be focused on the design and manufacturing of semiconductors. The 
2020 National Defense Authorization Act included legislation that 
defined a number of industry areas that future Manufacturing USA 
institutes should be focused on. That list of industry areas included 
semiconductors, but also other important ``Industries of the Future'' 
like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

    2a.  If congress were to provide funding for new Manufacturing USA 
institutes in fiscal year 2022, is there a particular reason why both 
solicitations shouldn't allow for open competition among all relevant 
industry areas?

    Answer 2a. The Manufacturing USA statute provides NIST the 
authority to run ``open-topic'' competitions, accepting all topics 
proposed by industry. Should the President's fiscal year 2022 
discretionary budget request for two NIST sponsored Manufacturing USA 
institutes be enacted, NIST plans a single open-topic competition from 
which multiple awards may be made. The competition would be open to all 
topics from all industry areas. The competition would include a 
selection factor for national priority topics, as described in the 
National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing. Those priorities 
include semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and 
quantum computing.

    2b. What is the driver behind the prioritization of EDA's coal 
program in the fiscal year 2022 budget over some of EDA's other 
nationwide programs like ``Public Works'' or the ``Regional Innovation 
Program?''

    Answer 2b. As we transition toward a clean energy future, the Biden 
administration is leading an all-of-government effort to help 
revitalize and promote regional economic growth and diversification in 
America's coal communities. This administration is committed to 
ensuring that coal communities are not left behind as the energy 
landscape transforms. This funding for coal communities will drive 
economic diversification, aid in the scaling of new industry sectors, 
and create good-paying jobs for hard-working Americans.

    2c.  How, if at all, would the request for increased funding for 
``Restoration and Resilience'' within the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration go to supporting the resiliency needs of 
non-coastal States?

    Answer 2c. NOAA's increased funding for ``Restoration and 
Resilience'' will provide useful lessons learned and best practices 
related to risk communication and climate adaptation approaches that 
can be applied by communities in both coastal and non-coastal States. 
Flooding and resilience best practices and adaptation strategies 
developed at the coast can inform inland areas that experience drought, 
heat waves, changes in heavy precipitation or other disaster events. 
NOAA and its partner programs share successful approaches at national 
events, such as the National Adaptation Forum.
    Natural infrastructure is just one example of a mitigation and 
adaptation approach that can be applied in inland States to improve 
waterways and reduce risks from floods, droughts, and fires. 
Communities across the country are increasingly turning to nature-based 
approaches to address climate and weather hazards because, in many 
cases, these habitats are already well equipped to adapt to change and 
withstand or recover from weather impacts. NOAA's investments in 
coastal restoration and natural infrastructure solutions, as well as 
the resilience training, engagement, and capacity building planned for 
coastal communities, will provide critical information that can be 
shared with other communities that are working to adapt to a changing 
climate.
    As we look to rebuild our Nation's infrastructure of roads, 
bridges, buildings, railways, and airports, it is important to ensure 
these new infrastructure investments are resilient to environmental 
factors. When it comes to major infrastructure investments, resilience 
requires foundational positioning data to inform decisionmaking such as 
``where to build a road,'' ``how tall to build a bridge,'' ``where will 
water flow once it reaches the land,'' etc.
    In order to answer these questions and build resilient 
infrastructure, surveyors and engineers need access to an accurate and 
cohesive reference frame for the Nation. NOAA's National Spatial 
Reference System (NSRS) provides a consistent coordinate system that 
defines latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, and orientation 
throughout the entire United States, not only in coastal States. A 
portion of NOAA's increased funding will be dedicated to modernizing 
the NSRS to further enhance data accessibility and accuracy for the 
entire Nation, including for our rural and remote communities. While 
captured under ``Observations and Forecasting,'' these investments also 
provide critical information to build resilience to climate and weather 
hazards.
    The need for resilient community infrastructure extends beyond 
coastal States. Farmers need an accurate reference frame to efficiently 
manage their crops. All Geographic Information Systems applications 
rely on an accurate reference frame. In the future, autonomous vehicles 
will rely on an accurate national reference frame to travel safely at 
high speed.
    In Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), the $10 million 
Enhancing Regional and Community Resilience by Scaling Up RISA Program 
and ``Climate-Smart'' Communities Initiative in the President's fiscal 
year 2022 discretionary request (OAR-33) would support lasting and 
equitable climate resilience across the Nation, including non-coastal 
States. The proposal builds on and extends the proven capabilities of 
the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program and the 
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit (USCRT) to advance adaptation measures 
and resilience planning at regional and local scales, while 
prioritizing environmental justice. If funded, this initiative would 
expand the RISA program and increase support for existing RISA Regional 
Teams, which include many non-coastal States. It would also support a 
new public-private partnership, the Climate-Smart Communities 
Initiative, to scale up and accelerate training and the pace of 
resilience-building in communities across the Nation utilizing the 
USCRT. Communities that engage in this initiative will be better 
positioned to identify their climate information needs, 
vulnerabilities, risks, and potential resiliency solutions, and thus 
may turn to RISA or other activities for more in-depth analysis and 
tailored support.

    Question 3. Concurrent with the transmission of the answers to the 
fiscal year 2022 Questions for the Record, please provide the following 
information:

    3a.  The number of days the fiscal year 2022 Questions for the 
Record were with the individual Department of Commerce Bureaus for 
response and review.
    3b.  The number of days the fiscal year 2022 Questions for the 
Record were with the Department of Commerce Office of Budget for 
response and review.
    3c.  The number of days the fiscal year 2022 Questions for the 
Record were with the Department of Commerce Office of Legislative and 
Intergovernmental Affairs for response and review.
    3d.  The number of days the fiscal year 2022 Questions for the 
Record were with the Department of Commerce Office of Policy and 
Strategic Planning for response and review.
    3e.  The number of days the fiscal year 2022 Questions for the 
Record were with the White House Office of Management and Budget for 
response and review.

    Answer 3a-3e. The Office of Budget (OB) received QFRs on June 15, 
2021. After reviewing questions to determine Bureau assignment, OB 
distributed QFRs to DOC Bureaus on June 22. All bureaus responded to OB 
by July 14. After review and edits, OB forwarded QFRs to the Office of 
the Secretary (OLIA, OGC, and Policy) on July 23 for staffing. The 
Office of Secretary cleared all QFRs on September 1. OB forwarded QFRs 
to OMB on September 8. OMB cleared the QFRs on October 8; OB finalized 
all responses and forwarded them to the Office of the Secretary for 
final review and clearance for Hill transmittal on October 13.

    Question 4--Add On. On January 5, 2021 the Trump administration 
released Executive Order 13971 to continue its strong stance against 
Chinese controlled companies. Similarly, the Department of Commerce 
under the previous administration released an interim final rulemaking, 
``Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services 
Supply Chain'' (ICTS) on January 19, 2021, to address national security 
threats to information and communications technology posed by ``foreign 
adversaries,'' including China. While these efforts are lauded, much of 
U.S. industry has expressed concerns over the uncertainty of when and 
how these executive actions will be implemented and what will be 
required to comply with their restrictions.

    4a.  With respect to the ICTS interim final rule that became 
effective on March 22, 2021, can you provide further details on how and 
when the Department will implement this now-effective rule to ensure 
that U.S. companies have clear guidance on how to comply? Furthermore, 
what actions is the Department currently taking to enforce this rule?

    Answer 4a. The Department has stood up an Information and 
Communications Technology Task Force under the Office of the Secretary 
that is led by the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Intelligence 
and Security (I&S), and includes key stakeholders from various bureaus 
and offices, such as the Bureau of Industry and Security, International 
Trade Administration, National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration, and the Office of General Counsel. The task force is 
supporting both operations and policy under Executive Order (EO) 13873 
and related orders.
    The Department is currently assessing comments received following 
the publication of the Information and Communications Technology and 
Services (ICTS) interim final rule (IFR), which will guide the 
Department in any changes it deems necessary in revising the final 
rule. Nonetheless, the IFR is currently in force, and will remain so. 
President Biden also signed Executive Order (EO) 14034 on Protecting 
Americans' Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries on June 9, 2021. 
Because this EO establishes new criteria for the evaluation of 
transactions involving connected software applications, the Department 
plans to solicit additional input through the rulemaking process on 
these criteria. This will allow for additional input from the business 
community and collaboration with the Department in revising the final 
rule. The Department is committed to providing guidance on the rule's 
implementation.
    As the Secretary announced on March 17 and April 13, 2021, the 
Department has issued subpoenas supporting the review of transactions 
under EO 13873.

    4b.  Now that the Department has collected comments on the ICTS 
interim final rule, does Commerce plan to release further guidance and 
direction to implement the rule? Are any additional rulemakings planned 
in light of the comments received from industry, and if so, what is the 
anticipated timeframe for such actions?

    Answer 4b. The Department is currently assessing comments received 
following the publication of the Information and Communications 
Technology and Services (ICTS) interim final rule (IFR), which will 
guide the Department in any changes it deems necessary in revising the 
final rule. Nonetheless, the IFR is currently in force. Furthermore, 
the Department also issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking 
(ANPRM) for a pre-clearance/licensing program for ICTS Transactions. 
This ANPRM was issued on March 29, 2021, and closed on April 28, 2021. 
The Department is currently assessing comments received from the ANPRM.
    Finally, as noted above, President Biden signed Executive Order 
(EO) 14034 on Protecting Americans' Sensitive Data from Foreign 
Adversaries on June 9, 2021. Because this EO establishes new criteria 
for the evaluation of transactions involving connected software 
applications, the Department plans to solicit additional input on these 
criteria as it seeks to finalize implement EO 13873. This will allow 
for additional input from the business community and collaboration with 
the Department in revising the final rule.

    4c.  What considerations has the Department taken, or will it take, 
in implementing the ICTS rule to help ensure it is not overbroad or 
unnecessarily burdensome for U.S. companies to comply?

    Answer 4c. The Department takes seriously its dual role of 
encouraging United States commerce to thrive, while also addressing the 
national security threat posed by the exploitation by foreign 
adversaries of the Information and Communications Technology and 
Services (ICTS) supply chain. The Department's implementation of the 
rule will give due consideration to both of these critical interests. 
As described in more detail above, the Department is undertaking 
further engagement with industry through the rulemaking process and is 
committed to providing guidance to industry as it implements the rule.

    4d.  Given the breadth of the interim final rule, does the 
Department intend to provide guidance to industry on what products or 
technologies are of most concern from a national security perspective?

    Answer 4d. The current interim final rule contains a list of the 
categories of transactions involving ICTS that are subject to 
Department review in 15 CFR Part 7, Section 7.3. As it implements the 
rule, the Department will consider the extent to which it can provide 
further guidance to industry on the categories of ICTS transactions 
that are of concern.

    4e.  With respect to Executive Order 13971, can you provide the 
Committee with a timeline on its implementation and when we can expect 
to receive further details on how it will be implemented?

    Answer 4e. Executive Order (EO) 13971 was revoked upon the issuance 
of EO 14034, Protecting Americans' Sensitive Data From Foreign 
Adversaries, on June 9, 2021.
                                 ______
                                 
          Questions Submitted by Senator Christopher A. Coons
    Question 1. Legislation under Senate consideration would direct the 
Department of Commerce to implement Section 9902 of the Fiscal Year 
2021 National Defense Authorization Act (the CHIPS Act), to incentivize 
investments in a more secure and resilient semiconductor supply chain. 
Under your direction, would the scope of this program include new and 
expanded facilities to produce equipment and materials used to produce 
semiconductors?

    Answer 1. The Department is developing plans for the implementation 
of the CHIPS Act funding requested as part of the American Jobs Plan 
and included in the United States Innovation and Competition Act passed 
by the Senate. The Department is designing the program to incentivize 
the construction and expansion of facilities to restore U.S. leadership 
in semiconductor manufacturing.
    Under the statute, eligible entities include private entities, 
consortia of private entities, or consortia of public and private 
entities with a demonstrated ability to substantially finance, 
construct, expand, or modernize a facility relating to fabrication, 
assembly, testing, advanced packaging, or research and development of 
semiconductors.
                                 ______
                                 
             Questions Submitted by Senator Lisa Murkowski
    Question 1. In Alaska, 144 ``environmentally threatened'' 
communities need an estimated $4.3 billion to address climate change 
impacts on infrastructure. For example, decades of planning and 
millions of dollars were required to relocate one village, the 
Southwest Alaska village of Newtok, to an all-new village called 
Mertarvik. This is a testament to the enormous climate-related 
difficulties facing any coastal or river village or small town in 
America. The Newtok Village Council navigated multiple Federal and 
State agencies to obtain funding and implement design, engineering, and 
construction. This is just one example of how Alaska is on the front 
lines of climate change; it is also experiencing substantial climate-
related impacts to fisheries due to warm water blobs in the Gulf of 
Alaska and stock migrations into colder waters.

    1a.  The Department of Commerce plays a critical role in preparing 
our Nation for the impacts of climate change through the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) science and research 
projects. We cannot adapt and Congress cannot make informed decisions 
without reliable information. I see that the discretionary request 
includes $800 million for NOAA to expand climate observation, 
forecasting, and research. How would NOAA utilize those funds to better 
prepare a State like Alaska that is ground-zero for climate change in 
the Arctic?

    Answer 1a. Within NOAA's National Ocean Service, fiscal year 2022 
spending will support Alaska observations and forecasting, as requested 
within the Modernizing NOAA's Foundational Geospatial Positioning 
Framework and Water Level Observations for Climate Decision Support 
request. Specifically, this includes funding to ensure that National 
Water Level Observation Network stations in Alaska continue to provide 
valuable real-time water level data to Alaskan communities, and to 
support airborne gravity data collection along the Aleutian Island 
chain.
    NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) has several programs 
that focus on the Arctic region, including Alaska, which would expand 
activities related to climate observation, forecasting, and research 
using the funds.
    NOAA's Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) Program 
increases regional capacity to adapt to climate change. RISA's Regional 
Teams, including the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy 
(ACCAP) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, build sustained 
relationships between decision makers and researchers that support 
collaborative and equitable adaptation to climate risks. ACCAP has been 
funded since 2006 and has applied for another competitively selected 
award to continue work 2021-2026.
    A portion of the $10 million Enhancing Regional and Community 
Resilience by Scaling Up RISA Program and ``Climate-Smart'' Communities 
Initiative in the President's fiscal year 2022 discretionary request 
(OAR-33) would increase the RISA Program's funding. If this initiative 
is funded, it would enable the ACCAP RISA to extend their work across 
and into more communities to directly aid decision maker efforts with 
climate change impacts. For example, this request includes funds for 
small grants to facilitate the inclusion of non-profit Alaska Native 
social services organizations in the ACCAP RISA's capacity building 
efforts. ACCAP RISA will expand Alaska's regional capacity to adapt to 
climate change in partnership with NOAA research and services by: (1) 
conducting decision-relevant climate analysis and engaging in knowledge 
to action partnerships that meet local and regional climate science 
needs related to extreme events and impacts; (2) supporting Tribal 
resilience; (3) advancing climate change related outreach, science 
communication, engagement, and networking in Alaska among diverse 
groups; and (4) evaluating how well ACCAP's science is informing 
societal outcomes.
    NOAA Sea Grant provides critical engagement with coastal and Tribal 
communities in Alaska and around the country, providing locally 
relevant research, technical assistance, and extension expertise to 
improve economic and environmental resilience in these communities, 
including addressing climate impacts. A portion of the $35 million 
increase for Sea Grant Builds Resilient Coasts: Expanding Local and 
Regional Coastal Resilience Capacity and Community Assistance in the 
President's fiscal year 2022 request (OAR-89) will expand Sea Grant's 
research and engagement efforts to make coastal communities, including 
those in Alaska, more resilient to natural hazards and changing 
conditions. Sea Grant represents long-standing, embedded, and trusted 
networks that harness the depth, reach, and voices of university, 
State, and local expertise, including traditional knowledge. Sea Grant 
also focuses on critical partnerships, like those with RISA above, that 
provide essential complementary resources and services needed to more 
fully support communities.
    Additionally, through initiatives like the request $23 million 
Advancing Global Ocean Observing System increase (OAR-98) in the 
President's fiscal year 2022 request, NOAA's Global Ocean Monitoring 
and Observing (GOMO) Arctic Research Program will make investments in 
new observational, modeling, and forecasting capacity to improve NOAA's 
sea ice forecasts, which are directly related to Alaskan coastal 
resilience, subsistence activities, and safe over-ice travel. The 
Coupled Arctic Forecast System (CAFS) is a NOAA experimental model that 
is currently outperforming a number of operational forecast center sea-
ice models when compared to observations. Further development of this 
model supported by fiscal year 2022 appropriations would include 
working with Alaskan communities, navigators, search and rescue 
personnel, and fisheries management organizations to gather 
requirements and develop new tailored modeling products to provide 
specific services for these users. Other investments focus on gathering 
higher resolution observations of sea ice and ocean heat content to 
enhance NOAA operational sea ice and marine forecasts. These 
improvements will make a meaningful impact on the information the State 
of Alaska needs to make informed decisions regarding the impacts of 
climate change and rapidly diminishing sea ice.
    GOMO's Arctic Research Program will also invest in observations 
that improve spatial coverage and understanding of harmful algal bloom 
species that are emerging in the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. 
Studies show that recent warming of Chukchi Sea waters has reached 
levels that now support the development of toxic blooms in that region, 
representing a significant and recurrent threat to human and ecosystem 
health, particularly given the heavy dependence on subsistence 
harvesting for food. The Arctic Research Program will work with 
partners at the Alaska Ocean Observing System, NOAA Fisheries, and the 
NOAA Ocean Service to continue monitoring this emerging threat to 
Alaskan communities. Additionally, the President's budget request would 
allow for improved observational coverage and investment in the 
development of a model of ocean acidification (OA) in the Chukchi Sea, 
as well as enhanced modeling of OA in the Bering Sea.
    Also, within OAR, NOAA has two initiatives specifically targeting 
underserved coastal communities, including a $3 million increase for 
Tribal Drought Resilience Initiative (OAR-38) and a $5 million increase 
for Sea Grant's Service Equity: Assessing and Integrating Diversity, 
Equity, and Inclusion Actions to Support Underserved Communities (OAR-
94), in the President's fiscal year 2022 request. These requests 
support actions such as cutting-edge climate forecasting and service 
delivery and a robust approach to diversity, equity and inclusion to 
position NOAA as a leader in support of vulnerable communities to 
prepare for, adapt to, and become more resilient.
    The National Weather Service (NWS) will execute a much-needed 
recapitalization of the long-standing Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) 
buoy array, which provides vital data on sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) 
and year-to-year climatic variations related to El Nino and the 
Southern Oscillation that can have tremendous impact on the Nation's 
weather. These data are used to produce NWS' seasonal outlooks. Like 
shorter-term forecasting, the study of this variability enables more 
rapid prediction of climate anomalies that would impact the United 
States, including Alaska and the Arctic regions of the globe.
    The NOAA/NWS fiscal year 2022 budget request includes $15 million 
to establish a Seasonal Forecast System (SFS) forecast capability to 
improve the skill, lead time, and breadth of climate, seasonal and 
extended range weather and environmental prediction. The SFS will 
enable NWS to provide enhanced critical long-range monthly and sub-
season to seasonal predictions for Alaska. The combination of the 
Global Forecast system for weeks 1 and 2 and the SFS can be used for 
managing water resources and also include predictions for flood and 
drought; storm severity and frequency; extreme heat or cold waves; 
extreme winds; fire severity and danger; coastal storm surge and 
erosion, and other environmental factors. Through our $5.3 million Sub-
Seasonal to Seasonal Decision Support Services request, the NWS will 
leverage social science to engage stakeholders across multiple sectors 
(e.g., agricultural, water resources, public health, emergency 
management, marine resources, and energy sectors), including decision 
makers in underserved communities such as Tribal governments, 
economically disadvantaged rural regions, and other vulnerable 
populations, in the development of requirements for actionable data/
services. This information will be used to co-develop decision support 
services that meet those stakeholder needs using an iterative approach. 
We will continue to engage and listen to key decision makers in Alaska 
such as Native Alaskan water managers, emergency managers, energy 
producers, and other sectors to insure that these model prediction 
capabilities address their needs and include providing the necessary 
information to make informed long lead time decisions which have 
significant impact on the Alaskan economic vitality and domestic 
security, that communities are ready for and respond to impending 
impactful weather, water and climate events.
    In the United States, floods account for more loss of life and 
property than any other type of severe weather-related event. To 
mitigate flooding impacts to the U.S. population and economy, the NOAA/
NWS fiscal year 2022 budget request includes a $5 million initiative to 
operationalize a Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM) capability nationwide. 
This FIM capability has been successfully demonstrated in Texas and the 
northeast United States as part of NOAA's only DOC Agency Priority 
Goal. This initiative will enable the NWS to complete the development, 
operational implementation, and distribution of FIMs nationwide.
    Implementation of FIM in Alaska would be provided for inland 
waterways wherever there are appropriate terrain and hydrography 
datasets. Initially, this includes Alaska locations where NWS produces 
official river forecasts. In fiscal year 2023, after National Water 
Model (NWM) v3.0 is deployed, high-resolution NWM-based streamflow 
guidance will also be used to generate real time FIM for rivers flowing 
into the Cook Inlet and the Copper River and its tributaries. These 
watershed domains include about 65 percent of the Alaska population.

    1b.  The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) recently acquired 
nearly 100 real-time seismic and weather stations that were installed 
across Alaska as part of the National Science Foundation USArray 
Transportable Array. This network provides crucial seismic and 
atmospheric data to the U.S. Geological Survey, NOAA, the Department of 
Defense, and other agencies. In fiscal year 2021, UAF joined the 
National Weather Service's National Mesonet Program with the intention 
of incorporating 70 of these stations (mostly in northern and western 
Alaska) into the National Mesonet and supplementing their weather and 
atmospheric monitoring capabilities. Will the northern set of these 
weather and atmospheric sensors be helpful as NOAA works to better 
understand climate and weather patterns in Alaska?

    Answer 1b. Yes, these stations will be very helpful to NWS through 
the National Mesonet Program. Roughly 10-15 are installed over northern 
Alaska in the Brooks Range and the North Slope. All the stations are in 
the interior of Alaska, and mostly in areas with no other observation 
sources, so these remote stations provide valuable data that fill gaps 
in our observing capabilities, enhancing the NWS forecast and warning 
mission for Alaska, as well as supporting research to improve the 
understanding of weather patterns and pattern evolution.
    The ability to use these observations for climate monitoring will 
be dependent upon the long-term sustainment of the observation stations 
to be able to develop a climatology of the observations and to detect 
longer term trends.

    Question 2. On May 6, the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, 
and Commerce, NOAA, and the Council on Environmental Quality released a 
preliminary report titled ``Conserving and Restoring America the 
Beautiful'' in response to President Biden's Executive Order (EO) on 
``Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.'' The EO included 
direction for the above agencies to create a plan to conserve 30 
percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. They recommended a ``10-year, 
locally-led campaign to conserve and restore the lands and waters upon 
which we all depend.'' The report recommends the creation of an 
American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas that collects baseline 
information on the amount and types of lands and waters that are being 
managed for conservation and restoration purposes. The Council 
Coordination Committee of the U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils 
has formed a subcommittee to work on an atlas of waters already managed 
for conservation under the Regional Fishery Management Council 
processes.

    2a.  As you know, there is a complex suite of existing laws 
providing the government authority to protect and allow sustainable use 
of our marine resources. In implementing this order from the President, 
how will you consider the input of Alaska's resource-dependent 
communities and prioritize the livelihoods of people who depend on 
fishing and resource development?

    Answer 2a. The America the Beautiful report to the Task Force is 
the first step in designing a process to solicit public and stakeholder 
input on a strategy for achieving ``30x30.'' Section 216(a)(i) of EO 
14008 directs NOAA, among other Federal agencies, to ``solicit input 
from State, local, Tribal, and Territorial officials, agricultural and 
forest landowners, fishermen, and other key stakeholders in identifying 
strategies that will encourage broad participation in the goal of 
conserving 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.'' Guided by the 
principles in the report, NOAA will continue to seek input from ocean 
and coastal stakeholders about how to implement and measure additional 
conservation.

    2b.  How does the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act's 
(ANILCA) ``no more'' clause factor into the administration's decision 
to consider designations in Alaska?

    Answer 2b. NOAA defers to DOI on this question, as that is under 
their jurisdiction.

    2c.  How will you incorporate input from the Regional Fishery 
Management Councils in the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas?

    Answer 2c. The America the Beautiful report acknowledges the great 
work of the regional fishery management councils, in collaboration with 
NOAA and U.S. fishermen, to transparently manage sustainable U.S. 
fisheries. NOAA Fisheries is currently briefing and taking input from 
all the Councils. In addition, in response to this effort, the Council 
Coordination Committee has developed a sub-committee to develop a 
report on area-based measures for marine fisheries in the United 
States. We look forward to that report and will continue to work with 
the Councils as we move forward in this process.

    Question 3. In the COVID-19 relief funding that was part of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, Congress provided the 
Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration (NTIA) $1 billion directed to Tribal governments for 
broadband deployment.

    3a.  There are 231 federally recognized Tribes in Alaska, out of 
574 federally recognized Tribes in the United States. The $1 billion 
provided to NTIA for a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program could be 
incredibly beneficial to Alaska, which suffers from a severe broadband 
deficit across the State. I know that NTIA has been conducting very 
important Tribal consultations over the last several months, and I 
thank you for meeting with them and incorporating their input. I would 
like to hope that the unique situations in Alaska are being considered 
and will be included in the final grant program. Could you please 
provide an update on the stage the Program is in and what you expect 
next?

    Answer 3a. As you noted above and recognizing the special nature of 
the Nation-to-Nation relationship, early in the grant program 
development process, NTIA held three virtual Tribal Consultation 
sessions to hear from Tribal Leaders, which formed the design of the 
Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). NTIA published the TBCP 
Notice of Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov on Thursday, June 3, 2021. 
The application window will close on September 1, 2021.
    NTIA is committed to continuing a respectful and productive 
dialogue as the grant program is implemented. To date, NTIA has held a 
total of four Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program-specific webinars 
with a cumulative total of 1,415 registrants to help prospective 
applicants understand the grant program and to assist applicants in the 
preparation of high-quality grant applications. In addition, NTIA also 
intends to hold six more webinars for all interested applicants before 
the application window closes and release multiple rounds of Frequently 
Asked Questions based on questions received from interested applicants. 
NTIA will also conduct focused outreach and communications with Tribal 
leaders and Tribal stakeholder organizations. On June 30, 2021, NTIA 
presented the TBCP at the Alaska Regional Tribal Broadband Meeting 
hosted by the Denali Commission.
    Another significant part of NTIA's grant program development and 
execution is NTIA's work with the State Broadband Leaders Network on 
all three NTIA grant programs. Alaska's Senior Development Executive in 
the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development has 
been involved in these meetings and discussions. NTIA has worked with 
him to ensure that both the Broadband Infrastructure Program and the 
TBCP will meet the State's broadband needs. In addition, the State of 
Alaska has signed a Joint Project Agreement with NTIA to access the 
data in the National Broadband Availability Map.
    Further, NTIA recognizes that there may be instances where a 
proposed technological solution may not directly meet all aspects of 
the definition of broadband as stipulated in the funding rules, in 
particular for latency. For example, in proposed service areas with 
challenging geography and topography, the only viable technology 
solution option may have higher latency than what is specified in the 
definition of qualifying broadband. Given these specific topographical 
and geographical challenges, which are certainly present in Alaska, 
NTIA will take that into consideration in its application review 
process.
    As a part of the application review process, NTIA will coordinate 
with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of 
Agriculture (USDA), as required by the statute, and will also consult 
the National Broadband Availability Map, to understand whether past or 
current Federal broadband investments made in a particular area are 
already providing qualifying broadband service under the statutory 
definition. This will help NTIA to focus its grant investments on 
proposed projects for which qualifying broadband service is unavailable 
in proposed grant funded service areas, which would therefore be 
eligible for grant funding. NTIA is working with other Federal agencies 
to coordinate and to ensure that the most current information about the 
status of an awarded area is taken into consideration before making 
grant awards. On June 25, 2021, NTIA, USDA and the FCC announced that 
the three agencies had signed an interagency agreement committing to 
data-sharing and coordination. The agencies are meeting regularly to 
develop the processes required to implement the agreement.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Chris Van Hollen
    Question 1. Oysters are an essential part of the Chesapeake Bay 
habitat and economy. However, as a result of disease, overfishing, and 
degraded water quality, amongst other problems, just 1-2 percent of the 
historic native oyster population remains. Maryland has had success 
with shellfish aquaculture in the Bay, where it provides water 
filtering benefits and has helped in our efforts to increase the oyster 
population.
    The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, as part of the Chesapeake Bay 
Program, is working towards a goal to restore oysters to 10 Chesapeake 
tributaries by 2025. As of mid-2020, more than 800 acres have been 
restored around the Bay under this initiative, and to date, 98 percent 
of the reefs monitored 3 years after restoration meet the standards for 
a restored reef--an outstanding success rate. A number of recent 
studies have identified marine aquaculture as a climate-friendly method 
of producing animal protein for a growing population. Do you support 
the work NOAA is doing to increase sustainable U.S. aquaculture 
production as a way to support the administration's plans to mitigate 
climate change and restore devastated populations and habitats?

    Answer 1. I do support NOAA's work, in partnership with USDA and 
others, to encourage sustainable aquaculture. Marine aquaculture is 
among the most ``climate-smart'' forms of food production, for example 
producing significantly less greenhouse gas emissions and requiring 
less (or no) fresh water compared to other farming methods. In 
addition, shellfish and seaweed, whether farmed or wild, provide a 
range of ecosystem services that can help mitigate the impacts of 
climate change. In addition to producing healthy seafood, aquaculture 
is a key part of NOAA's strategy for habitat restoration and for the 
recovery of some depleted species.
    NOAA has pioneered research to characterize and operationalize the 
restorative benefits of shellfish and seaweed aquaculture. Through a 
broader effort to develop Ecosystem-Based Aquaculture Management, NOAA 
and partners led a recent global-scale analysis to identify where 
restorative aquaculture opportunities are greatest, indicating 
substantial potential for growth of bivalve shellfish and seaweed 
aquaculture along all coasts of the United States to provide 
restorative environmental and socioeconomic benefits. NOAA is currently 
serving on a working group led by The Nature Conservancy to define the 
``Principles of Restorative Aquaculture'' alongside representatives 
from The World Bank, Global Environment Facility, World Wildlife Fund, 
WorldFish, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and other 
multinational institutions. This includes research by the National 
Ocean Service and NOAA Fisheries to quantify the nutrient removal 
capabilities of oyster aquaculture, which has recently been used by the 
State of Maryland to develop a shellfish nutrient credit trading 
program to monetize nutrient removal services from farmed oysters. 
Further, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center has led cutting-edge 
research to understand potential wildlife habitat benefits of shellfish 
aquaculture for native and commercially important wild species.
    NOAA is a world leader in environmental modeling and marine field 
research to support sustainable aquaculture practices. We have 
developed a range of powerful science-based tools to support 
sustainable development of shellfish, seaweed, and finfish operations. 
We have developed tools to predict and avoid potential genetic impacts 
from escaped fish, and through grant funding have helped to develop 
stronger cage designs that reduce the likelihood of escapes. We work 
with the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and use predictive 
models to avoid impacts of finfish farming on water quality. We have 
developed spatial planning tools to inform siting and minimize user 
conflicts. We work with Naval Academy engineers to develop structural 
engineering guidelines for finfish cages and to explore engineering 
solutions to avoid entanglement risk. Our work with USDA and other 
partners to develop alternative ingredients has led to a dramatic 
reduction in the amount of forage fish in commercial fish feeds.
    NOAA's aquaculture research program supported through the NMFS 
Office of Aquaculture and Science Centers, OAR's National Sea Grant 
College Program, and NOS's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, 
provide robust scientific information to support confident regulatory 
decisions that ensure potential negative impacts from marine 
aquaculture are minimized. As marine aquaculture grows in the United 
States, there will be a need for additional research and development to 
further develop and deploy these and other science-based tools to 
inform the sustainable development of the sector.

    Question 2. NOAA is a vital partner in our efforts to restore our 
Nation's marine sanctuaries and habitats. I've recently learned that 
NOAA is planning on reprogramming and imposing additional corporate 
costs that would utilize funding intended for the Office of National 
Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) programs. This will have detrimental effects 
on the newly designated Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine 
Sanctuary that will impact community programs, mission critical 
operations and initiatives, and reduce the sanctuary programs ability 
to respond to community and resource management needs.
    The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 provides $56.5 million 
in NOAA's Operations, Research, and Facilities (ORF) funds and $4 
million in Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction (PAC) for 
sanctuaries budget--an increase of nearly $1 million in fiscal year 
2020. However, according to directives from the NOAA Office of the CFO, 
the ONMS funds will be levied with $1.2 million in reprogramming costs 
to cover other aspects of the NOAA budget. Will you work to protect the 
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries budget from these administrative 
costs, which will add to the nearly 20 percent of ONMS funding 
currently supporting other NOAA costs?

    Answer 2. NOAA does not take reprogrammings lightly and only seeks 
to reprogram funds from a program when there is an unanticipated, 
critical need elsewhere. These reprogrammed funds were used to support 
two mission-critical NOAA acquisition projects and prevent noticeable 
and significant impacts to both weather forecast and watch operations 
and the operations of the entire commercial weather enterprise. NOAA's 
mission would have been significantly compromised had no action been 
taken to address the emergent need. Although reprogrammings of that 
size are unusual, it is not uncommon for unanticipated costs to arise 
during the course of the fiscal year. To the greatest extent possible, 
NOAA seeks to mitigate such issues without imposing additional 
administrative burdens. In this case, savings from reduced travel in 
fiscal year 2020 due to COVID helped to offset the impact of these 
reprogrammings.

    Question 3. NOAA's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response 
Program (MMHSRP) coordinates emergency responses to sick, injured, 
distressed, or dead marine mammals on a national scale. Organizations 
that make up the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN) are 
facing increasing demands to respond and rehabilitate federally 
protected sea turtles, and there is inadequate funding to support this 
work. Many of the institutions involved in sea turtle recovery do so on 
a voluntary basis, despite their participation in Marine Mammal 
Stranding Networks and eligibility for direct support via NOAA's 
Prescott Grant Program. Unfortunately, due to insufficient funding and 
the highly competitive nature of the grant, the STSSN is often left 
without sufficient resources to support response to and care for these 
federally protected marine species.
    An informal survey of eight of the largest sea turtle stranding and 
response programs on the eastern seaboard found a median annual cost 
for sea turtle stranding rehabilitation of more than $400,000 per 
institution. This level of ``voluntary'' contribution to Federal 
efforts to protect ESA-covered species is not sustainable. Will you 
support the creation of a pilot program to provide direct support to 
institutions who provide sea turtle stranding response and 
rehabilitation services in support of NOAA's stewardship 
responsibilities to these federally-protected endangered species?

    Answer 3. I would like to clarify that the Prescott Grant Program 
is authorized solely under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and 
administered by the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program 
(MMHSRP), which only covers marine mammals and not sea turtles (since 
sea turtles are reptiles). Therefore, the Prescott Grant Program would 
not be the appropriate way to provide funds for sea turtle emergency 
response. NOAA Fisheries coordinates the Sea Turtle Stranding and 
Salvage Network (STSSN) under the authority of the Endangered Species 
Act (ESA), separate and distinct from the MMHSRP. The STSSN includes 
permitted partners in States from Maine through Texas, Puerto Rico and 
the USVI, the U.S. west coast, and Hawaii. The STSSN responds to and 
documents both live and dead sea turtles that strand in coastal areas. 
Live stranded sea turtles are placed in permitted rehabilitation 
facilities for short and/or long-term care depending on their 
condition. NOAA Fisheries depends on these partners to care for these 
turtles and release them back to the wild when they are determined 
healthy. Should funds be appropriated to NOAA for such ESA programs as 
the STSSN, they could be administered similarly to how the MMHSRP 
administers the Prescott Grant Program, via a competitive process.

    Question 4. MBDA Business Centers, like the Baltimore and Capital 
Region Business Centers, are responsible for providing MBEs with access 
to procurement opportunities during the program year. We understand 
that while the Minority Business Development Agency once provided 
Business Centers with procurement research software, these software 
contracts weren't renewed with the service providers and Business 
Centers have not received an alternative resource in researching 
procurement opportunities for their clients. This has impacted the 
Business Centers' ability to identify procurement opportunities for 
MBEs.
    We appreciate that the President's fiscal year 2022 budget request 
calls for a 46 percent increase to MBDA's funding relative to the 
fiscal year 2021 enacted level (and note that the Fiscal Year 2022 
Congressional Bureau Justification for the Minority Business 
Development Agency has not yet been provided). Will you work to ensure 
that MBDA Business Centers have access to the procurement research 
software that they need to effectively serve their clients and carry 
out their missions?

    Answer 4. In fiscal year 2022, MBDA is committed to exploring 
options for deploying the latest technology and digital engagement 
tools that will allow the Business Centers to have access to public and 
private sector contracting opportunities.

    Question 5. We also understand that MBDA Business Centers used to 
have engagement with the Office of Business Development and the Capital 
Access Team with assigned MBDA staff, which they found to provide 
helpful engagement and guidance. Unfortunately, this practice has been 
removed and the Business Centers only have a light touch point of 
contact with the agency once a month during the national MBDA 
Stakeholders call. Does the MBDA have plans to provide Business Centers 
with additional staff outreach and engagement on a regular basis? If 
so, what types of additional engagement are contemplated going forward?

    Answer 5. Currently, MBDA's Office of Business Development (OBD) 
staff engages with the Business Centers on various business development 
and programmatic efforts including access to capital. MBDA has 
proposed, in its fiscal year 2022 President's budget submission, a $22 
million increase over its fiscal year 2021 budget appropriation and a 
staffing increase of 22 positions that will allow the Agency to improve 
and increase staff outreach and engagement with Business Centers on 
regular basis.
    With the proposed funding and staff increase in fiscal year 2022, 
OBD will develop, implement, and support partnerships that help 
Business Center clients grow in size and scale. OBD staff will also 
support business development initiatives offered by the Business 
Centers focused on contracting, financing, and exporting.

                          SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

    This hearing is now adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 3:08 p.m., Wednesday, May 26, the 
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of 
the Chair.]


  COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2022

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The subcommittee met at 2:01 p.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeanne Shaheen (Chair) presiding.
    Present: Senators Shaheen, Leahy, Feinstein, Reed, Coons, 
Manchin, Van Hollen, Moran, Murkowski, Collins, Graham, 
Boozman, Capito, Hagerty, and Braun.

                         DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

              OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN

    Senator Shaheen. The Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, 
Science, and Related Agencies will come to order. Good 
afternoon, Mr. Attorney General. We are delighted to have you 
back. And I want to begin by congratulating you and the 
Department on the recovery of much of the ransomware from the 
attack on the Colonial Pipeline. That was excellent work and I 
know everybody in the country really appreciates it. And 
hopefully it sends a message to those groups out there that 
would continue to hack our industries and our Government.
    The complex and often difficult work of the Department is 
vast. It ranges from National Security investigations to 
operating a national prison system, management of billions in 
grants to State and local entities, and this year, the 
President's fiscal year 2022 budget request for the Department 
of Justice is $36 billion, which is nearly 7 percent increase 
compared to fiscal year 2021. As enacted, this budget provides 
a renewed focus in critically important areas like the request 
for increased funding at the Civil Rights Division and 
Community Relations Service to provide for more attorneys and 
mediators. It also requests more funding and grant programs 
that will greatly assist our communities.
    I was particularly pleased personally to see nearly double 
the resources for the Office on Violence Against Women and 
appreciate the steady support for grant programs that address 
substance abuse. While I was pleased to see healthy increases 
nearly across the board for the Department's agencies and 
programs, I did have some concerns and I appreciated our 
conversation yesterday, Mr. Attorney General, and I shared some 
of these with you.
    The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, but this has 
also been a dangerous time for those who have been locked at 
home with their abusers away from their jobs, friends and 
family, schools, and other outside assistance like child 
services visits. Survivors experienced increased levels of 
violence, including increased threat of lethality. Agencies 
providing support to domestic violence, sexual assault, and 
child abuse victims had to quickly pivot to online or 
telephonic only services as we halted in-person meetings. As 
pandemic restrictions are being lifted, it is expected that 
there will be even more of a demand for services like 
counseling and housing.
    And the Crime Victims Fund is often the primary source of 
Federal funding for thousands of victims service providers 
across the Nation, including programs serving victims of 
domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and human 
trafficking. But due to decreasing receipts in the fund, this 
funding stream, which provides critical services to survivors, 
is really in jeopardy. And while I appreciate the increases 
proposed in your budget request for discretionary grant 
programs, the $1 billion for the Office on Violence Against 
Women grants in particular, this budget also proposes a release 
of nearly $2.7 billion from the fund without recognizing the 
reality of the dramatic drop in receipts to the fund.
    I am hoping to hear your thoughts on the Department's 
rationale for the spending level and the plan for bolstering 
the fund in the future. This budget request proposes modest 
increases to the Department's law enforcement components, with 
one exception, again something we talked about, the Bureau of 
Prisons. I understand that there is a drop in the inmate 
population, but there is still a need for both specialized 
staffing, like counselors and special education teachers, to 
meet the needs of the First Step Act, as well as the unique 
medical needs of an aging prison population. The Department 
also needs to keep safety in mind.
    This subcommittee has continually requested that the Bureau 
of Prisons work toward curtailing the reliance of augmentation 
and overtime, and we need reassurance that this request will 
allow continued hiring of corrections officers. Senator Moran 
and I both have Federal prisons in our States, and we hear very 
directly concerns from the corrections officers and employees 
there about staffing. In closing, I want to let the 115,000 
career employees of the Department of Justice, including law 
enforcement personnel and attorneys, know how much their work 
to keep Americans safe from crime and terrorism is appreciated, 
especially during this last year through the COVID pandemic and 
here in the Capitol in response to the attack on January 6.
    In particular, I appreciate the ongoing investigations by 
the FBI into this event and the peer counseling services that 
the Marshal Service provided for the Capitol Police. Mr. 
Attorney General, I look forward to your testimony and to the 
discussion today. I am sure you will have a lot of interest 
from the Members of this subcommittee. And with that, I will 
turn it over to my Ranking Member, Senator Moran.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JERRY MORAN

    Senator Moran. Thank you very much, Senator Shaheen. Thank 
you for convening this hearing. This continues our practice of 
having the Attorney General before our subcommittee. And I 
appreciate the General Garland accepting our invitation. And I 
thank you for your outreach to me and my team since you became 
the General. Welcome to CJS subcommittee.
    I am pleased to hear and discuss with you today the 
President's budget request and the activities of the Department 
of Justice. Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity 
to meet many special agents, correctional officers, 
intelligence analysts, and attorneys that make up those 115,000 
employees that Senator Shaheen referenced. I am impressed by 
their professionalism, their integrity, their commitment to the 
Department's mission, and to our Nation.
    The Department of Justice is requesting $35.3 billion in 
fiscal year 2022. This is an increase of $1.9 billion or a 5.6 
percent increase above fiscal Year 2021 enacted levels. The 
overwhelming bulk of this increase is dedicated to DOJ grant 
programs, while DOJ law enforcement agencies, the FBI, the DEA, 
the U.S. Marshal Service, and ATF will only receive 2 percent 
increase overall. In a year in which the administration allowed 
agencies to request expansive budgets, the increase at the Drug 
Enforcement Agency is barely enough to cover inflation. I 
request--the request will do nothing to reverse the 13 percent 
decline in the number of special agents since 2010.
    The DEA is on the front lines against sophisticated and 
ruthless drug traffickers and cartels, and the methamphetamine 
and opioid crisis continues to wreak havoc and terrible damage 
on communities in Kansas and across the country. I am troubled 
by the lack of attention given to DEA in this budget request. 
Similarly, the Department requests an increase of only $40 
million to bolster the FBI's cyber capabilities. This is less 
than one half of 1 percent of the FBI's budget.
    As recently observed by Chris Krebs, the former--formerly 
the Government's top cybersecurity watchdog, we are in the 
midst of a ransomware pandemic, one that threatens our food 
supply and one that threatens our energy infrastructure. I 
question whether the Department is sufficiently investing in 
efforts to address these threats. Finally, I am disturbed by 
the proposals to dramatically expand the Department's authority 
to regulate the ownership of firearms by law abiding citizens. 
The administration has proposed repealing numerous provisions 
that were enacted in previous CJS bills that passed with 
overwhelming bipartisan votes.
    In the context of other recent actions by the White House 
and the ATF, it is difficult to see these proposals as anything 
but a broad assault on the Americans' second right amendment--
excuse me, the Americans' Second Amendment rights--citizens 
more clearly. In the context of other recent actions by the 
White House and the ATF, it is difficult to see these proposals 
as anything but a broad assault on Americans Second Amendment 
rights. With that said, there are many areas of this budget 
request in which I believe we find agreement.
    I am pleased to see the Department has endorsed the new 
grant programs dedicated to improving police community 
relations that Senator Shaheen and I worked together to create 
last year. These programs include support for de-escalation 
training, training on responding to individuals facing mental 
health crisis, and support for local agencies to secure 
accreditation. Attorney General Garland, I look forward to 
working with you and with Senator Shaheen and my colleagues on 
this subcommittee as we work to craft the fiscal year 2022 
appropriations for the Department of Justice. And again, I 
thank you for your presence.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Senator Moran. I will 
now turn it over to you, Mr. Attorney General, for your opening 
statement. And I don't think your mike is on.
STATEMENT OF HON. MERRICK B. GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL, 
            DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
    Attorney General Garland. Good. Okay. Good afternoon, 
Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and distinguished 
Members of this subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to 
appear before you on behalf of the Department of Justice to 
discuss the President's budget for fiscal year 2022. Exactly 90 
days ago, I took the oath of office as Attorney General. On 
that day, I spoke to all the Justice Department employees, and 
I told them that all of us, ``are united by our commitment to 
protecting our country, as our oath says, from all enemies, 
foreign and domestic, and by our commitment to enforcing our 
country's laws and to ensuring the civil rights and the civil 
liberties of our people.''
    These commitments reflect the Justice Department's mission, 
and the Department's mission is reflected in our fiscal year 
2022 budget request. Our two top funding priorities are as 
follows. The first is keeping our country and our communities 
safe. This priority has three main elements. The first element 
is countering foreign and domestic terrorism. The Justice 
Department remains acutely aware of the threat posed by foreign 
terrorist organizations. This requires that we never take our 
eyes off the risk of another devastating attack on our country. 
At the same time, the United States has seen a troubling rise 
in domestic violent extremism. As a country's lead law 
enforcement agency, the Department of Justice is devoted to a 
broad scale approach to countering the threat of both foreign 
and domestic terrorism. The fiscal year 2022 budget request 
includes $9.4 billion--I am sorry, skipped a page.
    Our budget request includes more than $1.5 billion for our 
foreign and domestic counterterrorism efforts, an increase of 
more than 12 percent above the fiscal year 2021 enacted level. 
Keeping our country and communities safe also requires 
countering cyber threats from foreign and domestic actors, 
whether nation states, terrorists, or criminals, something that 
each of the two of you have already mentioned in your opening.
    The budget request for $1.1 billion would be the largest 
increase in cyber resources for the Justice Department in more 
than a decade. Finally, keeping our country and communities 
safe requires protecting them from the recent increase in major 
violent crimes and gun violence. The Department's recently 
announced violent crime reduction strategy harnesses all our 
relevant Departmental components to that end.
    The fiscal year 2022 budget request includes $9.4 billion, 
an increase of nearly 9 percent to support the Justice 
Department's law enforcement resources and grant programs. This 
includes law enforcement efforts to fight violent crime and 
grants that fund community violence intervention programs, 
improve background checks, and red flag laws. The Department's 
other top priority is reflecting--is protecting civil rights 
and civil liberties. The President's fiscal year 2022 budget 
requests more than $300 million for the Department's civil 
rights efforts. This includes the largest investment in a 
decade to reinvigorate the Justice Department's civil rights 
components and the largest ever increase in our civil rights 
division, totaling more than 15 percent.
    Our request reflects the reality that almost 65 years after 
its creation, the division's work remains vital to protecting 
the American dream by safeguarding voting rights, prosecuting 
hate crimes, and addressing unlawful discrimination. This 
additional support for our civil rights work would also allow 
us to reestablish the office for access to justice and would 
provide a much needed lifeline for our community relations 
service, which helps local communities mediate conflicts 
peacefully.
    The budget request also provides new funding for the 
Environment and Natural Resources Division to advance 
environmental justice and to tackle climate change. Promoting 
public trust between communities and law enforcement is 
critical both to making our communities safe and to ensuring 
the protection of civil rights. Our budget request for $1.3 
billion, an increase of $379.8 million, would provide grants to 
support reforms necessary for promoting that trust. The fiscal 
year 2022 budget also provides funding for other 
extraordinarily important grant programs. It proposes an 
investment of $1 billion to support Violence Against Women Act 
programs at DOJ, nearly twice the fiscal year 2021 level. It 
proposes to almost double the programs that provide training 
and technical assistance for State, local, Tribal, and 
territorial law enforcement in responding to hate and bias 
motivated crimes.
    And we are also focused on reducing the immigration court 
backlog. A 21 percent budget increase to the Executive Office 
for Immigration Review will help us on board 100 new 
immigration judges to reduce the nearly 1.3 million cases that 
were pending before the immigration courts when we took office. 
I ask for your support for our budget, as the Justice 
Department continues its commitment to adhering to the rule of 
law, to keeping our country and communities safe, and to 
protecting civil rights and civil liberties. Thank you.

    [The statement follows:]
             Prepared Statement of Hon. Merrick B. Garland
    Good afternoon Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and 
distinguished Members of this subcommittee. Thank you for the 
opportunity to appear on behalf of the Department of Justice to discuss 
the President's budget request for fiscal year 2022.
    Exactly 90 days ago, I took the oath of office as Attorney General. 
In remarks to all Justice Department employees on my first day in 
office, I explained how I would approach my job:

        ``All of us are united by our commitment to the rule of law and 
        to seeking equal justice under law. We are united by our 
        commitment to protecting our country, as our oath says, `from 
        all enemies foreign and domestic,' and by our commitment to 
        enforcing our country's laws and to ensuring the civil rights 
        and the civil liberties of our people.''

    This approach reflects the Justice Department's mission, and the 
Department's mission is reflected in our $35.3 billion fiscal year 2022 
budget request. Our top funding priorities are:
1. Keeping our Country and Communities Safe.--This includes funds for:
          Countering Foreign and Domestic Terrorism.--The budget 
        contains more than $1.5 billion to counter foreign and domestic 
        terrorism--an increase of more than 12 percent above the fiscal 
        year 2021 budget--which includes an additional $101.2 million 
        to address domestic terrorism with a broadscale approach across 
        the Department.

          Enhancing Cybersecurity and Fighting Cybercrime.--The budget 
        includes $1.1 billion, a $150.7 million increase, for 
        protecting our Nation from cyberattacks and cybercrime. This is 
        the largest increase in cyber resources for the Justice 
        Department in more than a decade.

          Combating Violent Crime and Gun Violence.--The budget also 
        contains $9.4 billion, an increase of more than 8 percent, to 
        combat violent crime and gun violence. This includes more than 
        $1 billion in grants to support local, State, and Tribal law 
        enforcement agencies and community organizations in their 
        efforts to achieve safer communities.
2. Protecting Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.--Another top Department 
        priority is protecting civil rights and civil liberties. This 
        includes:
          Reinvigorating the Department's Civil Rights Components.--The 
        budget contains a total of more than $300 million to 
        reinvigorate civil rights efforts across the Justice 
        Department, including in the Civil Rights Division and the 
        Community Relations Service, and to reestablish and expand the 
        Justice Department's Office for Access to Justice. This budget 
        marks the largest investment in civil rights in at least a 
        decade and the largest-ever increase for the Department's Civil 
        Rights Division, totaling more than 15 percent.

          Investing in Community Policing.--The budget contains a total 
        of nearly $1.3 billion, with program increases of $379.8 
        million, to support reforms designed to further strengthen 
        relationships between law enforcement and the communities they 
        serve. This investment is important both for keeping our 
        communities safe and for protecting civil rights and civil 
        liberties.

          Ending Gender-Based Violence.--The budget contains a total of 
        $1.0 billion, an increase of $486.5 million, to address gender-
        based violence through the Office on Violence Against Women, 
        nearly twice the fiscal year 2021 investment in this effort.

          Addressing Inequities in the Criminal Justice System.--A 
        total of nearly $1.6 billion is requested to support reform in 
        the criminal justice system and to continue critical investment 
        in implementing the First Step Act of 2018. This request 
        includes an increase of more than $550 million in grants that 
        support efforts to reform State and local justice systems.

          Advancing Environmental Justice.The budget also contains new 
        resources to advance environmental justice initiatives.

Other areas of Departmental focus include:
3. Ensuring Economic Opportunity and Fairness
          Reinvigorating Antitrust Enforcement.--This budget requests 
        more than $200 million, an increase of 9 percent, for the 
        Antitrust Division to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement.

          Combating Fraud and Protecting Consumers.--The Justice 
        Department is committed to using every available Federal tool--
        including criminal, civil, and administrative actions--to 
        protect consumers and combat and prevent fraud. As part of this 
        budget request, additional funds would be available for three 
        DOJ components--our United States Attorneys, the Criminal 
        Division, and the Civil Division--to combat COVID-19 related 
        fraud and bring to justice those who seek to profit unlawfully 
        from the pandemic.

          Revitalizing Tax Enforcement.--An increase of nearly 5 
        percent above fiscal year 2021 is requested for the 
        Department's Tax Division to support its vital mission of 
        enforcing our tax laws fully, fairly, and consistently. The 
        integrity of our tax system is vital to maintaining public 
        confidence and requires ensuring that all Americans pay the 
        taxes they owe.
4. Reducing the Immigration Court Backlog
          The budget also requests a total of $891 million, an increase 
        of more than 20 percent, to reduce the immigration court 
        backlog. This funding would strengthen our ability to apply the 
        immigration laws justly, consistently, and in a timely fashion, 
        while ensuring due process under the law.

                                *  *  *

Greater detail on all of these priorities is provided below:
1. Keeping our Country and Communities Safe
          Countering Foreign and Domestic Terrorism.--Our budget 
        supports the Justice Department's steadfast commitment to 
        protecting our national security, while also protecting our 
        civil liberties.
          As I testified before the full Senate Appropriations 
        Committee last month, the United States has seen an 
        unprecedented and troubling rise in domestic violent extremism. 
        At the same time, the Justice Department and its law 
        enforcement agencies remain acutely aware of the threat posed 
        by foreign terrorist organizations. This requires that we never 
        take our eyes off the risk of another devastating attack on our 
        country by foreign terrorists. It also requires that we counter 
        threats from foreign actors who conduct espionage, target 
        Americans, including our service members and diplomats 
        overseas, and violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity 
        of our allies.
          As the country's lead law enforcement agency, the Department 
        of Justice is devoted to a broadscale approach to counter the 
        threat of both foreign and domestic terrorism. The request 
        includes more than $1.5 billion for our foreign and domestic 
        counterterrorism efforts, which represents an increase of more 
        than 12 percent above the fiscal year 2021 enacted level.
          Alongside our request for resources to counter the threats 
        posed to our security by foreign terrorism, the budget seeks an 
        additional $101.2 million to address domestic violent extremism 
        and terrorism. Our request includes increased funding for the 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to conduct domestic 
        violent extremism and terrorism investigations, and for the 
        United States Attorneys to manage increasing caseloads in this 
        area. The budget request supports additional response 
        capabilities at the U.S. Marshals Service and research 
        regarding the root causes of domestic radicalization at the 
        National Institute of Justice.

          Enhancing Cybersecurity and Fighting Cybercrime.--Protecting 
        our national security also requires countering cyber threats 
        from foreign and domestic actors--whether nation states, 
        terrorists, or criminals--who seek to conduct espionage, invade 
        our privacy, attack our elections, steal our intellectual 
        property, damage our critical financial and physical 
        infrastructure, or extort ransom payments.
          These threats are grave and escalating, and we must keep pace 
        with an ever-evolving threat landscape. A complete review of 
        the Department's cybersecurity strategy is currently underway, 
        and this budget--which would provide more than $1 billion to 
        support cyber investigations and cybersecurity, including more 
        than $150 million in cyber program enhancements--would help us 
        to meet these threats. This is the largest increase in cyber 
        resources for the Department in more than 10 years.

          Combating Violent Crime and Gun Violence.--Protecting our 
        communities from the recent increase in major violent crimes 
        and from the national epidemic of gun violence is among the 
        most pressing challenges facing the Department of Justice. The 
        Department's recently announced violent crime reduction 
        strategy harnesses all our relevant components to that end, 
        including the Department's U.S. Attorneys' offices, litigating 
        divisions (including the Criminal Division), law enforcement 
        agencies, and grantmaking offices. The fiscal year 2022 budget 
        request includes $9.4 billion, an increase of more than 8 
        percent above the 2021 enacted level, to support the Justice 
        Department's law enforcement resources as well as grants that 
        fund community violence intervention programs, improved 
        background checks, and red-flag laws.
          A total of nearly $1.6 billion in base funding is requested 
        for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 
        (ATF), an increase of $70 million or nearly 5 percent over 
        fiscal year 2021, to oversee the safe sale, storage, and 
        ownership of firearms and to support the Agency's other work to 
        fight violent crime. A portion of this increase would both 
        expand ATF's Crime Gun Intelligence through the National 
        Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBN) and would 
        nearly double ATF's capacity to investigate theft from Federal 
        Firearms Licensees (FFLs). Every firearm stolen from an FFL 
        poses a threat to community safety, as well as to our law 
        enforcement partners.
          In addition, a total of $690 million is requested for the 
        Drug Enforcement Administration to support the fight against 
        violent drug gangs and cartels.
          This request would enable the Department's Office of Justice 
        Programs to distribute more than $1 billion in grants to 
        support local, State, and Tribal law enforcement agencies and 
        community organizations in their efforts to achieve safer 
        communities and combat the gun violence epidemic. Part of this 
        requested funding would strengthen existing funding programs, 
        including grants for States, local communities, and Tribes to 
        improve criminal history record information and ensure 
        effective nationwide implementation of background check 
        systems.

          New programs are also proposed.--A highlight is $100 million 
        for the Community Violence Intervention Initiative, to assist 
        local communities in developing comprehensive violence 
        prevention and reduction programs, through partnerships between 
        community residents, law enforcement, local government 
        agencies, and other community stakeholders. Using evidence-
        based solutions such as street outreach, violence interrupters, 
        and hospital-based violence intervention services, the 
        Community Violence Intervention Initiative invests directly in 
        communities to address gang and gun violence.
          The budget request also includes funding that would allow the 
        Department to establish innovative new grants for States that 
        want to craft gun licensing and red-flag laws, which 
        temporarily restrict access to firearms by individuals who are 
        in crisis. A new pilot promotes the development, adoption, and 
        use of programs designed to help communities address situations 
        where people become legally prohibited from possessing firearms 
        they own.
2. Protecting Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
          Reinvigorating the Department's Civil Rights Components.--
        Protecting civil rights and civil liberties was a founding 
        purpose of the Justice Department and is a top budgetary 
        priority. Far too many still face discrimination in housing, 
        education, employment, and the criminal justice system; and 
        bear the brunt of the harm caused by pandemic, pollution, and 
        climate change.
          The President's fiscal year 2022 budget requests an increase 
        of more than $300 million to reinvigorate the Department's 
        civil rights efforts. The Department requests a total of $183.2 
        million, an increase of 15.8 percent, for the Civil Rights 
        Division (CRT). This would fund 85 new positions--including 60 
        attorneys--to increase CRT's capacity to protect voting and 
        other statutory and constitutional rights, and to hold those 
        who commit hate crimes accountable.
          Among other things, this request would also fund $90 million 
        in grants to support the development, expansion, and 
        improvement of services for victims of human trafficking and 
        for the investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenses 
        as part of a multidisciplinary approach.
          The President has called for, and the Justice Department is 
        developing plans for, reconstituting the Department's Office 
        for Access to Justice. The budget requests $6 million dollars 
        for this purpose. One role of the Office will be to leverage 
        grant opportunities throughout the Department aimed at 
        increasing access to justice. The fiscal year 2022 request 
        includes several grant programs that would improve access to 
        justice for underserved groups, including grant programs to 
        strengthen the vital work of public defenders, improve juvenile 
        indigent defense, and ensure legal services for victims of 
        domestic violence and sexual assault.
          For decades the Department's Community Relations Service 
        (CRS) has been ``America's Peacemaker'' for communities in 
        conflict. Its staff are trained to mediate disputes and enhance 
        community capacity to prevent and resolve future conflicts 
        independently. When I arrived at the Department, CRS had only a 
        fraction of the conciliators needed at a time of heightened 
        racial tensions and increased hate-based incidents. We are 
        reviving CRS's capacity to improve police-community relations 
        and support communities across the United States that are 
        working to prevent and respond to bias incidents and hate 
        crimes.
          In addition, a new grant program to advance civil rights 
        would provide $20 million for law enforcement agency training 
        on racial profiling, the duty to intervene, and de-escalation.

          Investing in Community Policing.--Creating strong, positive 
        ties between law enforcement agencies and the communities they 
        serve is critical both to making our communities safe and to 
        rooting out inequities in the justice system. Providing 
        resources to police departments to help them reform and gain 
        the trust of communities is a priority of this Department and 
        this administration. The budget total for programs that support 
        community-oriented policing and address systemic inequities is 
        nearly $1.3 billion, with program increases totaling $379.8 
        million.
          This includes more than $513 million for the Edward Byrne 
        Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program and a total of 
        $651 million for the Department's Office of Community Oriented 
        Policing Services (COPS). Among other things, the budget 
        requests a total of $537 million--an increase of $300 million--
        for a critical hiring program administered by COPS. New 
        priority preferences would ensure that resources are used to 
        further policing reform efforts. The Department's budget 
        addresses the need to further strengthen relationships between 
        communities and police officers by providing grants for hiring 
        local police officers and investing in racial sensitivity, hate 
        crime, and implicit bias training.
          The fiscal year 2022 budget request includes a total of 
        nearly $50 million to support the use of body worn cameras by 
        law enforcement officers across America. For the first time, 
        the budget requests $13.6 million to support the use of body-
        worn cameras by federally deputized task force officers. And an 
        additional $35 million in grants for State and local body-worn 
        camera systems included in this budget request would support 
        the purchase and deployment of these important systems, assist 
        in the development of infrastructure to support them, and scale 
        up training and technical assistance to ensure their proper 
        use.
          The fiscal year 2022 budget request also recognizes the 
        pressing need for capacity-building within State, local, 
        Tribal, and Territorial law enforcement to address hate crimes 
        and violence against women. The budget proposes to almost 
        double programs that provide training and technical assistance 
        in responding to and investigating hate and bias-motivated 
        crimes. And it would invest $80 million in programming aimed at 
        treating domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
        and stalking as serious violations of criminal law, through 
        increased coordination between law enforcement, victim services 
        providers, and non-governmental organizations.

          Ending Gender-Based Violence.--The President's budget request 
        includes an historic investment to support the work of the 
        Justice Department's Office of Violence Against Women (OVW). 
        The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated gender-based violence and 
        sexual assault for many women and girls who have been largely 
        confined to their homes with their abusers. The fiscal year 
        2022 request proposes an investment of $1 billion to support 
        Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs at DOJ, nearly twice 
        the $486.5 million enacted level for fiscal year 2021.
          The budget request includes substantial increases for 
        longstanding VAWA formula programs that have shown success, 
        including programs aimed at enhancing States' and territories' 
        ability to finance coordinated community responses to domestic 
        violence and sexual assault and enable rape crisis centers and 
        other supporting nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations to 
        serve tens of thousands additional victims each year.
          The budget also requests double the amount allocated for the 
        Transitional Housing Program last year to meet the overwhelming 
        demand, which has increased dramatically over the past year as 
        a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
          The request includes two new programs that meet special 
        needs. The first would enable OVW to develop and maintain a 
        National Deaf Services Line, which would provide virtual 
        services to Deaf victims of all VAWA crimes, provide technical 
        assistance to victim service providers working with Deaf 
        victims, and pilot strategies to expand ``for Deaf, by Deaf'' 
        in-person services. The second program would address violence 
        against women in Indian Country, by providing funding to cross-
        designate Tribal prosecutors as Tribal Special Assistant United 
        States Attorneys.
          The fiscal year 2022 request would fund several other 
        innovative new programs as well. Highlights among the funding 
        requested for innovative new programs includes: $20 million to 
        support underserved colleges and institutions to strengthen 
        their responses to domestic and sexual violence and stalking; 
        $2 million to support greater outreach to, and services for, 
        transgender victims of domestic/dating violence, sexual 
        assault, and stalking; and $25 million to enable OVW to study 
        the efficacy of restorative justice programs in addressing 
        underreporting of sexual assault, domestic violence, and dating 
        violence by offering victims an option for accountability while 
        responding to their concerns about how they will be treated by 
        the criminal justice systems.
          Often, small community-based organizations miss out on 
        Federal grants that could increase their effectiveness and 
        reach. The fiscal year 2022 request designates $5 million to 
        provide capacity-building training and technical assistance 
        that would help community-based organizations apply for and 
        successfully implement Federal grant awards in order to 
        directly address this problem.
          In addition to expanded funding for OVW programs, the budget 
        request also includes $120 million for the Sexual Assault Kit 
        Initiative and a new Regional Sexual Assault Investigative 
        Training Academies program to support efforts to eliminate the 
        rape kit backlog. And an additional $112 million has been 
        requested for the DNA Analysis and Capacity Enhancement 
        Program, which assists with the processing of DNA samples in 
        laboratories and law enforcement agencies across the country 
        and would reduce the backlog in the processing of sexual 
        assault kits.

          Addressing Inequities in the Criminal Justice System.--The 
        Department's fiscal year 2022 budget invests nearly $1.6 
        billion to support criminal justice reform, an increase of 
        $669.3 million over fiscal year 2021 levels.
          Our budget request takes several additional steps to support 
        criminal justice reform in the Federal system. It continues the 
        historic investment of $409.5 million by the Federal Bureau of 
        Prisons for First Step Act implementation. The Office of the 
        Pardon Attorney is also seeking an increase to address the 
        backlog of cases and better support the clemency program. And 
        the Department is requesting additional funding to implement 
        Executive Order 14006 and eliminate the use of privately-
        operated Federal criminal detention facilities by transferring 
        those individuals who are in privately-operated Federal 
        facilities to alternative Federal, State, and local facilities.
          The budget request also includes several reform-oriented 
        grants for State, local, Tribal and Territorial entities 
        distributed by the Office of Justice Programs. More than $450 
        million increase in funding would be directed to programs 
        focused on youth. Among other things, these grants would assist 
        local communities in developing comprehensive youth-focused 
        violence prevention and reduction programs, as well as 
        effective alternatives to incarceration. To assist young people 
        who are involved in the justice system, the Juvenile Justice 
        Prosecution and Defense Process Improvement Program would grow 
        to $40 million in fiscal year 2022, up from $2.5 million in 
        fiscal year 2021. This funding would support training and 
        technical assistance for public and appointed juvenile 
        defenders. At the same time, this budget request includes a 
        significant boost in the Department's Part B: Formula Grants 
        program to increase prevention and intervention programs for 
        youth, ensure appropriate accountability for delinquent 
        behavior, and improve the juvenile justice system.
          Increases for programs targeted at adults, including programs 
        under the Second Chance Act, would help State, local, and 
        Tribal corrections and public safety agencies to implement and 
        improve a variety of critical reentry services. The fiscal year 
        2022 budget also requests an increase for the Justice 
        Reinvestment Initiative, which would assist State and local 
        justice stakeholders in developing and implementing innovative 
        and research-based responses that address a range of criminal 
        justice system programs.
          Our request also funds programs designed to divert 
        individuals with drug addiction out of the criminal justice 
        system, including through increased support for drug courts, 
        mental health collaborations, and residential substance abuse 
        treatment. The funding request includes a total of $418 million 
        in grants under the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act 
        (CARA), which would, among other things, support system-wide 
        initiatives that expand locally-driven responses to identify, 
        treat and support those impacted by substance abuse.

          Advancing Environmental Justice.--The Department is committed 
        to advancing environmental justice and supports the President's 
        Executive Order 14008, ``Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home 
        and Abroad.'' The Executive Order establishes a ``whole-of-
        government'' approach to addressing the climate crisis and 
        formalizes the government's commitment to environmental 
        justice.
          The fiscal year 2022 budget requests $44.0 million to advance 
        environmental justice, tackle climate change, and enhance 
        environmental sustainability. This includes increased funding 
        for the Environment and Natural Resources Division to expand 
        its affirmative authorities to advance environmental justice 
        and to address the impact of climate change by reducing 
        greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. It also provides 
        funds for continuing defensive and other work related to 
        climate change. In addition, with this support would allow the 
        Bureau of Prisons to invest an additional $39 million energy-
        saving modernization and repair projects to replace aging 
        equipment with energy efficient models.
3. Ensuring Economic Opportunity and Fairness
          Reinvigorating Antitrust Enforcement.--America's antitrust 
        laws are our country's charter of economic liberty. For more 
        than a century, the Justice Department's Antitrust Division has 
        been entrusted with their enforcement. The President's request 
        to increase the Antitrust Division's budget by 9 percent to a 
        total of more than $200 million reflects our commitment to that 
        vital mission. Every year, the Justice Department's enforcement 
        of our antitrust laws saves consumers millions and perhaps 
        billions of dollars. The fiscal year 2022 budget request would 
        allow the Department to onboard 90 additional personnel, 
        including 49 attorneys, to advance these efforts to ensure 
        economic opportunity, protect American consumers, and safeguard 
        taxpayer dollars from collusion.

          Combating Fraud and Protecting Consumers.--The Justice 
        Department is committed to using every available Federal tool--
        including criminal, civil, and administrative actions--to 
        protect consumers and combat and prevent fraud. As part of this 
        budget request, the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorneys' 
        Offices would receive an additional $36.4 million to bolster 
        efforts to prevent COVID-19 related fraud and bring to justice 
        those who seek to profit unlawfully from the pandemic. And an 
        additional $4.8 million is requested for the Civil Division to 
        address increased workload associated with the COVID-19 
        pandemic, including the pursuit of those who exploit this 
        pandemic to take advantage of the government of their fellow 
        Americans.

          Revitalizing Tax Enforcement.--The integrity of our tax 
        system is vital to maintaining public confidence and requires 
        ensuring that all taxes that are owed are paid. Honest 
        taxpayers must be able to trust that they will not bear an 
        undue share of the Federal tax burden. An increase of nearly 5 
        percent is requested for the Department's Tax Division to fully 
        fund its vital mission of enforcing our tax laws fully, fairly, 
        and consistently with all available tools.
4. Reducing the Immigration Court Backlog
          The fiscal year 2022 budget strengthens the ability of the 
        Justice Department to apply the immigration laws justly, 
        consistently, and in a timely fashion, while ensuring due 
        process under the law. The $891 million budget request for the 
        Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review includes 
        more than $177 million in much-needed immigration-related 
        program enhancements.
          At the beginning of this administration, there were nearly 
        1.3 million outstanding cases before the immigration courts--
        the largest ever pending caseload. This budget would allow the 
        Executive Office for Immigration Review to onboard a total of 
        600 new staff, including 100 new immigration judges. This would 
        bring the total number of immigration judges to 734, an 
        increase of 16 percent. New modernization and efficiency 
        measures would also help reduce the backlog.
          To help ensure due process in immigration proceedings, the 
        Department's Office of Justice Programs would administer a $15 
        million pilot program to provide access to legal representation 
        for immigrant children and families who seek asylum and other 
        forms of legal protection in the United States after entering 
        at the borders.

                                *  *  *

    I ask for your support for our budget as the Justice Department 
works to ensure adherence to the rule of law, to keep our country and 
communities safe, and to protect civil rights and civil liberties.

            Thank you.

    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much. We will have 5 minute 
rounds for questions, and we will take senators in order of 
arrival. So I will begin, followed by the Ranking Member. As I 
said in my opening statement, Attorney General, I am very 
concerned about what happens to the level of support in the 
Crime Victims Fund.
    Senator Leahy and I sent you a letter in March on this 
issue after your confirmation as Attorney General. And I know 
we are both, as is the subcommittee, very interested in the 
steps that the Department has taken to address the level of 
funding in the Crime Victims Fund and how you see that moving 
forward.
    Attorney General Garland. So I appreciate both the letter 
and the questions that you and I were able to discuss 
yesterday. I have a personal commitment to that fund. That is 
the fund that provided the money for Oklahoma City victims, so 
I know full well how important it is to everyone who is a 
victim of this kind of crime or any crime. So I have looked 
into it, and I have been given to understand that given the 
receipts we expect to bring in this year and through fiscal 
year 2022, at the end of 2022, we should have about a $400 
million balance.
    That is, we do not expect the fund to run out and we expect 
to have a balance. Now, I also agree with you, we ought to 
build up that fund further. So we are going to be looking in 
the Department of Justice and the ways to do that. I understand 
there are some legislation pending, possibly adding additional 
crimes that would feed into the fund.
    And of course, we will look into also other issues that you 
raised about taking certain kinds of pleas and taking certain 
kinds of delayed pleas that might have not resulted in 
restitution. The most important thing in these matters is for 
there to be sufficient restitution for the victims.
    Senator Shaheen. And as the result of the pandemic, have 
there been more requests for assistance from the fund over the 
last year? Do you know the answer to that?
    Attorney General Garland. I don't know the answer. All I do 
know is that we expect that the receipts that we have received 
already to be sufficient to provide the $400 million. But I 
don't I don't know the answer. That is a very good question.
    Senator Shaheen. Perhaps you could find that out and share 
that with the subcommittee. That would be interesting to know.
    Attorney General Garland. Sure. My staff will get back to 
yours.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. The other question we discussed 
in our phone conversation was the request for the Bureau of 
Prisons. And as you know, the question--the practice known as 
augmentation is something that this subcommittee has been 
concerned about for a while. It is certainly something I hear 
about from prison employees in New Hampshire. And so can you 
tell us what the Department is doing to address and curtail 
augmentation?
    Attorney General Garland. Yes, I will have to admit that 
that was a word I had never heard of before I became Attorney 
General.
    Senator Shaheen. Yes, me either.
    Attorney General Garland. Okay, fair enough. So I have 
looked at this and I am, of course, concerned about this. It is 
protection of both the staff and the inmates that require that 
we have the right number of staff in the Bureau of Prisons. So 
what I understand is that we are currently at 95 percent of 
authorized positions filled. So there will always be a 
percentage because of attrition, etcetera, but they have made 
dramatic increases in the number of hires, to the point that 
BOP hired 900 net new staff, accounting for attrition, since 
last May and since the previous May, and 281 net new hires in 
this past month alone.
    Now, it will likely always be the case that we won't get up 
to the full numbers. But the idea with augmentation is that 
people who switch into guard work or protective work have 
already been trained in that. We are not going to be sending 
people who are without the training. We also expect, of course, 
that with the number of inmates reduced, that we will have less 
of a problem of the kind that you describe.
    Senator Shaheen. I certainly hope so. Can you--I know that 
vaccinations have been a concern and with some of the employees 
and corrections officers in our prison in New Hampshire. Do you 
have any idea if that has been an issue in other prisons around 
the country?
    Attorney General Garland. Yes, so it certainly was an issue 
everywhere around the country, and not only in prisons, but 
with--in the community as a whole. And I have looked into that 
as well. So with respect to inmates, 95 percent have been 
offered vaccines. Now, unfortunately, as with the community as 
a whole, not everyone accepts. But as of right now, at least 52 
percent have received at least one vaccine dose.
    With respect to the Bureau of Prisons staff, 100 percent 
have been offered vaccines. 51 percent are fully vaccinated. 
And another 661 have received--in addition to that, have 
received their first vaccine dose. So we are in the right 
direction here but there is the same problem that there is in 
the community at large, some resistance to this, which frankly, 
I do not understand. I rushed out to get my vaccine as soon as 
it was available. But right now we have enough vaccines for 
everybody who is willing to take it.
    Senator Shaheen. And is there any consideration around 
trying to better engage with staff and I assume inmates, but 
particularly staff around why this is important and the 
difference that it can make for them?
    Attorney General Garland. Absolutely. Education on this 
issue, as with the CDC's general effort to educate the general 
population, is ongoing and we don't want this to be a problem, 
obviously, for the protection of our staff and for our inmates. 
And so we are going to do everything we can to induce people, 
incentivize people to take the vaccines.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much. Senator Moran.
    Senator Moran. Thank you, Senator Shaheen. General, shortly 
after the President's inauguration, the President issued an 
executive order on the renewal of DOJ contracts with privately 
operated criminal detention facilities. I believe that applying 
this executive order to the U.S. Marshals Service is a serious 
mistake. Unlike the Bureau of Prisons, which I assume the 
administration really was directing their attention to, I am 
not sure of that of course, the Marshals don't own any of their 
own facilities. They exclusively contract with the Bureau of 
Prisons, State and local prisons, and jails and private 
facilities. Closing private facilities will inevitably require 
Federal prisoners to be housed at facilities further from 
courthouses in which their cases are being considered. There 
are ethical and constitutional concerns with moving prisoners 
potentially far distances from their families and legal 
counsel.
    However, we are now also learning that this policy will 
cost hundreds of millions of dollars for U.S. taxpayers. The 
Department's budget request estimates that implementation of 
the executive order will cost the U.S. Marshal Service $75 
million in additional transportation housing costs, and that is 
just for fiscal year 2020. So my question, General, is, has the 
Department consulted with the White House about those costs, 
and what I think is unintended consequences of applying the 
executive order to the U.S. Marshal Service?
    Attorney General Garland. Thank you. Thank you for your 
question. There is a principle involved here, leaving aside the 
specifics of the issue you are raising about the Marshals. The 
administration's policy, and I believe to be the correct 
policy, is that prison is Government work. It is a Government 
function, and it contravenes sometimes the due process clause 
to be keeping people in privately owned areas which are not 
responsive to all of the requirements of Federal law, and which 
are not as easy for us to supervise as they would be if they 
were Federal employees. Now, that said, you put your finger on 
the correct distinction, which is relatively easy for us to 
have done this with respect to the Bureau of Prisons, because 
there was already a Bureau of Prisons space.
    With respect to Marshals, as you point out, this was 
contracted space. So we have a plan of phasing the Marshals 
part of this in over a somewhat longer period. The money is to 
move them from private space to State or local Government space 
so that we still are satisfying our concern that this be a 
Government function. You are right about the amount, but this 
is the amount necessary to transfer the people from one to the 
other. I don't think this will be a problem in the longer run.
    I also completely agree with you that it is important to 
have particularly detention areas near where somebody lives. It 
is important from the point of view of family connections and 
continuing connections to the community. And it is also 
important from the point of view of having appropriate legal 
representation and lawyers, defense lawyers not having to 
travel so far that they are unable to do that. So your concerns 
are my concerns.
    Senator Moran. I appreciate hearing that. And I would ask 
if you could share with me the outline of the plan for moving 
forward as it regards--in regard to the Marshals.
    Attorney General Garland. My staff will get back yours.
    Senator Moran. Thank you. Thank you, sir. The tragic death 
of Judge Esther Salas last July impressed on me and others the 
extraordinary threats that our Federal judges face. Last year, 
I worked to provide additional funding to the U.S. Marshal 
Service for judicial security operations. The Department's 
budget this year, it is for fiscal year 2022, includes a 
program increase of thirty $33.4 million to further enhance 
Marsha judicial security programs.
    I would expect you to be very knowledgeable of the 
circumstances that judges face in regard to their security. And 
I would expect you to have a well-informed perspective on this. 
General Garland, what can you tell us the subcommittee about 
the proposed program increases and the need for additional 
investment in Federal judge security?
    Attorney General Garland. Well, you have pointed your 
finger at the right person. I was on the Judicial Security 
Committee for many years when I was a judge, and I was also 
chair of the Executive Committee, which oversees the other 
committees, including the Security Committee. So I have dealt 
very deeply into this problem with respect to judicial 
security. And it is a big problem and there is a dangerous 
problem. And as we have a rise in domestic violent extremism, 
it is a serious threat. We are--this amount of money we believe 
will enable us to upgrade the home security systems and to 
provide Marshals intelligence for better tracking threats 
against judges. And you can be assured I take this one also 
quite personal.
    Senator Moran. Well, thank you for that. Thank you for 
recognizing the importance of security. From my perspective, it 
certainly security for the judges and their families, but it is 
also a threat against our system of Government. Judges need to 
be safe and secure, and the threats need to be addressed 
seriously, both protection and ultimate prosecution of 
perpetrators.
    Attorney General Garland. This is exactly right. You can't 
have a democracy with due process of law if judges are afraid 
to make the decisions.
    Senator Moran. I almost said democracy General, but every 
time I start to see democracy, I remember a republic and it 
confuses me as to how I am supposed to phrase these questions. 
So thank you for saying that we live in a democracy.
    Attorney General Garland. Republic is a representative 
democracy. I think that is what Hamilton meant.
    Senator Moran. Thank you for the clarification. My time has 
expired. I would indicate to you both to the Chairman and to 
you, General, that I also am the Ranking Member of the Senate 
Committee on Veterans Affairs that is meeting this afternoon. 
You will see me here intermittently. It is not by lack of 
interest in what you have to say.
    Attorney General Garland. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Senator Moran. I 
should have announced at the beginning that the witness has 
requested a brief recess, about 3:15 p.m. So we will take a 
short recess at 3:15 p.m. at his request. And when I said we 
were going to take people in order of arrival, I lied. I am 
actually going to take the Chairman of the Committee next, 
Senator Leahy, as is our custom. Senator.
    Senator Leahy. Thank you. I appreciate that and you may 
recall I did the same thing before as chairman but with others. 
It is good to see you, Attorney General. And I agree, Senator 
Moran that we want to have security for our courts and judicial 
personnel, just as I hope that we will finally get all the 
answers of what happened January 6. So we will have security of 
our, really the symbol of our democracy, the U.S. Capitol, the 
thousands of people who work here, the men and women, tourists 
and everybody else, and I hope that we will finally get the 
answers to everything behind that.
    Attorney General, in the past few weeks, your Department 
has endured some highly controversial positions taken by the 
former President's Justice Department. Many have expressed 
concerns about that. For example, the Trump DOJ removed from 
the State Court and the Federal court a defamation charge 
involving an assault allegation against Donald Trump by a 
woman.
    The release of the OLC memo on obstruction of justice 
conclusions and so on. How is this coming about? Are these 
criticisms valid or--what do you say about them?
    Attorney General Garland. Senator, I am grateful for you 
asking me the question, and I know about the criticisms. Look, 
the job of the Justice Department in making decisions of law is 
not to back any administration, previous or present. Our job is 
to represent the American people. And our job in doing so is to 
ensure adherence to the rule of law, which is the fundamental 
requirement of a democracy or a republic or a representative 
democracy. And the essence of the rule of law is what I said 
when I accepted the nomination for Attorney General, it is that 
like cases be treated like, that there not be one rule for 
Democrats and another for Republicans, that there not be one 
rule for friends and another for foes.
    Now, it is not always easy to apply that rule. Sometimes it 
means that we have to make a decision about the law that we 
would never have made and that we strongly disagree with as a 
matter of policy. But in every case, the job of the Justice 
Department is to make the best judgment it can as to what the 
law requires.
    Now, matters of policy, of course, are completely 
different, and that explains why we have reversed these 
policies of the previous administration many times over the 
last 3 months, and why we have initiated our own policies that 
are distinctly different from those of the previous 
administration. But this is an important issue, the distinction 
between law and policy, and it is at the center of ensuring 
adherence to the rule of law for which the Justice Department 
stands.
    Senator Leahy. Well, as you know, and you and I have had 
discussions on other matters. I think I have been first to say 
that there may be areas we agree or disagree with you, but 
follow the law, which is basically what I have said to every 
Attorney General, Republican or Democratic administrations 
since I was here. I am worried about another area.
    Our right to vote is under assault in dozens of States. You 
would think you are back in the old Jim Crow era to see some of 
the bills that come up. And trying to find a path to 
reintroduce an act, a bipartisan John Lewis Voting Rights 
Advancement Act. I want to restore the Department's 
preclearance powers, but that could take time. In the meantime, 
you now have Kristen Clarke at the helm of the Civil Rights 
Division. What is the Justice Department doing today to combat 
voter suppression schemes across the country?
    Attorney General Garland. Well, as I said, with respect to 
our budget request, we are asking for a considerable expansion 
in the number of--in the amount of money for the civil rights 
division and which will allow us to hire more attorneys. But on 
the specific question we are reviewing, as you would expect, 
allegations that come in with respect to voting. Voting is a 
fundamental element of our democracy.
    In fact, without it, without the right to vote, none of the 
other rights follow. And it was the founding purpose of the 
Justice Department during Reconstruction to ensure the right to 
vote of newly freed African-Americans who were under militant 
attack to prevent them from voting. And the Voting Rights Act 
in the 60s reaffirmed that concern and that is very much 
present on our mind now.
    Senator Leahy. Thank you. And I think you expect that 
Senator Shaheen, and I will continue to work with you on the 
Crime Victims Fund. You should also feel free if things come up 
in there, do not appear that the funds are coming the way you 
thought, let the two of us know.
    Attorney General Garland. We will. Thank you.
    Senator Leahy. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Leahy. Senator Capito.
    Senator Capito. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. 
Attorney General, for being with us today. I am the Ranking 
Member on the Senate Appropriations Committee for Homeland 
Security, and I followed closely CISA's work to respond to and 
mitigate cyber breaches and the ransomware attacks.
    FBI Director Wray recently compares current ransomware 
threat to the threats of 9/11. And there is some debate from 
both Congress and the White House as to whether or not to ban 
outright--to ban private companies from paying ransom when they 
become victims of cyber-attacks. As you know, this is an issue 
that we not just face here in the United States, but globally.
    So I asked the same question yesterday, wondering from the 
Secretary of State, and I would like to hear your perspective. 
Are you working with our allies diplomatically to try in, you 
know, in your--as chief law enforcement officer in other 
countries to try to figure out how we may stop this, be 
prevented from happening again, and where you see this going in 
the next near future?
    Attorney General Garland. I will start with the bottom 
question, which is not a happy answer, which is this is getting 
worse and worse, and we have to do everything we possibly can 
here. This is a very, very serious threat. You know, we saw 
what can happen with respect to a pipeline, with respect to a 
food processing company. You can imagine what could happen if 
we had multiple attacks at the same time on more--even more 
fundamental infrastructure.
    So I am very worried about it. And so is the 
administration. And that is why we have asked for such a large 
increase in our cyber budget. That is also why the 
administration has stood up a full process on this question in 
the National Security Council. And that is why the Justice 
Department has put up its own cyber security task force and 
particularly focusing on ransomware. And as you acknowledge, we 
have already had one pretty significant success. One 
significant success is not really going to be enough.
    This has to be a constant, you know, just the constant 
focus. And in each future year, it is going to be require more 
money. I think we have the right amount of money now, but fair 
warning, we are going to be coming back for more money after 
this. And the other question, specific question you asked about 
diplomatic, yes. So one advantage or one advantage of a sad 
situation of the pandemic is that I am able to meet with 
Attorneys General and home secretaries without having to travel 
to many different countries. And in my first few weeks, that is 
what I did. And I met with our four closest allies, and I also 
met with the E.U., each of the EU members. And I also 
communicated by telephone separately with a number of our 
allies on this question among others. So this is top of mind, I 
assure you.
    Senator Capito. Well, we certainly want to be extremely 
supportive of you and your efforts of Homeland Security as well 
and the Department of State, because I think what you have told 
us is what we all feel, that we are very, very concerned about 
this. I am going to switch topics here. Since the passage of 
the Fix NICS Act, which I was a proud co-sponsor of, we have 
seen continuous increases in the number of background checks 
run through the NICS system. In fact, this year we have seen 
record breaking numbers of checks run with some months reaching 
over 4 million.
    Those background checks were done, and Senator Manchin and 
I, in our home State of West Virginia. We are very proud of the 
effort that we are doing there and the way we are contributing. 
What steps will your Department take to support the NICS system 
and ensure that we are enforcing background check laws that are 
already on the books? And what are the funding needs--from time 
to time, we have really up the funding. Here is that--I looked 
through your things to see if there was something about that in 
your budget request. And I would invite you to visit the 
facility in West Virginia. It is quite something to see.
    Attorney General Garland. Just trying to get the number for 
the NICS system. So first of all, you are absolutely right, 
this is essential to the fight against violent crime and 
against gun violence. We have to keep guns away from people who 
are legally not permitted to have guns, which is the purpose of 
this system. And also, of course, it helps us to, when a bad 
event occurs, find if somebody has violated the law in 
obtaining a gun.
    So included in the anti-gun violence programs are State and 
local grants of $421 million, including NICS, which is an 
increase in 62 percent. So your concern about this is the same 
as our concern. Couldn't be more in line.
    Senator Capito. Great. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam 
Chair.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Capito. Senator 
Manchin. We are going to West Virginia, all at the same time 
here.
    Senator Manchin. All the way. Thank you. Thank you, Madam 
Chairman. And thank you, Attorney General, for your service. 
Intelligence reports prior to January 6 warned Capitol Police 
that supporters of President Trump were actively promoting 
violence and targeting Congress itself. The Department of 
Homeland Security specifically notifying Capitol Police that 
they had identified a map of the Capitol Tunnel system and 
online messages between stopped Stop The Steal supporters and 
the FBI field office. And Norfolk also warned the Capitol 
Police.
    But however, the Capitol Police Inspector General also 
found a lack of consensus among key officials about whether 
these reports indicate a specific known threats. As you both 
know, it is impossible to prepare to respond unless--without 
much reliable information as possible. So my question would be, 
in your position so far, do you feel both your Departments have 
been sufficiently receiving and relaying threat information 
with each of the other Federal Departments?
    We seem to have a disconnect and sometimes that is very 
costly, as we have seen. And then a follow up would be, how do 
we increase the coordination within the Federal Government to 
respond more quickly?
    Attorney General Garland. Well, I can imagine, since I 
think I was nominated on January 7, that January 6 is very 
sharply engraved on my mind. I think the Department of Homeland 
Security and the Department of Justice, which are the two 
principal Departments for this purpose, are very well lashed up 
now. We have joint task forces along this whole area, and the 
National Security Council has engaged both of us in the 
involvement in the assessment of the domestic violent extremist 
threat. So, you know, there will always be problems, but I am 
reasonably confident that we won't have a problem like that 
again.
    Now, with respect to the Capitol Police and our 
relationship with them, to be honest, I am not--I don't know 
enough to know about that. This has certainly raised that 
issue. And I will go back again and speak with the FBI Director 
on exactly how that has been done. But I think there is no 
excuse at this point for that kind of clear connection not to 
be made.
    Senator Manchin. Do you know how many people have been 
arrested to date?
    Attorney General Garland. Do I know how many you have?
    Senator Manchin. Do you have a figure on that?
    Attorney General Garland. Like off the top of my head, 
within some margin of error it is about 456, something like 
that.
    Senator Manchin. And how--do you----
    Attorney General Garland. And there will be many. There 
will be more. I don't want--I was about to say many. I want to 
say that. You know, we have a very good method of finding the 
additional people who are inside the Capitol, and I would call 
it crowdsourcing, thanks to the omnipresent videos that 
everybody took. And even private citizens have posted.
    Senator Manchin. How many prosecutions we had so far?
    Attorney General Garland. We have charged 400.
    Senator Manchin. Has anyone been sentenced?
    Attorney General Garland. I don't think anybody has been 
sentenced. I think there has been one or two pleas so far and 
the other ones are all pending.
    Senator Manchin. On March 29, 2020, coronavirus aid, 
relief, and economic security, or the CARES Act was signed into 
law and provided $2 trillion economic relief to help Americans 
cope with the economic impact. Among other things, the CARES 
Act originally authorized up to $349 billion in forgivable 
loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other 
expenses to PPP payroll protection program.
    While the loans help millions of struggling businesses stay 
afloat during the pandemic, it also provide a unique 
opportunity for creative fraudsters to take advantage of 
Federal Government's generous terms. So I would go down quickly 
to say I think you know where I am going with this. And if you 
can explain to me how we are doing on that, because I have--
some of the numbers I have seen has been unbelievable.
    That $250 million in taxpayer subsidized loans, funds to 
give to potentially ineligible recipients, then we had, 
according to a report there were $1.9 million in pending SBA 
transactions made to accounts outside the United States, 
another 3,000 suspicious transactions were $73 million that 
were flagged by financial institutions. Can you give me an 
update of where we are on that?
    Attorney General Garland. Yes. So this is a circumstance 
that I saw even coming in, even before the reports. Seemed 
obvious that, you know, my last go around in the Justice 
Department had to do with health care fraud being one of the 
top issues. And we stood up a task force which was very good at 
integrating information from all the relevant inspectors 
general and from the agencies together with our law enforcement 
and our prosecutors. At that time, we didn't have big data to 
make these evaluations. Now we do.
    And so we have stood up and I have issued a memorandum on 
standing up a COVID fraud task force, which has been stood up. 
It involves all of the relevant inspector generals from the 
different agencies cooperating with each other. It involves all 
of our relevant law enforcement agencies on both the Federal 
side components, on both the Federal side and the civil side, 
and our U.S. attorneys offices. And in our request, there is a 
$41.3 million request for new funding for the U.S. Attorney's 
Office for the Criminal Division and for the Civil Division, 
for specifically for COVID fraud.
    So I would say, maybe this is a bad metaphor, but this is a 
target rich environment. There is a lot of that fraud that 
happened in the past that we are going to go after. You have 
already probably seen our reports of major takedowns with 
respect. And we are hoping that this will be a deterrent of 
future fraud.
    Senator Manchin. The money--let me just finish up real 
quick. The money that you all received, retracked back for the 
United States, does that go to the Treasury or does it go back 
into circulation so we can get it to the people who need it the 
most?
    Attorney General Garland. That is--my question is, I guess 
following up with Senator Shaheen's question is does that go 
really into the Crime Victims Fund, might be a good way to ask 
that question. Do you we have the answer?
    Senator Manchin. Can you maybe--that is okay if you don't 
have it.
    Attorney General Garland. We will look into that. But the 
bottom line is, before it even goes into that fund, the first 
thing is restitution, and restitution to the specific companies 
or individuals who were defrauded as a private fraud. Yes.
    Senator Manchin. Right. Okay. Thank you, sir.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Manchin. And Mr. 
Attorney General, we are having a little trouble hearing you. 
Maybe you can pull the mic closer. You have to really speak 
directly into the mic.
    Attorney General Garland. Oh, I am sorry. Do you want me to 
start all over?
    Senator Shaheen. Maybe not. Alright. Thank you, Senator 
Collins.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Welcome, Mr. 
Attorney General. The website Pro Publica has indicated that it 
has, ``obtained a vast trove of IRS data on the tax returns of 
thousands of the Nation's wealthiest people.'' The publication 
is not disclosing how it obtained the data. So we don't know 
whether the source for these materials was outside of the 
Federal Government or within the Federal Government. But we can 
be certain of one thing.
    These highly confidential personal documents were obtained 
illegally. Any taxpayers should be guaranteed that their 
privacy will be protected when they provide information and 
file their returns with the IRS. As we saw during Watergate, 
there is an incredible danger to private citizens and the 
credibility of the Federal Government if information is used 
for political or other purposes. Anything short of the highest 
degree of privacy protection for taxpayers' information could 
cause them to be far less willing to provide the information 
that is required by the IRS for full compliance.
    Does the Department of Justice have any information about 
the origin of this breach and what steps is the Department 
taking to investigate, identify, and apprehend those 
responsible?
    Attorney General Garland. Senator, I take this as seriously 
as you do. I very well remember what President Nixon did in the 
Watergate period, the creation of enemies lists and the 
punishment of people through reviewing their tax returns. This 
is an extremely serious matter. People are entitled, obviously, 
to the greatest privacy with respect to their tax returns. To 
be honest, I know nothing more than about this than what I read 
in the Pro Publica piece, which I also read and was astonished.
    Now, what I did read in that piece was that the Director of 
the IRS is on it. And he said that their inspectors were 
working on it. And I am sure that that means it will be 
referred to the Justice Department. And when I--this was on my 
list of things to raise after I finished preparing for this 
hearing, and I promise you will be at the top of my list.
    Senator Collins. Thank you. I am glad to hear that. The 
second issue that I want to raise with you are reports that I 
am hearing from police departments all over the country that 
they are having great difficulties in retaining and recruiting 
police officers. And in every single case where I have talked 
to police officers and police chiefs, they say that it is due 
to the fact that there has been this vilification of law 
enforcement rather than trying to strengthen and improve 
practices of police departments and that the ill-conceived 
defund the police movement has also led to significant 
problems. And this isn't just in our largest cities.
    We are seeing difficulties with recruitment and retention 
in rural Maine. For example, Van Buren, Maine, a small 
community in Northern Maine, has completely disbanded its 
police department because they can't hire officers. The town of 
Fort Kent, Maine, which has about 4,000 people and last year 
responded to 5,000 different calls, can't get enough officers 
and is considering disbanding its department as well.
    And at the same time in large cities, not fortunately in 
Maine, we are seeing an increase in crime, a substantial 
increase. Do you personally believe that efforts to vilify 
rather than improve our police departments, including the 
defund the police movement, have contributed to these 
recruitment and retention problems?
    Attorney General Garland. Senator, no one could look at the 
Justice Department budget that we put in front of you and think 
the Justice Department supports defunding the police. We have 
asked for, with respect to our grant programs, $651 million for 
the COPS program, which is a $265 million increase. This 
includes $537 million specifically for cops hiring, which is a 
$300 million increase. Likewise for the Byrne JAG grants, we 
have asked for $513.5 million, which is a $29.5 million 
increase. So no, as President Biden has made absolutely clear, 
we are not asking to defund the police.
    Now, a lot of what we are doing in addition to supporting 
hiring, is trying to support trust building between communities 
and police departments. Not to vilify anyone, but as I said in 
previous testimony, for police to do their work well and 
safely, they need to have the trust of the community and the 
community needs to have trust in the police department that 
their civil rights will be protected. This includes 
accountability for police officers who violate constitutional 
rights, but it does not have anything to do with vilifying 
whole departments or anything like that.
    The Justice Department has a responsibility under the 
statutes provided by Congress to pursue investigations where we 
believe constitutional rights have been violated. And we have 
announced, I think, two of those. And we also have 
responsibility to do pattern or practice investigations to 
determine whether there are police departments that have a 
pattern or practice of unconstitutional behavior. But that is a 
completely different question than where we are--than you are 
asking about.
    Senator Collins. Right.
    Attorney General Garland. These are two--you can hold both 
of these in your hands at the same time and not be inconsistent 
with each other.
    Senator Collins. But let me be very clear, I was not 
suggesting that the administration or the President or you were 
part of this effort. But the fact is it exists. And I know your 
efforts are to improve policing. And I am a strong supporter of 
the COPS program. In fact, I worked on it with the President 
years ago and the Byrne Justice Department grants. But I was 
trying to get your personal opinion on whether this effort, 
which you are not a part of, is contributing to the recruitment 
and the retention problems that are being experienced all over 
the country.
    Attorney General Garland. I have to say the answer to that 
question requires data that I just don't have. Requires all 
kinds of survey data, and I really don't--anecdotally, I have 
heard some things like you are saying, but I really don't have 
any data that I can confidently give you an answer to.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Collins. Before we go 
to Senator Reid, Senator Moran has--would like to make a 
correction for the record.
    Senator Moran. I think--thank you, Chairman. I think in my 
question to the Attorney General, I indicated the death of 
Judge Esther Salas rather than the death of her son. And if I 
did that, I want to make clear that I would like the record to 
reflect the tragedy that has occurred and have that stated in 
the factual basis.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Senator. We will make 
sure that that correction is made. Senator Reed.
    Senator Reed. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and thank your 
Attorney General for not only being here, but for your service. 
Recently, we have observed an alarming increase of incidents on 
aircraft regulated--commercial aircraft regulated by the FAA. 
In fact, 2,500 reports this year about 20 times the average 
number, some of them involving very violent attacks on flight 
attendants and also indications that TSA agents are also being 
subject to abuse, to insult, and to worse. Can you discuss what 
DOJ's involvement may be in these cases? Are you prioritizing 
what incidents should be taken directly into the Federal 
attorney for prosecution, or are you allowing them to remain 
with the FAA?
    Attorney General Garland. So this is a good question as to 
which I don't know the complete answer. So assaults on these--I 
read the same about the assaults on those planes. They are 
extraordinarily dangerous, even if not intended to bring the 
plane down. You can imagine the kind of pandemonium on planes 
that we have seen in some of these videos that people have 
taken that can cause an incredibly dangerous accident. So we 
take them extremely seriously. The States have authority over 
these matters.
    To be honest, I am not sure whether it is the State they 
fly over or the State they land on. There is a conflicts of law 
question, which I think I may have skipped that course in law 
school, but there is clearly a State authority here. And I 
think most of these cases end up that way. But it is also a 
Federal crime to commit an assault like that on interstate 
commerce of the kind that we are talking about.
    I will go back and look more carefully to see whether TSA 
or FAA has referred any--what they referred us to here. But 
these strike me not as things for the FAA. These are not 
administrative matters, these are criminal matters.
    Senator Reed. Thank you. You indicated quite accurately 
that there are major threats of domestic violent extremist, 
homegrown violent extremists, and international extremists, and 
they are all using to coordinate social media encrypted 
transmissions. What tools and authorities and resources do you 
need to combat these terrorist groups and their use of social 
media and other forms of encrypted coordination?
    Attorney General Garland. Well, this also a very also a 
very hard question. You are very good at asking me very hard 
questions. The problem is severe because people talking on 
social media can incite people up to radicalization. This is 
what we all fear. And we have we have seen this in the in the 
foreign terrorist circumstance where people are, you know, 
watching jihadist websites that eventually move them and much 
more swiftly than ever before from mere involvement and 
interest to radicalization to action.
    We expect that the same is likely to occur with respect to 
domestic violent extremism, although likely different websites. 
But maybe not even. And this is a matter of serious concern. So 
where there is a threat of violence, where we have predication, 
a reasonable articulation, the bureau can go in and look at 
what is happening and find out what it can find out. And of 
course, as this escalates, the bureau has other mechanisms of 
doing the same. The reason I say it is a hard question as one I 
am sure you know, it is the First Amendment. And the question 
is, what do we do in earlier stages of this where there isn't 
yet violence, there is the kind of talk that maybe could lead 
to it.
    And this is a very hard problem. And I know that the 
Judiciary Committee and this subcommittee have asked us to 
think about what more tools we might need. And we are thinking 
about that. And certainly our experience on the January 6 
investigation will help us make those decisions. But in every 
case, we have to worry about the First Amendment issue on the 
other side and not making it difficult for people to say 
things, even hateful things, because even that kind of speech 
is protected.
    Senator Reed. Just as a suggestion. You don't have to 
comment on this. There might be an opportunity for Information 
Literacy Commission that could design programs where people 
become more aware of the disinformation rather than what they 
believe is true information. And that could be an effective way 
to counter some of these problems. But thank you very much, 
Jim.
    Attorney General Garland. I appreciate the suggestion.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Reed. Senator Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you so 
much for being here. We do appreciate your work. I am like 
Senator Moran, I have got to run in a second and go to Veterans 
Affairs. But I did want to follow up on Senator Collins 
question in regard to the seriousness of the breach of the IRS. 
And we have had other breaches there in the past. You know, it 
could have been somebody there. It could have been a hack. We 
don't know what has happened at all. They are talking about 
significantly lowering the reporting threshold, $10,000, 
significantly lower than that.
    Based on the fact that we have had problems in the past 
regarding hacking, other issues, and then two, the pipeline 
issue, the packing plant issue. Does it seem like a good idea 
to centralize that much information in an agency? Right now if 
you have an interest or the IRS has an interest, they can 
contact the local bank.
    But to pour through so much data and then be responsible 
for that data and be able to secure that, that is a huge job 
for the Federal Government and one that we don't do a very good 
job of. So could you comment on that?
    Attorney General Garland. Yes. Just particularly to respond 
on the suspicious transaction reports, I believe, and I will 
come back if I am wrong about this, I think we have a recent 
prosecution of somebody who leaked the information with respect 
to that matter. So it gives you an idea of how seriously we 
take this. On the bigger question, look this is the conundrum 
that the digital age has brought us to. We can distribute 
information and keep it on paper.
    And that is the perfect solution to hacking, if there is 
never a connection to the Internet. But it also means we can't 
use the information in a way that is useful for tracking 
terrorist behavior, for tracking child exploitation, for 
tracking espionage, for tracking bribery. And that is why we 
have the special transaction reports, so that it makes it 
easier for us, maybe even possible for us to do that.
    And I know that, I think I saw that the Treasury Department 
is suggesting something like that for cryptocurrency, which may 
also be essential as an ability to continue this particular 
instance we saw with the ransomware circumstance that is the 
way in which it is being paid.
    So, you know, my view would be we need to strengthen our 
cyber security, maybe keep systems separate. But the idea of 
distributing them in a way that we can't access them in some 
central way, that means it would be very difficult for us to 
make the kind of use that you want to, you know, to put to this 
very important information. So it is--the subcommittee here is 
filled with hard questions. This is a really hard question, and 
it puts two different principles which are dear to us in 
conflict sometimes.
    Senator Boozman. Right. Well, thank you very much. Thank 
you, Madam Chair.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Boozman. Senator 
Feinstein.
    Senator Feinstein. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I am very 
interested in hate crimes and there has been a very sharp 
increase in violence committed against Asian-Americans since 
the pandemic began. One database included over 2,800 reports of 
anti-Asian discrimination in the last 9 months of 2020.
    And the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at 
California State University, San Bernardino found that Asian 
hate crimes increased by approximately 150 percent last year. 
So the question is, what is the Department doing to address 
these hate crimes against Asian-Americans and how can we help 
support your efforts?
    Attorney General Garland. Well, I appreciate the question. 
One of the very first acts I took after becoming Attorney 
General--I am sorry, after becoming Attorney General was to ask 
for a 30 day review of this problem with respect to Asian-
Americans and Pacific Islanders. And that that report has come 
back to me. And we have announced the establishment of a hate 
crime task force. As that report was coming back, the Congress 
passed the Hate Crimes Act, the two Hate Crimes Act, which were 
combined, which had a number of requests for the Department to 
do. We have accomplished all of the things that Congress asked 
us to do. And we put out an announcement.
    We have established a hate crimes coordinator in the 
Associate Attorney General's office, Deputy Associate Attorney 
General whose job will be to coordinate civil and criminal side 
law enforcement in this area, because most of the hate crime 
law enforcement comes from the Civil Rights Division, which is 
on under the supervision of the associate Attorney General. We 
have established in the civil rights division the chief of the 
criminal civil rights section, as the, I would say, expediters 
the best word.
    This was a requirement of the Hate Crimes Act to make sure 
that the U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Department as a whole 
are expediting our response to hate crimes. We are 
establishing--we have established a language service in the 
Department because this is obviously a very important part of 
that. And we have in this particular, in this request for hate 
crimes response training grants, at $9 million, which is an 
increase of $4 million over fiscal year 2022. So we take this 
very seriously. And you are absolutely right. There is a 
serious increase in hate crimes across the board.
    Senator Feinstein. Good. As you probably know, the Center 
for the Study of Hate and Extremist at California State 
University, San Bernardino, found that Asian hate crimes have 
increased by 150 in this country. And I believe we can't 
tolerate this. So whatever we can do to be helpful to you, I 
would be most happy to participate in. Let me move to the next 
question.
    Justice introduced model legislation for extreme risk laws. 
The model is very similar to legislation that I have 
introduced, which is called the Extreme Risk Protection Order 
Act, which would give grants to States to help them create and 
implement extreme risk laws. I think these are really important 
tools that empower family members and law enforcement to ask 
courts to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people found 
to be dangerous. We have 19 States and the District of Columbia 
that have extreme risk laws now on the books.
    Can you explain why the Department, I agree with this, 
believes extreme risk laws can help reduce gun violence? And 
what would you tell us today about the need to pass legislation 
on this issue?
    Attorney General Garland. Right. So this--actually we just 
did this. What you are referring to, I think, was just maybe 2 
days ago or 3 days ago, I signed a memorandum in connection 
with the other rulemaking with respect to stabilizing armed 
braces at the beginning of this week. These are model extreme 
risk laws the States can adopt. We have in this budget $40 
million of grants which can be used by States for this purpose. 
The idea is, as you eloquently put it, is to make sure that 
people who are in extreme risk, either to themselves or to 
their loved ones, have the guns taken away temporarily while 
the matter is adjudicated.
    And if a judge concludes that is a risk, to keep the gun 
away for some specific amount of time specified in the State 
statutes. There are--you know, as we sadly know, gun deaths can 
occur when people and extremists--mental issues for themselves 
or personal crises put the gun on themselves or put the gun on 
somebody else. And we want to alleviate that cause of a 
terrible tragedy by both protecting the gun owners' due process 
rights but protecting the potential community victims from the 
risk of death.
    Senator Feinstein. Well, thank you very much. I am very 
concerned about this. I come from a big State, and it is many 
different people. I have seen a database included over 2,800 
reports of anti-Asian discrimination in the last 9 months of 
2020. So I would hope that your Department of Justice would be 
particularly sensitive right now about anti-Asian hate crimes, 
because I think the increase of 150 percent has been quite 
dramatic.
    Attorney General Garland. I quite agree with you and that 
is why I have spoken to a number of Pacific Islanders and 
Asian-American groups already.
    Senator Feinstein. Good. And if there is anything we can do 
to be helpful, very--oh, my time is up.
    Senator Shaheen. Yes. Thank you very much, Senator 
Feinstein. We will take Senator Coons, then we will take a 
brief break because we think we have a couple of Members on 
their way back. Senator Coons.
    Senator Coons. Great. Thank you, Chairwoman Shaheen. Thank 
you, Attorney General Garland, for joining us again and for 
your regular engagement with the Senate. In Delaware, the New 
Castle County Police Department and the Christiana Care Health 
System have jointly stood up a behavioral health unit that 
pairs mental health professionals with local law enforcement to 
respond to individuals going through a mental health crisis. 
And I have heard from elected officials, community advocates, 
and law enforcement leaders across the country, they would 
welcome these kind of correspondent models that allow for a 
more appropriately trained and equipped response to individuals 
going through mental health crises.
    Can you speak to the value of these models, the impact they 
have in benefitting communities and improving police community 
relations, and what sorts of investments you see making in 
providing better access to these kinds of models going forward?
    Attorney General Garland. You are exactly right. You know, 
sometimes we have crises that arise because the wrong people 
are responding. Police officers often are not equipped in terms 
of their experience and even their equipment to deal with a 
person who is having a problem--it is really not a criminal or 
violence problem, but a question of instability.
    And these can get out of hand. And police officers would 
like to have the assistance of mental health professionals in 
the co-responder circumstance that you are talking about, and 
this is better for the community and in the end, for the person 
in crisis. So we couldn't agree more.
    Our funding includes requests for grants, $40 million, 
which is $5 million increase for mental health collaborations, 
and $10 million, which is a $2.5 million increase for training 
to improve police based responses to people with mental 
illness.
    Senator Coons. So do you think that is a sufficient 
investment given the scope of the need? Has there been a 
thorough assessment of how many different communities and how 
many different public health serving agencies and law 
enforcement agencies might benefit from this kind of model?
    Attorney General Garland. So I think this, like, you know, 
many others of these kind of innovative interventions are works 
in progress and we have to evaluate them to see how they work. 
We want an evidence based approach that does work. And so this 
is, I think, a sufficient amount for us to get seriously 
involved in this, and then next year maybe I will come back and 
ask for more money.
    Senator Coons. My hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, and 
many other cities, both large and small across the country, has 
seen a significant rise in violent crime in recent years. I 
note the proposal of $100 million for a new community violence 
intervention initiative. We have a group violence intervention 
program to try and interrupt violence before it accelerates in 
Wilmington. I am wondering if you can describe in any more 
detail how you intend to implement this program and what sort 
of coordination it might include with other Federal agencies.
    Attorney General Garland. So this is a new program, and it 
has several possible approaches. I think that the Office of 
Justice Programs will have to figure out exactly what the best 
way, what kind of incentives to give and what kind of programs 
to give grants to. It is everything from proven violence 
interrupters, people who have been out on the street trying to 
get gangs to conciliate, to put down their guns, to hospital 
based intervention, where the interrupters go to visit somebody 
who has been shot and is in the hospital and try to conciliate 
and persuade them not to take vengeance and persuade their 
relatives not to take vengeance.
    So there are a series of these different methods of 
interruption, and many have been very successful. So, you know, 
as with all of our programs, we are going to try and give 
grants to those that have been shown successful and then to use 
those as examples to hold out for others to fulfill, and when 
they meet those requirements, they get the grants as well.
    Senator Coons. Thank you. I look forward to following up 
with you and with the Office of Justice Programs around these 
initiatives, as well as initiatives to expand access to body 
worn cameras in State and local law enforcement. I was 
encouraged to see the announcement you would mandate Federal 
law enforcement to wear body worn cameras. And I was encouraged 
to see a significant increase in the request for the Victims of 
Child Abuse Act programing and a new task force to combat 
trafficking and corruption in the Northern Triangle and Mexico. 
And look forward to working with you on all these different 
aspects of your budget proposal.
    Attorney General Garland. Thank you. We appreciate that. 
Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Coons. As I announced, 
we will have a 10 minute break. But if I could just ask, 
Senator Murkowski has requested a clarification on an earlier 
question before we break because she is not able to stay. So, 
Senator Murkowski.
    Senator Murkowski. Madam Chairman, thank you. And, Mr. 
Attorney General, thank you for the work that you are doing and 
your responses today. When Senator Shaheen had led her 
questioning with regards to the VOCA funds and a concern that 
we are seeing additional demand on those funds, certainly in 
Alaska we are. The increase to calls to the sexual assault 
hotlines have increased by 52 percent since the beginning of 
the pandemic. Shelters are experiencing overwhelming amounts of 
strain.
    And that 30 some odd organizations that we have in our 
State are facing this 35 percent cut to their VOCA funds, which 
is absolutely frightening everybody. But, as we look at the 
President's budget with a $2.65 billion cap for the funds, in 
2019, fiscal year 2019, Congress put the VOCA cap at $3.5 
billion. We have talked--we understand the structural issues 
relating to the deposit fund. We are going to--we are trying to 
address this through legislation.
    That is absolutely what has to happen. But in any case, 
what we have is this decreasing cap is going to impact the 
effect on the ground for victim services, if not for this year 
then absolutely for next year. So you have said to the chairman 
that there was $400 million surplus that you anticipate at the 
end of the year. The way I understand----
    Attorney General Garland. At the end of 2022.
    Senator Murkowski. At the end of 2022. Excuse me. Yes. At 
the end of 2022. But if I understand what we have coming into 
the fund versus the outlays, that will result in decreases, if 
again, not necessarily this year, next year, the next fiscal 
year. So I just want to make sure that we are not operating 
under the assumption that, in fact, we are going to be okay in 
this next fiscal year. Because right now, I think all the 
victim services in my State, and I think Senator Shaheen in 
yours are just desperately afraid of these cuts that are 
coming.
    And so I want to understand whether or not we are--whether 
there is any flexibility with additional funding that could be 
used to supplement so we don't have this hit again at a really 
difficult time for so many that are providing these important 
and vital services to victims of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, and the like.
    Attorney General Garland. I completely agree that the 
bigger this fund, the better, because there is in many ways an 
unending demand and appropriately so. Just to clarify what I 
said about the money, as of April, we have collected sufficient 
receipts to cover all the way through fiscal year 2022, fiscal 
year 2021 and 2022. We expect to end this fiscal year with $3 
billion, which will cover the $2.6 billion request. That is 
where my $400 million net at the end of that time comes from. 
Obviously, we would like to have a higher amount at the end, 
but the way we are now, that would require taking less money 
out of the fund, which is the opposite of what you want.
    Senator Murkowski. Right, that is not where we want to go. 
Yes.
    Attorney General Garland. Right. So I think that I am not 
an expert budgeteer, but it seems to me that what we need is to 
be able to put more money into this fund, which means 
expanding, the maybe in expanding the kind of crimes that flow 
into it, but also you know the prosecutors in the Justice 
Department need to take more attention to getting restitution 
that goes into this fund and not to be satisfied with other 
kinds of, you know, pleas, for example. So I don't know--it is 
hard to say that as an across the board question, but that is 
the best I can do at this point.
    Senator Murkowski. I think we are all trying to get to the 
same place, which is we don't want to see these significant 
cuts to our victims services. We have got to address 
legislatively, I think the construct of the VOCA funds. We will 
work on that but----
    Attorney General Garland. Let me ask my team to work with 
you.
    Senator Murkowski. I would appreciate that. Thank you.
    Attorney General Garland. I think this is very important.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you very much. I appreciate your 
attention. And thank you for letting me jump in before the 
break.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. Senator Murkowski. As we 
promised, the witness will now take a 10 minute break.
    Attorney General Garland. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. I will now call the CJS hearing back to 
order, and call on Senator Graham.
    Senator Graham. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. Can 
you hear me?
    Attorney General Garland. I can. Thank you.
    Senator Graham. Welcome, Mr. General. I think Senator Coons 
was mentioning some ideas about having some resources outside 
of traditional policing to deal with mental health issues. 
Didn't you all have a discussion about that, I think?
    Attorney General Garland. We did.
    Senator Graham. Count me in. I would like to help in that 
regard. So last year, the Senate Judiciary Committee, I was the 
Chairman, reported a bill out of the Committee, 13 to 9, that 
waived sovereign immunity, allowing Americans to sue China in 
Federal court. You have to prove causation and all the normal 
rules have to be followed for damage done by the coronavirus. 
Do you support that idea?
    Attorney General Garland. I have to say, I am not familiar 
with the bill, I am sorry.
    Senator Graham. I am going to send it to you. I would urge 
you to get back with me sooner rather than later. Do you agree 
with me if, in fact, this was a lab leak, the source of the 
virus came out of a Chinese lab because of negligence, China 
should pay somebody?
    Attorney General Garland. I really don't--I don't know 
enough about this. I know that the Government is beginning to 
evaluate that--reevaluate that----
    Senator Graham. I am just giving you a hypothetical. If the 
Chinese government, lied about the origins of the coronavirus 
and it, in fact, came from a lab leak in Wuhan, which they 
denied, do you agree that they should be held accountable and 
compensate the world in some fashion for the damage they have 
done?
    Attorney General Garland. I think this is a diplomatic 
issue and an issue for the State Department and the Executive 
branch. I don't think----
    Senator Graham. But you don't see a legal----
    Attorney General Garland. The way you put it, which you 
asked whether they should compensate the world in some manner, 
I think that doesn't fit in my----
    Senator Graham. Okay. That can be diplomatic, but we 
allowed victims of 9/11 to sue Saudi Arabia and other countries 
for their part, any part they may have played in 9/11. Do you 
think that model should be allowed for China?
    Attorney General Garland. Again, I think this is a policy 
question for the diplomats. I am just a poor lawyer.
    Senator Graham. Okay, alright. So I do believe there is a 
crime wave in the United States regarding violent crime.
    Attorney General Garland. I think there is a serious, 
significant rise in major violent crime beginning last year. 
Yes, I do.
    Senator Graham. Thank you. That shortened up these 
questions. You are dead right. Atlanta is 59 percent increase 
in homicides, Chicago, 56, Houston, 42, Portland, 800 percent, 
L.A. County, 127 percent--Atlanta, 63 percent. The numbers are 
pretty staggering. What do you think has caused that?
    Attorney General Garland. I know better, having lived 
through several crime waves, as both of us have, and both of us 
know that figuring out exactly what has caused a particularly 
a----
    Senator Graham. Is it possible that some of the rhetoric 
about defunding the police and actually reducing police 
capability has created some of the problems?
    Attorney General Garland. Just don't know. There are a lot 
of factors here, of course, the biggest one being the pandemic 
and I just don't know at this point how to----
    Senator Graham. So you think the pandemics is more of a 
root cause than declaring war on the police?
    Attorney General Garland. No, sir, I don't know. I honestly 
don't know.
    Senator Graham. Do you think that is a possibility that we 
have gone too far in reducing police capability? Is that a 
possibility?
    Attorney General Garland. I think I gave the answer to 
Senator Collins, and I give the same one, which I think it is, 
this Justice Department, this administration does not believe 
in defunding the police. We believe in supporting the police. 
We also believe that community policing is very important. And 
developing trust between the community and the police 
Department is essential to stop violent crime. And we also 
think that includes holding police accountable who violate----
    Senator Graham. I agree with all that.
    Attorney General Garland. I know you do.
    Senator Graham. I do want to work with you on police 
reform. But I guess, it is pretty obvious to me that there has 
been a push back to this defunding the police. It hasn't 
worked. That the effort to marginalize police forces has gone 
too far. And I think we are seeing the results of that. And if 
we don't change our rhetoric, in some parts of the country it 
is going to get worse. Let's talk a little bit about 
immigration. In the end of 2020, we had an historic 45 year low 
of illegal crossings into this country. Now we have historic 
highs of illegal crossings in this country. What do you think 
has happened in the last 6 months?
    Attorney General Garland. Well, once again, you are asking 
me a question I am no expert on. But there was a pandemic, and 
that makes a difference in this area. I am not willing to 
ascribe the difference to the pandemic, and I don't know the 
answer. There are a lot of factors going on here.
    Senator Graham. How many asylum claim backlogs do we have?
    Attorney General Garland. We have 1.5 million backlogs in 
the immigration courts as of the day I took office.
    Senator Graham. Would you agree with me that the asylum 
system in this country is completely broken?
    Attorney General Garland. I would agree that the 
immigration system as a whole is broken.
    Senator Graham. I am talking about asylum in general.
    Attorney General Garland. I don't know. We are evaluating 
how we deal with asylum now.
    Senator Graham. Well, how can you have a system where you 
have 1.5 million backlog in cases--you now have a catch and 
release program regarding asylum. It seems to me that it is 
beyond broken. Do you agree that we should revisit our asylum 
policies?
    Attorney General Garland. I think we need to get the 
backlog down. The backlog is from the preceding years, not from 
the new administration. I totally agree we need to get the 
backlog down. We need to streamline our processes.
    Senator Graham. And I don't mean to belabor the point, but 
the backlog is not the only problem. You are going to have a 
million and a half more if you don't change catch and release. 
Thank you very much.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Graham. I have--I would 
like to do a second round, and I know Senator Moran is 
interested in that as well. It has recently been disclosed that 
the previous administration's Justice Department seized phone 
records of reporters with The New York Times and The Washington 
Post, and the phone and email logs for a CNN reporter.
    This is particularly salient for me, having just returned 
from Ukraine and Georgia, where I met with reporters from Radio 
Free Europe and Radio Liberty who talked about the challenges 
they are facing in Belarus and Russia because of efforts to 
threaten reporters so that they won't do their jobs and 
actually provide information to the public. So I understand 
that the Department is no longer going to cease journalist's 
records when conducting leak investigations.
    And I would just ask, do you commit to ensuring freedom of 
the press and can you tell us what policies are in place or you 
expect to be in place to ensure that there are no additional 
efforts to seize phone and email records of journalists unless 
they are involved in legitimate criminal concern?
    Attorney General Garland. So this is a very important 
issue. The President has made clear his view about the First 
Amendment, and it coincides with mine. It is vital to the 
functioning of our democracy and that extends to the need for 
journalists to be able to go about their work disclosing 
wrongdoing in the Government. That is part of how you get faith 
in a democracy, is by having that level of transparency. What 
you were talking about, these were decisions that were made 
under a set of policies that have lasted.
    I don't--I am not casting blame when I want to be clear, as 
these were under a set of policies that have existed for 
decades that continuously with each new administration, 
ratcheted up greater protections. But going forward, we have 
adopted a policy which is the most protective of journalist's 
ability to do their jobs in history. And it is, as you 
describe, that we will not use compulsory process in leak 
investigations to require reporters to provide information 
about their sources when they are doing their job as reporters. 
That is going to be our policy. I am meeting with people within 
the Department.
    It has been reported that I will be meeting with people 
outside the Department, so I will leave that aside for right 
now, in order to figure out--but that is the basic policy that 
will be issued in some kind of memorandum, obviously, from me. 
You have a good point, which is in developing this policy, we 
have to distinguish between reporters doing their jobs and 
reporters committing crimes unrelated to the leaking--unrelated 
to the leaking. So there are some definitional questions, but I 
think they are quite resolvable and that is going to be our 
task over the next few weeks.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you very much. I want to 
follow up on Senator Graham's questions about the backlog in 
our immigration courts. And I have a question first, which is 
more a clarification, because I was surprised there wasn't a 
budget request for the Legal Orientation Program. As you know, 
this is a program that provides basic legal information and 
explanations of court proceedings to those who are going 
through immigration courts. Can you tell me if the Department 
plans to continue this program and what the funding level will 
be?
    Attorney General Garland. Yes. Included in our request for 
the Executive Office of Immigration Review, $22.5 million would 
continue to support that Office's legal orientation program, 
which LOPS which thinks is what you are referring to. And in 
addition, we have requested $15 million--there will be $15 
million for a new pilot to provide access to legal 
representation for immigrant children. So you have our 
commitment that we are going to be continuing this process up 
to the--obviously up to the amount of money that is provided by 
the Congress.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you very much. Having worked 
with Senator Moran several years ago when there was an effort 
within the Department of Justice to eliminate that program, I 
think it is very important that it continue. Given that the 
immigration courts are not independent, like the Federal court 
system, there are a lot of organizations like the Federal Bar 
Association who have argued that they should become Article 1 
courts. Do you support leaving them the way they are or would 
you advocate to make them a separate system?
    Attorney General Garland. This is an issue that I haven't 
thought about, with respect to the sort of the way in which to 
structure this. I do think that the court should be as 
independent as possible. I understand that was the reason in 
All Land Security Act that they were taken away from INS, 
Immigration and Naturalization Service, which went to Homeland 
Security, and the courts were left with the Justice Department.
    At one point they were all together at the Justice 
Department. And that was an effort for security--for 
independence. And I believe that immigration judges should be 
left alone to do their work. And they are, of course, subject 
to review. The question of whether they should be Article 1 
courts and completely independent is really a question for the 
Congress. I would be happy to think more about this, but 
obviously that would create even more independence. And so I 
just leave it at that. It is an issue of congressional policy.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, as you and Senator Graham in your 
back and forth, it is very clear that we have a backlog in our 
immigration courts. And even though Congress has provided more 
money in the last few years, at least since I have been on the 
Senate Appropriations Committee, we still have seen that 
backlog grow, not diminish. So I am not sure what the answer 
is, but I do wonder if we need a fundamentally different 
approach. We also need immigration reform, as you pointed out. 
So thank you very much. Senator Moran.
    Attorney General Garland. As long as we are making 
corrections, I have been advised that I kept saying at 1.5 
million person--case backlog is actually 1.3 million.
    Senator Shaheen. Yes, that is the number I have too. Thank 
you for that clarification. Senator Moran.
    Senator Moran. Attorney General, you are very good at 
making me feel comfortable having----
    Attorney General Garland. Well, I will give you another 
correction. I think as soon as I said Hamilton, I think it was 
probably Madison, but I will check the Federalist paper that I 
was thinking about and get back to you on that.
    Senator Moran. That is okay. Nobody is going to know the 
answer to that.
    Attorney General Garland. Unfortunately, I feel bad about 
this. I should know the answer to that.
    Senator Moran. General, just a couple more questions, and I 
think Senator Shaheen and I will conclude this hearing. I was 
on the border--this is perhaps a bit of an immigration issue, 
but more drugs, crime, cartels issue. So I was in McAllen, 
Texas, not too many weeks ago to see the nature of what is 
going on at the border, including the detention of juveniles 
and listening to Border Patrol agents. But I also met with law 
enforcement officials, Federal law enforcement officials to 
talk about the aspect of our borders and the necessity of them 
being secure for purposes of avoiding crime, criminal activity, 
drug trafficking, narcotics, sexual abuse.
    And I just am really concerned about the Mexican cartels. I 
think they are probably our greatest drug trafficking threat. 
They continue to supply most of the cocaine, methamphetamines, 
heroin, fentanyl. I am particularly concerned by the flood of 
methamphetamines. We have--this Senate spends lots of time on a 
variety of drugs, and I sometimes think methamphetamines is 
overlooked as we have moved on to others, other drugs.
    But 74 percent of all the drug seizures in Kansas are 
methamphetamine. And my question is, can you describe the 
threat that you see posed by Mexican cartels, in particular the 
cross-border trafficking of drugs? But I also would expand that 
question to see if you have any comments that can provide any 
knowledge about the terrorism aspect or the espionage aspect of 
crossing the border is related to the cartels.
    My understanding is the Chinese come to the United States 
really at every opportunity to steal our secrets, to ingrain 
themselves into our economy, our science, our universities. Is 
there knowledge about cartels and relationship with Chinese who 
come to infiltrate and steal our secrets and work at NASA and 
SpaceX and universities? Are you aware of that?
    Attorney General Garland. So I am not aware of, and I don't 
mean in any way to suggest that it is not true. I just don't 
have any information. I think this is the kind of thing I will 
have to get staffed and possibly from the FBI to come back to 
you. The connection that I do know about is that precursor 
chemicals coming from China are shipped to Mexico and then made 
into the narcotics that are then shipped into the United 
States. So there is that connection and I think that is pretty 
well known. But the question you are asking, I just don't know 
the answer.
    Senator Moran. Well, perhaps my question, which was overly 
wordy, but is really a statement about the need for the 
Department of Justice, Federal law enforcement in all arenas to 
increase the efforts at the border, to diminish the role that 
the cartels, Mexican cartels play in the United States.
    Attorney General Garland. I think they are extraordinarily 
dangerous. They have lethal weaponry, sometimes exceeds what 
the Mexican military has, as we have seen in some of the 
shootouts in Mexico.
    Senator Moran. Have you had--I can't remember you--I think 
you talked about visiting with Attorney Generals from other 
countries
    Attorney General Garland. With Mexico----
    Senator Moran. Including Mexico.
    Attorney General Garland. Yes. Yes. And----
    Senator Moran. A sense of cooperation.
    Attorney General Garland. Yes, I agreed on the need for 
cooperation. We had a very good talk. Yes.
    Senator Moran. My second, I think final question, Madam 
Chair, is before your confirmation, you and I spoke just a few 
days before, we spoke about the need to ensure that small and 
rural law enforcement agencies have a fair shot at DOJ grants. 
And in Kansas, a smaller--I just want to highlight this for 
you. In Kansas, a smaller rural Department may only have a 
handful, two or three or four sworn officers. They don't have 
the resources to hire a professional grant writer. They can't 
simply take one fifth of their force off the beat without 
putting public safety at risk.
    I would continue to believe it is essential that the 
Department consider ways to ensure that small and rural law 
enforcement agencies have access to the funding opportunities 
that the Department of Justice provides. And so, General 
Garland, I expect you would answer this question yes, but will 
you commit to making it a priority within the Office of Justice 
Programs and the COPS office to promote access for small, rural 
agencies?
    Attorney General Garland. Yes, and as I told you in our 
conversation, obvious to me, the problem that you point out. If 
you have five officers, you don't have anybody who runs the 
grant making Department or the grant application Department. We 
also have the same problem with respect to small community 
organizations that don't have the ability to do funding. And I 
think some of the funds we have available now for OJP is to 
make it more easy access to applications online. And it seems 
to me obvious that we should be able to transfer that kind of 
ability for police Departments as well, if that is not already 
in the train. But I will look into it for you.
    Senator Moran. Thank you. I think when we met on that day, 
I asked you if you would agree to come to Kansas and you said 
yes. But if I say yes to you, I have to say yes to every other 
Senator who asked me. So when no one is listening, I am going 
to ask you again.
    Attorney General Garland. That is fair. I--the Assistant 
Attorney General for the Office of--for the Justice Management 
Division pointed out that the money, I was thinking of $7 
million for rural law enforcement for this purpose.
    Senator Moran. Thank you for that. Thank you very much.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Moran. Senator Van 
Hollen.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Madam Chairman, Ranking 
Member Moran. And Mr. Attorney General, great to see you. First 
of all, I support many of the provisions in your budget and 
appreciate its overall framework. I especially want to mention 
the Community Violence Intervention Initiative. I look forward 
to working with you and the Department as you implement that. 
As you know, there are some programs that have been more 
successful than others. And I think you would agree, we want to 
focus on best practices. And I would like to share with you in 
the Department some that have been successful in Baltimore, if 
you would agree to that.
    Attorney General Garland. Absolutely.
    Senator Van Hollen. You have also talked about some funding 
to help States and local jurisdictions that want to move 
forward with red flag provisions or gun licensing laws, permit 
to purchase. Johns Hopkins University has studied this area 
carefully, especially with respect to permit to purchase 
requirements. And I hope you will consider putting out a model 
proposal for local jurisdictions that are interested for a 
permit to purchase, as I think you are suggesting you are going 
to do for the red flag laws. Is that something that you would 
consider doing?
    Attorney General Garland. Definitely. We did put out the 
red flag laws just this week or earlier this week, but that is 
definitely something to consider. And I hadn't thought about 
it.
    Senator Van Hollen. In terms of a model permit purchase--in 
fact, I have introduced legislation here. We would love to work 
with you to see if that is something that would be a good model 
going forward. You have probably seen some of the recent 
stories regarding accountability in Federal law enforcement 
officers. And a little over a year ago, I wrote to the FBI 
regarding implementation of the Use of Force database. The 
Washington Post reported that in 2019, only 27 percent of law 
enforcement agencies contributed information through that 
process, covering about 41 percent of officers. You know, in my 
discussions with law enforcement, they all agree that more 
transparency and more accountability is good for everybody.
    And I am assuming you agree with that premise. So we did 
recently see that while we encourage local jurisdictions to 
provide this information and it is voluntary, that not all 
Federal law enforcement agencies provide this information. I 
hope you would agree that we should lead by example. And I 
would just like to get your commitment here today that all 
Federal law enforcement agencies that come under your 
jurisdiction will report this data.
    Attorney General Garland. I didn't know we weren't 
reporting. This follows the same problem with respect to body 
worn cameras when I first got in and learned that we were not 
wearing them. I asked why not? And I directed our Deputy 
Attorney General to resolve that issue, and very prompt, and 
this week we did resolve that issue. So let me put that to her 
as well. And this will require a meeting of the various law 
enforcement agencies and we will get on that.
    Senator Van Hollen. I appreciate that. And it may not--it 
may also include Federal law enforcement agencies under the 
jurisdiction of other Departments. But as the Attorney General, 
if you could just agree that you will reach out to your other 
agents----
    Attorney General Garland. You want to authorize me to 
demand----
    Senator Van Hollen. I would like to deputize you to do 
that.
    Attorney General Garland [continuing]: As a statute you can 
add, that would be great.
    Senator Van Hollen. But I do think, you know, I think many 
of us clearly wrongly assume that since the Federal Government 
was asking State and local jurisdictions just that, we already 
were doing it within the Federal Government. So I think it is 
really important we do. You mentioned the body cameras. Let's 
make sure we do it with the data as well. The other thing I do 
want to mention, we are we are having ongoing discussions 
between the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans about 
the George Foy Justice and Policing Act. But one of the things 
that I think is we have seen on a bipartisan basis is there are 
many times when somebody calls 911, one where a law enforcement 
response is neither justified or appropriate.
    In many cases, as you begin to look at 911 calls, involve 
mental health situations where there is no crime involved, 
substance use situations. And, you know, I know you have 
proposed better training for police in terms of behavioral 
health. That is fine. But a number of us have proposed creating 
alternative responses to those many, many cases that involve 
mental health situations and allow law enforcement, therefore, 
to focus on those situations where, you know, a use of force 
may be required. Could you work with us to create those 
alternative response mechanisms?
    Attorney General Garland. Yes, the answer is yes. I 
completely agree with you that alternative response mechanisms 
can decrease the risk of a violent confrontation when none is 
necessary and lead to death. We do have $40 million in this 
budget for the purpose of mental health collaborations and 
another $10 million for training a police based response to 
people with mental illness. So we have a basis for grants for 
this kind of program.
    Senator Van Hollen. I appreciate that. Congresswoman Karen 
Bass and I have introduced legislation last Congress and we are 
going to reintroduce it shortly. So we look forward to working 
with you on that. Thank you. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Van Hollen. We will go 
to Senator Braun next. I am sorry, Senator Hagerty, he beat you 
here.
    Senator Hagerty. I will stay long enough, don't worry.
    Senator Braun. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Attorney 
General, over the past 3 months, I think the FBI has done a 
diligent job in pursuing those that breached the Capitol, 
including to the extent of, I think, visiting their homes, 
tracking phone records, and all of that. Curious, we had that 
incident occur that was horrific to anybody but what has been 
done in a similar light where you look at Antifa, BLM activists 
that were, you know, active in so many places across the 
country this past summer. Has that same diligence and effort 
been applied there? And I think when you add up the number of 
individuals involved, it would be a lot. I am just curious to 
see what your approach is there and what you are thinking is 
there.
    Attorney General Garland. I think that is a perfectly fair 
question. The events that you are talking about all took place 
long before I was at the Justice Department. So I was not there 
for the purpose of organizing the response, supervising the 
response, figuring out how many people should be involved in 
the response. As far as I understand, in terms of the arrests 
and the investigations, they are largely completed. And long 
before I got--before I got here. The January 6 event occurred 
the day I think before my nomination. And as you can imagine, 
it is burned on my mind. And I promised that I would focus on 
that.
    And I have and so I can account for my behavior. With 
respect to the way we organize the January 6 response, I am 
sure that the Justice Department last summer was equally 
diligent with respect to the response to the civil unrest. At 
that time, I am advised that we have spent $48 million in FBI, 
DOP, Marshals, and ATF during that period, not counting the 
January 6 expenditure.
    Senator Braun. In other words, related to the riots and so 
forth across the country----
    Attorney General Garland. I am going to describe it as 
civil unrest because it has a legal connotation, but yes.
    Senator Braun. And how many arrests were made?
    Attorney General Garland. I don't know the answer----
    Senator Braun. If you could get back to our office.
    Attorney General Garland. Absolutely.
    Senator Braun. I think many would want to make sure a fair 
response in both endeavors.
    Attorney General Garland. Not a problem. Would be happy to 
get back to you.
    Senator Braun. I am Ranking Member on the Ledge Branch 
subcommittee, where we have got to figure out resources that we 
are going to devote to securing the capital, making sure that 
Capitol Police are getting the resources they need. On the 
building itself, we spoke to the Architect of the Capitol that 
said they were close to $30 million in damages done. That seems 
like a lot because especially in relation to something that 
came out of the Justice Department. In an article at The 
Washington Post, they tabbed it $1.5 million. Are you aware of 
that?
    Attorney General Garland. I saw that number. I was also 
surprised. I don't know what they were calculating that as a 
basis of. I guess this had something to do with what the 
restitution for our individuals might be. But I don't know--I 
don't have any reason to doubt the larger number that that you 
mentioned.
    Senator Braun. Those are two very large figures.
    Attorney General Garland. Yes they are and I will when I 
get back to the office, see if we can figure out----
    Senator Braun. I appreciate finding out what your official 
version is and then we will compare it to that.
    Attorney General Garland. Very good.
    Senator Braun. The declassified intelligence report on the 
domestic violence extremism released by the DNI in March 
identified abortion related violent extremists as a principal 
threat. To me, this seemed like kind of a wild attack on the 
pro-life community, did not list groups like BLM and Antifa who 
have had a clear recent record of violent acts. So can you 
explain what that was about, why there would have been focus on 
that? And has there been a rash of incidents related to it?
    Attorney General Garland. So I am going to have to refresh 
my recollection about the report. It wasn't, you know--what the 
report described as the leading threats were racially 
motivated, ethnically motivated violent extremists. That was, 
and particularly white supremacists, that was the number one 
threat. I think that the anti-abortion is, you know, an area I 
don't have any, to be honest, I don't know what the, you know, 
where that fits in a threat matrix as to how high it is at this 
point. It is not my understanding that it is one of the ones 
that was listed at the high end of threat. But we can get back 
to you on where that----
    Senator Braun. If you would, please. And I think the point 
being that if it seems like there is a disproportionate 
interest or emphasis on one category and not the other, it is 
going to raise some eyebrows. And then also bring into the 
question of is that effort being applied fairly across the----
    Attorney General Garland. Yes. And so in addition to the 
category of racially or ethnically motivated violent 
extremists, there is a separate category of anti-Government or 
anti authority violent extremists. And this would be where some 
of the anarchists that you were just talking about would fall 
into that bucket. And that is another--an area of focus of the 
FBI.
    Senator Braun. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Braun. Senator Hagerty.
    Senator Hagerty. Chair Shaheen, thank you, and looks like 
Ranking Member Moran has left, but General Garland, I 
appreciate your staying for a little bit longer. And thank you 
for being here to testify today. I would like to follow up on 
just a bit of your discourse with Senator Moran for a moment. I 
would like to follow up on something that you discussed with 
Senator Shaheen. But with respect to Senator Moran and your 
conversation about working with your counterparts, the 
Attorneys General in Mexico, I was last month with the foreign 
minister of Mexico.
    I went there to examine the situation on the ground. He was 
very clear as well that they would like to cooperate with us on 
law enforcement, sharing technology. They need help 
interdicting the fentanyl and fentanyl precursors that are 
coming in from China. They have real problems there. And I 
applaud any efforts that you might undertake to work with their 
law enforcement to help them and in particular in border 
security.
    We went through that as well, and I think our technology 
and our capabilities could be helpful there. I would like to 
turn to a different subject, though, and that was that gets 
back to the backlog that you are experiencing and perhaps the 
need for a new approach. And as Attorney General, your 
Executive Office for Immigration Review is charged with 
adjudicating claims for asylum. Human smugglers in Central 
America and Mexico, known as coyotes, are using our country's 
generous asylum laws as advertisements to draw people into a 
very dangerous journey, a journey that often results in them 
losing their lives or becoming victims of crime.
    To this end, a recent Los Angeles Times report states that, 
``Mexican coyotes deposit migrants at the Rio Grande and 
instruct them to give themselves up to U.S. Border Patrol 
agents to claim asylum.'' This is what the coyotes are 
marketing, go across the border, claim asylum. That is the 
secret password to get in, asylum, fear. That seems to be the 
key to enter our country. General Garland, do you agree that 
human smugglers are taking advantage of our asylum system?
    Attorney General Garland. Well, I think there is no doubt 
that human smugglers and human traffickers are taking advantage 
of the people who they are smuggling. That is the reason we 
have just stood up a new task force, anti-human smuggling and 
anti-human trafficking. It will involve all the main agencies 
of we call it Task Force Alpha, which just announced this week, 
includes cooperation with homeland security. We are also 
putting people into the Northern Triangle countries where the 
smuggling originates to try to interdict it there. We are also 
introducing anti-corruption units to assist those countries in 
ending the corruption that often leads to people going to these 
smuggling entities.
    Senator Hagerty. And no doubt the coyotes are taking 
advantage of the people there. But are they taking advantage of 
our system, our generous system of asylum?
    Attorney General Garland. I don't--there are a lot of 
motivations for people coming out of the Northern Triangle, 
some of which we can fix and some of which we can't and which 
we are trying very hard to fix. You know, we have an obligation 
under our law and under international law to provide refuge 
under the categories that Congress has set forth for us. And 
people are entitled to process, to seek asylum under what 
Congress has authorized and required.
    Senator Hagerty. Well, the problems with our asylum laws 
that you are acknowledging, I think are clear. I applaud you 
are acknowledging that because we do need to address that. And 
I look forward to working to do that. But let's come back to 
the messaging that the coyotes are using to attract people into 
this dangerous process. Just this week in Guatemala, Vice 
President Harris sent a message to those that were perhaps 
contemplating coming to our country illegally, ``do not come.'' 
Is that a message that you can deliver, the Attorney General 
sitting right there, a message to these people, do not come to 
our country?
    Attorney General Garland. Look, I think that Vice President 
Harris has been very deeply involved in the kind of law 
enforcement and other requirements that we are looking to set 
up. She was instrumental in moving us to establish part of this 
joint task force to de-incentivize and to reduce traffic from 
the Northern Triangle countries down through Mexico and into 
the United States. So there are a lot of different messaging 
kind of issues involved. And some of them involve getting at 
the root causes of why people are leaving in those countries.
    Senator Hagerty. Well, messaging is one of these root 
causes. And I think it would be incredibly important to hear 
from our top law enforcement officer in America that these 
people should not come.
    Attorney General Garland. I don't want people to make that 
very difficult and dangerous trip with coyotes that you are 
talking about. There is no doubt about that. This leads to 
human tragedy.
    Senator Hagerty. Well, if these people enter our country 
illegally, are you willing to say that they will be deported?
    Attorney General Garland. So the question of asylum is one 
that our law permits them to make claims of asylum and to have 
an opportunity to show whether they have the grounds for it or 
not. If they are not entitled to asylum, then they are 
deported. I want to be clear that element is for the Department 
of Homeland Security. It is not for the Justice Department. 
What we do is adjudicate the asylum claim.
    Senator Hagerty. Well, I will come back and say this. 
According to the data on the Justice Department website, 90 
percent plus of the people that come here under the claim of 
asylum are found to be invalid claims. And in that 
circumstance, would you be willing to say if a person comes 
here, goes through the asylum process and it is found that 
their claim is invalid and they should be removed, that they 
will be deported?
    Attorney General Garland. The Department of Homeland 
Security is responsible for that issue. They have--because of 
the large numbers that you are talking about, they, I 
understand, have a series of priorities. First and most 
important are deportation of people who are at risk for 
National Security to the United States and for public safety. I 
think--and lastly, they are trying to deport recent arrivals in 
order to send the message that you are talking about that 
people not come.
    Senator Hagerty. So I was with you and Secretary Mayorkas 
when we went through this prioritization before. I am shocked 
at what he said, because the number of people coming across our 
border illegally has massively increased yet the number of 
deportations has gone way down. So I am not buying that 
argument.
    What I would love to hear you say is our Nation's top law 
enforcement official in a way that would instruct the 
Department of Homeland Security is that it is illegal to cross 
the border into this country. That if somebody is found to have 
failed in their claim for asylum, which 90 percent of the 
people do, that they will be deported. That is the message that 
people in these countries need to hear. Not that ``well, don't 
come,'' but if you do, there is nothing going to happen to you.
    Attorney General Garland. It is a misdemeanor to cross the 
border without the appropriate documentation. That is correct. 
And the question of rights to apply for asylum is also correct. 
That is an element of our law. The determination of how to 
deport and what priorities, that is up to the Department of 
Homeland Security. And I don't think it useful for me to get 
into their business with respect to their--any more than I 
would expect them to get into our business with respect to our 
law enforcement priority.
    Senator Hagerty. Well, I would hope for a clear 
determination that when someone is found to be applying for 
asylum here in an invalid fashion, that they should leave this 
country and that they will be deported. The fact you are not 
able to say that clearly today and send that message to the 
Department of Homeland Security is shocking.
    Attorney General Garland. If they have been adjudicated to 
not be entitled to asylum, then they should be deported, yes.
    Senator Hagerty. I appreciate you saying that. I applaud 
that because that is the message that needs to be conveyed.
    Attorney General Garland. Right. I am sorry. Maybe I didn't 
understand the question, but of course, once they have been 
adjudicated, then, of course, there--they should be deported.
    Senator Hagerty. And I think we need to be very clear about 
that. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Hagerty.
    Senator Hagerty. Thank you, Chair.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    Senator Shaheen. Your time has expired. If there are any 
further questions for the record, senators have until June 16 
to submit those, and we would request that the Department 
respond within 30 days. Thank you very much, Attorney General 
Garland, for appearing today and for your willingness to take 
all of our questions. Let me also announce that we will stand 
in recess until Tuesday, June 15, when we will hold a hearing 
on NASA's budget request.
    [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but 
were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the 
hearing:]
             Questions Submitted to Hon. Merrick B. Garland
              Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick Leahy
    Question 1. The Crime Victims Fund is an essential component of our 
Federal Government's support for victims of crime. This Fund provides 
compensation and support for victims of crime through grant awards to 
States, local governments, individuals, and other entities. The Fund is 
projected to reach a 10-year low by the end of this year. I am a proud 
original cosponsor of the bipartisan VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) 
deposits fix legislation, which would help to sustain the Fund. You 
recently responded to a letter from Senator Shaheen and myself about 
this issue.

    1a.  Your budget requests that $2.65 billion be released from the 
Fund this year, which you estimate will have a balance of only $1.4 
billion at the end of fiscal year 2022. What can the Department do now, 
without congressional action, to help ensure the Fund will exist beyond 
this fiscal year?

    Answer. The Crime Victims Fund has collected $457 million in 
receipts this year as of June 21, 2021. The Department's Justice 
Management Division has assessed both that these receipts, when 
combined with the end of year fund balance, will provide enough funding 
to pay for the obligation caps for through fiscal year 2022 and that 
the Fund's balance at the end of fiscal year 2022 will be $1.448 
billion to support future programs beyond this fiscal year.
    The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that the 
Department's policies and practices promote victim assistance and 
compensation. This commitment is reflected in Departmental guidance and 
policies, including the Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and 
Witness Assistance and key sections of the Justice Manual, including 
Sections 9-27.230(8) and 9-27.620(4).

    1b.  Your budget is silent on the issue of expanding the types of 
deposits going into the Crime Victims Fund. Would you support Congress' 
effort to enact reforms that would expand the deposits going into the 
Fund?

    Answer. The Justice Department strongly supports efforts to further 
strengthen the Crime Victims Fund. I would very much like to work with 
you on this effort and would welcome the opportunity to talk with you 
about ways that Congress could expand the types of deposits that go 
into the Fund.

    1c.  Your budget request estimates nearly $1 billion from fines, 
penalties and forfeitures will be deposited into the Fund during fiscal 
year 2022, nearly double the amount that was deposited in fiscal year 
2020. How does your Department account for this increase in deposits?

    Answer. The President's fiscal year 2022 budget estimates that $1 
billion from fines, penalties and forfeitures will be deposited into 
the Crime Victims Fund during fiscal year 2022 on the basis of an 
average-based analysis of monthly deposits into the Fund across a 5-
year period. The Department's Justice Management Division advises that 
the amount was then rounded down in order to offer a more conservative 
projection in light of recent trends in receipts and that the analysis 
excluded certain outlier months with exceptionally high or low receipt 
levels.

    Question 2. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 
Explosives (ATF) remains at the forefront of protecting our communities 
from violent criminals and the illegal use and trafficking of firearms. 
One critical role the ATF plays in solving crimes and preventing gun 
violence is through effective crime gun tracing. The ATF's National 
Tracing Center is currently home to millions of gun sales records.

    2a.  How important is it for the ATF to be able to quickly trace 
crime guns in order to reduce gun violence in our country?

    Answer. The ability to quickly trace crime firearms is vital to 
reducing gun violence for a number of reasons, including because quick 
firearms tracing is critical to law enforcement in their efforts to 
link suspects to firearms in criminal investigations and to detect 
illegal firearms traffickers.
    ATF is the only Federal agency that can trace firearms used in 
crimes. ATF's National Tracing Center (NTC) traces firearms used or 
suspected to have been used in crimes in order to provide investigative 
leads to law enforcement. The NTC traces firearms annually for more 
than 8,500 Federal, State, local, and international law enforcement 
agencies. In fiscal year 2019, the NTC processed 452,047 firearms trace 
requests. In fiscal year 2020, the NTC increased the number of trace 
requests by 8.6 percent to a total of 490,844 trace requests.
    The demand for timely and accurate trace data will continue to grow 
as a key investigative tool to quickly identify and apprehend the most 
violent firearms offenders.

    Question 3. At your confirmation hearing before the Senate 
Judiciary Committee, you expressed concern about the death penalty, and 
particularly the disparate impact it has on Black Americans and 
communities of color.

    3a.  When do you expect the Justice Department to reinstate its 
previous policy, under which the Federal Bureau of Prisons would not be 
ordered to schedule any Federal executions?

    Answer. On July 1, 2021, I issued a memorandum imposing a 
moratorium on all Federal executions while a review of the Department's 
policies and procedures is pending.

    Question 4. Earlier this year, I joined Senator Durbin in 
reintroducing the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act of 2021, 
bicameral legislation to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the 
Federal level and require re-sentencing of those currently on death 
row.

    4a.  Will you commit to working with Congress to ensure this 
legislation is passed and enacted into law?

    Answer. The serious concerns that have been raised about the 
continued use of the death penalty across the country--including the 
apparent arbitrariness in its application, its disparate impact on 
people of color, and the number of innocent people wrongfully convicted 
and sentenced to death--deserve careful study and evaluation by both 
the Justice Department and Congress. I would welcome the opportunity to 
work with you and other Members of Congress to ensure that everyone in 
the Federal criminal justice system is treated fairly, humanely, and 
afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the 
United States.

    Question 5. In 2018, the Supreme Court held that tracking 
individuals' movements using cell phone data requires a warrant. 
However, many government agencies purchase location information from 
data brokers to circumvent that requirement.

    5a.  To what extent does the Justice Department purchase location 
information from data brokers? Please provide a detailed explanation--
including any governing memoranda or guidance--outlining when, and 
under what circumstances, the Justice Department purchases location 
information.
    5b.  How much has the Justice Department spent over the fiscal 
years following the Supreme Court's 2018 decision purchasing cellphone 
location data? Please provide as much detail as possible about amounts 
expended.

    Answer. Consistent with the Supreme Court's 2018 Carpenter decision 
and Justice Department guidance, as a general matter, the Department's 
law enforcement components advise that they do not purchase location 
information from third party vendors or data brokers without a warrant.
    ATF advises that the Bureau acquired the use of Fog Data Science 
(FOG), a company that tracks location information via user Advertiser 
ID information without identifying the person associated with the user 
Advertiser ID. FOG is a commercial service generally used by companies 
for direct marketing purposes. ATF first used the service in late May 
2020 to assist with a high-profile arson investigation and acquired a 
contract for a portal in July 2020. During 6 months of use, FOG was 
used in less than 20 investigations, and ATF allowed the contract to 
expire in December 2020 because the information provided was ultimately 
not useful in our investigations. While FOG was initially used for 
approximately 30 days without seeking a warrant because the data was 
publicly available, out of an abundance of caution ATF developed and 
used guidelines requiring a warrant for its use.

    Question 6. At your confirmation hearing, you spoke about the need 
for agencies to ``generously'' interpret the text of the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA). The Justice Department is responsible for 
enforcing FOIA compliance across the Federal Government.

    6a.  How does the Department plan to ``generously'' interpret the 
Freedom of Information Act with respect to FOIA requests made to the 
Justice Department? Does it have adequate resources to meet that goal?
    6b.  How will the Department ensure that other Federal agencies 
will also ``generously'' interpret the text of FOIA in responding to 
FOIA requests and generally complying with the statute?

    Answer. Without accountability, democracy is impossible. And 
democratic accountability requires the kind of transparency that FOIA 
makes possible.
    That is why the Justice Department takes its special role in 
overseeing and encouraging government-wide compliance with FOIA very 
seriously and will continue to build on our efforts to ensure the 
faithful and effective implementation of the law both within the 
Department and across the Federal Government.
    To these ends, the Justice Department's Office of Information 
Policy (OIP) develops policy guidance for Executive Branch agencies on 
FOIA, provides legal counsel and training to agency personnel on the 
procedural and substantive aspects of the Act, and oversees agency 
compliance with the law.
    The Department works hard to ensure that all agencies apply the law 
with the presumption of openness that is at the core of our FOIA 
Guidelines and that has since been codified in FOIA itself. OIP assists 
agencies with implementation of the requirements of the through the 
guidance, training, and legal counsel it provides, including its a 
comprehensive legal treatise on FOIA entitled The United States 
Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act. The 
Guide includes detailed discussions of FOIA's procedural requirements, 
nine exemptions, litigation considerations, and detailed analysis of 
the key judicial opinions issued on the FOIA. OIP updates each chapter 
of the Guide on a rolling basis as significant new developments in FOIA 
occur.
    In addition, OIP has sponsored a series of ``best practices'' 
training so that agencies can learn from one another what FOIA 
strategies are the most successful. In addition, the Department will 
continue to keep agencies accountable in their administration of FOIA 
by requiring agency Chief FOIA Officers to report on five key areas of 
FOIA administration: (1) applying a presumption of openness, (2) having 
effective systems in place for processing requests, (3) increasing 
proactive disclosures, (4) using technology, and (5) improving 
timeliness and reducing backlogs. In addition to the above efforts, OIP 
will continue to work with agencies both directly and as part of the 
Chief FOIA Officers Council to promote best practices and leverage 
resources for the benefit of governmentwide FOA administration.
    Both within the Department and government-wide, the demands FOIA 
imposes on government offices is significant. In fiscal year 2020 
alone, the Department received 86,729 requests and overall, the 
government received 790,688 requests. FOIA requests require careful 
time and attention so that appropriate information is released while 
exempt information is withheld. OIP is currently undertaking efforts to 
leverage technological advances to increase the efficiency of FOIA 
processing.
    I believe the President's fiscal year 2022 budget request will 
enable us to maintain our commitments under FOIA.

    Question 7. When using cell site simulators in foreign intelligence 
matters in the United States, does the Justice Department always do so 
pursuant to a warrant from a FISA judge, absent an emergency? Please 
provide a detailed explanation for when, and under what circumstances, 
the Justice Department uses cell cite simulators without a warrant from 
a FISA judge in the absence of an emergency.

    Answer. The Department of Justice uses cell-site simulator 
technology to help fulfill its mission to ensure public safety, 
including by apprehending fugitives, locating kidnapping victims, and 
assisting in drug investigations. The Department has put into place a 
number of procedural safeguard to ensure this technology is used 
responsibly and consistent with the all of the requirements and 
protections of the Constitution and applicable statutory authorities.
    On September 3, 2015, the Department announced a policy (the 
``Policy'') regarding its use of cell-site simulator technology 
designed to enhance transparency and accountability, improve training 
and supervision, establish a higher and more consistent legal standard, 
and increase privacy protections. The Policy covers all four DOJ law 
enforcement components that use CSS technology--namely, the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 
and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and 
the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). Each of DOJ's law enforcement 
components has instituted standard operating procedures and/or 
protocols to fully implement the Policy.
    As the Policy states, ``When acting pursuant to the Foreign 
Intelligence Surveillance Act, Department of Justice components will 
make a probable-cause based showing and appropriate disclosures to the 
court in a manner that is consistent with the guidance set forth in 
this policy.'' And as the Policy makes clear, the general requirement 
is that ``law enforcement agencies must now obtain a search warrant 
supported by probable cause and issued pursuant to Rule 41 of the 
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (or the applicable state 
equivalent).''
    In accordance with this Policy, to the extent that the Department 
has sought, or will seek, to use cell-site simulator technology to 
acquire foreign intelligence information, absent an emergency, the use 
of that CSS must be authorized pursuant to a showing of probable cause.
    Since the issuance of the Policy in 2015, the Department's National 
Security Division advises that the Department has not used cell-site 
simulator technology to acquire foreign intelligence information 
without a warrant issued by a judge of the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Court.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Jeff Merkley
    Question 1. The City of Portland has been party to a settlement 
agreement since 2014 for excessive use of force. The Department of 
Justice evaluated more than 6,000 use of force incidents related to 
demonstration activity in the summer of 2020 just for the Portland 
Police Bureau alone. This use of force to engage with civilians is 
commonplace across the country, what more can the Department of Justice 
do to curb excessive use of force in police bureaus, particularly when 
engaging with crowds?

    Answer. With regard to the Justice Department's settlement 
agreement with the City of Portland, we have filed periodic reports 
assessing the City's compliance with the agreement and providing 
guidance for achieving full compliance. The Department's most recent 
compliance report, filed in February 2021, found that the City had 
regressed in a number of significant areas, including use of force, 
training, accountability, and community engagement. The Department is 
currently negotiating with the City to determine how to resolve our 
compliance concerns.
    On April 21, 2021, the Department of Justice opened a civil pattern 
or practice investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department and 
the City of Minneapolis. On April 26, 2021, the Department announced a 
pattern or practice investigation into the Louisville/Jefferson County 
Metro Government and the Louisville Metro Police Department. The 
Department opened both investigations under the Violent Crime Control 
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 34 U.S.C. Sec. 12601 (Section 12601). 
This statute prohibits law enforcement agencies from engaging in 
patterns or practices of conduct that deprive people of their rights 
under the Constitution or Federal law. In both investigations, the 
Department will investigate whether police officers in Minneapolis and 
Louisville are engaging in a pattern or practice of excessive force, 
among other things. The Department is also investigating whether police 
officers in each city are using excessive force against people engaged 
in activities protected by the First Amendment, including protests or 
demonstrations. If the Department determines that police in either city 
are engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force, including 
excessive force during demonstrations or protests, Section 12601 
authorizes the Attorney General to file a lawsuit to obtain equitable 
or declaratory relief to address the pattern or practice. Since the 
passage of Section 12601 in 1994, the Department has investigated more 
than 70 law enforcement agencies to ensure that constitutional and 
Federal rights, including the right to be free from excessive force, 
are upheld.
    Additionally, through the Department's grant programs, the Office 
of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the 
Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) promote de-escalation 
principles. BJA recently developed a new training series for State, 
local, and Tribal officers entitled ``Crisis to C.A.L.M.'' The training 
emphasizes how to remain calm in difficult or stressful situations 
while protecting the constitutional rights of all. A summary of some of 
the other training and technical assistance that BJA and COPS offers to 
support agencies in developing effective practices and policies with 
regard to engaging with civilians, including large-scale events 
involving crowds, include:

    Additional Departmental efforts and resources include:

  --The COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical 
        Assistance Center (CRI-TAC) program provides critical and 
        tailored technical assistance resources to State, local, 
        territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies on a wide 
        variety of topics. It features a ``by the field, for the 
        field'' approach while delivering individualized technical 
        assistance using leading experts in a range of public safety, 
        crime reduction, and community policing topics. CRI-TAC is a 
        public service and offered at no-cost to agencies. CRI-TAC 
        brings together the 10 leading law enforcement stakeholder 
        associations to the table to assist in implementing this 
        technical assistance. The program provides assistance in a wide 
        variety of areas including de-escalation, community engagement 
        and use of force. Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical 
        Assistance Center | COPS OFFICE (usdoj.gov)

  --The COPS Office has produced guidance documents for agencies on 
        responding to mass protest events. These include an after 
        action assessment of Ferguson Police Department's COPS Office: 
        Grants and Resources for Community Policing (usdoj.gov) and 
        Minneapolis Police Departments COPS Office: Grants and 
        Resources for Community Policing (usdoj.gov) handling of 
        protests in the wake of high profile incidents. These resources 
        offer lessons learned and recommendations for best practices in 
        protest policing and mass demonstration responses.

  --The COPS Office is currently soliciting for applications for 
        funding to support agencies in their de-escalation training and 
        implementation efforts Community Policing Development: De-
        escalation Training Solicitation | COPS OFFICE (usdoj.gov). 
        Funding will be provided to national training providers and 
        directly to agencies in order to develop and implement 
        comprehensive de-escalation training and programs for law 
        enforcement agencies.

  --De-escalation efforts and programs should not be viewed in 
        isolation from efforts to build community trust in law 
        enforcement. The wide variety of COPS Office programs, 
        services, and resources are oriented towards building that 
        trust. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS | COPS OFFICE (usdoj.gov) and 
        BUILDING TRUST | COPS OFFICE (usdoj.gov) among other programs 
        and materials.

    Question 2. In the course of the Department of Justice's work on 
pattern and practice investigations that occasionally arrive at consent 
decrees or settlement agreements for civil rights violations, is it 
standard practice to investigate ties between that law enforcement 
jurisdiction and extremist groups? What training does the Department of 
Justice currently offer to State, local, Tribal, or territorial law 
enforcement entities to identify extremist groups that attempt to 
infiltrate law enforcement ranks?

    Answer. If facts came to light during any of the Department's 
investigations of law enforcement agencies that officers were working 
in concert with criminal extremist groups, or that such groups had 
infiltrated a law enforcement agency, the Department would use all of 
the tools at its disposal to address this serious problem. Such conduct 
may contribute to a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives 
individuals of their constitutional or Federal statutory rights.
    The Department is authorized by statute to address such patterns or 
practices through its enforcement of the Violent Crime Control and Law 
Enforcement Act of 1994, 34 U.S.C. Sec. 12601. Depending on the 
circumstances, officers working in concert with criminal extremist 
groups may also run afoul of numerous Federal criminal laws, including: 
the deprivation of rights under color of law, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 242; 
conspiracy to injure, threaten, or intimidate a person in the exercise 
or enjoyment of their rights, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 241; or Federal hate crime 
laws, such as 18 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 245, 247, and 249, and 42 U.S.C. 
Sec. 3631.
    In addition, the Department of Justice is currently enforcing 16 
settlements with law enforcement agencies, including 12 consent 
decrees, as well as two post-judgment orders, related to findings by 
the Department that these agencies were engaged in a pattern or 
practice of conduct that deprived individuals of their rights under the 
Constitution or Federal law. These law enforcement agencies typically 
have policies that prohibit officers from discriminating against 
protected groups, associating with known criminals, or engaging in on- 
or off-duty conduct that would tend to bring disrepute to the law 
enforcement agency. These policies prohibit officers from working, on- 
or off-duty, in concert with criminal extremist groups. Through its 
consent decrees, settlements, and post-judgment orders, the Department 
ensures that law enforcement agencies enforce these policies.
    The BJA State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT) courses 
educate State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement officers 
with regard to domestic terrorism and address ``extremist groups'' 
consistent with the Director of National Intelligence's (DNI) 
unclassified summary assessment of Domestic Violent Extremism. 
Attendees are provided definitions, oversight, signs of these types of 
groups and possible behaviors of their members. Having this basic 
information assists law enforcement, at all levels, to identify 
attempts at agency infiltration by extremists.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Chris Van Hollen
    Question 1. What are the ATF and DOJ doing to strengthen the 
oversight of gun dealers and prevent stolen guns from being trafficked 
into the illegal market?

    Answer. The goal of ATF's illegal firearms trafficking enforcement 
efforts is to reduce violent crime by stemming the flow of firearms to 
violent criminals. ATF identifies, investigates, and arrests 
individuals and organizations that illegally supply firearms to 
prohibited individuals. This effort includes ATF's oversight of Federal 
Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and its investigation of burglaries and 
robberies of FFLs, which is why the fiscal year 2022 budget proposes a 
significant program increase of $12,736,000 and 84 new positions 
(including 79 Industry Operations Investigators).
    On June 23, 2021, the Department announced further steps that ATF 
would take to address the illegal trafficking of firearms and to keep 
guns out of the wrong hands. For example, absent extraordinary 
circumstances, ATF will initiate proceedings to revoke the license of 
dealers that willfully violate the law by failing to conduct required 
background checks, falsifying records, failing to respond to trace 
requests, refusing to permit ATF to conduct inspections, or 
transferring firearms to persons who are prohibited from owning them. 
ATF is also taking steps to formalize a data-driven approach to 
prioritizing inspection resources; improve information sharing with 
State, local, Tribal, and Territorial partners; and crack down on gun 
traffickers through five new cross-jurisdictional strike forces that 
will focus on addressing significant trafficking corridors that fuel 
violence.

    Question 2. Is the Department developing a concrete plan to ensure 
that prosecutors and the Department reflect our nation's diversity?

    Answer. The Department maintains comprehensive outreach efforts to 
support the recruitment of attorneys who reflect our Nation's rich 
diversity.
    Those efforts include broad dissemination of available attorney 
vacancies to diversity organizations and law schools across the 
country, and regular participation in events and programs sponsored by 
public interest organizations and national diversity bar associations 
including, but not limited to, the Hispanic National Bar Association, 
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, National Bar 
Association, National Black Prosecutors Association, National LGBT Bar 
Association, and the South Asian Bar Association of North America.
    The Department's recruitment strategy also includes fostering 
relationships with all law schools, including regular presentations to 
law students encouraging them to intern at the Department and 
connecting students with current Department Attorneys through the 
Attorney Ambassador Program that provides law students with the 
opportunity to learn more about the Department or a particular 
component by talking one-on-one with a DOJ attorney. Department 
components may engage in additional outreach efforts beyond those 
undertaken by the Department's Office of Attorney Recruitment and 
Management (OARM).
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
    Question 1. Our country is experiencing a drug overdose crisis. 
Indeed, Maine had 502 overdose deaths in 2020, an increase of 32 
percent over the 380 Mainers who died from a drug overdose in 2019. In 
a statistic that shocked and saddened me, Maine saw more drug-related 
deaths in 2020 than deaths from COVID-19. The average age of those who 
died was just 43 years old.
    The preliminary data for this year looks even worse. In my opinion, 
that is a tragedy, and the Maine Attorney General has noted that this 
is at least in part due to ``alterations in the illicit drug supply.'' 
In Maine and nationally, the high number of fatal overdoses continues 
to be driven by illicit, non-pharmaceutical fentanyl and fentanyl 
analogs, and the majority of fatalities in Maine involved two or more 
drugs.

    1a.  According to a fact sheet released by the Department of 
Justice, the President's budget requests $480.9 million in resources to 
bolster drug enforcement and related efforts. How would these funds 
help address the drug overdose crisis in this country?

    Answer. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will continue to 
use all of the tools at its disposal--administrative, civil, and 
criminal--to help reduce the number of overdoses in the United States. 
In addition, DEA will expand education, outreach, and prevention 
efforts to counter our Nation's drug threats.
    Operation Engage is one of DEA's hallmark drug prevention 
initiatives and is an example of what can be accomplished when law 
enforcement and our community outreach partners join forces. This 
prevention program builds upon the DEA 360 Strategy by allowing DEA 
Field Divisions to address the top illicit drug that presents the 
greatest threat to a community, even if it is not opioids. Operation 
Engage is currently deployed to 11 of DEA's 23 field divisions, 
including the New England Division. In fiscal year 2022, DEA is 
requesting $3.75M to expand Operation Engage to all DEA Field 
Divisions. These resources will fund a Community Outreach Specialist 
for each DEA Field Division as well as operational funding to support 
travel and other outreach expenses. Having Community Outreach 
Specialists across the country will increase DEA's ability to 
collaborate with local community stakeholders and implement tailored 
education and prevention strategies. Through Operation Engage, DEA will 
expand partnerships with local law enforcement and community-based 
groups to combat the supply and demand sides of specific drug threats 
and combat the Nation's overdose crisis.
    Many problems associated with drug abuse are the result of 
legitimately made controlled substances being diverted from their 
lawful purpose into illicit drug traffic. According to the 2019 
National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused 
prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused prescription 
stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers 
or sedatives in 2019. The survey also showed that a majority of misused 
prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from 
the home medicine cabinet. Under Federal law, all businesses that 
import, export, manufacture, or distribute controlled substances; all 
health professionals licensed to dispense, administer, or prescribe 
them; and all pharmacies authorized to fill prescriptions must register 
with the DEA. There are over 1.9 million DEA Registrants across the 
country. Training and outreach programs, supported by the Diversion 
Control Program, play an important role in educating Registrants and 
the public about the growing problem of diversion of pharmaceutical 
controlled substances throughout the U.S. Funding for the Diversion 
Control Fee Account will be used to help address the overdose crisis by 
improving education and outreach to the public and to DEA Registrants, 
and by supporting efforts to destroy prescription drugs outside of the 
existing National Take-Back Initiative framework.
    The President's budget request also seeks a total of $190 million 
to support system-wide initiatives that expand comprehensive, locally 
driven responses to opioids, stimulants, and other substances through 
the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program 
(COSSAP), which was developed as part of the Comprehensive Addiction 
and Recovery Act (CARA) legislation. COSSAP's purpose is to provide 
financial and technical assistance to States, units of local 
government, and Indian Tribal governments to develop, implement, or 
expand comprehensive efforts to identify, respond to, treat, and 
support those impacted by illicit opioids, stimulates, and other drugs 
of abuse. COSSAP aims to reduce the impact of opioids, stimulants, and 
other substances on individuals and communities, including a reduction 
in the number of overdose fatalities, as well as mitigate the impacts 
on crime victims by supporting comprehensive, collaborative 
initiatives.
    Our efforts described above are just part of the Department's 
broader $480.9M request to address the opioid crisis.

    Question 2. During your May 12, 2021, appearance before the full 
Appropriations Committee, I commended you and the Department of Justice 
for seeking to identify and prosecute the individuals responsible for 
the events of January 6, 2021. I also asked you about the Department of 
Justice resources being committed to identify and prosecute the 
individuals responsible for the violence last summer that was aimed at 
government institutions like courthouses and police stations. You 
agreed during the hearing to provide me with additional information, 
but I have yet to receive that information.

    2a.  Since that hearing, have you been briefed on the Department's 
efforts to identify and prosecute the individuals responsible for the 
violence last summer?

    Answer. As I explained in written responses that I submitted to you 
on June 24, 2021 answering your Questions for the Record, the Justice 
Department has dedicated substantial investigative and prosecutorial 
resources from components across the Department and in dozens of 
jurisdictions nationwide to bring charges in numerous cases in 
connection with violence during the summer and fall of 2020 that was 
aimed at government institutions. In particular, the Department's 
Justice Management Division advises that Investigative resources 
totaling more than $48 million, including thousands of DOJ personnel, 
have been deployed from the Department's law enforcement components, 
including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States 
Marshals Service (USMS), the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Drug 
Enforcement Administration (DEA).
    The Justice Department has and will continue to aggressively pursue 
those who engage in violent criminal activity such as the destruction 
of property and violent assaults on law enforcement. The Department is 
committed to working with Congress regarding its ongoing reviews of 
these events and identifying areas for improvement and greater 
cooperation in law enforcement responses.

    2b.  What is the status of the Department's efforts to identify and 
prosecute these individuals?

    Answer. Justice Department investigations and cases to identify and 
prosecute individuals in connection with violence aimed at government 
institutions during the summer and fall of 2020 are ongoing. The 
Department continues to review information and hold accountable those 
who violated the law.
    In order to protect the integrity of all investigations, as a 
general practice, the Department does not comment on the details of 
particular investigations beyond the charging and other public 
documents, and does not comment on the existence or status of any 
potential investigative matter.

    2c.  Has the Department's approach to investigating and prosecuting 
crimes associated with this violent activity changed in any way since 
last summer?

    Answer. I am not aware of any Departmental guidance that has been 
issued since I became Attorney General on March 11, 2021 addressing the 
Justice Department's approach to investigations and prosecutions 
stemming from violence that occurred during the summer and fall of 
2020.
    On January 29, 2021, on the subject of the Justice Department's 
general charging and sentencing policy, the Department rescinded a 
directive entitled Department Charging and Sentencing Policy (May 10, 
2017) and reinstated the guidance articulated in Department Policy on 
Charging and Sentencing (May 19, 2010) to ensure that decisions about 
charging, plea agreements, and advocacy at sentencing are based on the 
merits of each case and reflect an individualized assessment of 
relevant facts.
    In addition, the Department issued guidance to all Federal 
prosecutors on March 8, 2021 emphasizing the need for coordination and 
consistency in prosecutions involving domestic violent extremism and 
imposing new requirements for identifying and tracking such matters.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Brian Schatz
    Question 1. Project HOPE/HOPE Institute: In fiscal year 2020, how 
many entities were awarded funding through BJA's Project HOPE 
Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) model replication 
program--the Swift, Certain, and Fair (SFC) Supervision Program?

    1a.  Of the awardees, how many entities asked for and received 
grants intended for States with multiple sites of implementation?
    1b.  How many asked for and received funding for local 
implementation only? Have any Federal funds gone to State or local 
agencies that seek to expand HOPE principles beyond community 
corrections--e.g., into prisons? If not, does the Department plan to 
expand funding for such projects in the future?

    Answer. BJA received seven applications in fiscal year 2020, of 
which six were for local implementation at the county or city level.
    Up to and including the fiscal year 2021 solicitation, BJA has 
funded the application of the HOPE principles to community supervision 
systems and populations only.
    BJA is open to expanding the application of the HOPE principles to 
prison systems and populations.

    1c.  Please provide an update on the HOPE Institute, and 
specifically the Department's transition of the SCF Resource Center 
into the HOPE Institute.

    Answer. BJA solicited applications for the HOPE Institute seeking a 
training and technical assistance (TTA) provider to provide 
information, resources, and TTA to State, local, and Tribal community 
supervision agencies seeking to develop and test new or enhanced 
applications of the SCF principles using a data-driven, collaborative 
process that is informed by research and responsive to local 
circumstances. The competitive solicitation was posted online on May 
14, 2021 and applications were due on July 13, 2021.

    1d.  Will the HOPE Institute also compile and share research, in 
addition to training and best practices?

    Answer. Yes. The fiscal year 2021 solicitation, entitled Applying 
the Principles of Swiftness, Certainty, and Fairness, states that the 
selected applicant will ``[a]dvance the state of knowledge regarding 
best practices and lessons learned from SCF implementations and 
evaluations,'' including by ``[m]aintain[ing] and update[ing] a website 
to serve as a clearinghouse of information and resources on relevant 
best practices and lessons learned'' and reviewing the results of any 
new research and disseminating key findings for the field.

    1e.  If a designated funding mechanism were to be created for 
research and evaluation of HOPE/SCF programs, what agency would be 
best-positioned to manage related grants?

    Answer. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) would be best 
positioned within the Office of Justice Programs to manage HOPE/SCF 
research and evaluation grants, as they have done in the past.
    More information is available online about NIJ's evaluation of the 
HOPE Demonstration Field Experiment.

    1f.  What effort has been made to collect and disseminate research 
on HOPE/SCF programs that have not received Federal funding?

    Answer. The SCF Resource Center is currently responsible for 
scanning, synthesizing, and making publicly available any new research 
on this model including research on non-federally funded efforts.

    Question 2. Prison Rape Elimination Act: The Prison Rape 
Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003 mandates that the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics (BJS) ``shall carry out, for each calendar year, a 
comprehensive statistical review and analysis of the incidence and 
effects of prison rape.'' BJS reports are key to efforts to address 
sexual abuse in our juvenile facilities, jails and prisons. In a recent 
mandated report on sexual abuse in detention, BJS withheld critical 
data about characteristics of perpetrators and victims and about 
dynamics surrounding abuse in detention. Failing to release this 
critical information severely limits efforts to prevent, detect, and 
respond to sexual abuse in detention.

    2a.  Will you ensure that BJS timely releases all data collected 
from all mandated data collections and reports regarding sexual abuse 
in detention?

    Answer. Since 2009, BJS has released a formal annual report by the 
end of June each year that describes BJS's activities to collect data 
on prison rape as required in the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The most 
recent report, PREA Data Collection Activities, 2021 was released June 
29, 2021. These reports summarize BJS's data collection, analysis 
activities, and release of substantive reports each year.
    Currently, BJS has three data collections for PREA: the National 
Survey of Youth in Custody, the National Inmate Survey, and the Survey 
of Sexual Victimization.
    Each of these collections is an independent effort and follow the 
standard statistical procedures for collecting reliable and high-
quality data. BJS is committed to releasing publications and datasets 
from these programs, while ensuring data quality, timeliness, and 
confidentiality. BJS limits access to PREA data only as necessary to 
protect confidentiality of respondents.
    In general, BJS has experienced delays in releasing publications 
due to limited resources. BJS plans to publish additional analysis from 
the PREA datasets going forward.

    2b.  One recent BJS report reveals that, although prisoners have 
more effective methods for reporting sexual abuse inside corrections 
facilities, meaningful investigations are not regularly occurring. How 
will the Department improve investigations of sexual abuse reported by 
incarcerated people?

    Answer. The Justice Department recognizes the significant 
challenges associated with investigations of sexual abuse and sexual 
harassment in confinement facilities.
    In response to these challenges, the Department is currently 
working with its partners at the National PREA Resource Center to 
develop a practical, user-friendly training that targets practitioners 
across the country who are responsible for these types of 
investigations. A primary goal of this unique training is to develop 
skills necessary to conduct these investigations effectively, as 
required by the PREA standards. To increase the reach and impact of 
this resource, it will be offered virtually. And after a pilot of the 
training in 2022, it will be made widely available across the country.

    2c.  PREA also requires the Department to establish a Review Panel 
on Prison Rape that shall hold public hearings every year with selected 
corrections officials to understand and identify ``common 
characteristics of prisons and prison systems with a high incidence of 
prison rape, and the identification of common characteristics of 
prisons and prison systems that appear to have been successful in 
deterring prison rape.'' Will the Department ensure that the required 
public hearings occur every year?

    Answer. Last year, the Justice Department appointed all new members 
to the Review Panel on Prison Rape (Panel). The duty of the Panel is to 
hold annual public hearings concerning the operations of the three 
prisons with the highest incidence of sexual victimization and the two 
prisons with the lowest incidence of sexual victimization in each 
category of facilities identified in data gathered by the Bureau of 
Justice Statistics (BJS). The new Panel plans to hold hearings this 
year based on BJS's National Survey of Youth in Custody, 2018.

    The BJS has published the following three products based on this 
survey:

  --Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth in 
        Juvenile Facilities, 2018 (December 11, 2019)
  --Sexual Victimization Reported by Youth in Juvenile Facilities, 
        2018--Supplemental Tables (June 2020)
  --Sexual Victimization Reported by Youth in Juvenile Facilities, 
        2018--Supplemental Tables (November 2020).

    2d.  Congress amended PREA in late 2018 by enacting significant 
protections to ensure the quality of PREA audits and PREA auditors. The 
amendment tasks the PREA Management Office of the Bureau of Justice 
Assistance with additional, robust oversight functions, including 
evaluating all auditors and audits for adherence to quality standards 
and decertifying auditors who fall short. The PREA Management Office 
has not yet complied with its new audit oversight duties to establish 
and administer a system for assigning auditors to all Federal, State, 
and local correctional facilities due to insufficient funding. Will you 
review the resource and staffing needs of the PREA Management Office 
and commit to ensuring that they have the support they need to fulfill 
their congressionally mandated duties, in addition to their existing 
functions? Will you commit to continuing grant funding for support to 
States and local jurisdictions for PREA implementation work?

    Answer. The Department remains steadfastly committed to preventing, 
detecting, and responding to sexual abuse and sexual harassment in 
confinement facilities nationwide.
    DOJ and its PREA Management Office continue to work hard to 
leverage the annual PREA appropriation to successfully carry out DOJ's 
many legal requirements, as defined in the PREA statute and the 
national PREA Standards.
    The PREA Management Office advises that it has seen a strong 
commitment from Governors to move their States towards PREA compliance. 
In 2020, twenty-one governors submitted certifications of full 
compliance with the PREA standards for State-operated facilities, 
including prisons. Twenty-nine governors submitted assurances to DOJ 
indicating that they will use portions of certain DOJ grants to come 
into compliance in the future. In addition, the Department will commit 
to reviewing the resource and staffing needs of the PREA Management 
Office.

    2e.  Incarcerated survivors of sexual abuse are some of the most 
isolated and underserved survivors of interpersonal violence. They are 
also a population that mainstream service providers struggle to serve. 
The PREA standards require that survivors of sexual abuse in detention 
have access to many of the same kinds of services to which all victims 
of crime are entitled. A national hotline--one number that a person in 
a prison or jail could call from every State and territory--would both 
ensure that incarcerated survivors have the most basic of services and 
signal that we, as a nation, affirm that rape is not part of the 
penalty. I introduced bipartisan legislation on this issue, the Sexual 
Abuse Services in Detention Act. Would the Department support such a 
national hotline? Do I have your commitment to work with me on my bill?

    Answer. The Department of Justice welcomes the opportunity to work 
with Congress on legislation to create a national sexual abuse hotline 
and supports the overarching goal of providing increased resources to 
victims of sexual abuse and sexual harassment in detention for 
counseling, healing, and incident reporting. The Bureau of Justice 
Assistance and the Office on Violence Against Women are partnering to 
determine how best to create and implement a national service line for 
incarcerated victims of sexual abuse. This includes an in-depth 
planning process to identify the scope of services to be provided, 
training requirements for service line staff, and security constraints 
for correctional facilities, should a service line be authorized and 
appropriated.
    Since March 2021, Justice Department staff have engaged with your 
and Senator Cornyn's offices to discuss the pending legislation. The 
Department looks forward to continuing to work with Congress to ensure 
that proposed legislation is informed by efforts already underway.

    Question 3. BOP Transgender Guidance: In 2018, I sent a letter to 
then-BOP Director Hugh Hurwitz regarding the agency's decision to 
change their Transgender Offender Manual. Under these changes, BOP 
would use a person's ``biological sex'' to determine initially where a 
person will be housed. The revised manual also states that assigning a 
person to a facility based on the person's identified gender is 
appropriate ``only in rare cases.'' I expressed concerns that these 
changes put transgender people in Federal prison at a higher risk of 
sexual abuse, and was in contravention of PREA. Transgender people in 
prison are already more likely to experience sexual abuse than the 
cisgender prison population. In my letter, I urged Director Hurwitz to 
reverse this policy. Unfortunately, he did not. Do I have your 
commitment to reverse this harmful policy and ensure the safety of 
transgender people in prison, including PREA's requirement that housing 
decisions for transgender people be made on a case-by-case basis?

    Answer. Executive Order 13988, signed by the President on January 
20, 2021, calls for every person to be treated with respect and dignity 
without being subject to discrimination based on their gender identity 
or sexual orientation. \1\ Department of Justice components are 
reviewing currently all existing orders, regulations, guidance 
documents, policies, programs, or other agency actions for compliance 
and consistency with the Executive Order. As part of this effort, the 
Bureau of Prisons is in the process of reviewing the Transgender 
Offender Manual.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Exec. Order. No. 13988, 86 Fed. Reg. 7023 (January 25, 2021).

    Question 4. Correctional Education: In 2016, the Department began 
its ``Roadmap to Reentry'' effort to enhance Federal reentry practices. 
This, in part, led to the proposed creation of a unified school 
district within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). While the previous 
administration scrapped these plans, I introduced legislation to ensure 
that adequate access to education programming can be found in all BOP 
facilities, and to collect and share the research and best practices on 
correctional education. Do I have you commitment to work with me on my 
bill, the Promoting Reentry through Education in Prisons Act, to 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
support efforts to improve prison education programming within BOP?

    Answer. The Justice Department strongly supports efforts to improve 
educational opportunities for inmates in Federal custody, and I would 
welcome the opportunity to talk with you about the Promoting Reentry 
through Education in Prisons Act.

    Question 5. Marijuana Research: In a 2019 response to me, National 
Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins and Acting Food and 
Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Norman Sharpless supported 
efforts to approve additional entities to supply marijuana for 
research. In addition, NIH and FDA supported ``enabling researchers 
holding Schedule I licenses for marijuana to obtain products from State 
authorized dispensaries.'' While I am pleased that the Drug Enforcement 
Administration (DEA) has announced efforts to approve new manufacturers 
for marijuana research, more can be done by the agency.

    5a.  Do I have your commitment to work with Senators Feinstein and 
Grassley, and me on our marijuana research bill--the Cannabidiol and 
Marihuana Research Expansion Act (S. 253)?

    Answer. Yes. The Justice Department welcomes the opportunity to 
work with you and Senators Feinstein and Grassley on this and any other 
legislation.

    5b.  Does the Department plan to approve the estimated full number 
of licensed manufacturers of marijuana for research--15, as noted in 
DEA's final rule, ``Controls To Enhance the Cultivation of Marihuana 
for Research in the United States''--to provide an adequate and 
uninterrupted supply?

    Answer. DEA has approved five licenses to date. DEA evaluates 
registrants on a case-by-case basis subject to the requirements of the 
Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and is currently reviewing several 
additional pending applications.

    5c.  Does the Department support efforts to enable researchers 
holding Schedule I licenses for marijuana to obtain products from State 
authorized dispensaries?

    Answer. The Justice Department continues to prioritize efforts to 
expand access to marijuana for research purposes. To this end, on May 
14, 2021, DEA announced that it expects it will soon register 
additional manufacturers to cultivate marijuana for research purposes. 
The Justice Department stands ready to work with you and other Members 
of Congress to increase opportunities for medical and scientific 
research.

    5d.  Will the Department work across the administration to restart 
interagency coordination efforts to address issues of marijuana control 
and research?

    Answer. Yes. The Department is currently engaged in interagency 
discussions on this subject and would welcome the opportunity to 
discuss these matters further with you and your colleagues.

    Question 6. State Courts: State courts handle the vast majority of 
all cases in our justice system--over 83 million cases per year. As 
such, they are often the laboratories of innovation when it comes to 
issues such as mental health and substance abuse diversion, eviction 
diversion, fines and fee alternatives, juvenile delinquency and child 
welfare, and the development of other innovative ways to improve the 
delivery of justice nationwide. State courts have traditionally not 
received programmatic support or been given a seat at the table on 
criminal justice reform issues that will largely be dealt by State 
courts across the country.

    6a.  Will the Department work with State court leaders and leverage 
Federal investments to assist in the development of innovative and 
supportive programs to assist in the administration of Justice across 
the States and the Nation?

    Answer. Yes, the Department is committed to working with State 
court leaders to address these critical issues. First, we can ensure 
our State court leaders are aware of what funding opportunities they 
are eligible for and conduct targeted outreach to State court leaders 
when these opportunities become available.
    Examples of eligible funding opportunities include the 
Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP), 
the Adult Drug Court Program, and the Justice and Mental Health 
Collaboration Program (JMHCP).
    In addition, in coordination with the State Administering Agencies, 
the Office of Justice Programs will ensure that State court leaders are 
aware of funding opportunities at the State level under the Justice 
Assistance Grant program.
    Moreover, through many of our training and technical assistance 
programs, we provide assistance to State leaders to conduct criminal 
justice strategic planning. We can ensure State court leaders are at 
the table during these critical priority discussions.

    Examples of how BJA has supported innovative approaches to support 
State and local criminal courts include the following:

  --BJA offers technical assistance and support for strategic planning 
        related for State Administering Agencies (SAA) that oversee 
        BJA's Justice Assistance Grants, which give States autonomy to 
        identify and nurture innovation. This year, BJA began a 
        coordination meeting to identify and support the needs to 
        States, especially courts, to address the requirements of the 
        Sixth Amendment in pandemic, exploring innovative approaches 
        that States can use to support courts and to prepare for 
        reopening.
  --In COSSAP, States can develop State led approaches to enhance 
        treatment, support overdose response and deflection from the 
        system to treatment and diversion by law enforcement and courts 
        & prosecutors, and deepening treatment and recovery support 
        services to courts across the States.
  --Under the Adult Drug Court program, BJA meets regularly with State 
        drug court coordinators to identify issues and needs, to 
        partner and leverage training capacity of States and support 
        fidelity audits and collection and analysis of data about 
        program activity and efficacy.

    6b.  Do I have your commitment to work more closely with State 
court leadership on the development and implementation of many of the 
criminal justice reforms and improvements that this administration 
seeks to advance?

    Answer. Yes, you have my commitment to work with State court 
leaders on the development and implementation of the criminal justice 
reforms and improvements we are working to advance. For example, OJP 
intends to invite State court leaders to listening sessions and conduct 
other open sessions to gather information and insight from the field.

                          SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

    Senator Shaheen. The hearing is adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 4:14 p.m., Wednesday, June 9, the 
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of 
the Chair.]


  COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2022

                              ----------                              


                         TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The subcommittee met at 2:07 p.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeanne Shaheen (Chairwoman) 
presiding.
    Present: Senators Shaheen, Manchin, Van Hollen, Moran, 
Boozman, Capito, Kennedy, and Braun.

             NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

              OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN

    Senator Shaheen. At this time I would like to call the 
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science and Related 
Agencies of the Senate Appropriations Committee to order.
    Good afternoon. As I said, we hope that we will be joined, 
as soon as the caucuses are ended, by some of the other Members 
of the subcommittee, but for now, I am pleased to be joined by 
my Vice Chair, Senator Moran, and for the hearing with the new 
NASA Administrator, Bill Nelson, who we are so pleased to be 
able to welcome back to the Senate.
    Now since in his previous capacity, Administrator Nelson 
represented the State of Florida and did a very good job of 
pointing out the importance of Florida to our space program.
    I would like to begin by being a little parochial and 
talking about the fact that my home State of New Hampshire is 
also a space State. We had the first U.S. man in space, was 
from New Hampshire, Alan Shepard, and of course our teacher in 
space, Christa McAuliffe was also from New Hampshire. New 
Hampshire made parts that provide communications, thermal 
protection, fluid transfer, and more, for NASA missions 
operating in deep space. We still build and operate major 
instruments on NASA satellites to study solar physics, the 
Moon, and the Earth. We are very pleased that at the University 
of New Hampshire we have one of the most expansive and best-
regarded heliophysics programs in the country.
    We are very ready in New Hampshire to contribute across the 
board to the exciting science exploration and aeronautics 
included in NASA's $24.8 billion budget request, this 
represents $1.5 billion or 6.7 percent increase above the 
fiscal year 2021 level.
    Now there is a lot to like in this budget request, it 
includes a $20 million increase for NASA's Office of STEM 
Engagement, which we know is critical to our future. The 
funding will allow more students to contribute to NASA's 
mission with hands-on learning so they can join a diverse 
science and engineering workforce in the future.
    Of course, as we think about what we have got to do in the 
future, we have to address climate change. Climate change, as 
we know, is an existential threat that is already compromising 
our environment, public health, transportation, infrastructure, 
economies, and even military installations. I know the 
administrator appreciates that because he has seen what has 
happened in Miami, and the fact that we have got to address the 
changes in our climate.
    What this budget does is step up our commitment to NASA's 
world-class Earth Science Research so we can better understand 
our changing planet, and also to sustainable aviation so we can 
meaningfully cut aircraft emissions. I am also pleased to see 
the other investments in science, enabling ongoing missions to 
continue, and providing funds needed due to the impacts of the 
COVID-19 pandemic on NASA centers and its commercial and 
academic partners.
    With respect to Artemis, NASA's missions to send the first 
woman and the first person of color to the Moon, there has been 
a lot of discussion of NASA's decision to select only one 
contractor for the Human Landing System Demonstration Mission 
to land on the Moon as early as 2024, I want to just point out 
that NASA's rhetoric blaming Congress and this subcommittee for 
the decision to do just one contractor really rings hollow. I 
hope we can get to this in our questioning, because in fiscal 
year 2021, NASA projected that it would need $4.4 billion for 
landers in fiscal year 2022. Instead, the budget before us 
requests only $1.2 billion for the HLS Program.
    I am interested in how NASA intends to stimulate 
competition while continuing progress towards its planned 
program that will use the Gateway as a basis for excursions to 
the Moon. Now, I know that you are not going to be able to 
answer some of these questions because of the ongoing GAO 
protest of NASA's decision. However, I hope we can discuss 
where competition is really critical to bring the best value to 
government.
    NASA at its best inspires us, and we certainly needed some 
joy and inspiration over the last year. We soared with Bob and 
Doug as SpaceX Demo-2 mission became the first mission to 
launch astronauts from U.S. soil since 2011. We crossed our 
fingers through Perseverance's 7 minutes of terror, and we 
exhaled when the rover landed safely and precisely. It has 
continued to amaze us with the sounds of Mars, and the flights 
of the Ingenuity Helicopter.
    I am looking forward to what we will see in the coming year 
as NASA continues to make spectacular discoveries, fly the X-57 
electric aircraft, and see long awaited launches for Boeing 
Starliner, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Artemis I 
Mission. There is a lot on your plate, Mr. Administrator, we 
are ready to work with you. We look forward to that.
    I will now recognize the Ranking Member, Senator Moran.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JERRY MORAN

    Senator Moran. Chairwoman Shaheen, thank you very much. 
Administrator Nelson, welcome to this subcommittee. We look 
forward to fruitful conversations today and into the future. I 
am just, on a personal level, excited about the country being 
led by you as a NASA Administrator, and personally for you, I 
cannot imagine another capstone to a distinguished career that 
could bring more meaning and significance to your life.
    Our last time together was your nomination hearing, and 
that occurred at the Commerce Committee. I hope that you are 
settling in at NASA. I say that so I can remind you, as you did 
earlier, that I am not only an authorizer but an appropriator. 
We look forward to being a partner and an ally in advancing the 
cause of space for our country.
    You have the opportunity to lead an organization that is 
known throughout the world and serves as an instrument of 
discovery and inspiration for both young and old. I am reminded 
about the inspiration and how it can affect people, I would 
highlight the story of Clyde Cessna and the effects he had on 
Kansas that last even till today.
    Clyde was a farmer in Rago, Kansas, with a knack for 
mechanics who attended an air exposition in 1911 and became 
determined to build a plane and fly it within his grasp. For 5 
years he worked on his designs, ultimately starting production 
in 1916 in Wichita, Kansas, to build airplanes, and ever since 
Cessna's name has been associated with civilian aircraft. Today 
partnerships can be found between NASA and Kansas utilizing our 
State's aerospace strength while working to advance NASA's 
toward their future goals.
    NASA's proposed fiscal year 2022 budget is $24.8 billion, 
an increase of $1.5 billion over the current budget, within 
this budget exists a number of inspirational opportunities that 
will certainly be the spark that leads to a future that we 
cannot imagine today. We are creating more Clyde Cessnas every 
day because of NASA.
    I have seen the Artemis I rocket in action, the Orion 
capsule and the flight hardware being built for returning to 
the Moon, and there is no question that seeing our astronauts 
return to the lunar surface will have a lasting impact on the 
lives of future scientists and engineers. The Perseverance 
Rover and Ingenuity Helicopter are bringing us new and exciting 
events from the surface of Mars, and NASA will soon be flying 
an experimental aircraft that will enable hypersonic flight in 
ways that were not ever before possible.
    I am pleased to see that STEM Engagement is back in the 
budget for NASA. It has been an issue for this subcommittee and 
our full committee for a long time. NASA has the opportunity to 
capitalize on its missions to encourage students across the 
country, no matter where they live to pursue activities in 
STEM, the Nation needs these activities to maintain and grow 
our capabilities for the future.
    As other nations began to make strides in space 
exploration, we must, we must maintain our lead and leadership 
in space. The proposed budget presents a vision of what NASA is 
capable of in these unique times.
    I thank you for coming today, Administrator Nelson, I look 
forward to our conversations not only today, but in the future 
on how NASA can accomplish its goals. Thank you, sir.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Senator Moran.
    We are delighted to hear your testimony.
STATEMENT OF HON. BILL NELSON, ADMINISTRATOR, NATIONAL 
            AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
    Mr. Nelson. Madam Chair, Senator Moran, returning to these 
halls brings almost a catch in my throat, because it was one of 
the greatest honors of my life to serve with you all in this 
institution and, indeed, basically a lifetime of public 
service. I must admit I am like a kid in a candy shop now, and 
every day has just been one excitement after another. This 
morning, very early, I went to Russia and I came back, 
participating in a global space conference that was held in St. 
Petersburg, Russia; followed up later in the morning with a 
call with the President of Roscosmos, talking about our mutual 
interest.
    I certainly made a note of the fact for him to remember 
that, two nations that, while on terra firma, have had some 
difficulty with each other, both as a Soviet Union and now 
Russia, and the United States. Ever since 1975 we have 
cooperated, and we have not only cooperated, we have worked and 
lived together in space ever since General Tom Stafford and 
General Alexei Leonov rendezvoused and docked.
    Those two crews in the midst of the Cold War, and our 
difficulties with the Soviet Union, and yet they demonstrated 
what can be done if you will reach beyond the politics. That 
has continued. Example, the Russians have built the 
International Space Station with us. You think about the 
station, think about going to the football game from one 
goalpost, to the other goalpost, to the end of the end zones, 
from end zone to end zone, that is how large the space station 
is right now on orbit. We have cooperated with a dozen nations 
as we are carrying out all the research, the activities, the 
space walks, and particularly our partners that helped us build 
the station.
    Now I am mindful of your time, because I have heard 
witnesses that drone on and on, and I am not going to. I want 
to leave it for you to ask questions. My opening statement 
could have been the remarks that the two of you have already 
made.
    Let me just point out a couple of stories. This, which is 
in most everybody's pocket, it has become almost essential to 
us every day. When we see something that we like we take a 
picture of it. That is a spinoff of space technology, because 
NASA developed a camera on a chip that is basically in every 
one of our cell phones. That is the kind of spinoff we have. 
You get on an airplane, now that COVID is loosening up, look 
out the window and look at the wing and you will see that wing 
turn up. That was as a result of NASA Aeronautics Research.
    What they found is, you can save fuel and indeed you can 
get to altitude quicker. Look at Senator Moran is talking about 
aeronautics that is, by the way, the first A in NASA, look at 
the research that we have going on now. We are going to fly at 
the end of this year an all-electric experimental aircraft to 
see if, as we develop it further, if we can cut down on 
pollution as well as fuel consumption.
    Just recently NASA conducted an experiment at the Charlotte 
Airport, and this particular experiment because of air traffic 
control on the ground, as well as in the air, in the period in 
which the study was conducted, they saved over a million 
gallons of fuel in a short period of time. Ultimately, you all 
are going to see that in our air traffic control, what we would 
call the next generation of air traffic control. Get from point 
A to point B, by going in a straight line, instead of the 
routes that we often have to take on a ``dog leg''. With our 
present radar system this can direct us and you can have 
instant situational awareness in the cockpit.
    Now I have just scratched the surface on what NASA does. 
Madam Chair, I want to stop there. There are some very 
important decisions that have to be made about us getting to 
the Moon and landing safely in the goal of 2024, and all along 
be mindful of what a very aggressive space competitor is doing.
    I am talking about China. When they landed on Mars, the 
second nation to land on Mars with a rover, successfully, it 
makes no difference that we did it back in the 1970s first. It 
does make a difference that they are very technologically 
advanced, and tomorrow afternoon there is going to be an 
announcement out of this global conference in St. Petersburg 
between the Russians and the Chinese. It will be interesting to 
be tuned into that because the primacy of our space program, as 
cooperative as we have been, it is going to be important for us 
to be landing on the surface of the Moon with the first woman 
and the first person of color before our competitors do.
    With that, I would turn it over to you for whatever I might 
try to answer, Madam Chair.

    [The statement follows:]
                 Prepared Statement of Hon. Bill Nelson
    Chairwoman Shaheen and Members of the subcommittee, I am pleased to 
have this opportunity to discuss NASA's fiscal year 2022 budget request 
of $24.8 billion. This request represents an increase of $1.6 billion, 
or 6.6 percent, above the fiscal year 2021 enacted level.
    But first, I would like to thank you for your ongoing support for 
NASA. This funding aligns closely with administration priorities, 
including expanded climate change research; continued investment in 
human spaceflight through the International Space Station (ISS) and 
Artemis Programs that enhance global engagement and diplomacy; 
investments in cutting-edge research and development that fuel 
innovation, create high-paying jobs, grow the economy, and improve life 
on Earth; advancement of the U.S. aviation industrial base to build a 
green aviation system; and strengthening of a diverse Science, 
Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) workforce that inspires future 
generations.
    NASA is more than the world's premier space exploration 
organization. NASA is a uniquely powerful source of national 
inspiration and international leadership. Over the past year, the NASA 
team has demonstrated remarkable resilience, overcoming COVID-19 
challenges to press forward with a series of outstanding successes, 
including the historic first flight on another planet. NASA's landing 
of Perseverance on Mars is emblematic of an Agency, and a Nation, that 
can overcome challenges, to achieve whatever goals we set. To quote the 
President on a phone call to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL):

        ``We can land a rover on Mars. We can beat a pandemic. And with 
        science, hope, and vision, there's not a damn thing we can't do 
        as a country.''

    With the resources entrusted to us by Congress and the American 
people, and the dedicated efforts of our commercial partners, we have 
returned human spaceflight to American soil on American rockets. 
Adapting what we have learned from these efforts, we are moving rapidly 
to return Americans to the surface of the Moon as quickly as we can 
safely do so. We are committed to landing the first woman and the first 
person of color on the Moon. We will use all of this Nation's capacity 
for innovation to develop the experience and capability around the Moon 
that will send Americans on to Mars. We are building the Space Launch 
System (SLS) and the Orion crew vehicle, to make deep space exploration 
possible, and we will soon launch the first, uncrewed mission in the 
Artemis lunar exploration program. During this flight, targeted for 
this year, the spacecraft will fly farther than any spacecraft built 
for humans has ever flown.
    The budget request includes funding for the development of the 
Block lB variant of SLS as well as funding for construction of a second 
Mobile Launcher, both of which will help support a robust Moon to Mars 
program.
    On April 16, 2021, NASA announced it had selected SpaceX to 
continue development of the first commercial human lander that will 
safely carry the next two American astronauts to the lunar surface. The 
firm-fixed price, milestone-based contract total award value is $2.89 
billion, out of total requested 5-year Human Landing System (HLS) 
funding of $7.8 billion. This HLS contract award is under protest as of 
this time. While the human landing demonstration award is under 
protest, NASA is continuing to prepare for competition for the follow-
on landings to the lunar surface. These services will provide human 
access to the lunar surface using the Gateway on a regularly recurring 
basis beyond the initial crewed demonstration mission. By taking a 
collaborative approach in working with industry and international 
partners while leveraging NASA's proven technical expertise and 
capabilities, we will return American astronauts to the Moon's surface 
once again, this time to explore new areas for longer periods of time.
    For over 20 years, NASA has maintained a continuous human presence 
in Earth orbit, developing technology, skills, and knowledge needed for 
human exploration of the Moon and Mars. The budget request ensures that 
there will be no gap in human presence in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) by 
continuing to invest in commercial LEO destinations and services. The 
coming year will see a second commercial partner demonstrate crew 
transportation and begin regular crewed flights to the ISS. This 
regular cadence of crew rotation missions will contribute to the 
foundation of a more affordable and sustainable future for American 
human spaceflight. In addition, this will allow more capacity and 
resources for research and development projects on ISS, which are 
improving life on Earth and proving out the viability of a LEO economy.
    NASA is on Mars now and studying the planet more intensively than 
ever before. The request includes funding to develop the mission that 
will return samples from Mars to Earth. With the successful landing of 
the Perseverance rover, we are now operating two rovers, a lander, and 
a helicopter on the surface of Mars, supported by an array of orbiting 
spacecraft. We continue to operate a constellation of spacecraft 
exploring the solar system while developing new missions to Earth's 
Moon and Jupiter's moon Europa, as well as a mission dedicated to 
detecting potentially hazardous Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). Later this 
year, we will launch the Lucy mission to explore the Trojan asteroids 
in the vicinity of Jupiter, to be followed in 2022 by the Psyche 
mission to a metallic asteroid. These asteroids are thought to be 
remnants of the primordial material that formed the outer planets. NASA 
recently announced a major return to our nearest planetary neighbor, 
Venus, selecting not one but two missions that will be run out of the 
Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center. The 
first mission, DAVINCI+, will measure the composition of Venus' 
atmosphere to understand how it formed and evolved, as well as 
determine whether the planet ever had an ocean. The second mission, 
VERITAS, will map Venus's surface to determine the planet's geologic 
history and understand why it developed so differently than Earth.
    NASA is a critical piece of the administration's efforts to 
understand and address global climate change. The request supports the 
continued development of high-priority missions including Plankton, 
Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE); Climate Absolute Radiance and 
Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder; and Landsat 9, while 
also supporting acquisition of Earth Science observation data for 
commercial SmallSat constellations. In a major step forward for Earth 
Science, we have initiated a mission concept for NASA's Earth System 
Observatory, a new architecture for deploying and integrating next-
generation spaceborne Earth observation systems. The Observatory 
includes development of four core strategic missions for launch this 
decade, and will provide the world an unprecedented understanding of 
the critical interactions between Earth's atmosphere, land, ocean, and 
ice processes. These processes define how the changing climate will 
play out at regional and local levels, and on near- to long-term time 
scales. The Earth System Observatory builds on NASA's Earth Science 
Division's current observations of Earth on a global scale, a fleet of 
16 major Earth observatories plus six Earth observation instruments on 
the ISS, SmallSats, CubeSats, and missions flown by piloted and 
unpiloted aircraft.
    Later this year, NASA will launch the James Webb Space Telescope 
(Webb), the largest and most complex space science observatory ever 
built. Webb is an infrared telescope designed to observe the farthest 
objects, broadening and transforming our understanding of the early 
universe. It will see the light from the first galaxies that formed in 
the early universe after the Big Bang, and observe the birth of stellar 
systems, as well as explore distant worlds and study the atmospheres of 
planets orbiting other stars--known as exoplanets--searching for 
chemical fingerprints of habitability. Webb will join a constellation 
of operating astrophysics observatories including the Hubble Space 
Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and seven other operating 
missions. The request supports the development of the Nancy Grace Roman 
Space telescope, designed to unravel the secrets of dark energy and 
dark matter, and to search for and image exoplanets.
    Supporting all of these efforts, NASA is developing new 
technologies ranging from robotic servicing technology to extend the 
life of orbiting spacecraft to laser communications for space. 
Launching this year, the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration will 
showcase the unique capabilities of optical communications to radically 
increase the volume of information a signal can carry. In fiscal year 
2022, NASA will deliver the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 to 
Intuitive Machines, who will transport this first-of-its-kind, in situ 
resource utilization demonstration to the Moon. This experiment will 
robotically sample and analyze ice from below the surface and study the 
drill cuttings for water and other chemical compounds to help 
scientists understand the potential of using resources found on the 
Moon. The Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator will 
complete fabrication of its flight hardware for an fiscal year 2022 
demonstration of space braking technology that will enable a variety of 
proposed NASA missions to destinations such as Mars, Venus, and Titan, 
as well as return to Earth. The On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and 
Manufacturing-2 project is working toward a late 2022 launch to build, 
assemble, and deploy its own operational solar arrays in space. NASA is 
continuing to spur a vibrant space economy through a new Industry and 
Commerce Innovation opportunity that will invest in technologies needed 
by commercial space stakeholders.
    NASA's aeronautics research will make significant contributions to 
the national effort to address global climate change, through vehicle 
technology development and advanced airspace operations, as well as 
serving as a vital source of innovation for the country's leading 
export industry, commercial aviation. The request increases funding for 
planned green aviation initiatives across these programs and supports 
the continued development of the X-59 Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, as 
well as early designs of a Sustainable Flight Demonstrator. This year, 
we will fly the first test flight of the X-57 Maxwell, NASA's first 
all-electric X-plane--a major step forward in efforts to develop a more 
sustainable aeronautics industry.
    For the first time in many years, NASA's budget request includes 
funding for its Office of STEM engagement. With a significant increase 
over recent appropriated funding, the budget request for STEM 
engagement will increase investment in the Nation's next generation of 
scientists, engineers, technologists, mathematicians, and explorers.
    NASA is uniquely positioned to support administration priorities. 
The Agency is helping to restore America's global standing, 
demonstrating the power of a diverse, unified democracy to overcome 
challenges and achieve great goals. As a source of innovation, and by 
directly promoting the growth of space and aeronautics industries, NASA 
plays an important supporting role in creating skilled, high-paying 
jobs. We are critical to the administration's efforts to expand climate 
research and investment in innovative sustainable technologies. In 
addition, NASA is accelerating efforts to further diversity, equity, 
and inclusion. NASA has long understood that diversity, equity, and 
inclusion is not simply a matter of justice or fairness, but rather a 
source of strength and innovation and critical thinking.
                               conclusion
    The fiscal year 2022 request demonstrates the President's 
commitment to NASA and the people across the Agency and its partners 
who have worked so hard this past year under the most difficult 
circumstances and achieved unprecedented success. The NASA workforce 
and the American people should be encouraged by what they see in this 
budget request. It is an investment in our future, and it shows 
confidence in the broad array of benefits this Agency delivers for the 
Nation.
    Madam Chair, I would be pleased to respond to your questions and 
those of other Members of the subcommittee.

    Senator Shaheen. Thank you very much, Administrator. As you 
point out NASA is important not just for research and what that 
can provide to our other innovative discoveries and commerce. 
It is also important in terms of the competition where we are 
no longer the only actor there. We have to ensure that we 
continue to be competitive.
    I want to go back to the issue that I raised in my opening 
statement that we discussed briefly when we had our phone 
conversation, which I very much appreciated, and that is the 
issue of one provider for the human landing system. As we have 
seen from commercial cargo and commercial crew, having multiple 
providers can keep the cost of services down and ensure that 
when a problem comes up with one provider, it does not shut 
down the whole International Space Station.
    What is the best approach for ensuring competition for 
Lunar Lander Services? Do we ultimately need two demonstration 
missions? Or can we ensure competition in a sustainable phase?
    Mr. Nelson. Yes, ma'am, we do need to. Competition is good, 
it brings the best cost and the most efficient route, the fact 
is that before you were kind enough to confirm me in this 
position NASA had requested $3.4 billion in this current year 
in order to get this competition going. There were three major 
competitors. At the end of the day the appropriation was $850 
million, approximately $400 million of that was used as the 
kick start to the initial competition.
    Dynetics bid about $8.5, $9 billion, and these were fixed-
price contracts, Blue Origin bid about $6 billion, SpaceX bid 
$3 billion. Before I arrived on the scene, NASA did a Source 
Selection and the Board decided that they did not have enough 
money in what was the run-out on the budget, in order to have a 
sustained and qualified real competition. Although each had 
their own technical proficiency, and yet, you see where the 
fixed-price bids had come in. That was the Source Selection 
Board's decision.
    What I would propose to you, Madam Chair, and Senator 
Moran--Senator Braun, good to see you,--is that you all 
consider additional monies for ensuring that there is the 
competition. Now we are in this never-never land right now 
until August 4 because of the GAO protest. Of course that 
decision will have a bearing on this, but going forward we are 
going to have, one way or another, competition for a lot of 
landings on the Moon over the next decade-and-a-half. In which 
case, this country boy from Florida thinks that you ought to 
have competition.
    Now, there are many different ways to skin a cat, as you 
all know. That is, you have got a jobs bill coming along, and 
there is, in one form, a recommended R&D component in that jobs 
bill, aside from just straight infrastructure. By the way, in 
infrastructure NASA has a lot of buildings that are 
deteriorating. If you have a space center in your various 
States, they will know, the senators will know about that 
because of the deteriorating condition.
    For example, the big building down in New Orleans that puts 
together the core of the big rocket, it has holes in the roof, 
and they need some money to repair that. The jobs bill is a way 
that you could fund NASA's needs not only for infrastructure, 
but also for this additional money to try to give us the 
competitive proposition over--so that we can then select two 
landers at least, let them compete, and ultimately have the 
Source Selection Board decide on one.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, just so I am clear about what you 
are saying with respect to this mission. As I understand what 
you are saying is that there are lots of opportunities for 
competition in the future. We are going to get a resolution 
from the GAO at some point this summer, and so for this mission 
you see only one contractor.
    Mr. Nelson. Well, the decision was that for the first 
demonstration landing, there was only enough money to award 
one, but we are not going to the Moon to have one demonstration 
landing with humans. We are talking about utilizing the 
properties of the Moon to get ready to go to Mars. That is 
going to require many landings and those need to be competed, 
now that is if the GAO upholds the NASA Selection Board 
decision.
    Senator Shaheen. I understand that.
    Mr. Nelson. If they throw it out, then we go back to the 
beginning and restart it. There, of course, is where we would 
need resources to do a vigorous competition.
    Senator Shaheen. Again, just so I understand. In that case 
what you are suggesting is if the GAO throws out the bid that 
NASA would be coming back to this subcommittee to request 
additional funding for competition?
    Mr. Nelson. No, because I am requesting that right now, and 
suggesting that a way to do that is the jobs bill.
    Senator Shaheen. Okay.
    Mr. Nelson. For that additional funding.
    Senator Shaheen. Unfortunately, this subcommittee will not 
make the decision on the jobs bill. That would be nice if we 
could expand our ability to do that, but.
    Mr. Nelson. It would be. As a matter of fact, you all may 
be making that at the 11th hour and the 59th minute.
    Senator Shaheen. Well thank you. I will turn it over to 
Senator Moran for his questions at this point.
    Senator Moran. Chair, thank you. I guess I just will try to 
put a cap on what this conversation has entailed. There is 
nothing in this budget request, the administration's budget 
requests that asks for this subcommittee and the Full 
Appropriations Committee to fund an additional competitor in 
this process. Is that true?
    Mr. Nelson. That is correct. It is a very robust request, 
but the hard reality is that if we want to do competition on 
down the line of all the landings that need to get started 
right now, there is going to need to be more money. I am 
suggesting that the jobs bill is a way that you could do that.
    Senator Moran. Administrator, I am not trying to create 
banter here, but you are having to do the same thing we have to 
do, which is prioritize our spending. Let me ask about the 
Artemis landing date. I have seen what you have said in public. 
The budget request does not contradict or propose a different 
date from the previous 2024 goal, as far as I can tell. I know 
that these ambitious goals and timelines often spur motivation 
as well as provide a mechanism to incite decisiveness in 
decisionmaking.
    The calendar says 2021, and there is a lot still to be done 
in order to land our astronauts on the Moon. If NASA receives 
exactly the budget that is being requested for Artemis from--in 
the appropriations process, when do you believe we will land 
astronauts, that first woman, that first person of color, on 
the Moon?
    Mr. Nelson. I wish I could give you a precise answer; the 
fact is that 2024 is the goal. Space is hard. If you look at 
the history of development of spacecraft and rockets, you often 
run into situations in which--in fact, there is some unknown 
that occurs and you see delays. We have to be soberly realistic 
about this, but the goal is 2024.
    Senator Moran. The budget that you are requesting meets 
that goal? Assuming that the assumptions that are made today, 
that your budget would meet that goal of 2024.
    Mr. Nelson. Unless you want competition. I have suggested a 
way in which to do that. Senator, may I add one other 
complicating factor?
    Senator Moran. Please.
    Mr. Nelson. I think--this is my personal opinion--that I 
think you are going to see a very aggressive China. You are 
going to see a Chinese Government that understands all the 
value of the success in space. We have already seen how they 
are glowing in the afterglow of their landing on Mars with a 
rover. I think you are going to see an aggressive program of 
them landing on the Moon. I am stating what is out there 
already in the press.
    I think that is going to become a question for you all as 
policymakers. What is the value to the United States that we 
get back to the Moon first, and get on with this program in 
preparation to go to Mars?
    Senator Moran. What transpired with the landing by China on 
the Moon, did it change any calculations as to what we are 
doing at NASA, or formulate any additional ideas about 
technology?
    Mr. Nelson. It certainly has my attention. I have suggested 
to you, and landing on Mars is no small feat, which they did.
    Senator Moran. Yes, I misspoke. Thank you for correcting 
me.
    Mr. Nelson. I think you are seeing statements being made by 
the Chinese Government that they don't want to wait around 
until the 2030s to land on the Moon with humans; and tomorrow, 
as I mentioned, in this global conference in St. Petersburg, 
Russia, we are expecting a statement being made jointly by 
China and Russia as to what their plans are. Let us see what 
that is.
    Senator Moran. You and I had a conversation just briefly 
before this hearing started. I was highlighting for you 
something that I was pleased to know that you already knew. 
Last December, the Kansas Department of Transportation and the 
Federal Aviation Administration finalized an agreement to 
establish the Kansas SuperSonic Transportation Corridor for use 
in testing non-military aircraft that fly faster than the speed 
of sound.
    As the first and only such commercial SuperSonic flight 
test route in the Nation, in our Interior, we would welcome 
NASA to utilize the 770 nautical-mile-long corridor within our 
State to further NASA's SuperSonic efforts. NASA moves forward 
in their X-59 testing, can I assume that you will keep me and 
my staff updated on the selection of flight paths for that X-59 
and ask you that this opportunity that Kansas has helped to 
create, be utilized by NASA?
    Mr. Nelson. Of course. Senator, Kansas is to be commended 
that they are forward-thinking enough to realize that there is 
the advance of technology. As we are developing this X-59 so 
that you could fly SuperSonic and do it over land, as well as 
over the ocean, what you all are saying is, you want that 
SuperSonic aircraft to say: Boom, over that corridor that you 
have created.
    What this research is, is to develop that SuperSonic 
aircraft, that does not go the big boom when it breaks the 
sound barrier, but that it is a much more muffled sound that 
does not become a problem in flying SuperSonic over populated 
areas.
    Senator Moran. Mr. Administrator, thank you and just ask 
you to allow me the opportunity to highlight for you that 
capability, in Kansas, for the X-59 testing.
    Thank you, Chairwoman.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Moran.
    Senator Kennedy.
    Senator Kennedy. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Mr. Administrator, congratulations.
    Mr. Nelson. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Kennedy. I think the President has chosen well, and 
I am so pleased that we will get to continue to work together 
and I mean that, Bill.
    Mr. Nelson. Well, it is my privilege.
    Senator Kennedy. Your budget, your budget request includes 
$390 million for, ``Construction and environmental compliance 
and restoration''. Now we need, as you probably know, about 
$174 million to restore and repair Michoud and Stennis. Is that 
included in your budget request?
    Mr. Nelson. Well, it is going to be, if you will help us.
    Senator Kennedy. We will help you.
    Mr. Nelson. Senator, before you came in, I have already 
named Michoud.
    Senator Kennedy. That is what ``Bubba'' was telling me.
    Mr. Nelson. Pointed out, there are holes in that roof where 
we are putting together the first core, the first stage of the 
rocket before it is shipped to the Stennis Space Center, where 
then the engines are tested with the live fire and not only at 
Michoud and at Stennis, but every NASA center, 10 of them, and 
10 facilities, and there is crumbling infrastructure, and we 
desperately need it.
    I will tell you, one of the things you could do with this 
infrastructure bill coming along, we can only squeeze out so 
much in the President's budget, but you have a wonderful 
opportunity, as conservative estimate, NASA needs about $5 
billion to address its infrastructure needs.
    The chairman of the--the Ranking Member of the full 
committee, Senator Shelby has pointed out to me on a number of 
occasions that he has an administration building, a 
headquarters building at his Center, Marshall Space Flight 
Center, that has to be torn down.
    Senator Kennedy. Yes.
    Mr. Nelson. It is just in terrific disrepair. We really 
have these infrastructure needs.
    Senator Kennedy. Let me ask you. Let me switch gears here 
slightly. The SLS heavy-lift rocket, as you know, is being 
built for Artemis missions so our astronauts can return to the 
Moon, beyond the planned Artemis crew missions, what will be 
the role for SLS in the next decade as you see it? Can it be 
used, or will it be used for cargo-only missions in support of 
staying on the Moon, or our journey to Mars? Or will we use it 
to launch scientific missions? What are your thoughts?
    Mr. Nelson. All of the above, Senator. The first three 
missions are with regard to--and by the way--I wish, Madam 
Chair, that you all might consider doing a CoDel at the end of 
the year to come down for the launch of the most powerful 
rocket in the world. The Space Launch System, SLS, with its 
spacecraft on the top called Orion, and it will----
    Senator Kennedy. That is a great idea, great idea, 
Administrator.
    Mr. Nelson [continuing]. It will launch uncrewed. It will 
go way out beyond the Moon, come back, the capsule will land in 
the ocean. If all goes well, then within 2 years we will have 
the first crew. This is Artemis II, to go out beyond the Moon, 
maybe do a cislunar orbit, and then come back.
    Artemis III, which is the one, Madam Chair, that we are--
the goal is 2024. Then it goes and rendezvous in lunar orbit 
with the winner of the competition for the first demonstration 
landing, the lander takes the crew down to the surface. They do 
their activities, come back, marry up with Orion and bring the 
crew home safely.
    Then Artemis IV, and you had asked about that as did the 
chair, Artemis IV has an enhanced upper stage because now it 
has a bigger load, not only the spacecraft on top, but the 
first component of the so-called space station that will go in 
lunar orbit called the Gateway, which will be built with our 
international partners, and will serve as a way station as we 
build and develop the technologies to go to Mars.
    Senator Kennedy. Wow. Well, I am out of time, but let me 
say it again, Mr. Administrator, I am very grateful you are 
willing to continue to share your good judgment, and your 
experience, and your expertise with the American people. I am 
so pleased we will continue to work together. Thank you for 
giving so much.
    Mr. Nelson. Bless you. Thank you.
    Senator Kennedy. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Kennedy.
    Senator Van Hollen.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, Ranking 
Member Moran.
    Mr. Administrator, it is great to see you. Look forward to 
working with you on the important mission that you have before 
you. You know well that your own State of Florida is a major 
center for space activities and exploration. I know you also 
know that Maryland has a major footprint when it comes to 
space, including the Goddard Space Flight Center, including, 
APL, the Applied Physics Laboratory and their Hopkins Space 
Center Institute--Space Telescope Institute. Wallops, which is 
not physically located in Maryland, but majority of the great 
people who work there live and work in Maryland.
    I just want to, again, renew the invitation from Senator 
Cardin and myself. To come with us to visit Goddard, as well as 
Wallops. Are you still up for that?
    Mr. Nelson. I am expecting to be at Goddard in the next two 
weeks, and it is my understanding that the Vice President wants 
to go and wants me to tag along. I think that would be a great 
time for you and Ben Cardin to come as well.
    Senator Van Hollen. I appreciate that. We will definitely 
follow up with you on that. Thank you, Mr. Administrator. In 
the prior administration we had a challenge getting them to 
budget for important missions related to space, fortunately, 
this scientific subcommittee on a bipartisan basis recognized 
the importance of those missions.
    I am pleased to see that the Biden administration budget, 
your budget includes funding for PACE, for OSAM-1, for Europa 
Clipper, so grateful that that is included already in the 
budget. I mentioned the Wallops Flight Center, and that is a 
center that is critical to our space and Earth Science 
missions, it is a hub for unmanned flight. It is a supplier to 
the International Space Station, and it is home to NASA's 
Balloon Program.
    One item missing from the budget that was submitted by the 
administration is the 21st Century Launch Complex Program. We 
will be working again on a bipartisan basis, I hope, to make 
sure that we fund that important program. I understand that you 
intend to request a $5.4 billion for infrastructure in support 
of upgrading NASA's facilities. I think I may have overheard 
some of the conversation. Is that part of the annual 
appropriations; or you said that is part of the American Jobs 
Plan?
    Mr. Nelson. That is the jobs bill.
    Senator Van Hollen. All right. Well, let me just say 
Goddard and Wallops both have a number of shovel-ready 
projects, including when it comes to Wallops, something called 
the Wallops Island Causeway Bridge, it is the single access 
point to the Wallops Complex, and it is 60 years old and 
overdue for replacement. Could you agree that we will continue 
to work together to make those investments as well as 
investments through the 21st Century Launch Program?
    Mr. Nelson. As a matter of fact, Senator, your bridge is 
number one on the list and, absolutely. Of course the President 
proposes that you dispose, and so this is a partnership, and as 
I had said to the chair, there are more ways to skin a cat than 
one. The jobs bill is an opportunity, not only for 
infrastructure but for R&D as well, which is desperately needed 
if we are going to have the competition for the human lander 
that we have been talking about previously in this hearing.
    Senator Van Hollen. Appreciate that. As you know, and I 
know you agree that we are strongest when we put all of our 
talent on the playing field and that is of course true in the 
area of STEM, and Maryland has a number of terrific HBCUs and 
MSIs that are leaders in this area. Morgan State is among the 
top four colleges in the country, graduating Black engineers. 
It is one of 11 HBCUs that has an R2 Doctoral Research 
University status.
    Bowie State is the first university to receive a satellite 
collaboration with NASA, and University of Maryland, Baltimore 
County, has recently been awarded an extended support by NASA 
for its Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science 
and Technology. Look forward to working with you on that. I 
think, Mr. Administrator, this is a priority of yours in terms 
of making sure that all of these universities are part of the 
NASA's efforts to strengthen STEM. Is that right?
    Mr. Nelson. Yes, sir. The President's budget is very robust 
in STEM. It is a significant increase. By the way, this has a 
relationship to each of your States because the Space Grant 
goes into every State. For example, Minority University 
Research and Education Projects are another way to enable a 
greater opportunity to reach out to minority students.
    I think you just look at: What are we confronting? Okay, go 
back 50 years ago. We were going to the Moon. It was the great 
space race with the Soviet Union. We did this tremendous 
successful feat of landing humans on the Moon and returning. 
What did that do to education, in science, and technology, and 
engineering, and mathematics? For a whole two generations that 
excitement about space flight rippled through those 
generations. We saw the effect of that on our country, the 
economic renaissance that occurred as a result of the increased 
technology that had come out of that more highly STEM-educated 
workforce.
    I believe that is what is going to happen here, as we go 
back to the Moon and on to Mars, I think it is going to excite 
another couple of generations of students. As a result, we, the 
United States, as well as Planet Earth, are going to be the 
beneficiaries.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Administrator.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you.
    Senator Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    It is good to see you, very much. I want to publicly thank 
you, Administrator Nelson, for your decision to continue to 
serve the country and in a field that we all know you have a 
great passion for. Your experience as an astronaut and 
legislator makes you an ideal advocate for NASA's priorities. I 
know you will do a great job, I know you will do an excellent 
job, and look forward to supporting you in any way that we can, 
as you lead NASA into the future of space exploration and 
scientific research. Again, congratulations, very, very much.
    The President's budget request includes NASA funding for 
its Office of STEM Engagement, important funding like this 
helps organizations like Arkansas' Space Grant Consortium, 
educate undergraduate and graduate students on aerospace 
science and research. This program also inspires K through 12 
students in STEM-related fields. I know from your time on The 
Hill, you championed funding in STEM education. What is your 
plan for the Office of STEM Engagement? Will you continue to 
support organizations like Arkansas Space Grant Consortium?
    Mr. Nelson. Senator, you said it as good as I can say it. 
Every State gets a space grant, and STEM grants are often 
distributed through universities. There is an emphasis also on 
minority outreach universities as well, as well as the HBCUs. 
There is a robust budget that is proposed in this budget. It is 
$147 million. I might point out that over the past few years 
there were attempts to zero that out, but you all always 
restored the STEM budget, I thank you for that.
    This particular budget has a $20 million plus-up, I hope 
that you all will consider this recommendation and I would like 
to come to your State, and I would like----
    Senator Boozman. We would love to have you.
    Mr. Nelson [continuing]. To visit one of your universities 
and to talk about the STEM grant that goes to that university.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. Thank you very much. The 
International Space Station is responsible for some of the most 
ground-breaking scientific research and technology 
breakthroughs in the last few decades. Currently the U.S. will 
cease operations with the International Space Station in 2024. 
You have pushed to extend that authorization until 2030 so the 
Commercial Space Station could replace it. Can you briefly 
discuss how this plan ensures that NASA will maintain a 
continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit? Also, how will 
NASA work with these commercial partners to continue its great 
scientific research?
    Mr. Nelson. Thank you, Senator. Several years ago when Ted 
Cruz and I were leading the Space Subcommittee of the Commerce 
Committee, we proposed that the date of 2024 be extended to 
2030 for exactly the reasons that you just articulated. That 
passed the Senate last year. It did not pass the House at that 
time. However, the Commerce Committee has just come forth last 
week with a NASA Authorization Bill, it was part of that 
pioneer bill, and it has an extension of the International 
Space Station to 2030.
    Now it might be of interest to you because you have seen 
some commentary in the news about the Russian Space Program 
saying, well, they are not sure that they are going to stay 
around after 2024. Let me remind you that they are just about 
to launch another major component of the space station. If 
those press speculations were true, I don't think we would see 
that, but I bring to you two conversations with Dmitry Rogozin 
as of this morning when I participated in this panel of global 
space organizations that is being held in St. Petersburg, 
Russia, and he was very bullish about cooperation.
    I would just, in passing, point out that no less in Keir 
Simmons' NBC interview of Putin in the last few days, Putin 
actually, President Putin actually talked very favorably about 
the cooperation with U.S. in space.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. Thank you. Thank you, Madam 
Chair. Again, congratulations.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Boozman. We are going 
to keep the Administrator very busy because he is now committed 
to go to New Hampshire, Kansas, Maryland, and Arkansas.
    Mr. Nelson. All 50 States, Madam Chair.
    Senator Shaheen. Good.
    Senator Manchin.
    Senator Manchin. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
    Administrator Nelson, so good to have you sitting there, 
and the position you are in, and we are feeling a lot better. I 
can tell you that.
    Every NASA mission relies on a team of scientists and 
engineers to design, manufacture, and verify that these 
spacecraft can indeed reach their intended target. You cannot 
just point a rocket at the sky and light the fuse. You have to 
verify that your trajectory reaches its destination and 
validate through complex calculations that it will work. In the 
1960s those were done by hand, and for our most important 
flights, it was Katherine Johnson, a West Virginia Native that 
did them.
    Today we use software to make those calculations. The 
NASA's Independent Verification and Validation Facility in 
Fairmont, West Virginia, bears her name and proudly carries her 
tradition, by ensuring that this software is safe, reliable, 
and can be trusted to ensure our missions are completed, and 
get home safely. Safety costs money as you know, and the IV&Vs 
budget has been flat for over a decade, flat for over a decade.
    To address gaps in funding in the past few years, NASA has 
required its mission directorates to pay a portion of IV&V's 
funding. That is just a kind of an if-and-and situation. I 
think the most logical solution is to increase the IV&V's 
budget so that NASA's mission, their directorates are not 
forced between their budgets and safety. Everybody is robbing 
Peter to pay Paul. I didn't know if it was on your radar 
screen. If you could look into that, try to be considerate and 
help us on that, sir.
    Mr. Nelson. I will certainly look into that, Senator. If I 
might, tell you a story----
    Senator Manchin. Okay.
    Mr. Nelson [continuing]. About Katherine Johnson; if you 
all happen to see the movie ``Hidden Figures''.
    Senator Manchin. That was the greatest.
    Mr. Nelson. It is an exact true story about how John Glenn, 
the first to climb into that Atlas rocket that had a 20 percent 
chance of failure, and it was the first time that they were 
using a computer on the trajectory. He did not want to rely on 
that. He wanted----
    Senator Manchin. A back up?
    Mr. Nelson [continuing]. A back up of Katherine Johnson to 
make her mathematical calculations by hand, to verify. That 
tradition, that legacy has now extended to what is in your 
State of West Virginia, the independent verification.
    Senator Manchin. Well, if you could help us on that, just 
so they have their independent funding, because they are 
relying on other sources just to survive.
    Mr. Nelson. Let's go visit that together.
    Senator Manchin. Okay. You are not that far. I can take you 
and, you and your lovely bride, and we will go enjoy a nice 
week.
    Mr. Nelson. Are you flying the airplane?
    Senator Manchin. I can if you want me to.
    Mr. Nelson. I had better check.
    Senator Capito. I would be careful about that. I am not 
sure we want that.
    Senator Manchin. In 2018 I was honored to--as you talk 
about Ms. Johnson--in 2018, Administrator, I was honored and 
had the privilege to meet Katherine Johnson and her family 
before her passing during a dedication ceremony for a statue of 
Ms. Johnson at West Virginia State University. It is a 
historically Black university in Charleston, West Virginia. 
That was her alma mater, she went there when she was 14.
    It is my hope that the students who pass by the statue 
every day are going to be reminded of her legacy and inspired 
to keep their passion for knowledge alive. After her passing 
last year, at 101, I led my colleagues in unanimously passing a 
resolution honoring the life and achievements of Katherine 
Johnson. That represents the very best of us breaking down the 
barriers of race, gender, ensuring safety of astronauts on 
countless missions during her decades, which you just 
mentioned, one of the most famous, John Glenn.
    Unfortunately, NASA today is still underrepresented by 
women of color, particularly in its most senior levels. I would 
ask how many Katherine Johnsons have we missed over the years? 
How many young women, people of color and others, from rural 
areas like West Virginia, could we have brought hidden figures 
like Katherine into the limelight?
    I know you are just coming on, and putting your staff 
together, and all of your ideas that you want to accomplish. I 
guess I would ask: What is NASA intending to, or doing to 
continue to encourage diversity, not just in NASA itself, but 
the STEM education of young children and students around the 
country?
    Mr. Nelson. This is very important to the President. It is 
very important to me. When I participated in the Space Shuttle 
Program, we saw the first effort, by the way, by an African-
American woman to help NASA bring diversity into the Astronaut 
Corps. It was in the Class of '78, first Space Shuttle 
astronaut class. The lady who played Lieutenant Uhura on Star 
Trek, the original Star Trek television series, Nichelle 
Nichols, after she had been an actress, she was approached by 
NASA to go out and recruit minority candidates and women.
    That is reflected in that first astronaut class, where it 
had--the astronauts basically had been test pilots, all White 
males before, and qualified women and qualified minorities did 
not even know that they would have a chance. They would not 
apply. She was successful in doing that. We see the results all 
throughout the Astronaut Corps.
    A lot of this goes back to STEM. You have got to provide in 
all communities, Science, Technology, Engineering, and 
Mathematics education. In your universities, you will have 
Space Grants, Senator, in West Virginia, and they come directly 
out of this program.
    Senator Manchin. We are going to reach out to you with 
that, and where we have WVU, and other universities there that 
have some--a little bit of activity there. I think it can be a 
lot more too. But look forward to working with you. I am so 
glad that you are settled back in, and back on The Hill with 
us. Thank you, sir.
    Mr. Nelson. Thank you.
    Senator Manchin. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Manchin. We will do 
another round at least one more round, maybe two, for those 
people who want to stay. I would like to go back to climate 
science, Mr. Administrator, because as you know NASA is the 
biggest funder of climate science, and the government, but of 
course it is not the only one. NOAA, Energy, EPA, there are 
many other agencies that address the climate crisis. One of the 
challenges is how those agencies all work together to address 
climate, the research and what we can do to respond, can you 
talk to NASA's role in climate science, and how you see NASA 
working with those other agencies?
    Mr. Nelson. Senator, you have put your finger on the fact 
that people do not realize how inextricably entwined NASA is on 
all matters having to do with climate. You initially think of 
it as NOAA, the National Weather Service, which is a part of 
NOAA, the fact is that the spacecraft are designed, they are 
built, they are launched by NASA, and NOAA operates the 
spacecraft, looking for all the subtle changes, differences, 
weather reports, et cetera.
    You would be perhaps surprised to learn that two-thirds of 
NOAA's budget is paid to NASA, two-thirds of its total budget 
because of this uniqueness of us building and launching these 
spacecraft. The assets that are up there on orbit that have so 
helped us refine our weather reports, our predictions of 
disasters, of warning people to get out of the way of storms, 
of telling them about droughts, of telling them about floods, 
that is all there. But we are taking it to another level.
    For over the next 10 years, this was the President's 
announcement about two weeks ago in the press conference that 
occurred at FEMA, at the onslaught of the hurricane season, 
NASA is building five great observatories. Over this decade, 
they are going to be put up, and they all talk to each other, 
and they produce a 3D result by getting very, meticulous data 
from the land, the sea, the ice, and the atmosphere, and all of 
that is correlated to give us a 3D composite of what is 
happening to our atmosphere.
    When I say that word, I suddenly, in my mind's eye, flash 
back to floating in front of that spacecraft window, looking at 
the rim of the Earth and seeing that thin little film, which is 
the atmosphere that sustains all of life. That is what we want 
to know what is happening so that we can take corrective 
action.
    Senator Shaheen. I mentioned the fact that the University 
of New Hampshire is one of the leading research institutions 
with respect to heliophysics, which we know has a real impact 
on our weather patterns and what happens on Earth. Obviously 
continuing to support heliophysics is going to be very 
important as we are looking at climate science.
    Again, how does NASA plan to support future investments in 
space weather, and including that heliophysics and how does 
NASA interact with NOAA? You pointed out the really symbiotic 
relationship between NASA and NOAA, but do they share all that 
information when you talk about getting that picture of what is 
happening on Earth with respect to climate? Is that shared with 
NOAA with all the other agencies that are also doing climate 
research?
    Mr. Nelson. Yes, ma'am, and that is enhanced with a 
special--I don't know what it is called--but in effect a 
committee in the White House that makes sure that all of these 
environmental agencies that have data are sharing it with each 
other so that we know more precisely exactly what is happening 
to the planet.
    That, for example, that we can warn farmers that a drought 
is coming, or that we have got the ability to look down with 
these highly-sensitive instruments from space that can tell 
that farmer that there is a disease in the crop, or to look at 
that forest and say that there is a disease in that forest 
that, otherwise, we earthlings might not have known, but which 
was caught on the instruments in space.
    Yes, ma'am, that coordination is occurring. Our former 
colleague, John Kerry, is more involved in the international 
aspects of looking at that, but there is this attempt to 
coordinate all the agencies that do that. Of course, NASA is a 
main component of it because of what I just mentioned, even 
though people don't realize that. You think of NASA as space.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you.
    Senator Capito.
    Senator Capito. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    It is good to see you. I am sorry. I missed your 
confirmation hearing. I hope it was not too tough on you there. 
I think you kind of breezed through that one pretty, pretty 
well, but it is nice to see you.
    Mr. Nelson. I was fortunate.
    Senator Capito. I am pleased to see that what was formerly 
the Restore-L which is the OSAM-1, which is the funding level 
for $227 million in the budget request, there is great work 
being done in my home State, in West Virginia, at the West 
Virginia Robotic Technology Center. This is where you are 
working on restoring satellites in space, instead of just 
letting them, you know, drift off. It makes a whole lot of 
sense. I don't know if you can elaborate on that, and how that 
is going and why you feel that is a high priority for NASA?
    Mr. Nelson. Yes, ma'am. When you put up a highly-
sophisticated instrument, and it has a glitch, or say it starts 
running out of fuel, and here is this multi-million dollar 
spacecraft, we are now developing the technology that you can 
send out, basically, what the Hubble Rescue Mission did with 
astronauts to repair the Hubble defective lens, in this case to 
go robotically to the spacecraft that needs this mechanical 
fix, this additional gas in order to have the fuel that it 
needs to continue its life, or whatever repair is there. That 
is being done.
    The sophistication of spacecraft that can do this at a 
point way up there on orbit and you can rendezvous robotically, 
and fix that spacecraft. And that is what the project is that 
you are speaking about.
    Senator Capito. Right. As I said, some of that work is 
being done in West Virginia, and you read in the paper quite a 
bit, and it seems like more and more, that space debris is 
becoming a problem. I am sure with the OSAM-1, obviously since 
you can repair in space and elongate the life of a satellite, 
or something, obviously could help address some of that issue. 
I just want you to comment on that.
    Mr. Nelson. Yes ma'am. In this budget of the President, 
there is $227 million there for this project.
    Senator Capito. Right. I know Senator Manchin mentioned the 
IV&V Center in our State as well. We are very proud of the 
workforce there. They do a lot of internships with West 
Virginia University and Fairmont State. I think they still have 
capacity there to help across, really, all parts of government 
to do the verification that they do.
    I would just encourage the emphasis that you all at NASA 
put on that facility to increase the footprint, and utilize the 
workforce there. Because I mean, it is not like they are not--
they have got plenty to do, but they have some more capacity, I 
think, where they could do more. Keep that----
    Mr. Nelson. Yes, ma'am. I said to him that I hope the two 
of you will invite me to come. I would like to go with you. I 
want to see it.
    Senator Capito. Yes.
    Mr. Nelson. Then I told him a story about Katherine 
Johnson.
    Senator Capito. She was an amazing, amazing woman. Which 
brings me to my last thing I wanted to ask you, we had Peggy 
Whitson who was a very famous female--is a very famous female 
astronaut who, interestingly, is going be the pilot for one of 
the private ventures into space. I saw her name listed, and she 
was such an--I took her to classrooms--and such an inspiration 
to our youngest generation of particularly young women, girls. 
That's when she told the story that she became inspired by 
seeing somebody walk on the Moon when she was in second grade; 
that is when she decided she wanted to try to be an astronaut.
    We have also--did a remote with a female astronaut who was 
actually American who was in Russia at the time. I think I told 
you this on the phone. There again, to that next generation of 
dreamers and aspirational young women, is this a big area of 
influence for NASA in terms of trying to diversify the 
workforce in a lot of different ways? I am specifically asking 
about women. I know there is going to be one going to the Moon. 
I am excited about that.
    Mr. Nelson. Absolutely. I go back in my history, I have 
already recounted for the subcommittee that the first real 
breakthrough on astronauts in diversifying was the class of 
1978, the first Space Shuttle group of astronauts. A lot of it 
came from NASA having a contract with a former actress who 
played Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek.
    Senator Capito. Oh, yes.
    Mr. Nelson. She went out and recruited women and 
minorities. That was quite a diverse class that broke the mould 
of the test pilot who could only be so high, and had to weigh 
so much, in those early space days. Now we have a very diverse 
Astronaut Corps. Same with the employees at NASA, we are being 
very mindful to diversify. This I believe is directed for the 
entire executive branch of government. I take it very, very 
seriously, as I did as Senator. We had--I think we had a 
percentage of more women in my Senate staff than only one other 
Senator. I take this very seriously.
    Senator Capito. Thank you. Thank you for being here with us 
today. Thank you.
    Mr. Nelson. Yes, ma'am.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Capito.
    Senator Moran.
    Senator Moran. Chairwoman, thank you very much.
    Mr. Administrator, two tracks I think they are out there 
when it comes to the Moon. The first is to get to the Moon and 
demonstrate that it can be done safely. Then the second is to 
plan and be prepared for a sustained presence, or reoccurring 
presence, perhaps, on the Moon. I understand NASA is preparing, 
and engaged in a sustainability study. What can you tell me 
about that? Can we expect to be briefed on what that is? Does 
anything that comes from that sustainability study change any 
of the appropriations requests for this fiscal year, the one we 
are talking about?
    Mr. Nelson. At the moment, no. However, everything is on 
hold until the GAO makes their announcement on the competition 
for the first demonstration lander. Shortly thereafter, we will 
produce the sustainability study. In part, that will lay out 
for you what is the realistic cost as we are going forward with 
all of these landers that we are going to be doing on the Moon 
in preparation for the Mars mission. The activity is on the 
Moon as well.
    It will demonstrate, what is it going to take to sustain 
this for us to be serious about going to Mars. Now, presently 
our technology to go to Mars is that it is going to take 10 
months or so to get there under conventional propulsion or even 
nuclear electric propulsion that we are starting to research. 
Once you get there, you are going to have to stay on the 
surface for at least a year, if not 2 years, because of the 
alignment of the planets, so that Mars and Earth get closer so 
that you can get back within that timeframe.
    If we had a breakthrough propulsion technology that we 
could sprint to Mars and get there, as some of the research 
being done, in 39 days, then you could be on the surface for a 
few weeks and then return. That technology has not been 
developed yet. These are the kinds of things: How are we going 
to protect astronauts from getting fried by a solar explosion. 
Earlier, one of the senators had mentioned about--well you, 
Madam Chair--heliosphere, that is this study of the Sun.
    Of course one of the things that we had to be concerned 
about is a nuclear explosion on the Sun, which is a solar 
explosion, and it sends out all of this radiation going all 
over space. If you don't have your astronauts protected then 
you can imagine. As a matter of fact, we just missed it on the 
Moon back in Apollo, a few weeks after we had landed on one of 
the missions there was a solar explosion, and there would have 
been some irradiated astronauts had we been exposed.
    When we are thinking about a long trip to Mars, or when we 
are thinking about having some kind of habitat on the Moon in 
preparation to learn about having a habitat on Mars, then that 
is another technology that we are going to have to create. We 
know lead does it, we know water does it, but those things are 
heavy. We are trying for a breakthrough. This is just another 
example of some of the technologies that we are going to have 
to develop as we venture further out into the cosmos.
    Senator Moran. Senator--Administrator, you highlight or 
point out that the trip to the Moon is certainly more than a 
trip to the Moon. It is related to future space exploration, at 
the moment generally focused on Mars. I mean, I would 
encourage, we want to make sure that our visit to the Moon is 
not just a visit, it is not just a planting a flag, or the 
bragging rights, that it lends itself to more on the Moon, on 
Mars and beyond.
    I assume that takes a balancing act in trying to figure out 
what it is we do today in preparation for tomorrow. And you 
have described that. Is there anything else I should know about 
that, or----?
    Mr. Nelson. The reason we want to use the Moon in 
preparation to go to Mars, is that the Moon is 3 days away, and 
Mars is months and months away. We can use the properties of an 
airless vacuum on the Moon with one-sixth gravity in 
preparation for long-duration space flight and habitation on 
the surface of Mars, one-third gravity.
    It is going to get--it is going to get very technically 
complicated to do that. I look forward to getting educated on 
it, and bring some of those smart people to this subcommittee 
to tell you about what all we are going to have to do. In a 
spacecraft, for example, if it took us 10 months to Mars, and 
suddenly they land and they are in one-third gravity, what is 
that long trip in zero gravity? Can we start some kind of 
cylindrical spacecraft that will rotate with centrifugal force 
that would create an artificial gravity that would make that 
long duration space flight more palatable?
    We are seeing what long-duration space flight does in the 
Space Station. It is one of the reasons for having the Space 
Station right now in low-Earth orbit. See what that does to the 
human body.
    Senator Moran. I appreciate your suggestion of bringing 
those scientists and experts, not intending to speak for the 
chair, but I think we would both be very interested in that 
kind of opportunity. My final, concluding question--my 
concluding question, James Webb Telescope, are we behind--are 
the challenges that have delayed us for so long, seemingly 
behind us?
    Mr. Nelson. I certainly hope so, and I believe so. The most 
recent report that you have heard that there is a delay this is 
very minor, and it has nothing to do with the spacecraft or the 
rocket. It has to do with the preparation of the rocket by the 
Ariane folks, and it is the Ariane rocket, because they have 
only got one vehicle assembly building, and they have got two 
Ariane rocket launchings before the Telescope launching.
    It has only been moved from October 31, two weeks later, to 
the middle of November. That is another Co-Del that you all may 
want to consider going to.
    Senator Moran. What is the launch date?
    Mr. Nelson. This November.
    Senator Moran. November?
    Mr. Nelson. This November. By the way, once that is up 
there, this will just blow your mind. The universe is 13.5 
billion years old. This telescope is going to look back in time 
to the first 150 million years since the big bang and capture 
the light from that time. In other words, it is going to look 
back in time, 13.35 billion years. What it is going to show us 
is: What did it look like? What was the composition at the very 
formation of the first galaxies?
    That is going to be revolutionary what we find out about 
astrophysics and astronomy. You know that we are picking up 
exoplanets already with the Hubble Space Telescope. We are 
seeing conditions around other--Sun, stars, where they have 
planets that revolve about them. It is thought that we are 
discovering other worlds that could be like our own. As we 
explore our own solar system, we are going to Venus, and we are 
going to see why does that have such a thick prohibitive 
atmosphere that heats it up so that it will melt lead on the 
surface.
    It is: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, a habitable planet, then 
Mars an uninhabitable planet that has a very thin atmosphere, 1 
percent of Earth's atmosphere. Why is that like that? Are there 
elements in Venus and Mars that in these billions of years of 
development of what we know as our solar system, that there 
might have been the elements of life there that will give us 
the clues about all of these other solar systems in these other 
galaxies. It is going to be an exciting time. That is what the 
Webb Telescope is going to do for us.
    Senator Moran. Administrator, thank you for your brevity. 
Yes, thank you for your smile. I saw the Perseverance landing 
at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and at that point in time 
also visited the Webb, James Webb Telescope just before it was 
folded up and ready to be moved for transport. It is an 
exciting circumstance and a great opportunity for knowledge and 
practicality.
    Chairwoman, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Administrator.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you very much. I have just one 
more area that I would like to pursue. Mr. Administrator, the 
direction of this subcommittee, as I am sure you are aware, the 
GAO, the Government Accountability Office, analyzes the cost 
and schedule performance of major NASA projects, anything more 
than--costs more than $250 million, and they found that for the 
fifth year in a row, both costs and schedule deteriorated. 
While I know that COVID contributed in the last year, the 
decline over those 5 years cannot be attributed to COVID alone. 
Can you tell us what you are doing to improve project 
management, particularly in those high-risk, high-cost 
projects?
    Mr. Nelson. Yes, ma'am. Think back to what I said, space is 
hard, and when you develop very sophisticated things often you 
get delays, and if it is not a fixed-price contract, like we 
made the landing on the Moon with humans, that is fixed price, 
and you often get these cost overruns. I am committed to 
continue to try to improve NASA's acquisition management 
discipline. I think there is a lot still to be done on that.
    Senator Shaheen. Clearly.
    Mr. Nelson. I am going to try. GAO has recognized that NASA 
has made significant progress in their latest 2021 iteration of 
their high risk--in their high-risk report, and specifically 
NASA was credited for improvement in two of five criteria 
areas; leadership commitment, and monitoring, that GAO 
considers as they determine NASA's future standing on their 
high-risk report. But, you know, more has to be done.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. I appreciate your commitment to 
addressing this. I guess my final question is: Do you think 
that 2024 is a realistic date for a return to the Moon?
    Mr. Nelson. It is our goal. Space is hard, as I just said. 
When you are pressing the edge of the envelope often you get 
delays and you get technical things that happen that you did 
not anticipate. The goal is still 2024.
    Senator Shaheen. I will take that as a maybe.
    Mr. Nelson. Yes, ma'am.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you very much for your 
testimony this afternoon. If there are no further questions, 
senators have until June 22 to submit additional questions for 
the record, and we expect and request that NASA would respond 
to those questions within 30 days.
    [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but 
were submitted to the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration for response subsequent to the hearing:]
                Questions Submitted to Hon. Bill Nelson
            Questions Submitted by Senator Joe Manchin, III
   a review of the fiscal year 2022 budget request for the national 
                  aeronautics and space administration
    Question 1. Located just down the road from the Katherine Johnson 
IV&V Facility, the West Virginia Robotics Technology Center (WVRTC) has 
been the lead academic partner for NASA's Restore-L satellite servicing 
mission since 2009.
    Two years ago, NASA made the decision to combine the Restore-L 
satellite servicing mission with the Space Infrastructure Dexterous 
Robot (SPIDER), which will demonstrate manufacturing and assembly of a 
communications antenna in space. Both of these programs will be 
launched onboard the On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 
(OSAM-1) spacecraft.
    I applaud NASA and its industry partners like Maxar for thinking 
outside the box to achieve cost-savings and ensure these critical 
programs move forward.

    A. Can you tell me how that program is progressing?

          Answer. In fiscal year 2021, OSAM-1 continued the development 
        of the spacecraft bus and completed the spacecraft propulsion 
        module integration. Seven subsystem critical design reviews 
        were successfully conducted. The SPIDER payload held its 
        Critical Design Review in February 2021 and initiated payload 
        and integration activities. The project also completed 
        construction of the Mission Operations Center at Goddard Space 
        Flight Center (GSFC). Psionic LLC was awarded a non-exclusive, 
        commercial license for the OSAM-1 Kodiak Lidar to enhance their 
        capabilities for precision navigation.
          OSAM-1 successfully completed an integrated flight 
        demonstration mission Critical Design Review in February 2022 
        and the Servicing Payload integration will commence. The 
        spacecraft mechanical and electrical integration is in progress 
        and the spacecraft bus and the SPIDER pallet will be integrated 
        in fiscal year 2022. OSAM-1 will continue to leverage 
        Technology Transfer mechanisms and pursue partnerships with 
        interested U.S. companies through Space Act Agreements to 
        transfer knowledge and capabilities to industry.

    B. Is the current budget of $227 million sufficient to keep the 
launch on track?

          Answer. The $227 million requested in NASA's budget is 
        sufficient for fiscal year 2022. Due to COVID-19, the project 
        has been experiencing cost, technical and schedule issues, 
        forcing the project to replan. The project recently completed 
        its replan efforts to incorporate COVID-19 impacts. A breach 
        notification was sent to Congress on February 14, 2022.

    Question 2. Programs like NASA's Established Program to Stimulate 
Competitive Research, known as EPSCoR, are critically important for 
building research capacity in my state. EPSCoR in particular is aimed 
at increasing research capacity in States that have traditionally 
received lower amounts of research funding from the Federal Government. 
As someone from an EPSCoR State, you understand the value of this 
program in ensuring that States like West Virginia get continued 
research infrastructure funding so that they can make meaningful 
contributions to NASA moving forward.
    In West Virginia, NASA funding allowed students and researchers to 
continue with various research projects in the areas of advanced 
materials and robotics.

    A. Do you believe that sustained funding for programs like NASA 
EPSCoR will be sufficient for the growing demands for STEM?

          Answer. EPSCoR is one of many government-funded programs that 
        are supporting STEM. Specific to West Virginia, the state 
        continues to be a recipient of EPSCoR funds. The WV EPSCoR site 
        is located at West Virginia University. OSTEM/EPSCoR currently 
        has an investment of $4,949,997 in active research awards in 
        West Virginia. This year (fiscal year 2022) West Virginia has 
        participated in the Research Infrastructure Development (RID) 
        solicitation resulting in a $1,000,000 award with a 5-year 
        period of performance, and thus far they submitted two 
        proposals to the Rapid Response Research solicitation 
        (currently in review).

    Question 3. West Virginia isn't just helping validate the software 
and design the robotics for our space programs, West Virginia 
manufacturers are also key suppliers for the Artemis program's return 
to the Moon.
    For example, the Constellium plant in Ravenswood, West Virginia 
provides the aluminum plating and material for Boeing's Space Launch 
System (SLS), ULA's Vulcan Centaur, Blue Origin's New Glenn, and the 
Space X Falcon vehicles. They are working with Lockheed on the Orion 
vehicle and the Artemis Gateway Habitat. I couldn't be more proud that 
aluminum manufactured in West Virginia and made by West Virginians will 
form the very basis of the spacecraft that will take Americans to the 
moon and beyond.

          Answer. Motion Industries, Inc., of Huntington, West 
        Virginia, supplies fasteners to Boeing for the Space Launch 
        System rocket.
          Constellium is still an Artemis provider, supporting NASA's 
        Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the vehicles 
        that will ultimately send humans farther into deep space than 
        ever before. Both programs use Constellium's innovative 
        aluminum-lithium alloy solution, Airware. Constellium has the 
        unique capability to produce very wide and thick plates for 
        space modules. Airware's inherent low density, high-specific 
        stiffness, strength and excellent mechanical properties provide 
        the high-performance characteristics required especially during 
        the demanding launch and landing phases.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Chris Van Hollen
    Question 1. The James Webb Space Telescope will build on Hubble's 
discoveries, allowing us to see back in time 13.5 billion years to 
explore the creation of galaxies and stars. NASA Goddard has led the 
work on this mission, and the Space Telescope Science Institute will 
lead mission operations after its launch. It has also has served as an 
example of international collaboration, with NASA working with the 
European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
    With the recent concerns regarding Ariane 5 that may impact the 
launch date of Webb, how is NASA working with the European Space Agency 
to ensure an on-schedule and successful launch?

          Answer. NASA worked closely with partners at the European 
        Space Agency and Arianespace to ensure a successful launch of 
        the James Webb Space Telescope on December 25, 2021. Webb is 
        currently undergoing commissioning at its final location in 
        space and is expected to produce the first scientific images in 
        summer of 2022.

    Question 2. The Roman Telescope is expected to revolutionize our 
understanding of deep space with unprecedented detail and will 
dramatically increase the speed in which scientists have access to data 
on some of our universe's greatest mysteries. In 2010, the Roman 
Telescope was the top priority for the next decade of astronomy by the 
National Research Council Decadal Survey committee on Astronomy and 
Astrophysics.
    Does the Roman Telescope remain an important priority for NASA?

          Answer. Roman remains a top priority for NASA's Science 
        Mission Directorate, and its fiscal year 22 funding by Congress 
        will allow the project to keep making progress toward a May 
        2027 launch readiness date.

    Question 3. In 2017, PFAS were detected in Wallops Flight Facility 
and the Town of Chincoteague drinking water wells, and I have voiced my 
concerns to the previous administration over this issue. I understand 
NASA is conducting groundwater testing and had been installing a 
groundwater treatment system for the Town of Chincoteague.
    What is NASA doing to continue monitoring the environmental safety 
of WFF and the surrounding communities?

          Answer. NASA continues to conduct groundwater testing of the 
        Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) and the Town of Chincoteague's 
        drinking water and its supply wells. NASA's WFF stopped using 
        two drinking water supply wells on the WFF Main Base when PFAS 
        were detected below the Environmental Protection Agency's 
        Lifetime Health Advisory levels in 2017 and 2019. In February 
        2022, NASA installed a new replacement well and began 
        construction to connect the new well to the WFF Main Base 
        drinking water system. As of February 28, 2022, the groundwater 
        treatment system for the Town has treated over 34 million 
        gallons of water, and ongoing testing continues to show the 
        system is effectively removing PFAS to below detection levels.

    Question 4. I believe it is important that the Planetary Science 
program protect the timelines and funding for Discovery and New 
Frontiers. These programs provide taxpayers and scientists with 
missions that address key questions about our solar system, using fewer 
resources and shorter development time. Mission proposals are led by 
scientists, can include contributions from industry, universities, and 
government labs, and are assessed for selection through a competitive, 
peer review process. In 2019, the Applied Physics Laboratory's 
Dragonfly, which will explore Saturn's moon Titan, was selected as the 
New Frontiers program's fourth mission. Earlier this month, NASA 
announced its 2019 Discovery program competition selections--Goddard's 
DAVINCI+ and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's VERITAS--to go to Venus.
    Can you commit to protect the selection process and timelines so 
that New Frontiers maintains two selections per decade, as the 
Planetary Science Decadal Survey recommends, and Discovery makes a new 
announcement of opportunity approximately every 2 years, the 
expectation when both programs were created by Congress more than two 
decades ago?

          Answer. NASA strongly concurs with the importance of the New 
        Frontiers and Discovery cadence recommended by the Planetary 
        Science Decadal Survey, but also needs to take into account the 
        ability of the Planetary Science budget to support any selected 
        missions from a new Announcement of Opportunity (AO) and 
        funding needs from missions already in development such as the 
        Dragonfly mission. NASA has proceeded cautiously given COVID-19 
        impacts and continued to support previously selected missions.
          NASA's Discovery 2019 AO in planetary science remained on 
        schedule, despite COVID-19, leading to the selection of DAVINCI 
        and VERITAS in June 2021. NASA had to announce last year, 
        however, that the final New Frontiers-5 (NF5) AO would need to 
        be delayed by approximately 2 years and move to fall 2024.
          NASA is pleased to announce that the fiscal year 2023 
        President's budget request would advance the final NF5 AO 
        release date forward to no earlier than 2023. The next 
        Discovery AO would follow this NF5 call. This timing would 
        allow the agency to respond to recommendations in the new 
        Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey for 2023-2032 
        and identify priorities for these opportunities.

                          SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

    Senator Shaheen. The subcommittee now stands in recess 
until Wednesday, June 23, when we will hold a hearing on the 
budget request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Thank 
you.
    [Whereupon, at 3:32 p.m., Tuesday, June 15, the 
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of 
the Chair.]


  COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2022

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The subcommittee met at 2:06 p.m., in room 192, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeanne Shaheen (Chairman) 
presiding.
    Present: Senators Shaheen, Leahy, Feinstein, Reed, Coons, 
Moran, Graham, Boozman, Capito, Kennedy, Hagerty, and Braun.

                    FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

              OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN

    Senator Shaheen. Good afternoon. I apologize again for 
being late. I am delighted to open this Commerce, Justice and 
Science Appropriations subcommittee hearing with FBI Director 
Christopher Wray. We are very pleased to have you here and look 
forward to our conversation. I will just point out before we go 
into the hearing that we are going to take Members and anybody 
who arrives after the gavel in order of arrival and that 
everyone is appearing in person, we are not having anybody 
appear remotely. So thank you all very much for joining us this 
afternoon and we will begin.
    Director Wray, the FBI continues to be the gold standard 
for law enforcement agencies worldwide. We count on the more 
than 35,000 men and women of the FBI to protect our country 
from violent criminals, terrorists, and foreign agents who mean 
us great harm. I want to thank them, and of course you as their 
leader for their dedication and service to the Nation, and in 
particular for their response to the attack on the Capitol on 
January 6 and their ongoing investigations into this 
insurrection attempt.
    The work of the FBI as we will hear today is vast, but it 
is critical. It covers key investigations into 
counterterrorism, intelligence, child exploitation, and 
financial and health care fraud, as well as the operation of 
the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the 
system that checks available records to ensure people 
purchasing firearms can legally own them. This year's budget is 
a request of $10.3 billion, and it reflects the need to support 
the important missions of the FBI. For the FBI salaries and 
expenses, this request is an increase of $465 million above 
fiscal year 2021 enacted.
    And I would just--it struck me as I was going through the 
briefing on the budget that your request calls for hiring over 
150 new personnel. And I am going to be interested in hearing 
if you have any concerns about actually finding people, given 
some of the other challenges that I know we are having with 
workforce in other parts of the country. But, of course, the 
FBI faces newer challenges almost daily. We all saw one of 
those challenges, ransomware, front and center in the news last 
month as the Colonial Pipeline shutdown. That was followed by 
an attack on the systems of meat processor, JBS. Now, 
thankfully, both companies were able to get their systems back 
online and the FBI even helped to track down and return nearly 
half of the ransom Colonial Pipeline pay. So congratulations to 
you and all the agents who are involved in that effort, of 
course.
    Unfortunately, not everyone has success with unlocking 
their IT systems. And it is not just large companies that are 
being targeted by hackers. It is also smaller hospital and 
education systems, small businesses, and even police 
departments as we saw recently with the Metro D.C. Police 
Department. The New Hampshire Insurance Department has just 
issued a warning to insurers on June 11 of possible ransomware 
attacks with a few best practices to protect IT infrastructure 
and data. So I am interested in hearing your thoughts on this 
problem, how the FBI can help, and how we can try to get better 
reporting on these kinds of crimes.
    I have also been deeply concerned, as I know the other 
Members of this subcommittee are, by the reported directed 
energy attacks in Cuba, China, and other locations on our 
Government personnel. These attacks have left American public 
servants and their families suffering alone for years with 
mysterious brain injuries, without full transparency or 
guarantee of treatment. Fortunately, we are seeing improvement 
in that area. And I was pleased that the Senate passed the 
Havana Act on June 7.
    I hope the House also quickly acts to pass in. This bill 
would allow the CIA Director, the Secretary of State, and 
leadership at other Federal agencies to provide injured 
employees with additional financial support for brain injuries. 
I will have some questions for you today on the FBI's ongoing 
investigation into these attacks and how you are working with 
other agencies within the Government.
    So I look forward to your testimony today, Director Wray, 
as I know we all do, and to our discussion. With that, I would 
like to now turn to subcommittee Ranking Member Senator Moran 
for his remarks.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JERRY MORAN

    Senator Moran. Chair Shaheen, thank you for convening this 
hearing. And Senator Shaheen convened a classified hearing with 
the Director in March of this year. However Director, this is 
the first hearing with you in the CJS subcommittee since May of 
2019, so welcome back. Before turning to the FBI budget, the 
FBI's budget request for this fiscal year, I want to express my 
condolences at the loss of agents Laura Schwartzenberger and 
Daniel Alfin in February of this year. Shortly after their 
deaths just a few days, I met with special agents and staff of 
the FBI Miami's field office, and it was apparent to me that 
both of those individuals were highly regarded. They were 
considered friends and family.
    And so I expressed my deepest sympathies to the entire FBI 
bureau family. Laura and Daniel are heroes, and our country 
should always remember them as such. In regard to the budget 
that is before us Director, the FBI is requesting $10.2 billion 
for salaries and expenses in fiscal year 2022. This amount is 
$465 million, or about 4.8 percent above the fiscal year 2021 
that was enacted. However, more than two thirds of that amount 
is for inflationary costs. Perhaps I am making a statement that 
you want known. It includes employee benefits and rental space.
    The FBI is only requesting $151 million in programing 
increases. These are for initiatives that will actually bolster 
the FBI's capacity to execute its mission. And while employees 
and staff and space are important, there are a lot of 
initiatives that I think the FBI needs to be fully engaged in. 
In the news, we--the FBI's efforts to protect the United States 
from terrorist attacks, from counterintelligence threats, from 
Governments like China, to neutralize threats from cyber 
criminals, ransomware gangs, they are apparent. However, the 
FBI budget also supports critical law enforcement, public 
safety matters, including $492 million to combat international 
drug cartels and violent gangs, $62 million to investigate and 
prevent human trafficking, and $223 million to address crimes 
against children.
    Kansans, like most Americans, are deeply committed to 
public safety and strongly support law enforcement. This 
hearing is an opportunity for you, Director, for the Bureau, to 
explain how it is putting taxpayer dollars to good use, to 
benefit the good use to benefit the safety of our public.
    And I look forward to working with you, and Senator 
Shaheen, and Members of this subcommittee, the subcommittee, as 
we work to craft the fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill for 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Thank you. Thank you, 
Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Director.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Moran. Director Wray.
STATEMENT OF HON. CHRISTOPHER WRAY, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL 
            BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
    Director Wray. Well, good afternoon, Chairwoman Shaheen, 
Ranking Member Moran, Members of the subcommittee. I want to 
first thank you all for the support that you have provided to 
the FBI in the past and for inviting me here today to talk 
about the Bureau's fiscal year 2022 budget request. In many 
ways, the men and women of the bureau are busier today than we 
have ever been. In fact, I will tell you that hardly a day goes 
by when I am not struck by some inspiring demonstration of 
courage and sacrifice on the part of our workforce for the 
American people. You know, the depth and the breadth of their 
impact on a remarkable volume of threats is just extraordinary.
    I mean, just within the past couple of years, we have 
thwarted potential terrorist attacks in places like Las Vegas, 
Tampa, New York, Cleveland, Kansas City, Miami, and elsewhere. 
In a single month recently, we arrested over 600 violent gang 
members. That is 1 month. Every 10 to 12 hours, we are opening 
a new China counterintelligence investigation. You all both 
mentioned ransomware. We are now investigating over 100 
different types of ransomware, and each of those types has 
scores and scores of victims. We have opened hundreds and 
hundreds of COVID fraud investigations.
    We performed a record high last year, 40 million NICS 
firearms background checks. Every single day, every single day, 
we receive thousands of tips to our national threat operations 
center, our NTOC, many of which involve imminent threats to 
life that require swift action by our field offices and our 
partners. And many of those threats involve harm to children. 
And just over the last year or so, our folks arrested over 
1,400 of the worst child predators, saving hundreds of kids 
from sexual exploitation. And the list goes on and on. Now, 
keep in mind, this work happened right in the teeth of the 
global pandemic because, of course, the FBI kept coming to work 
every single day. And it is also happening despite the 
troubling upsurge in attacks against law enforcement officers 
throughout the country.
    So far this year, the number of officers murdered on the 
job is far surpassing last year's pace, and it is about two 
officers murdered per week. Tragically, that includes the loss 
of two members of the FBI family, as Senator Moran mentioned, 
special agents Laura Schwartzenberger and Daniel Alfin, both 
shot and killed down near Miami in February. And we honor Dan 
and Laura's memory every day through our work, work which has 
unfortunately not gotten any easier given the diverse array of 
threats we face as a country.
    And that is why I appreciated having a candid conversation 
with all of you during the classified roundtable back in March. 
And I wish that I could tell you that we have got all the 
resources we need to carry out our mission to protect the 
American people and uphold the Constitution. But the funds that 
we are requesting will go a long way towards doing just that. 
And before we turn to your questions, I do want to spend a few 
minutes talking about some of the enhancements that we are 
requesting. So first, terrorism, terrorism remains the FBI's 
top priority, as you know.
    With our partners, the FBI has already made over 500 
arrests in connection with the Capitol attack to date, which is 
an extraordinary undertaking, and there is more work and more 
charges sure to come. Unfortunately, January 6 was not an 
isolated event. Domestic terrorism has been and continues to be 
a top concern for the FBI. So much so, so much so that over the 
past 3 years, we doubled our domestic terrorism investigations 
and arrests. And that is in no small part because of the rise 
in racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists, which 
I elevated to our highest threat priority level back in 2019.
    And because of the rise in violence from a whole range of 
anti-Government, anti-authority actors over the past year, 
including last summer and in different ways, of course, on 
January 6 itself. I have repeatedly highlighted the severity of 
the threat more than a dozen times in testimony since starting 
in this job, and it is why we are requesting a $45 million 
enhancement for additional personnel and tools to investigate 
the domestic terrorism threat and more easily share information 
with our partners.
    Second, cyber, cyber is another of our top priorities, and 
it is easy to see why with intrusions like the Colonial 
Pipeline, and Solar Winds hacks, and the Hafnium compromise of 
Microsoft Exchange servers becoming all too common. While 
dealing with those, we are also contending with hundreds of 
other cyber threats from Nation, state, and criminal actors 
alike. And our $40 million enhancement request is an important 
step towards ensuring that we have got the right people and 
tools in place to address the evolving threats by some very 
sophisticated cyber adversaries. We are also asking for an 
enhancement of a little over $15 million to improve our own 
cyber security. Those funds will help us secure our 
infrastructure and limit vulnerabilities that threaten the 
FBI's mission.
    And we are requesting funding to address our dramatically 
expanded jurisdiction over crimes committed on Tribal land 
following the Supreme Court's McGirt decision. That $25.5 
million enhancement will fund our increased operational needs 
in the State of Oklahoma while Federal, State, and Tribal 
authorities work on a more long term solution. Of course, these 
things that I just listed off are far from our only challenges.
    On top of all these things, we also face an unrelenting 
counterintelligence threat from China, Russia, Iran, and North 
Korea, and the full spectrum of criminal threats from hate 
crimes and other civil rights abuses to violent crime spikes in 
a whole bunch of cities across this country, to human 
trafficking and crimes against children, just to name a few.
    The funding you provide will help us address all these 
areas. So thank you again for making sure the FBI has the 
resources we need to stay ahead of our adversaries and keep the 
American people safe. I look forward to your questions.

    [The statement follows:]
             Prepared Statement of Hon. Christopher A. Wray
    Good morning, Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members 
of the subcommittee. I am honored to be here, representing the men and 
women of the FBI. Our people--nearly 37,000 of them--are the heart of 
the Bureau. I am proud of their service and their commitment to our 
mission. Every day, they tackle their jobs with perseverance, 
professionalism, and integrity--sometimes at the greatest of costs.
    Earlier this year, two of our agents made the ultimate sacrifice in 
the line of duty. Special Agents Dan Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger 
left home to carry out the mission they signed up for--to keep the 
American people safe. They were executing a Federal court-ordered 
search warrant in a violent crimes against children investigation in 
Sunrise, Florida, when they were shot and killed. Three other agents 
were also wounded that day. We'll be forever grateful for their 
commitment and their dedication--for their last full measure of 
devotion to the people they served and defended. We will always honor 
their sacrifice.
    Despite the many challenges our FBI workforce has faced, I am 
immensely proud of their dedication to protecting the American people 
and upholding the Constitution. Our country has faced unimaginable 
challenges this past year. Yet, through it all, whether it was coming 
to the aid of our partners during the Capitol siege and committing all 
of our resources to ensuring that those involved in that brutal assault 
on our Democracy are brought to justice, the proliferation of terrorist 
violence moving at the speed of social media, abhorrent hate crimes, 
COVID-19 related fraud and misinformation, the increasing threat of 
cyber intrusions and state-sponsored economic espionage, malign foreign 
influence and interference, the scourge of opioid trafficking and 
abuse, or human trafficking and crimes against children, the women and 
men of the FBI have unwaveringly stood at the ready and taken it upon 
themselves to tackle any and all challenges thrown their way.
    Today, I appear before you on behalf of the men and women who 
tackle these threats and challenges every day. I am extremely proud of 
their service and commitment to the FBI's mission and to ensuring the 
safety and security of communities throughout our Nation. On their 
behalf, I would like to express my appreciation for the support you 
have given them in the past, ask for your continued support in the 
future, and pledge to be the best possible stewards of the resources 
you provide. I would like to begin by providing a brief overview of the 
FBI's fiscal year 2022 budget request, and then follow with a short 
discussion of key threats and challenges that we face, both as a Nation 
and as an organization.
                    fiscal year 2022 budget overview
    The fiscal year 2022 budget request proposes a total of $10.28 
billion in direct budget authority to carry out the FBI's national 
security, criminal law enforcement, and criminal justice services 
missions. The request includes a total of $10.21 billion for Salaries 
and Expenses, which will support 36,149 positions (13,414 Special 
Agents, 3,216 Intelligence Analysts, and 19,519 professional staff), 
and $61.9 million for Construction. The request includes six program 
enhancements totaling $160.73 million. These enhancements are proposed 
to meet critical requirements and close gaps in operational 
capabilities, including: $45.0 million for additional personnel and 
tools to investigate the threat posed by Domestic Violent Extremists 
(``DVEs''), receive and process tips from the public, and perform 
watchlisting and screening activities; $40.0 million to enhance cyber 
investigative capabilities; $18.8 million to mitigate threats from 
foreign intelligence services; $25.5 million to support the expansion 
of Federal jurisdiction for crimes committed on Tribal lands in 
response to the McGirt Supreme Court case; $6.2 million to support 
infrastructure needs related to Federal Task Force Officer (``TFO'') 
use of Body Worn Cameras; $15.23 million to enhance the FBI's 
cybersecurity posture and protect internal networks; and $10.0 million 
to maintain facilities on the FBI's Quantico campus.
                       key threats and challenges
    This Committee has provided critical resources for the FBI to 
become what it is today--a threat-focused, intelligence-driven 
organization. Our Nation continues to face a multitude of serious and 
evolving threats ranging from homegrown violent extremists to hostile 
foreign intelligence services and operatives; from sophisticated cyber-
based attacks to Internet-facilitated sexual exploitation of children; 
from violent gangs and criminal organizations to public corruption and 
corporate fraud. Keeping pace with these threats is a significant 
challenge for the FBI. As an organization, we must be able to stay 
current with constantly evolving technologies. Our adversaries--
terrorists, foreign intelligence services, and criminals--take 
advantage of modern technology, including the Internet and social 
media, to facilitate illegal activities, recruit followers, encourage 
terrorist attacks and other illicit actions, and to disperse 
information on building improvised explosive devices and other means to 
attack the U.S. The breadth of these threats and challenges are as 
complex as any time in our history. And the consequences of not 
responding to and countering threats and challenges have never been 
greater.
    The support of this Committee in helping the FBI do its part in 
facing and thwarting these threats and challenges is greatly 
appreciated. That support is allowing us to establish strong 
capabilities and capacities for assessing threats, sharing 
intelligence, leveraging key technologies, and--in some respects, most 
importantly--hiring some of the best to serve as Special Agents, 
Intelligence Analysts, and professional staff. We have built and are 
continuously enhancing a workforce that possesses the skills and 
knowledge to deal with the complex threats and challenges we face 
today--and tomorrow. We are building a leadership cadre that views 
change and transformation as a positive tool for keeping the FBI 
focused on the key threats facing our Nation.
    Today's FBI is a national security and law enforcement organization 
that uses, collects, and shares intelligence in everything we do. Each 
FBI employee understands that, to defeat the key threats facing our 
Nation, we must constantly strive to be more efficient and more 
effective. Just as our adversaries continue to evolve, so, too, must 
the FBI. We live in a time of acute and persistent terrorist and 
criminal threats to our national security, our economy, and indeed our 
communities. These diverse threats underscore the complexity and 
breadth of the FBI's mission: to protect the American people and uphold 
the Constitution of the United States.
                           national security
Capitol Violence
    First and foremost, I want to assure you, your staff, and the 
American people that the FBI has deployed our full investigative 
resources and is working closely with our Federal, State, local, 
Tribal, and territorial partners to aggressively pursue those involved 
in criminal activity during the events of January 6, 2021. We are 
working closely with our Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
partners, as well as private sector partners, to identify those 
responsible for the violence and destruction of property at the U.S. 
Capitol building who showed blatant and appalling disregard for our 
institutions of government and the orderly administration of the 
democratic process.
    FBI Special Agents, Intelligence Analysts, and professional staff 
have been hard at work gathering evidence, sharing intelligence, and 
working with Federal prosecutors to bring charges against the 
individuals involved. As we have said consistently, we do not and will 
not tolerate violent extremists who use the guise of First Amendment-
protected activity to engage in violent criminal activity. Thus far, 
the FBI has arrested hundreds of individuals with regards to rioting, 
assault on a Federal officer, property crimes violations, and 
conspiracy charges, and the work continues.
    Overall, the FBI assesses that the January 6th siege of the Capitol 
Complex demonstrates a willingness by some to use violence against the 
government in furtherance of their political and social goals. This 
ideologically motivated violence underscores the symbolic nature of the 
National Capital Region and the willingness of some Domestic Violent 
Extremists to travel to events in this area and violently engage law 
enforcement and their perceived adversaries. The American people should 
rest assured that we will continue to work to hold accountable those 
individuals who participated in the violent breach of the Capitol on 
January 6, and any others who attempt to use violence to intimidate, 
coerce, or influence the American people or affect the conduct of our 
government.
Top Terrorism Threats
    As has been stated multiple times in the past, preventing terrorist 
attacks, from any place, by any actor, remains the FBI's top priority. 
The nature of the threat posed by terrorism--both international 
terrorism (``IT'') and domestic terrorism (``DT'')--continues to 
evolve.
    The greatest terrorism threat to our Homeland is posed by lone 
actors or small cells who typically radicalize online and look to 
attack soft targets with easily accessible weapons. We see these 
threats manifested within both Domestic Violent Extremists (``DVEs'') 
and Homegrown Violent Extremists (``HVEs''), two distinct threats, both 
of which are located primarily in the United States and typically 
radicalize and mobilize to violence on their own. Individuals who 
commit violent criminal acts in furtherance of social or political 
goals stemming from domestic influences--some of which include racial 
or ethnic bias, or anti-government or anti-authority sentiments--are 
described as DVEs, whereas HVEs are individuals who are inspired 
primarily by global jihad but are not receiving individualized 
direction from Foreign Terrorist Organizations (``FTOs'').
    Domestic and Homegrown Violent Extremists are often motivated and 
inspired by a mix of socio-political, ideological, and personal 
grievances against their targets, and more recently have focused on 
accessible targets to include civilians, law enforcement and the 
military, symbols or members of the U.S. Government, houses of worship, 
retail locations, and mass public gatherings. Selecting these types of 
soft targets, in addition to the insular nature of their radicalization 
and mobilization to violence and limited discussions with others 
regarding their plans, increases the challenge faced by law enforcement 
to detect and disrupt the activities of lone actors before they occur.
    The top threat we face from DVEs continues to be from those we 
categorize as Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists 
(``RMVEs''), largely those who advocate for the superiority of the 
white race, who were the primary source of lethal attacks perpetrated 
by DVEs in 2018 and 2019. It is important to note that we have also 
recently seen an increase in fatal DVE attacks perpetrated by Anti-
Government or Anti-Authority Violent Extremists, specifically Militia 
Violent Extremists and Anarchist Violent Extremists. Anti-Government or 
Anti-Authority Violent Extremists were responsible for three of the 
four lethal DVE attacks in 2020. Also, in 2020, we saw the first lethal 
attack committed by an Anarchist Violent Extremist in over 20 years.
    Consistent with our mission, the FBI does not investigate First 
Amendment-protected speech or association, peaceful protests, or 
political activity. The FBI holds sacred the rights of individuals to 
peacefully exercise their First Amendment freedoms. Non-violent 
protests are signs of a healthy democracy, not an ailing one. 
Regardless of their specific ideology, the FBI will aggressively pursue 
those who seek to hijack legitimate First Amendment-protected activity 
by engaging in violent criminal activity such as the destruction of 
property and violent assaults on law enforcement officers that we 
witnessed on January 6th and during protests throughout the U.S. during 
the summer of 2020 and beyond. In other words, we will actively pursue 
the opening of FBI investigations when an individual uses--or threatens 
the use of--force, violence, or coercion, in violation of Federal law 
and in the furtherance of social or political goals.
    The FBI assesses HVEs are the greatest, most immediate IT threat to 
the Homeland. As I have described, HVEs are located in and radicalized 
primarily in the United States, who are not receiving individualized 
direction from global jihad-inspired FTOs but are inspired largely by 
the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (``ISIS'') and al-Qa'ida to 
commit violence. An HVE's lack of a direct connection with an FTO, 
ability to rapidly mobilize without detection, and use of encrypted 
communications pose significant challenges to our ability to 
proactively identify and disrupt them.
    The FBI remains concerned that FTOs, such as ISIS and al-Qa'ida, 
intend to carry out or inspire large-scale attacks in the United 
States. Despite its loss of physical territory in Iraq and Syria, ISIS 
remains relentless in its campaign of violence against the United 
States and our partners--both here at home and overseas. To this day, 
ISIS continues to aggressively promote its hate-fueled rhetoric and 
attract like-minded violent extremists with a willingness to conduct 
attacks against the United States and our interests abroad. ISIS' 
successful use of social media and messaging applications to attract 
individuals seeking a sense of belonging is of continued concern to us. 
Like other foreign terrorist groups, ISIS advocates for lone offender 
attacks in the United States and Western countries via videos and other 
English language propaganda that have at times specifically advocated 
for attacks against civilians, the military, law enforcement and 
intelligence community personnel.
    Al-Qa'ida maintains its desire to both conduct and inspire large-
scale, spectacular attacks. Because continued pressure has degraded 
some of the group's senior leadership, in the near term, we assess al-
Qa'ida is more likely to continue to focus on cultivating its 
international affiliates and supporting small-scale, readily achievable 
attacks in regions such as East and West Africa. Over the past year, 
propaganda from al-Qa'ida leaders continued to seek to inspire 
individuals to conduct their own attacks in the United States and other 
Western nations.
    Iran and its global proxies and partners, including Iraqi Shia 
militant groups, continue to attack and plot against the United States 
and our allies throughout the Middle East in response to U.S. pressure. 
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (``IRGC-QF'') 
continues to provide support to militant resistance groups and 
terrorist organizations. Iran also continues to support Lebanese 
Hizballah and other terrorist groups. Lebanese Hizballah has sent 
operatives to build terrorist infrastructures worldwide. The arrests of 
individuals in the United States allegedly linked to Lebanese 
Hizballah's main overseas terrorist arm, and their intelligence 
collection and procurement efforts, demonstrate Lebanese Hizballah's 
interest in long-term contingency planning activities here in the 
Homeland. Lebanese Hizballah Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah also has 
threatened retaliation for the death of IRGC-QF Commander Qassem 
Soleimani.
    As an organization, we continually adapt and rely heavily on the 
strength of our Federal, State, local, Tribal, territorial, and 
international partnerships to combat all terrorist threats to the 
United States and our interests. To that end, we use all available 
lawful investigative techniques and methods to combat these threats 
while continuing to collect, analyze, and share intelligence concerning 
the threat posed by violent extremists, in all their forms, who desire 
to harm Americans and U.S. interests. We will continue to share 
information and encourage the sharing of information among our numerous 
partners via our Joint Terrorism Task Forces across the country, and 
our Legal Attache offices around the world. The FBI's fiscal year 2022 
request includes 179 positions (including 80 Special Agents, 43 
Intelligence Analysts, and 56 professional staff) and $45.0 million to 
counter terrorism and the increasing acts of domestic terrorism 
occurring across the United States.
Lawful Access
    The problems caused by law enforcement agencies' inability to 
access electronic evidence continue to grow. Increasingly, commercial 
device manufacturers have employed encryption in such a manner that 
only the device users can access the content of the devices. This is 
commonly referred to as ``user-only-access'' device encryption. 
Similarly, more and more communications service providers are designing 
their platforms and apps such that only the parties to the 
communication can access the content. This is generally known as ``end-
to-end'' encryption. The proliferation of end-to-end and user-only-
access encryption is a serious issue that increasingly limits law 
enforcement's ability, even after obtaining a lawful warrant or court 
order, to access critical evidence and information needed to disrupt 
threats, protect the public, and bring perpetrators to justice.
    The FBI remains a strong advocate for the wide and consistent use 
of responsibly-managed encryption--encryption that providers can 
decrypt and provide to law enforcement when served with a legal order. 
Protecting data and privacy in a digitally connected world is a top 
priority for the FBI and the U.S. Government, and we believe that 
promoting encryption is a vital part of that mission. But we have seen 
that the broad application of end-to-end and user-only-access 
encryption adds negligible security advantages. It does have a negative 
effect on law enforcement's ability to protect the public. What we mean 
when we talk about lawful access is putting providers who manage 
encrypted data in a position to decrypt it and provide it to us in 
response to legal process. We are not asking for, and do not want, any 
``backdoor,'' that is, for encryption to be weakened or compromised so 
that it can be defeated from the outside by law enforcement or anyone 
else. Unfortunately, too much of the debate over lawful access has 
revolved around discussions of this ``backdoor'' straw man instead of 
what we really want and need.
    We are deeply concerned with the threat end-to-end and user-only-
access encryption pose to our ability to fulfill the FBI's duty of 
protecting the American people from every manner of Federal crime, from 
cyber-attacks and violence against children to drug trafficking and 
organized crime. We believe Americans deserve security in every walk of 
life--in their data, their streets, their businesses, and their 
communities.
    End-to-end and user-only-access encryption erode that security 
against every danger the FBI combats. For example, even with our 
substantial resources, accessing the content of known or suspected 
terrorists' data pursuant to court-authorized legal process is 
increasingly difficult. The often-online nature of the terrorist 
radicalization process, along with the insular nature of most of 
today's attack plotters, leaves fewer dots for investigators to connect 
in time to stop an attack--and end-to-end and user-only-access 
encryption increasingly hide even those often precious few and fleeting 
dots.
    In one instance, while planning and right up until the eve of the 
December 6, 2019, shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola that killed 
three U.S. sailors and severely wounded eight other Americans, deceased 
terrorist Mohammed Saeed Al-Shamrani communicated undetected with 
overseas al-Qa'ida terrorists using an end-to-end encrypted app. Then, 
after the attack, user-only-access encryption prevented the FBI from 
accessing information contained in his phones for several months. As a 
result, during the critical time period immediately following the 
shooting and despite obtaining search warrants for the deceased 
killer's devices, the FBI could not access the information on those 
phones to identify co-conspirators or determine whether they may have 
been plotting additional attacks.
    This problem spans international and domestic terrorism threats. 
Like Al-Shamrani, the plotters who sought to kidnap the Governor of 
Michigan late last year used end-to-end encrypted apps to hide their 
communications from law enforcement. Their plot was only disrupted by 
well-timed human source reporting and the resulting undercover 
operation. Subjects of our investigation into the January 6 Capitol 
siege used end-to-end encrypted communications as well.
    We face the same problem in protecting children against violent 
sexual exploitation. End-to-end and user-only-access encryption 
frequently prevent us from discovering and searching for victims. In 
particular, providers can send us vital tips that can lead to the 
rescue of a child only when those providers themselves are able to 
detect and report child exploitation being facilitated on their 
platforms and services. They cannot do that when their platforms are 
end-to-end encrypted. For example, while Facebook Messenger and Apple 
iMessage each boasts over one billion users, in 2020, the National 
Center for Missing and Exploited Children (``NCMEC'') received over 20 
million tips from Facebook,\1\ compared to 265 tips from Apple, 
according to NCMEC data and publicly available information. Apple's use 
of end-to-end encryption, which blinds it to child sexual abuse 
material being transmitted through its services, likely plays a role in 
the disparities in reporting between the two companies. We do not know 
how many children are being harmed across the country as a result of 
this under-reporting by Apple and other end-to-end providers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Facebook is planning to move its Facebook Messenger platform to 
end-to-end encryption as a default in the near future. This will result 
in the loss of most of these tips.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    When we are able to open investigations, end-to-end and user-only-
access encryption makes it much more difficult to bring perpetrators to 
justice. Much evidence of crimes against children, just like many other 
kinds of crime today, exists primarily in electronic form. If we cannot 
obtain that critical electronic evidence, our efforts are frequently 
hamstrung.
    This problem is not just limited to Federal investigations. Our 
State and local law enforcement partners have been consistently 
advising the FBI that they, too, are experiencing similar end-to-end 
and user-only-access encryption challenges, which are now being felt 
across the full range of State and local criminal law enforcement. Many 
report that even relatively unsophisticated criminal groups, like 
street gangs, are frequently using user-only-access encrypted 
smartphones and end-to-end encrypted communications apps to shield 
their activities from detection or disruption. As this problem becomes 
more and more acute for State and local law enforcement, the advanced 
technical resources needed to address even a single investigation 
involving end-to-end and user-only-access encryption will continue to 
diminish and ultimately overwhelm State and local capacity to 
investigate even common crimes.
Cyber
    In 2020, nation-state and criminal cyber actors took advantage of 
people and networks made more vulnerable by the sudden shift of our 
personal and professional lives online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 
targeting those searching for personal protective equipment, worried 
about stimulus checks, and conducting vaccine research.
    Throughout the last year, the FBI has seen a wider-than-ever range 
of cyber actors threaten Americans' safety, security, and confidence in 
our digitally connected world. But these threats will not disappear 
when the pandemic ends. Cyber-criminal syndicates and nation-states 
keep innovating ways to compromise our networks and maximize the reach 
and impact of their operations, such as by selling malware as a service 
or by targeting vendors as a way to access scores of victims by hacking 
just one provider.
    These criminals and nation-states believe that they can compromise 
our networks, steal our property, and hold our critical infrastructure 
at risk without incurring any risk themselves. In the last year alone, 
we have seen--and have publicly called out--China, North Korea, and 
Russia for using cyber operations to target U.S. COVID-19 vaccines and 
research. We have seen the far-reaching disruptive impact a serious 
supply-chain compromise can have through the SolarWinds intrusions, 
conducted by the Russian SVR. We have seen China working to obtain 
controlled defense technology and developing the ability to use cyber 
means to complement any future real-world conflict. We have seen Iran 
use cyber means to try to sow divisions and undermine our elections, 
targeting voters before the November election and threatening election 
officials after.
    As dangerous as nation-states are, we do not have the luxury of 
focusing on them alone. In the past year, we also have seen cyber 
criminals target hospitals, medical centers, and educational 
institutions for theft or ransomware. Such incidents affecting medical 
centers have led to the interruption of computer networks and systems 
that put patients' lives at an increased risk at a time when America 
faces its most dire public health crisis in generations. And we have 
seen criminal groups targeting critical infrastructure for ransom, 
causing massive disruption to our daily lives.
    We are also seeing dark web vendors who sell capabilities in 
exchange for cryptocurrency increase the difficulty of stopping what 
would once have been less dangerous offenders. What was once a ring of 
unsophisticated criminals now has the tools to paralyze entire 
hospitals, police departments, and businesses with ransomware. It is 
not that individual hackers alone have necessarily become much more 
sophisticated, but--unlike previously--they are able to rent 
sophisticated capabilities.
    We have to make it harder and more painful for hackers and 
criminals to do what they are doing. That is why I announced a new FBI 
cyber strategy last year, using the FBI's role as the lead Federal 
agency with law enforcement and intelligence responsibilities to not 
only pursue our own actions, but to work seamlessly with our domestic 
and international partners to defend their networks, attribute 
malicious activity, sanction bad behavior, and take the fight to our 
adversaries overseas. We must impose consequences on cyber adversaries 
and use our collective law enforcement and intelligence capabilities to 
do so through joint and enabled operations sequenced for maximum 
impact. And we must continue to work with the Department of State and 
other key agencies to ensure that our foreign partners are able and 
willing to cooperate in our efforts to bring the perpetrators of 
cybercrime to justice.
    An example of this approach is the international takedown in 
January 2021 of the Emotet botnet, which enabled a network of cyber 
criminals to cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to 
government, educational, and corporate networks. The FBI used 
sophisticated techniques, our unique legal authorities, and, most 
importantly, our worldwide partnerships to significantly disrupt the 
malware.
    A few months ago, cybersecurity companies including Microsoft 
disclosed that hackers were using previously unknown vulnerabilities 
related to Microsoft Exchange software to access email servers that 
companies physically keep on their premises rather than in the cloud. 
These ``zero day'' vulnerabilities allowed the actors to potentially 
exploit victim networks, engaging in activities such as grabbing login 
credentials, installing malicious programs to send commands to the 
victim network, and stealing emails in bulk. The FBI first put out a 
joint advisory in partnership with the Department of Homeland 
Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (``CISA'') 
to give network defenders the technical information they needed to 
mitigate the vulnerability. However, while many infected system owners 
successfully removed the web shells others were not able to do so. That 
left many systems vulnerable to adversaries who could continue to steal 
information, encrypt data for ransom, or potentially even execute a 
destructive attack. In response, through a court-authorized operation 
in partnership with the private sector, we were able to copy and remove 
malicious web shells from hundreds of vulnerable computers in the U.S. 
running Microsoft Exchange Server software. This is another example of 
how the FBI used its unique authorities, in this case, court-issued 
legal process, and its partnerships with the private sector to have 
tangible, real-world impact on the problem.
    We took upwards of 1,100 actions against cyber adversaries last 
year, including arrests, criminal charges, convictions, dismantlements, 
and disruptions, and enabled many more actions through our dedicated 
partnerships with the private sector, foreign partners, and at the 
Federal, State, and local entities.
    We have been putting a lot of energy and resources into all of 
those partnerships, especially with the private sector. We are working 
hard to push important threat information to network defenders, but we 
have also been making it as easy as possible for the private sector to 
share important information with us. For example, we are emphasizing to 
the private sector how we keep our presence unobtrusive in the wake of 
a breach; how we protect information that companies, and universities 
share with us, and commit to providing useful feedback; and how we 
coordinate with our government partners so that we are speaking with 
one voice. But we need the private sector to do its part, too. We need 
the private sector to come forward to warn us--and warn us quickly--
when they see malicious cyber activity. We also need the private sector 
to work with us when we warn them that they are being targeted. The 
recent examples of significant cyber incident--SolarWinds, HAFNIUM, the 
pipeline incident--only emphasize what I have been saying for a long 
time: The government cannot protect against cyber threats on its own. 
We need a whole-of-society approach that matches the scope of the 
danger. There is really no other option for defending a country where 
nearly all of our critical infrastructure, personal data, intellectual 
property, and network infrastructure sits in private hands.
    In summary, the FBI is engaged in a myriad of efforts to combat 
cyber threats, from improving threat identification and information 
sharing inside and outside of the government to developing and 
retaining new talent, to examining the way we operate to disrupt and 
defeat these threats. We take all potential threats to public and 
private sector systems seriously and will continue to investigate and 
hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace. The fiscal year 
2022 request includes 155 positions (including 52 Special Agents, 57 
Intelligence Analysts, and 46 Professional Staff) and $40.0 million to 
enhance cyber information-sharing abilities and increase cyber tools 
and capacities. The Request also includes 22 positions and $15.23 
million to help protect internal FBI networks.
Foreign Influence
    Our Nation is confronting multifaceted foreign threats seeking to 
both influence our national policies and public opinion, and cause harm 
to our national dialogue. The FBI and our interagency partners remain 
concerned about, and focused on, the covert and overt influence 
measures used by certain adversaries in their attempts to sway U.S. 
voters' preferences and perspectives, shift U.S. policies, increase 
discord in the United States, and undermine the American people's 
confidence in our democratic processes.
    Foreign influence operations--which include subversive, undeclared, 
coercive, and criminal actions by foreign governments to influence U.S. 
political sentiment or public discourse or interfere in our processes 
themselves--are not a new problem. But the interconnectedness of the 
modern world, combined with the anonymity of the Internet, have changed 
the nature of the threat and how the FBI and its partners must address 
it. Foreign influence operations have taken many forms and used many 
tactics over the years. Most widely reported these days are attempts by 
adversaries--hoping to reach a wide swath of Americans covertly from 
outside the United States--to use false personas and fabricated stories 
on social media platforms to discredit U.S. individuals and 
institutions.
    The FBI is the lead Federal agency responsible for investigating 
foreign influence operations. In the fall of 2017, we established the 
Foreign Influence Task Force (``FITF'') to identify and counteract 
malign foreign influence operations targeting the United States. The 
FITF is led by the Counterintelligence Division and is comprised of 
agents, analysts, and professional staff from the Counterintelligence, 
Cyber, Counterterrorism, and Criminal Investigative Divisions. It is 
specifically charged with identifying and combating foreign influence 
operations targeting democratic institutions and values inside the 
United States. In all instances, the FITF strives to protect democratic 
institutions; develop a common operating picture; raise adversaries' 
costs; and reduce their overall asymmetric advantage.
    The FITF brings the FBI's national security and traditional 
criminal investigative expertise under one umbrella to prevent foreign 
influence in our elections. This better enables us to frame the threat, 
to identify connections across programs, to aggressively investigate as 
appropriate, and--importantly--to be more agile. Coordinating closely 
with our partners and leveraging relationships we have developed in the 
technology sector, we had several instances where we were able to 
quickly relay threat indicators that those companies used to take swift 
action, blocking budding abuse of their platforms.
    Following the 2018 midterm elections, we reviewed the threat and 
the effectiveness of our coordination and outreach. As a result of this 
review, we further expanded the scope of the FITF. Previously, our 
efforts to combat malign foreign influence focused solely on the threat 
posed by Russia. Utilizing lessons learned since 2018, the FITF widened 
its aperture to confront malign foreign operations of China, Iran, and 
other global adversaries. To address this expanding focus and wider set 
of adversaries and influence efforts, we have also added resources to 
maintain permanent ``surge'' capability on election and foreign 
influence threats.
    These additional resources were also devoted to working with U.S. 
Government partners on two documents regarding the U.S. Government's 
analysis of foreign efforts to influence or interfere with the 2020 
Election. The reports are separate but complementary. The first 
report--referred to as the 1a report and authored by the Office of the 
Director of National Intelligence--outlines the intentions of foreign 
adversaries with regard to influencing and interfering in the election 
but does not evaluate impact. The second report--referred to as the 1b 
report and authored by the Department of Justice, including the FBI, 
and Department of Homeland Security, including the CISA--evaluates the 
impact of foreign government activity on the security or integrity of 
election infrastructure or infrastructure pertaining to political 
organizations, candidates, or campaigns.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ These reports are required by sections 1(a) and 1(b) of 
Executive Order 13,848.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The main takeaway from both reports is there is no evidence--not 
through intelligence collection on the foreign actors themselves, not 
through physical security and cybersecurity monitoring of voting 
systems across the country, not through post-election audits, and not 
through any other means--that a foreign government or other actors 
compromised election infrastructure to manipulate election results.
    While the 2020 election is over, the FBI will not stop working with 
our partners to impose costs on adversaries who have or are seeking to 
influence or interfere in our elections.
    The fiscal year 2022 request includes 28 positions (including 7 
Special Agents, 4 Intelligence Analysts, and 17 Professional Staff) and 
$18.8 million to help combat the threats posed by foreign, and 
potentially hostile, intelligence services and other foreign government 
actors.
                            criminal threats
    We face many criminal threats, from complex white-collar fraud in 
the financial, healthcare, and housing sectors to transnational and 
regional organized criminal enterprises to violent crime and public 
corruption. Criminal organizations--domestic and international--and 
individual criminal activity represent a significant threat to our 
security and safety in communities across the Nation.
Violent Crime
    Violent crimes and gang activities exact a high toll on individuals 
and communities. Many of today's gangs are sophisticated and well 
organized, and use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their 
illegal money-making activities, which include robbery, drug and gun 
trafficking, fraud, extortion, and prostitution rings. These gangs do 
not limit their illegal activities to single jurisdictions or 
communities. The FBI is able to work across such lines, which is vital 
to the fight against violent crime in big cities and small towns across 
the Nation. Every day, FBI special agents work in partnership with 
Federal, State, local, and Tribal officers and deputies on joint task 
forces and individual investigations.
    Similar to the FBI's work combatting gangs, the FBI also 
investigates the most serious crimes in Indian Country--such as murder, 
child sexual and physical abuse, violent assaults, drug trafficking, 
public corruption, financial crimes, and Indian gaming violations. As 
you are aware, there are 574 federally recognized American Indian 
Tribes in the United States, and the FBI has Federal law enforcement 
responsibility on nearly 200 Indian reservations. This Federal 
jurisdiction is shared concurrently with the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
(``BIA''), Office of Justice Services; the FBI works very closely with 
BIA and other Federal, State, and Tribal partners across the United 
States on crimes in Indian Country.
    Recently, the FBI's work in Indian Country in Oklahoma increased 
significantly due to the July 9, 2020, Supreme Court ruling in McGirt 
v. Oklahoma, which determined that the territorial boundaries of the 
Muscogee Creek Nation (``MCN'') fall under Federal Indian Country 
jurisdiction, making the FBI the responsible law enforcement agency for 
offenses committed by or victimizing a Tribal member. The principles of 
the McGirt decision also apply to the status of the Cherokee, 
Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole Tribal territories in Oklahoma. 
Combined, all five reservation territories encompass approximately 
32,000 square miles, or 45 percent of the State of Oklahoma. The total 
population within the combined borders is roughly 1.9 million, of which 
approximately 420,000 are enrolled Tribal members.
    This increase in FBI jurisdiction poses significant and long-term 
operational and public safety risks given the challenges associated 
with the increased number of violent criminal cases now under Federal 
jurisdiction within Oklahoma's IC territory. Since this decision, the 
FBI's Oklahoma City Field Office (``OC'') has seen a drastic increase 
in the total number of Indian Country investigations and now has the 
FBI's largest investigative responsibility. From July 9, 2020 to March 
23, 2021, FBI OC opened nearly 1,000 Indian Country investigations 
(most of them adopted from previous State actions), prioritizing cases 
involving the most violent offenders who pose the most serious risk to 
the public. As a point of comparison, the FBI's other 55 Field Offices 
opened a combined total of 1,255 IC investigations during the same 
period, with FBI Minneapolis, the next largest Indian Country office 
behind FBI OC, opening over 300 cases. This workload data primarily 
represents the cases from the MCN reservation alone; this workload is 
expected to increase substantially given the additions of the Cherokee 
and Chickasaw reservations in mid-March and the Choctaw and Seminole 
reservations in April. The FBI is anticipating 2,500 new cases next 
year and approximately 5,000 adopted cases from previously adjudicated 
in Oklahoma State courts which were overturned either by McGirt or 
subsequent Oklahoma court decisions applying McGirt.
    To effectively conduct these investigations, the FBI has conducted 
temporary duty (``TDY'') rotations of 140 Special Agents, Investigative 
Analysts, Victims Specialists and other professional staff to the 
Muskogee and Tulsa RAs, the offices most impacted by the decision. The 
FBI has also expanded State, local, and Tribal participation on task 
forces to 230 Task Force Officers from 32 agencies to assist with 
initial response and investigative efforts. The U.S. Attorney's Offices 
in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and the Northern District of 
Oklahoma also increased their staffing. In order to support the U.S. 
Attorneys' effective prosecution of these crimes, the FBI must have the 
capability to sustain an enhanced presence in FBI OC. As such, the 
fiscal year 2022 request includes $25.5 million to support the surge in 
personnel to meet the immediate need, as the situation on the ground 
continues to evolve. In addition, the fiscal year 2022 request includes 
$6.2 million to fulfill the Department of Justice's October 2020, 
policy on Use of Body-Worn Cameras by federally Deputized Task Force 
Officers.
                               conclusion
    Finally, the strength of any organization is its people. The 
threats we face as a nation have never been greater or more diverse and 
the expectations placed on the FBI have never been higher. Our fellow 
citizens look to the FBI to protect the United States from all of those 
threats, and the men and women of the FBI continue to meet and exceed 
those expectations, every day. I want to thank them for their dedicated 
service.
    Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I am 
happy to answer any questions you might have.

    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you very much. You pointed out 
that both Senator Moran and I raised the ransomware attacks in 
our opening remarks. It wasn't clear to me, looking at your 
budget request, exactly where that was covered and whether you 
feel like you have the resources that you need in order to 
address this kind of activity. Can you just be specific about 
where you are looking to get the resources and what you are 
going to need?
    Director Wray. Right. So our budget request, the 
enhancements we requested include 155 positions and $40 million 
for cyber. And a huge part of that will be going very much to 
the ransomware campaign that we are working on. We did about 
1,100 different kinds of disruption actions against cyber 
adversaries last year, talking about arrests, criminal charges, 
convictions, dismantlement, and disruptions. And I think on the 
ransomware piece specifically, our strategy is to go after the 
entire criminal ecosystem that exists there.
    So not just the people demanding the ransomware, but all 
the people who helped facilitate it. You know, the--we are 
trying to go after the actors. We are trying to go after the 
helpers. We are trying to go after their infrastructure. We are 
trying to go after the money. You mentioned our efforts to 
recover the cryptocurrency that was paid in ransom, so things 
like that, but it has to be a cross the Government effort. Our 
National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force brings together 
about 30 different agencies, all co-located together with an 
effort to try to have more joint sequenced operations to 
maximize impact.
    We have got to take a little bit of our page out of the 
counterterrorism strategy book, everybody working together, 
focusing on prevention and disruption. And that is what we are 
trying to do.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, two related questions. There are 
some people who suggest that we should outlaw payment for 
ransomware attacks. Do you agree with that? And second, how do 
we go after groups like in the Colonial Pipeline case where we 
think they are operating out of Russia with full knowledge of 
the Putin administration in Russia?
    Director Wray. So our guidance to industry is not to pay 
the ransom. And there is a whole host of reasons for that, but 
the most important thing, the most important thing, because I 
understand it is a difficult decision for victims to make. The 
most important thing is that they reach out and connect with 
law enforcement, with us as quickly and transparently as 
possible. It is a little bit like the example--you know, we 
encourage people when there is kidnappings of humans not to pay 
the ransom. But you want to have, in effect, the cyber 
equivalent of the FBI agent sitting there with the person 
talking to the hostage taker, because there is all kinds of 
things we can do to help ensure a happy ending to the 
investigation if we are engaged early and transparently.
    So that is the most important thing. But in general, we 
would discourage paying the ransom because it encourages more 
of these attacks, and frankly, there is no guarantee whatsoever 
that you are going to get your data back, among other things.
    Senator Shaheen. So do we need to think about changes, 
legislative changes to address authorities for law enforcement 
and the FBI on hacking incidents and ransomware incidents? I 
remember several years ago we had proposed legislation that 
never went anywhere that would have required reporting by 
companies. Should we be looking at something like that again?
    Director Wray. Well, I obviously don't want to get out in 
front in terms of a specific legislative proposal. But I will 
say that if we don't solve the riddle of how to get the private 
sector promptly and transparently working with us, and more and 
more companies, I should say, are doing that all the time. But 
if we don't make that sort of the norm, we are going to have a 
heck of a time winning this conflict, if you will. And so 
anything that helps provide more incentive for that to happen, 
I think is a step in the right direction.
    Senator Shaheen. Good. I mentioned in my opening comments, 
and we have discussed this before, what has been called the 
Havana's syndrome. How involved is the FBI in the cooperative 
effort in the administration to take a look at what's happening 
with these attacks? Do you think--can these be classified as a 
crime? And if so, how do we go after either the perpetrators or 
allow victims to get restitution for what they have suffered?
    Director Wray. So we are very much involved. We are working 
closely under the auspices of the NSC with our interagency 
partners, especially the CIA, DOD, the State Department and 
others, and bringing what we can bring to the table. Our 
highest priority, of course, is the protection and well-being, 
the health and well-being of U.S. Government personnel.
    We are making progress for sure, but we are not yet at a 
point where we know the cause of the incidents and whether it 
was an attack and if so, who did it, etcetera. I will tell you 
that we are trying to be aggressive, and we are viewing all of 
the U.S. Government personnel who have these symptoms, from our 
perspective, they are victims. And we want to treat them as 
potential victims. And they are our colleagues in the Federal 
Government, so we care deeply about them.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. Senator Moran.
    Senator Moran. Chairman, thank you. Director, I recently 
visited McAllen, Texas, where I met with your special agent in 
charge of the San Antonio field office. He was able to brief me 
on the counterintelligence threats to the area, specifically to 
mainstream companies with a National Security or innovation 
focus such as SpaceX. What I heard was disturbing, terribly 
threatening, in my view, to the well-being of Americans and to 
our economy. Director Wray, are you aware of those threats? And 
what can you tell us in this unclassified setting about this 
topic?
    Director Wray. Well, I am very pleased that you were able 
to meet with SCC Combs. It is a very high performing office 
down there and they are dealing with some very challenging and 
complex threats. And, of course, I have spoken in the past 
about the very serious counterintelligence threats that I think 
we face from our adversaries. And we have been very focused on 
working with the private sector, specifically on the 
counterintelligence front.
    And as the U.S. moves more and more towards the private 
sector in terms of space exploration, we need to support those 
companies in much the same way, for example, we would support 
NASA. And I think beyond that, it would probably be better for 
me to arrange, you know, some kind of classified briefing for 
you because I can't get in a whole lot more detail in an open 
setting.
    Senator Moran. Perhaps if it is okay with you, I will look 
for a time for me to come to see you.
    Director Wray. Okay, great. Thank you.
    Senator Moran. Over the last two weeks, Axios has 
extensively reported on massive fraud within the unemployment 
insurance programs. The numbers are staggering. Experts suggest 
that criminals may have stolen as much as half of the 
unemployment benefits distributed over the last year, 
fraudulent claims could reach $400 billion.
    Alarmingly, the bulk of these funds appear to have been 
stolen by foreign criminal syndicates, making this, Axios 
observes, not just theft, but a matter of National Security. 
Director, what is the FBI's best assessment of the extent of 
unemployment insurance fraud over the last year, and how much 
is believed to have been stolen by foreign criminal 
organizations?
    Director Wray. So we obviously share your concern. We have 
seen a huge spike, huge spike in unemployment fraud cases and 
investigations from COVID. By last count, and this is a rough 
number, but by last count, I think we had about 800 
unemployment fraud investigations and the vast majority of 
those have some tie to the pandemic. As far as foreign criminal 
involvement, we certainly are aware of a number of schemes and 
scams, but I don't know that I have any kind of estimate of how 
much of the overall loss comes from those kinds of actors. But 
it is something that we are keenly attuned to.
    And, of course, we are trying to take advantage of both all 
56 of our field offices here, but also working with our legal 
offices overseas, because they may be able to work with foreign 
partners to help us pursue, you know, bad actors elsewhere and 
their involvement.
    Senator Moran. Director, thank you. I hope to have maybe 
additional conversation in this regard as well. In September, 
the FBI will release its annual data set on violent crimes in 
the United States. That report will show what you have already 
acknowledged publicly, a spike in serious violent crime in a 
number of American cities, including significant increases in 
murder and aggravated assaults. Kansas, unfortunately, has not 
been immune.
    The city of Wichita reported 59 homicides in 2020, the 
highest total since 1993, and about one every 6 days. According 
to Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay, this trend has continued 
into 2021. In your speech to the International Association of 
Chiefs of Police last year, you acknowledge the FBI can play a 
critical role in reducing that violent crime, including by 
surging agents and other FBI resources to affected cities by 
working together with State and local partners.
    Director Wray, what is the FBI doing to address these 
serious spikes in violent crime? And would you consider further 
surges of personnel and resources to those affected 
communities?
    Director Wray. So we absolutely are concerned about the 
rise in violent crime, specifically the most dangerous type of 
violent crime, namely the homicide rate all over the country. 
And key to that is partnership. We are bringing our resources 
to bear through our 170 or so safe streets task forces, our 50 
or so violent crime task forces. So you are talking about 500, 
give or take, you know, FBI agents plus task force officers. 
You know, I think we did 6,500 violent crime arrests amidst the 
worst of the pandemic.
    So you are talking about 14 a day. You know, we are also 
trying to contribute in other ways through NICS, making sure 
that guns don't get in the hands of the people legally 
prohibited from having them. Our tip line, our lab supporting 
State and locals. And we have, to your point about surging 
resources, we have recently created a new violent crime rapid 
deployment team, at headquarters, the purpose of which--run out 
of headquarters, I should say, the purpose of which is to be 
able to surge to sort of crisis situations.
    I know that in Kansas City in that--I don't mean Kansas 
City, the city, but the division, we had 140 gang arrests and 
200 something violent crime arrests last year. And I remember I 
think we spoke once about the, in Wichita, there was a gang, 
the junior boy violent gang that, you know, that one takedown 
largely dismantled a long running a gang in Wichita, you know, 
20, say 25 arrests, seizing guns, drugs, money and so forth. So 
we are going to be trying to do more and more of that wherever 
we can.
    Senator Moran. Director, I thank you and the Kansas City 
FBI bureau for their attention to Kansas communities, Kansas 
City and Wichita in particular. My time has expired. I would 
just say to the Director, I also am the Ranking Member of the 
Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. It is meeting at the same 
time. My absence from time to time today will not be a 
reflection on my lack of interest in what you have to say.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Moran. Senator 
Feinstein.
    Senator Feinstein. Thanks very much, Madam Chairman. I 
watched the CNN show Sunday night on January 6, and it has been 
nearly 6 months since the capital was attacked, and I think we 
still lack a clear picture of the FBI's understanding of the 
threat in the days leading up to the attack. The Post reported 
in January that dozens of individuals listed in the terrorist 
screening database traveled to Washington before the Capitol 
attack. The FBI's Washington field office, I understand, stated 
that the bureau disrupted the travel of a number of individuals 
who were planning to travel to D.C., ``with intentions to cause 
violence.''
    It is my understanding that you testified last week to the 
House Oversight Committee that, ``none of those people had 
indicated an intention to attack the Capitol.'' As you look at 
this now in perspective, Director Wray, could you clarify for 
us what the FBI knew and what it didn't know before the attack 
took place?
    Director Wray. Well, I guess the first thing I would say 
about the facts leading up to January 6 is because of all the 
investigations we are doing right now, we are continuing to 
learn all sorts of things post January 6. And sometimes there 
gets to be a little bit of conflation about information that we 
are developing through those hundreds of cases with information 
that we had before. So I just want to put that out there in 
front, because I am sure there will be, continue to be news 
coverage of different sorts as we move forward. I think what I 
would say is that before January 6, we were, to my knowledge, 
aware that there would be large numbers of individuals coming 
to D.C. to participate in protests, protests, and that we had 
some information that gave us concerns about the potential for 
violence more generally. There is, of course, this Norfolk 
report, which has gotten a lot of attention, which was a one 
piece of information that was raw and unverified and 
unattributed.
    And we passed that three different ways as quickly as 
possible shortly after getting it. What we did not have, to my 
knowledge at least, is intelligence indicating that hundreds 
and hundreds of people were going to breach the Capitol 
complex. That to my knowledge, we did not have that. You 
mentioned these individuals that we interviewed or disrupted 
before January 6. I think there is a little bit of garble in 
maybe some of the news reporting. So I can't speak to the 
specific article that you were citing, but just in general, 
what we are talking about there are a handful of small number 
of individuals who were previously predicated subjects of 
investigations who were approached in one way or another, 
interviewed or in some other way disrupted from traveling.
    I want to be clear, though, there is a big difference 
between people indicating that they might travel to D.C. and 
people indicating they might travel to D.C. to commit a violent 
attack, much less a violent attack against the Capitol, which 
is not my understanding of what those individuals revealed 
beforehand.
    Senator Feinstein. I think many of us are trying to 
understand and not to criticize as much as to be able to 
correct our systems. The number of people, and if you watch the 
CNN show Sunday night, which went on and was very graphic, 
there was no question when you really had pictures of who was 
there and what they were doing, that people came with an intent 
to do what they did. And I have never really been able to get a 
clear picture of what is--what was known and what wasn't known, 
because what I saw on television Sunday night was something I 
have never seen before in this country like that. And it was 
shocking.
    Director Wray. Well, we consider the whole event shocking 
and appalling, and we are absolutely determined to make sure 
that we do our part to make sure it never happens again. So I 
want to be crystal clear on that. I think you know something--
one thing that gets a little bit lost sometimes is that even 
though we have had hundreds and hundreds of domestic terrorism 
investigations ongoing, actually very, very few, almost none of 
the people who we have arrested since January 6, for January 6 
were people----
    Senator Feinstein. How many people did you arrest--have 
been arrested?
    Director Wray. I think we have got around well, I think it 
is a little over 500 arrests now, once you include, and there 
are a few that have been done by some of our partners as well. 
So the FBI's arrests are close to 500. And then when you add in 
the partners, it is a little over 500. And I want to be clear, 
we have got hundreds more investigations still ongoing.
    And we expect in many cases we will have even more serious 
charges against some of the people we already have charged. So 
this is far from over. And with each arrest and each case we 
bring, not only are we driving towards accountability for the 
attack, but we are also learning more about what was out there 
beforehand so that we can use that to get better going forward.
    Senator Feinstein. Well, it was pretty clear from the 
footage I saw Sunday night that a lot was out there. They came 
with intent now proving it is another story, but this was an 
eye opener for me as I watched that show, and I think it is 
really important that we understand not to criticize it is 
over, but to know what to do to prevent that from ever 
happening again.
    Director Wray. Well, I agree that absolutely we want to do 
our part and I haven't seen the particular CNN show that you 
are talking about, but certainly we are looking at things like 
how can we develop better sources? How can we get better with 
data analytics for the volumes of information that we get? How 
can we deal with the encryption issue, which I know is 
something you and I have spoken about in the past? And that is 
very much a phenomenon with this threat, because a lot of the 
most significant and revealing communications between these 
actors, and we saw it related to the January 6 people now that 
we are investigating, and we saw it over the summer with some 
of the attackers in those events, it is through encrypted 
messaging communications. And we have got to figure out a 
solution to that.
    Senator Feinstein. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Feinstein. Senator 
Graham.
    Senator Graham. Thank you, Directory Wray. And please pass 
on all of our respect for what you and your agents and support 
personnel do. It seems to me you got a pretty full plate. Is 
that fair to say?
    Director Wray. It certainly feels full.
    Senator Graham. Okay. If Senator Moran is right, which I am 
sure he is, when you look at personnel cost increases and 
generally cost of doing business, most of the increases 
requested about 65 percent go to that and $150 million left for 
new programs. Do you agree with that, new capabilities?
    Director Wray. Well, I think sometimes I have a little bit 
of a hard time in this format tracking all the numbers. I think 
one of the, one of the challenges is that last year's budget 
had a significant number of enhancements, but at the same time, 
also a bunch of reductions to the base. So it is like giveth 
with one hand, taketh away with the other.
    Senator Graham. If the subcommittee decided to say increase 
by $100 million your budget, could you spend it wisely?
    Director Wray. I can assure you that any money that this 
subcommittee thinks sees fit to give, I promise it will be put 
to good use.
    Senator Graham. Good. I believe you. So there is a record 
number, in certain jurisdictions and really a trend all over 
the country, of retirements by police officers and recruiting 
problems. Are you familiar with this?
    Director Wray. Very much so.
    Senator Graham. What do you think is causing this?
    Director Wray. I think this is a very, very challenging 
time for the law enforcement.
    Senator Graham. Have you ever known a more challenging time 
since you have been in the business?
    Director Wray. I have not.
    Senator Graham. Okay, what can we do to deal with it?
    Director Wray. I think it starts with a recognition that it 
takes an incredibly special person to get up in the morning and 
put his or her life on the line for a total stranger. And then 
when you stop and think about how few people are willing to do 
that, think about how many people are willing to do that every 
single day for an entire career. And so I think it starts with 
a level of gratitude and respect for those people.
    Senator Graham. Is this a fair statement that police 
reform, I think, is necessary, better training, better 
standards, more exposure to departments for the conduct of the 
officers legally, but at the same time a deeper appreciation 
for the job that police officers do? Do you agree that those 
two things are not inconsistent?
    Director Wray. I would. I would agree with that.
    Senator Graham. Okay. And I hope we can deliver there. In 
terms of the crime wave that we are facing, increase in murders 
particularly, the administration is going to announce a five 
point program today to deal with the rise in crime. Were you 
consulted by the administration in that program?
    Director Wray. Well, we--yes, we are working with the 
Justice Department through our piece of it. I am not--I haven't 
seen the announcement itself, but the----
    Senator Graham. Do you know what the five point plan is?
    Director Wray. I don't--I know our part.
    Senator Graham. Okay. What is your part?
    Director Wray. So we are working with the Department on 
something called Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is a revival 
of an effort that you may remember from the Bush 
administration, frankly. And it is a multipoint plan geared 
towards attacking gun violence all across the country. And so 
the FBI working with all of our partners on that.
    Senator Graham. Do you believe that one of the reasons 
crime is on the rise is that certain jurisdictions have 
basically eliminated bail? You catch them on Monday morning, 
and they are out on the streets Monday afternoon?
    Director Wray. Well, I do think there are a lot of causes, 
but I think one of the causes of the violent crime spike are 
certain kinds of prosecution practices----
    Senator Graham. We are not prosecuting enough people and we 
are sending a signal that maybe you can rob or loot a store and 
get away with it and it sort of escalates. Is that fair to say?
    Director Wray. Well, I guess I would put it this way. I 
think there is nothing more disheartening to a law enforcement 
officer to see somebody that you worked hard to arrest promptly 
back out, committing a crime again. There is enough people to 
go after the first time, without the same person over and over 
again.
    Senator Graham. I totally agree. That is the problem. I 
hope we will deal with it. When it comes to Russia, Dark Side 
is supposedly responsible for the Colonial Pipeline attack and 
Revil--Ravil, the attack on JBS meat processing attack. Both 
these are Russian speaking criminal organizations. Do you 
believe it is possible that they could operate in Russia 
without Putin's Government knowing about it?
    Director Wray. So many things I would like to say.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Graham. This is the chance to say it.
    Director Wray. Yes, well--well, let me say this. You 
mentioned Darkside. The other organization you are talking 
about is, goes by the name are R-Evil.
    Senator Graham. Yes, I am sorry.
    Director Wray. Aptly named. I think what I would say is 
this, over and over again----
    Senator Graham. We are policy makers, I know my time is up, 
we have got to make a decision eventually, how to respond to 
Russia. We have had to cyber terrorism attacks emanating from 
Russian speaking criminal enterprises. I think all of us 
believe it is impossible for these people to operate in Russia 
without some acknowledgment by the--some support by the 
Government or at least a lack of action on their part. We got 
to make a decision. Would we be irresponsible in assuming that 
Putin is giving cover these groups and the only way things will 
change is for him to pay a price for giving that cover? Or is 
that illogical on our part?
    Director Wray. I think the Russian government has a lot of 
room for improvement on this subject. Let me just leave it at 
that.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Graham. Very 
diplomatic, Director Wray. Senator Reed.
    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman, and 
thank you, Director, for your service and the service and 
sacrifice of so many of your men and women in the FBI. January 
6 was a disheartening moment. And I am wildly understating 
that. There was an ad hoc response which relied a great deal on 
the National Guard and other police elements. We are looking 
forward now, as we should, to a more coherent response if the 
situation occurs again.
    And as an alternative to the National Guard, I think and I 
like your comments, if we could put together a Federal, State, 
local law enforcement group that is trained as integrated, is 
compensated, and is coordinated for such an event with the 
participation of the Bureau in key areas, would that be more 
effective than summoning the Guard from everywhere?
    Director Wray. Well, I certainly would say it this way. I 
certainly understand the attraction of having a law enforcement 
kind of ready to deploy type of force. We have worked very well 
with the National Guard, but there are challenges that they 
face, you know, in their ability to deploy. Not on the FBI 
side, just to be clear. You know, we don't and really never 
have in our 113 year history really done crowd control or 
static defense or things like that. So we don't really have the 
skills, the training, and the equipment to do that part of it. 
What we do have are overseen by our critical incident response 
group.
    We have things like our hostage rescue team which can 
deploy in certain situations. We have crisis negotiators. We 
have aerial surveillance in certain instances, you know, things 
like that that we can lend to the effort. But I think most of 
what you are talking about would ultimately be more on the 
shoulders of other agencies. I want to be careful not to speak 
for them.
    Senator Reed. No, but I think you have critical elements 
that you could engage, and they would have to rehearse, 
practice, etcetera. So I don't--I think one of the lessons is, 
ad hoc is not that good when you are facing a mob of folks. The 
other aspect here too is, just for the record, the National 
Guard still waiting to get paid hundreds of millions of 
dollars, which could affect their training this summer. So for 
all my colleagues, if you could urge everyone to pay the 
National Guard that would be useful. One of the most difficult 
issues that you face in your intelligence capacity is trying to 
recognize, respect First Amendment rights to communicate freely 
with your responsibility to monitor what is going on the web. 
Can you give us an idea of how you make that call? I presume 
you have active--well, let me not presume, do you have active 
sort of intelligence agents that are going through the web and 
trying to identify?
    Director Wray. So this is a complicated topic. I will try 
to do my best to give sort of a shorthand version. But there 
may be nuances that get lost in the description. So what we--
there are long standing policies that go back, you know, 10, 15 
plus years, the Attorney General guidelines, as implemented by 
something called the DIAG, which are all designed to tell us 
what we can and cannot do, especially when it implicates civil 
liberties and so forth, and that--there is parts of it that 
deal with social media.
    And so what we can do depends on whether or not we have 
got--what level of predication we have and whether we have got 
an authorized purpose. We do get all kinds of tips and leads 
from the public, from partners of all shapes and sizes, some of 
which include things on social media. And we pursue those in 
whatever way we can under those policies. What we don't do, and 
some people, I think are confused about this, what we don't do 
is just have people sitting there, at least without proper 
predication and an authorized purpose, just kind of monitoring 
somebody's, you know, Internet traffic and trying to see if 
there is something there just in case. That we don't currently 
do.
    Now, in theory, somebody could look at the policies and 
decide that the balance needs to be struck a little 
differently. There is all kinds of considerations that go into 
that. But to give a really fulsome answer to your question 
would probably require a much longer discussion.
    Senator Reed. I think it probably would require a law 
review article at least. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Reed. Senator Hagerty.
    Senator Hagerty. Thank you, Madam Chair. Director Wray, I 
want to thank you for your long service to our Nation. Very 
much appreciate it. The first topic I would like to cover with 
you has to do with the morale of the FBI. I had the great honor 
of serving and working with a great FBI team in my previous 
position as ambassador to Japan. Your rank and file are 
patriotic and honorable men and women who I am certain wake up 
every day looking at how they can best serve the United States 
of America. But over the past 5 years, I think the reputation 
of the FBI has really come under challenge. We have seen a 
presidential candidate spied upon in 2016. We have seen 
headquarter investigators using blatant political bias as they 
pursue investigations.
    And I think that really has called into question America's 
confidence in the agency. I know it is disheartening to the men 
and women that serve at the FBI who came to serve their Nation, 
not to pick sides in a presidential battle. I am interested in, 
and I know you are working hard on this, but what are you 
doing, what are you undertaking to restore America's confidence 
and the confidence of the men and women that work for you in 
the agency as a nonpartisan, and an unbiased, nonpolitical 
institution?
    Director Wray. So I have a lot to say on this subject. 
First, I will stack our workforce up against any workforce, 
anywhere, any time. A lot of the press coverage and discussion 
has been based on essentially two investigations over about an 
18 month period involving a small number of people. And we are 
an organization of 37,000 people. It has been around for 113 
years doing thousands and thousands of investigations every 
year. And what I see, what I hear from the American people 
themselves is a resounding, even consistent appreciation and 
respect for what our folks do. The hundreds of--we speak, 
through our work, to hundreds of kids we have saved, the 
terrorist attacks we have disrupted, the scores of violent 
gangs, COVID fraudsters, Chinese spies, etcetera. And I say 
that from having visited all 56 of our field offices, most of 
them more than once, met with law enforcement partners from all 
50 States and over 50 countries, spoken with judges, 
prosecutors, private sector leaders, community leaders, 
victims, and their families. And the refrain I get is very 
different from what is in a lot of the news coverage.
    Now, I will give you a bright spot, because I know you care 
about our workforce. Our attrition rate is 0.4 percent. And you 
would be hard pressed to find an organization out there, public 
or private, with an attrition rate that low. Second, our 
recruiting, that is the number of Americans all across this 
country, including every State represented in this 
subcommittee, applying to be special agents, so expressing 
their view of the FBI through their feet by trying to sign up 
and put their lives on the line, working with us for an entire 
career has tripled, triple what it was when I started this 
show.
    Senator Hagerty. That is very encouraging.
    Director Wray. And that is through the pandemic. And to me, 
that speaks volumes about what Americans everywhere actually 
think about the FBI.
    Senator Hagerty. And I think, you know, that this 
subcommittee stands behind you as well. And we want to see this 
budget deployed in a way that continues to support the morale 
and the patriotic men and women that work for you. And I think 
that speaks volumes, the statistics that you went through. And 
like you, I have a lot to say and feel about this as well, 
because I think it is a great agency that you run. And I want 
to see the pristine image of the agency restored once again and 
appreciate your leadership in that direction. If I could turn 
right now to another area, this is having to do with a 
significant increase in crime that we saw in 2020. And again, 
another surge in crime that is underway right now. Homicide 
rates up 30 percent last year, another 25 percent this year. 
Back in 2020, Operation Legend was put into play.
    Sadly, Operation Legend was named for a 4 year old boy who 
was killed by a stray bullet in Kansas City. That operation led 
to the arrest of some 6,000 criminals, the confiscation of 17 
kilos of fentanyl that are killing our kids every day. In light 
of the surge that is underway yet again in crime, why is it 
that Operation Legend was brought to an end in December of 
2020?
    Director Wray. I can't--you know, Operation Legend was 
something that was run by the Justice Department, so I probably 
would leave that part to the Justice Department. Certainly I 
agree with you that I think it was a big success. It probably 
was not a sustainable effort, you know, in perpetuity, given 
the way in which we were all--such a surging resources from all 
over. We are I mentioned, I think, in response to Senator 
Moran's question, that on our end, we have recently created 
this violent crime rapid deployment team, which is an effort to 
take a little bit of the idea behind Legend and make that 
available.
    But that is really--that is not going to be a complete 
answer in its own right. And I think you are exactly right that 
this is a topic that cannot be overlooked in the middle of 
everything else that is going on, because I think most 
Americans right now, the security threat they are most 
concerned about is violent crime.
    Senator Hagerty. Yes. Well, thank you for leadership in 
that direction, Director Wray. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. Senator Leahy, and Chairman of 
the Appropriations Committee.
    Senator Leahy. Thank you very much. Director, always good 
to see you. And thank you for being here. I think we could all 
talk about how much we appreciate what the men and women of the 
FBI do and truly mean it. Several of your predecessors worked 
with me and worked with the FBI both in Vermont and down here, 
and I do appreciate their skill and dedication. With all these 
wild conspiracy theories going on about the insurrection on 
January 6, all of which have tried to portray the attack on the 
Capitol as anything but a violent assault by domestic 
extremists on the heart of democracy, even though everybody who 
was here saw that is exactly what it was. You have debunked 
some of these theories when we last spoke in March when you 
testified in the Judiciary Committee.
    It seems a new crop of excuses and conspiracy theories have 
come up since you testified before the House Oversight 
Committee. So let me give you another opportunity to discredit 
the dangerously bogus claims have been floating around about 
the January 6 attack, particularly those that are relating to 
the FBI's involvement in the attack.
    Let me just ask you directly, did anyone in the Trump White 
House ever encourage or direct you or anyone in your staff to 
downplay the potential threat of violence in January 6, when 
Congress was scheduled to take our constitutionally mandated 
presidential vote count?
    Director Wray. No.
    Senator Leahy. I will take that elaborate answer as a no, 
and I appreciate it. The FBI is responsible for investigating 
Federal election crimes such as voter suppression that 
intentionally target minority protected classes.
    The growing wave of voter suppression laws in dozens of 
States raise serious concerns. What are you doing with the FBI 
to prepare for the upcoming elections in which many of us 
expect to see unprecedented level of voter suppression?
    Director Wray. So we are doing a few different things. We 
have election crime coordinators in every field office, and of 
course they focus on the full manner of types of election 
crimes. And they are all well connected with each other and 
through our criminal investigative division. Voter suppression 
specifically when we get involved is more through our civil 
rights program. And so we work closely with the Justice 
Department, both the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. 
Attorney Offices on that. In addition, you may remember from 
our past engagements that we created, I created the Foreign 
Influence Task Force early on in my tenure. And although that 
is focused on foreign influence, of course, we are concerned 
about foreign influence, malign foreign influence that could in 
turn have a sort of surreptitious effect on voter suppression. 
So we are coming out at that piece of it as well.
    Senator Leahy. And as you know, I supported you when you 
formed that. Do you need further resources? Now here is your 
chance. It is not only--asking you, I am asking you as Chairman 
of the Committee, do you need further resources in this area?
    Director Wray. We are busier than we ever have been. And I 
can assure you that if the Congress sees fit to send us more 
resources on this, I can--I am quite confident that it will be 
put to good use.
    Senator Leahy. I thought that was probably so. My last 
question is on NICS, the national incident criminal background 
check. Last year, you processed nearly 40 million firearm 
background checks, only about 20 million so far this year. 
Congress provided you $179 million in emergency funding to help 
address the increased workload of gun background checks. How is 
that been utilized? Is it enough?
    Director Wray. So we have been able to put it to use and we 
are very grateful for it. Because of the uptick in the 
operational tempo out there to hire more personnel and to make 
system improvements, that funding was, as I recall, essentially 
a 2 year funding, which explains why we didn't have more of 
that in this budget request. But make no mistake, the pace that 
we are on, we will be needing more of that in the future for 
sure, because right now we are having to pull personnel from 
other critical functions to help out and do things like pay 
mandatory overtime just to be able to kind of triage the 
situation. So long term, we are absolutely going to need more 
resources, both for personnel out there and for systems 
improvements.
    Senator Leahy. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. Senator Capito.
    Senator Capito. Thank you. Thank you, Director Wray. And 
thank you to all of your--those in the FBI. We thank them from 
the bottom our hearts for everything that they do every day. 
And I want to thank Chairman Leahy for teeing me up for this, 
because when you said out there, out there is in Clarksburg, 
West Virginia, where they run the background checks at--on the 
NICS system. And one of the statistics, Senator Leahy, said 
almost 20 million already this year, but we had the highest May 
ever of 3,222,105 background checks, which is an amazing--so I 
am happy to hear, and I want to be as supportive as we possibly 
can be through this Committee to help you with the resources 
that you need.
    So I am going to ask a different question rather than tout 
what a great job they do out in Clarksburg, because we both 
know that. And we have heard about the rise in crime over the 
last 2 years, particularly this summer, seems to be 
particularly troublesome. What do you--do you correlate any of 
that with the rising number of firearm purchases? What--how do 
you all analyze that at the FBI, the rising number of 
background checks that are being performed in terms of 
purchases?
    Director Wray. Well, I don't know that we have been able 
to--settle on one specific factor, but certainly there have 
been a number of factors that drive, I think, the spike in 
violent crime. So COVID had a huge impact. You are talking 
about everything from trial backlogs, early releases, you know, 
unemployment, et cetera.
    We have more juveniles committing violent crime and there 
is all kinds of challenges in our legal system for dealing with 
them. I mentioned response to, I think, Senator Graham's 
question, certain prosecution practices and decrease sentences. 
I think that has an effect. The prevalence of firearms in the 
wrong hands is certainly an issue as well, especially gun 
trafficking across State lines. And things like--these are all 
things that I think collectively contribute to the problem.
    Senator Capito. Yes, I mean, I think the rise also is 
obviously, if you are going to legally purchase and go through 
a background check, it is probably in response to a rising 
criminal element for a defense. I mean, more people are feeling 
defenseless, more people are home more and feel like there may 
be making those purchases to protect them and their families. 
So I thank you for making sure those are getting safely into 
those hands. I want to talk about cyber-attacks. I asked the 
same question to Secretary Blinken and Attorney General Garland 
about ransomware. It is a particularly interesting to me 
because it is a semi-new phenomenon and none of it is--it is 
every article you read, it is not really sure or know how to 
handle it and what to do, and that it is a global issue as 
well.
    And so I am interested to know if you are working with your 
global partners on how to address ransomware. And then you read 
from time to time what the different advice is. Pay the ransom, 
don't pay the ransom. Are you--how are you all addressing that? 
I mean, is that something that you--I don't know that you give 
advice, but you would, you know, for a large breach like the 
Colonial Pipeline, certainly have to be involved with that. And 
how you are seeing ransomware. We know it is going to get 
worse. And so I suppose that is why the cyber part of your 
budget is going to be increased, and that would be the area 
that you would look at the ransomware issue. Am I correct in 
assuming that?
    Director Wray. Certainly the part of the cyber enhancement 
request, ransomware, is a huge component of that. It is going 
to go to all the different kinds of cyber intrusions, or 
certain nations. You know, something like Solar Winds would 
also be the kind of thing that would be addressed through that 
enhancement. But ransomware, I think, has become particularly 
challenging because we have seen the total volume of money 
paid, I think triple, you know, over the last year or so. 
Higher and higher ransoms, more sophisticated attacks.
    We are talking about ransomware as a service, which the 
Colonial Pipeline case illustrated, where sophisticated 
developers of ransomware then basically outsource it to less 
sophisticated actors, which just expands the problem and the 
availability of the technique. And they are also now more and 
more engaging in sort of a mix of both the locking up of the 
system and the exfiltration and leaking or extortion that way 
as well. As far as guidance to victims, our guidance is, don't 
pay the ransom. But let me say this, I understand that it is a 
hard decision for a company or a municipal Government or 
whatever it happens to be the make. And the one thing that I 
think is most important by far is that whether they pay or 
don't pay, they get in touch with us right away early on. 
Because when they do, there is all kinds of things that we can 
do. In the Colonial Pipeline case, for example, we were, as has 
been reported, able to essentially seize and confiscate some of 
the ransom, a lot of the ransom and to hit the bad guys right 
where it hurts.
    In other cases, it is not all the time, but it does happen, 
sometimes through other work we have done, we might have the 
decryption key and be able to help the company unlock their 
data without having to pay the ransom. Best of both worlds. So 
there is a lot of things we can do. But we can't do as much if 
we are not coordinated with early.
    But our strategy has to be whole of Government working with 
the private sector, working with foreign partners, as you 
mentioned, because invariably these actors are overseas. Going 
after the actors, going after their helpers, going after their 
infrastructure, going after their money. So it is a 
comprehensive type of approach.
    Senator Capito. Well, we want to be, again, as supportive 
as we can because this is a growing problem. Thank you.
    Director Wray. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. Senator Capito. Before I call 
on Senator Braun, we just had a vote called. My intent, unless 
someone else shows up for the subcommittee, is to go ahead and 
ask Senator Braun and Senator Kennedy for their questioning and 
then to end the hearing. So just so everybody understands where 
we are going. Senator Braun.
    Senator Braun. Thank you, Madam Chair. In court 
submissions, the FBI has noted that it had--trouble. That is 
Okay. FBI had prior knowledge that there were going to--might 
be trouble on that day, and some of it was pretty stark. My 
question is, was there any plan that you were going to 
implement based upon that information being out there prior to 
what occurred on the 6? Was there a plan in place that you had 
ready to go should things unfurl the wrong way?
    Director Wray. Well, we had a couple of things. We had 
prepositioned tactical response unit, SWAT teams from the 
national capital region to be available, if called upon by our 
partners who are responsible for the security of the Capitol 
complex, or attacks elsewhere in the national capital region. 
Because we didn't have, as I said before, intelligence to my 
knowledge that indicated that they were going to be hundreds 
and hundreds of people trying to storm and siege the Capitol. 
So we had prepositioned tactical resources. We had command 
posts that we stood up both in the Washington field office and 
at headquarters in our SIOC that we were running the day before 
to--and the purpose of those, the reason those are important 
because you have got all these other agencies and partners with 
people there too, and the idea is to make sure that everybody 
is getting the same information, you know, as quickly as 
possible, and that is the goal of that.
    So those are some of the things that we were doing 
beforehand. And we, of course, had put out different kinds of 
intelligence products, essentially bulletins and things like 
that over the course of the year leading up to January 6. So 
those are a few of the things that we were doing.
    Senator Braun. Did you share all that information with the 
Capitol Police along the way and especially leading up to when 
you started to see more traffic online?
    Director Wray. Well, I am not aware of any pertinent 
information we didn't share, but I know that we--these 
intelligence products I was listing, of course, those would 
have gone not just to the Capitol Police, but to MPD and all 
the other partners as well. The--to the extent that we had sort 
of late breaking raw information, there has been a lot of 
discussion about this information from our Norfolk Field 
office, that was something that we passed on to our partners, 
including and in particular the Capitol Police, in three 
different ways. Now, that was raw, unverified information.
    But in the abundance of caution, we thought we would better 
get it to people as quickly as possible. And then this command 
post part of it is so important because that is where having 
been in these command posts, you know, every 30 minutes there 
is a briefing where every agency is quickly going through, here 
is what we are hearing, and here is what we are seeing. And 
they are all there and it is all being shared. And that is the 
point of it, to be able to do it in a nimble, agile, 
transparent way.
    Senator Braun. And in retrospect, would you have done 
anything differently?
    Director Wray. Well, certainly we have now arrested, you 
know, close to 500, little over 500, if you include our 
partners, people. And so if we had known that those people were 
going to do what they did, there is all kinds of things we 
would have done differently. We are more broadly trying to look 
at, can we develop better sources to anticipate things like 
this? Can we develop better data analytics to deal with the 
deluge, the terabytes and terabytes of information to separate 
the wheat from the chaff, as it were? We are looking at the 
encryption issue because a lot of the communications between 
the domestic terrorists are happening through encrypted 
platforms that we don't have a ready-made lawful access 
solution to. And of course, we are going to be looking at how 
we review and evaluate open source information, you know, 
social media, that kind of thing.
    Senator Braun. So does that mean you think it was maybe 
more spontaneous than planned? Or would you have--if it had 
been that obvious in terms of the planning of it, probably 
would have done more?
    Director Wray. Well, I think it is a little complicated to 
answer. The reason I say that is because you--in terms of the 
people committing crimes on January 6, you kind of have two 
buckets of people. You have one group of people who clearly 
committed crimes, including violence and destruction, in a more 
spontaneous way. But you also had some other people that we now 
know, we now know from investigative work we are doing after 
January 6, that were particularly bad actors who had 
infiltrated and were more organized among themselves. That is a 
smaller group. But they you know, they are the most dangerous 
ones.
    Senator Braun. One final question. Capitol surrounded by a 
non-scalable fence. To me, in being here, obviously, ever 
since--day since then, hadn't seen any credible threats. You 
may know of more. Do you think that fence needs to remain up or 
can we take it down? Because to me, I think there needs to be a 
good argument that something is impending or likely or either 
it needs to come down not only for the look, but for the cost 
of it to boot. What is your recommendation?
    Director Wray. Yes, I am not sure I could really weigh in 
on that. I mean, we as I mentioned in response to one of the 
earlier questions, we really don't have expertise in static 
defense and physical security in that sense. So that is a 
question really better directed to the people who have that.
    Senator Braun. And have you gotten any cues for any other 
impending incidents that might require you to keep it up? I 
mean, does the intel show that there is an imminent threat of 
anything, or does it show the opposite?
    Director Wray. Well, again, without reference to any 
fencing issue, I don't think, at least to my knowledge, we are 
not tracking any specific or credible threats to the Capitol.
    Senator Braun. Sounds like a good reason to take the fence 
down. Thank you.
    Senator Shaheen. Senator Coons.
    Senator Coons. Thank you, Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking 
Member Moran. FBI Director Wray, it is great to be with you 
again. And I just want to thank you and the 37,000 men and 
women of the FBI who do the hard and difficult and demanding 
work of keeping us safe each and every day. I am mindful always 
of the sacrifices of law enforcement at the Federal, State, and 
local level. And I join you in grieving the loss, the line of 
duty, death of special agent Daniel Alfin and Laura 
Schwartzenberger earlier this year. I am always conscious of 
the ways in which the safety of the men and women in law 
enforcement is one of the paramount concerns you carry day in 
and day out.
    We also have an obligation to make sure that law 
enforcement is conducting itself in a way that is transparent 
and respectful and appropriate. And I am enthusiastic about the 
president's commitment to have Federal law enforcement now 
deployed with body worn cameras and look forward to hearing 
from you as that is implemented going forward. Back in March, 
when I think I last saw you, I asked for an assurance that the 
FBI as an organization would be as responsive as possible to 
requests from Members of the Judiciary Committee regarding 
outstanding requests for information.
    Senator Whitehouse just spoke to this earlier this week. 
And he and I have requests that are now 2 years old and have 
gone without any response. Will you commit to working with us 
to get appropriate and responsive answers for these outstanding 
questions now from the last Congress?
    Director Wray. I am not tracking the specific piece of 
correspondence, but certainly I will have my staff follow up 
with yours and see how we can be more timely and helpful.
    Senator Coons. Please, because it is something that, you 
know, I think has significantly agitated Senator Whitehouse and 
a number of other Members of the Judiciary Committee about 
responsiveness and transparency. And I would love to work with 
you to get this resolved. We have seen a spike in violent crime 
in a lot of places around the country. My hometown of 
Wilmington is one of them. The President speaking to this 
today.
    And I think we need to ensure that Federal, State, and 
local law enforcement work collaboratively to address this 
uptick. The FBI can be particularly helpful by providing 
training and resources. The county police was associated with 
for a decade, nothing was more desired than a period at the FBI 
Academy, both as a professionalization tool and to build out a 
network of professional colleagues. How does the FBI plan to 
continue to strengthen partnerships with State and local law 
enforcement in cities like Wilmington and in counties like New 
Castle, Delaware?
    Director Wray. So I completely agree that partnerships are 
critical really across everything we do, but especially on 
violent crime. And in fact, one of my four pillars for the 
organization has been partnerships. And my message to our folks 
has been, we want every partner to be able to say there is no 
better partner than the FBI. Now, you mentioned a couple of 
ways in which we do that. The National Academy at Quantico, 
where we train sort of the stars of the future and sort of 
middle, upper middle management in State and local police 
departments that was something we are very proud of. It has 
been around for decades. It was stalled somewhat during the 
pandemic for obvious reasons.
    But I am very excited that it is starting back up again 
soon, and we expect to be all in on that. Now, locally, we try 
to do it through task forces where we try to have our two, the 
FBI's two plus our partners to equal more than four, make it 
five, six, seven. And there have been some great examples of 
that, including in Wilmington. I know there was a gang, I think 
it was like the g-shine gang or something like that, where I 
think there were close to 40 arrests. But what was interesting, 
the reason I bring that one up is that during the pandemic, 
Federal grand juries were largely on hold in a lot of places, 
including in Delaware.
    But our folks were able to basically take our investigative 
work, working with our State and local partners. And so most of 
the arrests ended up being local arrests, but with an FBI 
investigation to support them. So it is a great example of the 
point you are making.
    Senator Coons. Well, I look forward to that continued 
partnership and to strengthening and deepening it. On the body 
worn cameras, the directive that they be deployed, ATF, FBI, 
DEA, marshals, I support--does your budget fully support that 
deployment and implementation or do you need additional funding 
to fully implement that?
    Director Wray. It is a good question. We will need--right 
now the budget request that we have is geared not towards the 
FBI agents and body worn cameras, but towards our task force 
officers. And again, not the cameras themselves, but through 
all the pretty significant expense associated with the storage 
of the footage. On the FBI side we are--as you referenced, 
there is a phased in plan that includes a pilot in a couple of 
field offices for us. And then it will go from there. And we 
will certainly need, you know, potentially quite significant 
resources to be able to cover the costs for all of our 
personnel if not just the storage, but from their case, the 
cameras themselves.
    Senator Coons. Well, I look forward to getting an updated 
request from you in that regard. When it comes to NICS 
background checks, last year there was a 40 percent increase in 
NICS background check requests compared to the previous year. 
That pace may simply increase again this year. And given the 
current rules, if the NICS system doesn't return a result 
within 3 days, buyers are permitted to proceed. Has the NICS 
been able to keep pace with this steadily increasing workload 
or are there more guns now being sold after a background check 
wasn't completed within that 3 day window? And are you planning 
to request increase resources for NICS?
    Director Wray. So the good news is that our workforce at 
NICS is extraordinary and very hard working. And even with the 
40 million record breaking number of checks we had last year, 
they were still able to process 95 and 96 percent of the 
requests within the 3 days. But as you mentioned, the pace is 
increasing even this year. As far as whether we have enough 
resources for it, the supplemental that we got covered us for 
essentially 2 years in terms of increases, which is why we--you 
didn't see more of it in the 2022 budget request. But, but we 
absolutely will need more resources for NICS following that, 
because otherwise it is just a short term fix.
    Senator Coons. My last question, Mr. Temporary----
    Senator Moran. Well, this is a question for Senator 
Kennedy, who was cut--was held the exact time in the other 
subcommittee. May I continue to recognize Senator Coons and 
then recognize you, Senator Kennedy?
    Senator Coons. Last question with forbearance of Senator 
Kennedy. Deeply appreciated. I think all of us are concerned 
about steadily increasing efforts by China in espionage, in 
trade secret theft, and some of the ways in which we have seen 
both state, non-state actors recently engaged in a variety of 
expensive, complex, and difficult attacks. Does the FBI need 
additional resources to protect the private entities who lack 
the resources to resist sophisticated State sponsored cyber-
attacks?
    Director Wray. Well, we are essentially asking for more 
resources, a lot of it which would be going to that mission 
both through the counterintelligence enhancement that we 
requested and through our cyber enhancement. But there is no 
question that there is no counterintelligence threat greater 
than the threat posed by China, and we are opening a new, as I 
mentioned in my opening new investigation, every 12 hours, 10 
to 12 hours. And it is about a 13 percent economic espionage 
investigation increase over the last decade. And so this is a 
challenge that dwarfs in many ways the resources we have. So 
anything that the Congress can send our way to help with this 
will be put very much too good use.
    Senator Coons. Well, thank you very much, Director. And 
thank you for your forbearance, Senator Moran and Senator 
Kennedy.
    Senator Moran. Senator Kennedy is recognized.
    Senator Kennedy. I am going to follow up, Mr. Director, on 
a point made by Senator Leahy. He talked about the massive 
voter suppression that he is expecting in 2022. Do your 
intelligence reports show they are going to be--there is going 
to be massive voter suppression in 2022?
    Director Wray. I don't believe I characterized the voter 
suppression threat as massive, and I am not aware of any 
intelligence assessment we have done that quantifies it. 
Certainly, voter suppression is a concern. It is something we 
investigate, something we pursue.
    Senator Kennedy. Okay. On the NICS database, where do you 
get--where do you get the information for?
    Director Wray. For the NICS database? So a lot of sources, 
but most of the information is coming from State and local law 
enforcement.
    Senator Kennedy. Are they all sending in all the 
information they are supposed to?
    Director Wray. We are continuing to improve that. The Fix 
NICS Act that Congress put in place has been a big help in that 
regard. And every year we are increasing the completeness of 
the NICS database. But there is still room for improvement.
    Senator Kennedy. But there is still a lot of holes in it, 
aren't there?
    Director Wray. There are, yes.
    Senator Kennedy. Yes. And the truth is, I mean, for some I 
don't want to paint with too broad a brush, but my 
understanding is that for some at the State and local level, it 
is just not a priority. It is not that they are sitting around 
watching Netflix. They just have got--they are busy doing other 
stuff. Would that be a fair statement?
    Director Wray. Well, I understand why you would describe it 
that way. I have got to be a little bit careful to characterize 
our partners as, you know, distracted. But I will say that, I 
mean, I have gone out to NICS and put on the headset and sat 
there with the operator, listen to the calls and see how it 
works. And, you know, some of these things, especially when you 
start getting into, you know, misdemeanor, domestic violence 
offenses, and things like that, it can get kind of complicated.
    And if the records out in whatever jurisdiction aren't 
ready at hand or clear, it can become a real challenge. And 
that was magnified during the pandemic, you know, because a lot 
of departments, local departments, you know, were not at work. 
And so that----
    Senator Kennedy. Well, I just--I hear--I read about the 
President and others saying, well, the problem is we need to 
expand background checks. And it just seems to me that a big 
part of our problem, nothing is perfect, of course, but a big 
part of our problem is that the current system we have is only 
as good as the information inputted and all the information 
isn't being inputted. It is just not. And I think Fix NICS did 
help. And I think it is better, but I don't think it is well. 
And it would seem to me that that would be a logical place to 
start. Is my thinking faulty?
    Director Wray. I don't think your thinking is faulty. I 
think we all share the goal of keeping guns out of the hands of 
those illegally prohibited from having them, which should be 
the table stakes in this endeavor. And that is what the NICS 
system is designed to do. To the extent that the holes that you 
identified are holes in different agencies and departments, you 
know, a patchwork around the country, you know, I would be 
remiss if I didn't point out that some of them may need, you 
know, grant funding or resources to help them because it may be 
a resource issue for them.
    Senator Kennedy. I am not suggesting they are just sitting 
around watching Netflix. They are working. They have been 
'cussed and discussed and accused of everything in the world, 
and their budgets has been cut. And then we wonder why crime 
goes up. So I am not criticizing them. I am just pointing out 
that it seems to me that the system is only good as the data 
that is been put into it. Let me ask you a final question. I 
just want your opinion on this. Why do you think Chicago has 
become the largest outdoor shooting range in the world?
    Director Wray. Well, I mean, I think I have referenced a 
lot of the factors from a national perspective. I don't know 
that I can sit here right now give you a Chicago specific 
explanation, but certainly some of the same trends that I 
described nationally would undoubtedly be at play in Chicago. I 
know that, you know, over the past year, we have had, you 
know--this is just the FBI now, you know, 270 gang arrests in 
Chicago, 150 maybe violent crime arrests. And that is just in 
the past year or so. And I know that our partners there. We 
have some great partners in Chicago, you know, police 
department, among other agencies, and they are all stretched 
pretty thin.
    Senator Kennedy. Thank you, Mr. Director.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    Senator Moran. Senator Kennedy, thank you. If there is no 
further questions to be asked this afternoon, Senators have 
until June the 29 to submit additional questions for the 
subcommittee's official hearing record. We request that the FBI 
respond within 30 days. The subcommittee stands in recess.
    [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but 
were submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 
response subsequent to the hearing:]
              Questions Submitted to Hon. Christopher Wray
              Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick Leahy
    Question 1. Last fall, Vermont was the first State to pass a bill 
that prohibits police from using facial recognition technology without 
the express consent of the legislature. I am proud of Vermont for 
leading the way on guarding Vermonters' civil liberties against this 
often inaccurate technology. Body worn cameras with facial recognition 
technology create such a significant risk of misidentification that 
even body camera vendors are shifting away from this technology. The 
FBI's fiscal year 2022 budget includes $6.2 million to provide software 
and video storage for body worn cameras of federally deputized Task 
Force Officers.

        a.  Does the FBI utilize body worn cameras with built-in facial 
        recognition technology? What concrete steps will the FBI take 
        to protect Americans' civil liberties from widely known risks 
        of misidentification by facial recognition technology?

    Answer. The FBI's body worn cameras, currently implemented in one 
field office, do not have any facial recognition technology.

        b.  How does the FBI plan to safeguard stored body camera 
        footage from improper access and use?

    Answer. The storage environment for BWC metadata and recordings 
will be encrypted in transition and at rest. The FBI's storage 
environment will be governed and validated automatically by the 
Sentinel case authentication services REST Application Programming 
Interface. Files will contain a refence to the unique hash value of the 
contents for every recording. The Department of Justice will soon 
release additional information and guidance regarding the use of body 
worn cameras.

    Question 2. When I asked you whether additional resources from 
Congress to combat voter suppression and other Federal election crimes 
would be helpful, you responded that ``we're busier than we ever have 
been'' and that ``if Congress sees fit to send us more resources on 
this . . . I'm quite confident that it will be put to good use.''

        a.  What is your assessment for why the FBI is busier than it 
        has ever been with respect to combatting Federal election 
        crimes? Has there been a significant uptick in alleged Federal 
        election crimes? Is there a discernible pattern regarding who 
        exactly are allegedly committing these crimes--for example, 
        State level officials?

    Answer. The FBI is the primary agency responsible for investigating 
illegal cyber activity against election infrastructure, malign foreign 
influence operations, and election-related crimes, like voter fraud and 
voter suppression or intimidation. At the FBI, we work closely with our 
intelligence community partners, as well as other Federal, State, 
local, Tribal, and territorial partners, to share information, bolster 
security, and identify and disrupt any threats.
    Because of the expanded foreign influence operations we have 
witnessed, we broadened and significantly added resources to our 
Foreign Intelligence Task Force (FITF) and not just to efforts related 
to Russia, but also to add China and Iran, because those countries are 
looking for different ways to take a page out of the malign foreign 
influence playbook that they've seen elsewhere.
    At the State and local level, the FBI has Election Crimes 
Coordinators (ECCs) in each field office to assess allegations of voter 
fraud, civil rights violations, campaign finance crimes, and other 
potential threats to primaries and general elections. The FBI worked 
closely throughout the 2020 electoral process with local and State 
officials, public representatives, and USIC partners to educate, 
prepare, and facilitate a whole-of-society response to any and all 
election-related matters.

        b.  If Congress is able to provide you with additional 
        resources to combat Federal election crimes, what exactly would 
        those resources be utilized for? Please list the key areas of 
        the FBI's efforts combatting Federal election crimes that could 
        be bolstered or expanded given additional resources from 
        Congress.

    Answer. The FBI, along with its Federal, State, local, Tribal, 
territorial, non-governmental and private-sector partners nationwide, 
work together in unprecedented ways to combat foreign interference 
efforts and support election officials, political organizations, 
campaigns, and candidates in safeguarding their infrastructure. 
Certainly, additional resources would support these efforts.
    In an effort to increase the FBI's ability to identify, initiate, 
and investigate election crime matters, the FBI established the 
Campaign Finance and Ballot Fraud Initiative. This initiative 
designated Special Agents as Election Crimes Coordinators in each FBI 
field office and also assigned intelligence personnel to support 
efforts to combat these crimes. These personnel are the points of 
contact for all election-related issues within the agency, including 
those related to public corruption, civil rights, cyber crimes, and 
terrorism incidents, and they liaise as necessary with State and local 
election officials, State/local law enforcement agencies, and the U.S. 
Attorney's Offices.
    As performed in the lead-up to the 2020 election, the FBI 
investigates so-called ``dark money'' schemes, through which donors to 
political spending or campaign contributions by groups are not 
disclosed and the source of the contributions are unknown. Many times, 
these dark money groups are used to mask illegal activities such as 
foreign contributions, bribes, or quid pro quo arrangements. The FBI 
will also continue to investigate instances of voter and ballot fraud, 
voter intimidation/suppression, cyber hacks, and PAC/Super PAC 
violations.
    In addition, in the fall of 2017, the FBI established the Foreign 
Influence Task Force (FITF) to identify and counteract malign foreign 
influence operations targeting the U.S. The FITF is led by the 
Counterintelligence Division and is comprised of agents, analysts, and 
professional staff from the Counterintelligence, Cyber, 
Counterterrorism, and Criminal Investigative Divisions. This cross-
programmatic approach allows the FBI to identify connections across 
programs, to aggressively investigate as appropriate and--importantly--
to be more agile. Coordinating closely with our partners and leveraging 
relationships we have developed in the technology sector, we regularly 
relay threat indicators that those companies use to take swift action, 
blocking budding abuse of their online platforms. Following the 2018 
midterm elections, we reviewed the threat and the effectiveness of our 
coordination and outreach. As a result of this review, we further 
expanded the scope of the FITF to confront foreign malign operations 
not only of Russia, but also of the People's Republic of China (PRC), 
Iran, and other global adversaries.

    Question 3. We are fewer than 3 months away from the 20th 
Anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and yet there is still hidden 
information about that horrific day that the American people deserve to 
know. Appearing before the House Judiciary Committee two weeks ago, you 
committed to working with the Director of National Intelligence to 
ensure greater declassification of documents related to Saudi Arabia's 
involvement in the September 11 attacks.

        a.  Is that conversation ongoing? When can we expect to see a 
        full declassification review of all aspects of the FBI's 
        investigation into Saudi Arabia's role in 9/11?

    Answer. The FBI recognizes the public importance of documents 
related to 9/11 and we have worked diligently to produce over 10,000 
pages of related records.
    The FBI, Department of Justice, and other agencies continue to work 
to satisfy the requirements of Executive Order 14040. Pursuant to the 
Executive Order, since September 11, 2021, the FBI has released newly 
declassified documents related to the attacks, including releases on 
September 11, 2021, November 3, 2021, December 30, 2021, and March 2, 
2022.

    Question 4. During previous appearances before Congress, you 
mentioned that end-to-end encryption across devices and social media 
platforms threatens the FBI's ability to manage threats, particularly 
when it comes to domestic terrorism. You suggested that you believed 
that this was a policy judgement Congress should make but that instead 
it was being made by private companies.

        a.  Please describe, as specifically as possible, the biggest 
        issues related to end-to-end encryption from the FBI's 
        perspective that you believe this Committee should be aware of 
        when considering the balancing of civil liberties with law 
        enforcement surveillance.

    Answer. The FBI remains a strong advocate for the wide and 
consistent use of responsibly-managed encryption--encryption that 
providers can decrypt and provide to law enforcement when served with a 
legal order. Protecting data and privacy in a digitally connected world 
is a top priority for the FBI and the U.S. Government, and we believe 
that promoting encryption is a vital part of that mission. But we have 
seen that the broad application of end-to-end and user-only-access 
encryption adds negligible security advantages. What we mean when we 
talk about lawful access is putting providers who manage encrypted data 
in a position to decrypt it and provide it to us in response to legal 
process. We are not asking for, and do not want, any ``backdoor,'' that 
is, for encryption to be weakened or compromised so that it can be 
defeated from the outside by law enforcement or anyone else. 
Unfortunately, too much of the debate over lawful access has revolved 
around discussions of this ``backdoor'' straw man instead of what we 
really want and need.
    The FBI is deeply concerned with the threat that end-to-end 
encryption (E2EE) and user-only-access encryption pose to our ability 
to fulfill the FBI's duty of protecting the American people from every 
manner of Federal crime, from cyber-attacks and violence against 
children to drug trafficking and organized crime. Even with our 
substantial resources, accessing the content of known or suspected 
terrorists' data pursuant to court-authorized legal process is 
increasingly difficult. The often-online nature of the terrorist 
radicalization process, along with the insular nature of most of 
today's attack plotters, leaves fewer dots for investigators to connect 
in time to stop an attack--and end-to-end and user-only-access 
encryption increasingly hide even those often precious few and fleeting 
dots.
    This problem spans international and domestic terrorism threats. We 
face the same problem in protecting children against violent sexual 
exploitation. End-to-end and user-only-access encryption frequently 
prevent us from discovering and searching for victims. When we are able 
to open investigations, end-to-end and user-only-access encryption 
makes it much more difficult to bring perpetrators to justice. If we 
cannot obtain that critical electronic evidence, our efforts are 
frequently hamstrung.
    This problem is not limited just to Federal investigations. Our 
State and local law enforcement partners have been consistently 
advising the FBI that they, too, are experiencing similar end-to-end 
and user-only-access encryption challenges, which are now being felt 
across the full range of State and local criminal law enforcement. As 
this problem becomes more and more acute for State and local law 
enforcement, the advanced technical resources needed to address even a 
single investigation involving end-to-end and user-only-access 
encryption will continue to diminish and ultimately overwhelm State and 
local capacity to investigate even common crimes.

    Question 5. In 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children's (NCMEC) CyberTipline received more than 21.7 million reports 
regarding online exploitation of children--almost 4 million more 
reports than in 2019. NCMEC also received almost twice as many reports 
in 2020 of online enticement of children than it did in 2019.

        a.  Please describe, in as much detail as possible, the steps 
        the FBI is taking to combat this disturbing rise in the 
        exploitation of children online, particularly on social media 
        and online gaming platforms.

    Answer. The FBI's Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking 
program provides rapid, proactive, and intelligence driven 
investigative response to the abuse to, and exploitation of, children 
when those crimes fall under the authority of the FBI. Currently, the 
FBI leads 86 Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces 
across the Nation, which focus on investigating and prosecuting crimes 
against children in partnership with Federal, State, local, and Tribal 
counterparts. The FBI also works with non-governmental entities such as 
Thorn and NCMEC to identify emerging technologies used by child sex 
offenders.
    Over the past 2 years, the FBI has remained focused on protecting 
children from exploitation and abuse in all forms, from interactions on 
a social media platform to hands-on abuse by a trusted adult. In fiscal 
year 2020 and fiscal year 2021, the FBI arrested over 4,100 child sex 
offenders (over 1,650 of whom were contact offenders) and located over 
320 missing or abducted children. The FBI also partnered with 
international law enforcement, including INTERPOL and EUROPOL, to 
identify child predators around the world and bring them to justice.

        b.  Please describe the resources the FBI is providing to 
        educate parents about the issue and to help prevent their 
        children from online exploitation, particularly with more 
        children online during the pandemic.

    Answer. The FBI collaborates with domestic and foreign law 
enforcement agency partners, as well as several non-governmental 
organizations, to identify and address the effects of the COVID-19 
pandemic on child sexual exploitation tradecraft and online 
victimization. For example, since December 2019, the FBI's Criminal 
Investigative Division (CID) has released five public service 
announcements (PSAs) to warn parents, educators, caregivers, and 
children about the dangers of online CSE and the signs of child abuse. 
Specifically, the PSAs included recommendations on how to safeguard 
children from sexual exploitation the dangers of sextortion and online 
extortion, the risks posed by online video games, and how to report 
victimization. The FBI also provides information about online risks and 
resources to parents and children, such as the Safe Online Surfing 
Internet Challenge (https://www.fbi.gov/fbi-kids) and the information 
available at https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/protecting-your-kids.

        c.  Does the FBI have all of the resources it needs as part of 
        this program to meet this growing challenge?

    Answer. As the Committee is aware, every year, thousands of 
children become victims of crimes--whether it is through online 
predators, sexual abuse, violent attacks, human trafficking, or 
kidnappings. The FBI is uniquely positioned to work with Federal, 
State, local, Tribal, and international law enforcement partners to 
identify, investigate, and deter individuals and criminal networks from 
exploiting children. These partnerships are essential because the 
number of violent crimes against children is far greater than what the 
FBI is resourced to address on its own.
    The FBI has several programs in place to arrest child predators and 
to recover missing and endangered children. To this end, the FBI funds 
or participates in a variety of endeavors, including our Innocence Lost 
National Initiative, the Innocent Images National Initiative, the 85 
Child Exploitation Task Forces, and the Violent Crimes Against Children 
International Task Force, which comprises 69 officers from 48 
countries. The FBI also works with non-governmental organizations like 
Thorn and NCMEC, as well as numerous community outreach programs, to 
educate parents and children about safety measures they can follow.
    Finally, the FBI also leverages the Child Abduction Rapid 
Deployment (CARD) Teams, which are rapid-response teams stationed 
across the country to quickly respond to abductions (including 
abductions where the victim met their abductor online). Investigators 
bring to this issue the full array of forensic tools, such as call data 
and cell tower data analysis, behavior analysis, cellular DNA analysis, 
trace evidence, impression evidence, and digital forensics. Through 
improved communications, law enforcement also has the ability to 
quickly share information with partners throughout the world, and these 
outreach programs play an integral role in prevention.
    Employing these tools is expensive but successful. The FBI makes 
every effort to ensure that resources are used efficiently, while 
safeguarding endangered children. The FBI commends the committee's 
dedication to these efforts and appreciates the resources provided to 
combat these horrific acts.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Chris Van Hollen
    Question 1. Will you share the specific duties and responsibilities 
of the FBI's Chief Diversity Officer with my office?

    Answer. In April 2021, Director Wray formally appointed Scott 
McMillion as the FBI's first-ever Chief Diversity Officer. Mr. 
McMillion leads the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), which the 
FBI established in 2012. As part of its mission, ODI oversees our nine 
Diversity Advisory Committees, which advocate for underrepresented 
groups within the workforce. The efforts of these groups have 
culminated in policy changes, innovative projects, and a deeper sense 
of community for minorities, women, and others within the FBI. ODI also 
works to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are key 
components in recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion efforts as 
well as other processes and programs within the FBI.

    Question 2. Is there a reason the Chief Diversity Officer does not 
report to you directly but reports to an executive two levels below 
you?

    Answer. Director Wray has named Building a High-Performing, 
Diverse, and Inclusive Workforce as one of his three Director's 
Priority Initiatives and, as referenced above, Director Wray formally 
appointed the FBI's first-ever Chief Diversity Officer. The CDO 
position is among the FBI's senior leadership, which provides direction 
and support to all 56 field offices, about 350 resident agencies, 
several specialized field installations, and more than 60 legal 
attaches in other countries.
                                 ______
                                 
             Questions Submitted by Senator Lisa Murkowski
    Question 1. We know from the little data available, that Alaska has 
one of the highest rates of human trafficking in the country, 
specifically affecting our homeless youth and Alaska Native population. 
I am grateful to the phenomenal agents at the FBI field office in 
Anchorage who have been providing training and outreach on this issue 
in Alaska. However, throughout the State there is still a great need 
for comprehensive training and resources on human trafficking in our 
communities. The FBI is an ideal stakeholder with the correct expertise 
to provide this training.

        a.  What additional funding has the Department of Justice 
        proposed for the FBI to increase access to training for rural 
        communities on human trafficking?

    Answer. The FBI defers to the Department of Justice on proposed 
funding increases; however, the FBI has realigned existing resources 
specifically to address human trafficking and missing and murdered 
indigenous persons (MMIP) in Alaska. In addition, the FBI provides 
between 12-24 training venues on human trafficking and MMIP. The FBI 
also offers access to several national-level conferences, including the 
DOJ-sponsored National Law Enforcement Training on Child Exploitation 
and the Dallas Crimes Against Children Conference, and access to 
virtual webinars covering topics related to human trafficking. In 
addition, in 2020, the U.S. Attorney's Office stood up the Alaska MMIP 
Working Group to address the complexities that arise in these types of 
cases in Alaska. The group is a multi-disciplinary team involving the 
collaboration and coordination of Tribal representatives, Federal, 
State, local and Tribal law enforcement, and social and victim service 
providers.
    In January 2022, the Department of Justice issued its National 
Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. This document is available online 
at https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1467431/download. The 
strategy is a Department-wide effort that lays out a multi-year plan to 
combat all forms of human trafficking. Chapter I of the strategy 
identifies strategies for detecting human trafficking crimes and 
identifying victims and survivors. Additional chapters address topics 
like protection, prosecution, and prevention. Each chapter identifies 
numerous concrete actions intended to be executed within approximately 
1 year. Training is a key part of the strategy, and it includes 
training efforts in rural and Tribal communities.
    The FBI has been very open to surging resources to various parts of 
the country to address emerging threats and will continue to do so.

        b.  We know that survivors of human trafficking need 
        specialized services to enter recovery. What additional funding 
        has the Department of Justice proposed to support victim 
        specialists within the FBI, who are able to connect survivors 
        of human trafficking to vital services in the community?

    Answer. The FBI defers to the Department of Justice on specific 
funding requests; however, the FBI takes a victim-centered, trauma-
informed approach to investigating these cases and strives to ensure 
that the needs of victims are fully addressed at all stages. To 
accomplish this, the FBI works in conjunction with other law 
enforcement agencies and victim specialists on the local, State, 
Tribal, and Federal levels, as well as with a variety of vetted non-
governmental organizations. Even after the arrest and conviction of 
human traffickers, the FBI often continues to work with partner 
agencies and organizations to assist victims in moving beyond their 
exploitation.

    Question 2. In April 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant on the 
home and business of a couple living in Homer, Alaska. This search 
warrant was related to investigations surrounding January 6. We know 
that the wife was identified using pictures and tips. The couple is 
adamant that this was a case of mistaken identity. I think it is 
important that we get all of the answers about what happened on January 
6, and I am supportive of the FBI in their efforts. At the same time, 
we are also in a moment where public trust in law enforcement is 
fragile and under heavy scrutiny.

        a.  How is the FBI working to ensure that investigations 
        respect the constitutional rights of Americans?

    Answer. The FBI has the dual mission of protecting the American 
people and upholding the Constitution. The FBI is committed to 
protecting Constitutional rights, including the First Amendment's 
freedoms of association and assembly. The Attorney General's Guidelines 
for Domestic FBI Activities (AGG-DOM) establish a set of basic 
principles that serve as the foundation for all FBI mission-related 
activities.
    As described in the relevant, unsealed, and redacted search warrant 
affidavit, the search that took place in Homer, Alaska, is related to 
one or more of the hundreds of investigations related to the January 6, 
2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Although the search warrant affidavit 
has been unsealed, pursuant to longstanding Department of Justice and 
FBI policy and practice, the FBI cannot provide further information or 
discuss an open investigation. This policy, which has been applied 
across administrations, is designed to preserve the integrity of all 
FBI investigations and the privacy of individuals or entities 
potentially involved in an investigation.

        b.  What efforts has the FBI taken to ensure that that public 
        trust in law enforcement is maintained during the course of the 
        investigations into the events of January 6?

    Answer. The FBI has deployed our full investigative resources and 
is working closely with our Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
territorial partners to aggressively pursue those involved in criminal 
activity during the events of January 6, 2021. FBI special agents, 
intelligence analysts, and professional staff have been hard at work 
gathering evidence, sharing intelligence, and working with Federal 
prosecutors to bring charges against the individuals involved.
    We used tip lines and web resources for members of the public to 
provide information to assist in identifying individuals who were 
involved in the violence and other criminal activity. These resources 
allowed the public to submit any images, videos, or other multimedia 
files related to possible violations of Federal law. The FBI has 
arrested hundreds of individuals with regards to rioting, assault on a 
Federal officer, property crimes violations, conspiracy, and other 
charges.
    The FBI has the dual mission of protecting the American people and 
upholding the Constitution. It is important to emphasize that we 
investigate and prosecute individuals for their criminal acts, not for 
their beliefs or based on their associations. We respect the 
Constitutional rights of freedom of speech, association, and assembly 
of all Americans. We open cases based on suspected criminal violations, 
not ideologies, and hold sacred the rights of individuals to peacefully 
exercise their First Amendment freedoms. The FBI may not, and does not, 
open investigations solely on the basis of First Amendment-protected 
activity.

    Question 3. In recent weeks, there has been a dramatic increase in 
the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents across the United States. 
The Anti-Defamation Leagues' Center on Extremism reported that the 
number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. for the month of May 
increased by 115 percent over the number of reports for May of last 
year. These reported incidents varied from assault to vandalism. The 
Alaska Jewish Museum in Anchorage, Alaska was also vandalized in late 
May. A man was reported placing swastika stickers which said the words 
``We are everywhere'' in bold, black letters. There is absolutely zero 
place for this kind of hatred in Alaska or anywhere else in the United 
States. The FBI has reported that one of the greatest threats to the 
Homeland today is from domestic violent extremists (DVEs) and homegrown 
violent extremists (HVEs). We know that DVEs and HVEs have and likely 
will continue to pose a very real threat to the Jewish Community.

        a.  What efforts is the FBI taking to address the rise in 
        antisemitism?

    Answer. To address the intersection of the FBI counterterrorism and 
criminal investigative missions to combat domestic terrorism, and to 
provide justice to those who are victims of hate crimes, the FBI 
formally created the Domestic Terrorism-Hate Crimes Fusion Cell in 
April 2019. This Fusion Cell creates more opportunities for 
investigative creativity, provides multi-program coordination, helps 
ensure seamless information-sharing, and enhances investigative 
resources to combine the domestic terrorism (DT) threat. The Fusion 
Cell has already been helpful in the FBI's efforts to address the rise 
in antisemitism. For example, in November 2019, the work of the Fusion 
Cell resulted in the arrest of Richard Holzer, a Colorado man who 
ultimately pleaded guilty and was sentenced to over 19 years in prison 
for Federal hate crime and explosives charges for plotting to blow up a 
synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado.

        b.  How does the FBI's fiscal year 2022 budget address these 
        and other hate crimes, such as the ones perpetrated against 
        Asian Americans?

    Answer. The FBI's fiscal year 2022 request includes resources to 
help counter the increasing acts of domestic terrorism occurring across 
the United States. To do this, the FBI has developed advanced methods 
to detect, prevent, and disrupt threats using human resources, 
information, and technology. Specifically, resources requested in the 
fiscal year 2022 budget will be used to: increase the FBI's 
investigative capacity to combat domestic terrorism threats; implement 
technical tools to better screen and analyze threats; and enhance the 
National Threat Operations Center's ability to intake threats from the 
public. These capabilities will help the FBI protect against all 
domestic terrorism threats, including those perpetrated against the 
Jewish and Asian American communities.
    With respect to civil rights and hate crimes, the fiscal year 2022 
request sustains FBI resources, including the Domestic Terrorism Hate 
Crimes Fusion Cell. During fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021, the 
FBI conducted training and liaison events for the Asian American 
Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and plans to continue to communicate 
potential threats and encourage reporting of potential hate crimes.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Joe Manchin, III
    Question 1. We have spoken several times regarding the FBI police, 
and I would like to touch on this again to demonstrate the importance 
of it to my State. First, I want to highlight the exemplary work of the 
75 police officers assigned to the site in Clarksburg, West Virginia 
and the 173 other officers serving at sites in Washington, DC, 
Quantico, VA, and New York City. As you know, because of an inadvertent 
error committed while drafting the legislation, the FBI police force 
are not receiving the pay and benefits in which they are entitled. As a 
result, turnover is high, as officers tend to leave the force for other 
better-paying jobs with other agencies once they receive the proper 
training and security clearances. I know the FBI is has started a 
working group to address the issue, but I would like to, once again, 
receive your commitment to working on this in a timely manner as more 
and more FBI Police leave the force due to pay and benefit 
deficiencies.

        a.  Can you give me a status update on the work of the working 
        group on the FBI Police pay and benefit issue?
        b.  When do you believe the working group's work on the issue 
        will be completed?

    Answer. The FBI continues to evaluate the needs of FBI Police and 
will continue to work with the Department of Justice, the Office of 
Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, and Congress 
as it assesses possible actions to address identified needs. We 
appreciate Congress' shared interest in FBI Police human capital and 
resourcing needs.

    Question 2. Intelligence reports prior to the January 6 riot warned 
Capitol Police that supporters of President Trump were actively 
promoting violence and targeting Congress itself. The Department of 
Homeland Security specifically notified Capitol Police that they had 
identified a map of the Capitol's tunnel system in online messages 
between ``Stop the Steal'' supporters, and the FBI field office in 
Norfolk also warned the Capitol Police. However, the Capitol Police 
Inspector General also found a lack of consensus among key official 
about whether these reports indicated specific known threats. As you 
know it's impossible to prepare or respond to a threat without as much 
reliable information as possible, and we certainly saw what happens 
when threat information isn't handled effectively on January 6th. This 
brings up a larger issue that I've grown more concerned about during my 
time on the Cyber Subcommittee for Armed Services. Which is how 
potential threats, both physical and cyber, are shared within the 
Federal Government.

        a.  In your capacity, do you feel both your Bureau has been 
        sufficiently receiving and relaying threat information with 
        other Federal departments, and are you aware if that 
        information can then be shared with a specific private industry 
        partner if we identify a specific threat toward them?

    Answer. The FBI's intelligence operations span our field offices 
and Headquarters divisions, and we work closely with our partners in 
the intelligence, law enforcement, private sector, and academic 
communities through, for example, the JTTFs and the Domestic Terrorism-
Hate Crimes Fusion Cell, described above. In addition, the FBI's Office 
of Private Sector exists to enhance the FBI's understanding of the 
private sector's risks and needs, increases collaboration and 
information-sharing between the Bureau and the private sector, and 
mitigates threats through longstanding, mutually beneficial 
partnerships between the private sector and the FBI.
    Throughout 2020, the FBI authored approximately 12 intelligence 
products for our Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial law 
enforcement partners disseminating trends we saw in threat reporting 
and criminal activity involving domestic violent extremism. Over the 
preceding year, we observed activity that led us to assess that there 
was potential for increased violent extremist activity at lawful 
protests taking place in communities across the United States. 
Accordingly, in June 2020, we, with our partners at the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS), issued two separate joint intelligence 
bulletins highlighting the potential for increased violent extremist 
activity at such demonstrations and noting that likely targets would 
include law enforcement and government personnel. More recently, in 
late August 2020, we published an analytical report informing our 
partners that DVEs with partisan political grievances likely posed an 
increased threat related to the 2020 election. In that product, we 
noted that DVE responses to the election outcome might not occur until 
after the election and could be based on potential or anticipated 
policy changes. In December 2020, we contributed to a DHS Intelligence 
In-Depth product, which advised our partners that the threat posed by 
the diverse DVE landscape would probably persist due to enduring 
grievances.
    In the weeks and months leading up to electoral certification, the 
FBI collected and shared intelligence; coordinated and communicated 
among Federal, State, and local law enforcement partners; and 
positioned Federal resources for potential deployment. Through these 
measures, the FBI worked in close coordination with the U.S. Capitol 
Police, the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington D.C., and 
other law enforcement partners leading up to the Joint Session of 
Congress and the planned demonstrations scheduled for January 6, 2021. 
The FBI and our Federal, State, and local partners collected and shared 
intelligence and relevant public safety-related information in 
preparation for the various planned events.

        b.  In your own opinion how do we increase the coordination 
        within the Federal Government to respond more quickly and in a 
        uniformed way no matter the threat?

    Answer. As a member of both the law enforcement and intelligence 
communities, with domestic and international reach, the FBI is focusing 
our unique authorities, and our ability to engage with international 
law enforcement, domestic victims, and key technology service 
providers, to identify and disrupt cyber adversaries before they 
compromise U.S. networks, and hold them accountable when they do.
    Key to the FBI's strategy is using the information and insight we 
develop through our investigations to support our full range of public 
and private-sector partners. There are many countries, companies, and 
agencies that play roles in defending networks, sanctioning 
destabilizing behavior, collecting cyber threat intelligence, and 
conducting cyber effects operations. We seek to work with all of them, 
in the belief that our collective actions to combat cyber threats are 
most impactful when they are planned jointly and sequenced for maximum 
impact.
    The National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF) is 
comprised of over 30 partnering agencies--from across law enforcement, 
the intelligence community, and the Department of Defense--and has the 
primary responsibility to coordinate, integrate, and share information 
in support of cyber threat investigations; supply and support 
intelligence analysis for community decision-makers; and provide value 
to other ongoing efforts in the fight against cyber threats to the 
Nation. In coordination with our partners, the FBI has successfully 
disrupted numerous cybercriminal enterprises, including those deploying 
ransomware, but lasting impact will require joint, sequenced operations 
with our U.S. counterparts and foreign allies as well as a removal of 
the sense of impunity many of these actors currently feel.
    On the front lines of our efforts to investigate and prosecute 
domestic and international terrorism are the FBI-led Joint Terrorism 
Task Forces (JTTFs) and the department's 94 U.S. Attorney's Offices. 
JTTFs provide an essential hub for cooperating on both international 
and domestic terrorism matters across all levels of government 
nationwide. The FBI has established JTTFs across all 56 FBI field 
offices, which leverage enduring partnerships with Federal and State, 
local, Tribal, and territorial agencies to detect, identify, and 
disrupt terrorist threats. Each U.S. attorney's office also coordinates 
a group of Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial officials in 
each district, referred to as an Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council 
(ATAC). The ATACs work in close partnership with corresponding JTTFs to 
promote training and information sharing among Federal, State, local, 
Tribal, territorial, and private sector partners in both international 
and domestic terrorism matters. This training and information sharing 
is critical because there are many more State, local, Tribal, and 
territorial law enforcement officers on the ground than there are 
Federal agents, and they may be the first to come across individuals 
planning terrorist acts within their communities. Federal and State, 
local, Tribal, and territorial officials often evaluate these threats 
together, including assessing whether Federal or State charges are 
available to disrupt them, with the goal of preventing terrorist 
attacks before they occur.

    Question 3. I've heard from numerous government officials at the 
Department of Defense, DHS, and even at the FBI and they all have said 
that Cyber criminals are getting smarter and using more and more 
elaborate scheme to steal information to steal and extort millions of 
dollars from individuals and companies. In fact, the FBI's 2020 
Internet Crime Report includes information from 791,790 complaints of 
suspected Internet crime--an increase of more than 300,000 complaints 
from 2019--and reported losses exceeding $4.2 billion. As you know, 
Russia in the SolarWinds hack and China in the Microsoft hack, both 
launched their attacks from, and infiltrated stolen data through 
servers rented from U.S. cloud providers. In May, Colonial Pipeline was 
the victim of a ransomware attack that placed large parts of its 
infrastructure out of operation. Colonial Pipeline paid a ransom demand 
for approximately 75 bitcoins. Fortunately, the Department of Justice 
just announced that it had seized 63.7 bitcoins, valued at 
approximately $2.3 million, which represented a portion of the ransom 
payment made by Colonial Pipeline to individuals in a group known as 
DarkSide. There is no doubt that these types of cyberattacks and ransom 
demands will be the new normal going forward and I hope that we, as the 
U.S. Government, are prepared to put the right mechanisms in place to 
detect and pursue individuals, groups and nations that that strive to 
infiltrate and disrupt our Federal systems and critical infrastructure.

        a.  How extensive are cybercrimes here in the United States?

    Answer. Ransomware is a growing threat to the health and safety of 
the American people and our national and economic security. The 
individuals who conduct cyber intrusions and ransomware campaigns, and 
the officials who direct or harbor them, believe that they can 
compromise U.S. networks, steal our financial and intellectual 
property, and hold our critical infrastructure hostage for ransom, all 
without incurring significant risk themselves.
    In 2020, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) statistics 
showed a 20 percent increase in reported ransomware incidents and a 225 
percent increase in ransom amounts. In 2019, the IC3 received 2,047 
ransomware complaints, with adjusted losses of more than $8.9 million-- 
though that is likely a small fraction of the true scope of the threat 
because it captures only those who individually reported to the IC3. 
These numbers represent a nearly 40 percent increase in ransomware 
complaints to the IC3, and more than double the adjusted losses 
reported in 2018. In 2020, the IC3 received 2,474 complaints identified 
as ransomware, with adjusted losses of over $29.1 million. 
Unfortunately, what is reported is only a fraction of the incidents 
that occur.
    Because this criminal activity has become more lucrative and 
enticing, it is our job to make it harder and more painful for hackers 
to do what they are doing. That is why we announced a new FBI cyber 
strategy last year, using our role as the lead Federal agency with law 
enforcement and intelligence responsibilities to not only pursue our 
own actions, but to work seamlessly with our domestic and international 
partners to defend their networks, attribute malicious activity, 
sanction bad behavior, and take the fight to our adversaries overseas.

        b.  What are some of the biggest challenges in investigating 
        and prosecuting cybercrimes?

    Answer. Cyber criminals focus on exploiting technical 
vulnerabilities, primarily for personal profit. Overall, the 
sophistication of cyber-crime has increased and has become more 
difficult to detect, more resilient, costly to disrupt, aggressive, and 
destructive. We know our most significant threats come from foreign 
actors using global infrastructure to compromise U.S. networks. By 
working with friendly foreign law enforcement agencies and intelligence 
partners, we make it harder for these actors to conceal their 
activities and whereabouts.
    Not every foreign nation helps us in this fight. While we seek to 
disrupt entire cybercriminal enterprises, the most impactful 
consequence we can impose on a malicious cyber actor is an arrest as 
part of a comprehensive disruption. If an actor is in a country like 
Russia or China, an arrest for purposes of facing U.S. charges is not a 
viable option. Neither country extradites its nationals. Even when an 
indicted cybercriminal is in another country, Russia in particular 
takes actions to interfere with our extraditions. To make things more 
difficult, the lines between nation-states and cybercriminal actors are 
sometimes blurred, and even though a foreign nation may not be 
directing a ransomware campaign, it may still be complicit by providing 
a safe haven to those malicious actors who are doing harm to the United 
States, our citizens, and our businesses.
    But our allies outnumber our foes, and in just the past few months, 
our work with foreign partners--supported by our legal attaches 
overseas--has led to impactful consequences against cybercriminals and 
sent a strong message that the reach of the U.S. Government extends 
beyond its borders.

        c.  Does the FBI have sufficient authorities and resources to 
        successfully pursue cybercrimes?

    Answer. There are several areas in which the FBI must invest now 
and continue to invest in the future to ensure we can keep pace with 
the terrorists, foreign intelligence officers, and criminals we face 
each day. One of these key areas of focus is cyber. The depth and 
breadth of the cyber threat has expanded exponentially in the past 
decade; this phenomenon will continue into the foreseeable future. The 
fiscal year 2022 request includes $55 million and over 175 positions to 
address cyber threats and cybersecurity risks.
    The FBI has been assigned an expanded role in the cyber arena--to 
maintain, on behalf of the entire U.S. Government, a knowledge base of 
cyber threat actors. To keep pace with these threats and to adequately 
address this new role, the FBI must make investments in both personnel 
to investigate state-sponsored hackers, hackers for hire, organized 
cyber syndicates, and terrorists, as well as in technology and tools to 
target these cyber actors. The FBI must equip each field office with 
the necessary investigative, analytical, technical, and administrative 
personnel to adequately address cyber threats. Every field office 
requires an appropriately staffed cyber squad--which we do not have 
today.
    Funding included in the request would also allow the FBI to invest 
in training and developing the cyber workforce. The FBI must have a 
skilled cadre of cyber experts to address the myriad of sophisticated 
attacks employed by our adversaries. Not only should cyber personnel 
have a baseline cyber skill level, but as technical gaps are 
identified, the FBI will need to have resources in place to train 
segments of its cyber workforce.
    The FBI must also continue to prioritize collaboration--with the 
private sector, with partners in the Intelligence Community and other 
Federal agencies, and with our international partners--as many cyber 
actors perpetrate their activities from an ocean away.
    The FBI must also invest in its own cybersecurity infrastructure. 
Internal FBI networks must be protected to ensure we do not become 
victims of the adversaries we investigate. Finally, we look forward to 
continuing to work with Congress, the Department of Justice, and our 
interagency partners regarding these important issues.

    Question 4. I want to turn our attention to a topic that you and I 
have discussed a number of times before--the opioid epidemic. As West 
Virginia has been ravaged by the opioid epidemic, I've supported the 
special agents in charge of the regional FBI office in their efforts to 
catch the largest distributors and try and stem the flow of drugs into 
the State. It's now well known that a single pharmacy in the West 
Virginia town of Kermit, with a population of less than 400 people, 
received shipments of roughly 9 million pain pills over just 2 years to 
a single pharmacy. These events take a toll on Americans not just in my 
State, but throughout the country. And unfortunately, for many of these 
men and women who are caught in this epidemic, more and more people 
face severely limited job opportunities after serving their time for 
crimes committed as a result of their addiction. To help fix this 
problem, I introduced a bill called the Clean Start Act last Congress 
and again this Congress, which seeks to help former addicts with 
criminal records seal those records if they complete a comprehensive 
addiction treatment program and show that they have turned their lives 
around. It is our job as public servants to help those who are unable 
to help themselves, and assisting those who have negatively impacted by 
the opioid epidemic is one of the most impactful things we can do.

        a.  How do you plan on curtailing the opioid crisis in the U.S?

    Answer. The opioid crisis is a serious epidemic that requires a 
multidisciplinary approach involving aggressive investigation and 
prosecution. The FBI is collaborating with partners in the healthcare, 
treatment, and education field to leverage our resources in the fight 
against this deadly epidemic plaguing our communities. We also continue 
to participate in high-level meetings with the Canadian and Mexican 
governments to address public health, public safety, and law 
enforcement opportunities and challenges inherent in countering the 
illegal drug trade overall, to include the current illicit opioid 
crisis.

        b.  How does the FBI plan to combat the accessibility and 
        convenience of the sale of opioids online?

    Answer. The FBI created the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet 
Enforcement (JCODE), in 2018, as a multi-agency initiative laser-
focused on combating the borderless, worldwide distribution of illegal 
drugs online. Since that time, JCODE has been relentless in finding and 
arresting drug dealers around the world who attempt to evade justice by 
operating on the darknet, as well as keeping dangerous drugs--
particularly counterfeit and contaminated drugs--off the streets and 
away from the thousands of people who fall victim every year. JCODE 
provides structure, intelligence, and ever-expanding technological 
capabilities toward disrupting the darknet criminal market place, 
neutralizing bad actors, and protecting our communities.

        c.  What additional authorities do you believe that the FBI 
        needs to effectively stop the flow of prescription opiates and 
        other illegal drugs into our country?

    Answer. The FBI defers to the Department of Justice on matters of 
legislation; however, as discussed above, the FBI leverages its 
existing authorities and partnerships to combat the illegal drug trade, 
including the illicit opioid crisis.

    Question 5. It is no secret that the talk of Congress right now is 
the possibility of an infrastructure package. However, in order for an 
infrastructure package to be passed, it goes without saying that we 
have to have a way to pay for it and pass some sort of tax reform. One 
of the components of tax reform that is being discussed is increasing 
resources available to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to improve 
internal security systems as well as increase enforcement activities. 
Approximately two weeks ago, a number of high profile and wealthy 
Americans had their confidential personal income and tax data leaked by 
a media outlet. The IRS has announced that the agency has opened an 
investigation into the leak of this data, and it has been reported that 
the IRS has recommended that your Bureau also open an investigation 
into this matter. It goes without saying that in lieu of these attacks, 
it would behoove Congress to increase the annual IRS budget so that 
proper systems may be implemented to protect against these types of 
leaks. However, in the interim, we need to ensure that the systems we 
do have in place are working as they were intended.

        a.  What steps has the FBI taken to assist the Department of 
        Treasury and the IRS to address these leaks?
        b.  When can we expect the FBI's investigation of the leak to 
        conclude? Can we expect the FBI to brief members of this 
        Committee following the conclusion of the FBI's investigation 
        on the results as well as steps that can be taken going forward 
        to prevent these occurrences from reoccurring?

    Answer. As you may be aware, the Secretary of the Treasury has 
testified that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is looking into the 
matter as is the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 
(TIGTA). She further stated that the matter had been referred to the 
Treasury Inspector General, as well as the Department of Justice.
    The Department is committed to taking investigative steps as 
appropriately predicated and authorized, carefully reviewing referrals 
we receive, and, as appropriate, considering relevant and admissible 
evidence in light of the Principles of Federal Prosecution. While we 
understand how important this issue is to you, longstanding Department 
policy will preclude us from providing your office with any information 
related to this matter outside the public record.

                         CONCLUSION OF HEARINGS

    [Whereupon, at 3:32 p.m., Wednesday, June 23, the hearings 
were concluded, and the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene 
subject to the call of the Chair.]


  COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2022

                              ----------                              

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.

                       NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES

    [Clerk's Note.--The subcommittee was unable to hold 
hearings on nondepartmental witnesses. The statements and 
letters of those submitting written testimony are as follows:]
           Prepared Statement of the American Bar Association

April 1, 2021

 
 
 
The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen,               The Honorable Jerry Moran,
  Chair                                       Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,          Subcommittee on Commerce,
 Science, and Related Agencies               Justice, Science, and
Committee on Appropriations                  Related Agencies
United States Senate                        Committee on Appropriations
Washington, DC 20510                        United States Senate
                                            Washington, DC 20510
 
The Honorable Matt Cartwright,              The Honorable Robert
  Chair                                      Aderholt,
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,            Ranking Member
 Science, and Related Agencies              Subcommittee on Commerce,
Committee on Appropriations                  Justice, Science, and
United States House of Representatives       Related Agencies
Washington, DC 20515                        Committee on Appropriations
                                            United States House of
                                             Representatives
                                            Washington, DC 20515
 


Re: Funding for Tribal Courts to Ensure Access to Justice Following the 
U.S. Supreme Court Decision in McGirt v Oklahoma

Dear Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, Chair Cartwright, and Ranking 
Member Aderholt:

    On behalf of the American Bar Association (ABA), the largest 
voluntary association of lawyers and legal professionals in the world, 
I write to express our concerns over inadequate funding of Tribal 
criminal justice that has contributed to staggering rates of violent 
crime and victimization on many Indian reservations. This is not a new 
problem.
    The underfunding of the Tribal justice systems has been well-
documented in report after report for over two decades.\1\ Most 
recently, in 2020, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) submitted a 
Report to Congress on Spending, Staffing, and Estimated Funding Costs 
for Public Safety and Justice Programs in Indian Country estimating 
that $1.2 billion was needed for Tribal courts to provide a minimum 
base level of service to all federally recognized Tribal nations in 
2018. A recent Supreme Court decision leaves no doubt that even this 
level of funding, which was never achieved, will not be sufficient to 
meet current needs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ U.S. Civil Rights Commission 1991 Report The Indian Civil 
Rights Act: A Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights; 
the U. S. Civil Rights Commission 2003 Report A Quiet Crisis: Federal 
Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country; the Indian Law and Order 
Commission 2013 report A Roadmap for Making Native America Safer: 
Report to the President & Congress of the United States; the U.S. 
Department of Justice, Attorney General's Advisory Committee on 
American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence 2014 Report 
Ending Violence So Children Can Thrive; and the U. S. Civil Rights 
Commission 2018 report Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding 
Shortfall for Native Americans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In July 2020, the United States Supreme Court recognized the 
inherent Tribal jurisdiction over Native American sovereign lands in 
Oklahoma. In its decision in McGirt v Oklahoma, the Court recognized 
that simply because a State encroaches onto sovereign Indian Lands, 
that does not give the State authority to exercise jurisdiction to 
prosecute State law crimes in contravention of treaty provisions.
    As a result, Tribal and Federal courts and law enforcement must now 
devote substantial resources to criminal cases that had been heard in 
State court prior to the decision in McGirt. On March 11, 2021, the 
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals confirmed that both the Cherokee 
Nation and Chickasaw Nation reservations are intact based on McGirt, 
and the State courts within each of the reservation counties have 
started releasing defendants to be retried before Tribal and or Federal 
courts. (The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has not yet ruled on 
cases involving the Seminole Nation and the Choctaw Nation.) 
Consequently, several thousand cases will now be redirected to Tribal 
courts in Oklahoma, creating an even greater need for funding to ensure 
adequate numbers of judges, support staff, facilities, and equipment to 
address these long overdue proceedings. The need will, of course, be 
much greater if McGirt impacts treaties outside of Oklahoma.
    The American Bar Association has long affirmed that Tribal justice 
systems are the primary and most appropriate institutions for 
maintaining order in Tribal communities. We have repeatedly urged the 
United States Government ``to support quality and accessible justice by 
ensuring adequate, stable, long-term funding for Tribal justice 
systems''.\2\ Despite urgent pleas by Tribes, Tribal courts, and 
concerned organizations representing myriad disciplines for the U.S. 
Government to appropriate the funds that are needed to provide the more 
than 350 Tribal justice systems with the resources they need to do this 
important work, there is a critical funding shortfall that needs to be 
recognized and rectified as we enter the fiscal year 2022 budget cycle.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ The ABA has adopted extensive policy supporting Tribal court 
funding, accessible at: https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/
administrative/crsj/native-american-concerns.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    We appreciate the recent attention given to the needs of Native 
Americans in the COVID 19 relief bill. However, the funds included in 
that legislation do not begin to address the funding needed to support 
the specific responsibilities of Tribal Courts. The funding of Tribal 
Courts is an area of long-standing neglect and requires immediate 
attention.
    Therefore, we urge you to address this important funding priority 
this year and we stand ready to assist you in whatever way we can.

    [This statement was submitted by Patricia Lee Refo, President.]
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of the American Educational Research Association
 fiscal year 2022 appropriations for the national science foundation: 
   education and human resources and social, behavioral and economic 
              sciences directorates and u.s. census bureau
    Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony 
on behalf of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). I 
want to begin by recognizing your longstanding support for the National 
Science Foundation and thank you and your staff for your strong 
commitment to maintaining agency flexibility in funding cutting edge 
science. AERA recommends that the National Science Foundation (NSF) 
receive at least $10 billion in fiscal year 2022. This recommendation 
is consistent with that of the Coalition for National Science Funding 
(CNSF), in which AERA is a long-term active member. Furthermore, this 
request aligns with the Biden administration's request and the dear 
colleague letter led by Senator Markey. AERA also recommends $2 billion 
for the Census Bureau, consistent with the recommendation of The Census 
Project.
    AERA is the major national scientific association of 25,000 
faculty, researchers, graduate students, and other distinguished 
professionals dedicated to advancing knowledge about education, 
encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education, and promoting the 
use of research to serve public good. Many of our members are engaged 
in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education 
research. Our members work in a range of settings from universities and 
other academic institutions to research institutes, Federal and State 
agencies, school systems, testing companies, and nonprofit 
organizations engaged in conducting research in all areas of education 
and learning from early childhood through the workforce.
    Given the expertise of the AERA membership, my testimony will focus 
on the importance of the Education and Human Resources (EHR) and the 
Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) Sciences Directorates at NSF. In 
addition, many of our members depend on an accurate Census count and 
data from the American Community Survey to do their work.
                      national science foundation
    The Federal investment in research and scientific knowledge at NSF 
has led to innovation and discoveries that are applied in our daily 
lives. We appreciate the bipartisan interest in maintaining U.S. 
leadership and global partnerships in basic research through the 
Federal investments made in NSF.
    The EHR and SBE Directorates are central to the mission of the NSF 
to advance fundamental knowledge and scientific breakthroughs and to 
ensure significant continuing advances across science, engineering, and 
education. EHR support is vital to research discoveries, capacity 
building, and methodological innovations directly related to STEM 
education and learning from early education through workforce 
development. Research and science supported by the EHR and SBE 
Directorates are also inextricably linked to the science and research 
of the other directorates (for example, Computer and Information 
Science and Engineering).
    Furthermore, the EHR and SBE directorates are vital not just to 
producing essential knowledge but also to harnessing that knowledge to 
enhance productivity, innovation, safety, security, and social economic 
well-being. I also wish to highlight the National Science Board Vision 
2030, which calls for expanding the STEM talent pool. Ongoing NSF 
initiatives to broaden participation through programs such as NSF 
INCLUDES in EHR and the Build and Broaden program within SBE are 
examples to increase the diversity of the STEM educator and research 
workforce.
    As indicated in the agency's budget request for fiscal year 2022, 
95 percent of appropriated funds directly supported research and 
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education 
through grants and cooperative agreements in fiscal year 2020, with 80 
percent of funding supporting research at colleges and universities. In 
addition, more than 118,000 K-12 students and 40,000 K-12 teachers 
benefitted from programs that directly engage them in STEM experiences 
within and outside the classroom.
Education and Human Resources Directorate
    The EHR Directorate at NSF is responsible for providing the 
research foundation necessary to achieve excellence in U.S. STEM 
education. EHR accomplishes this goal by supporting the development of 
a scientifically-literate citizenry as well as a STEM-skilled 
workforce. Advances in the industries of the future, including 
artificial intelligence and quantum information science, require 
building interest and engagement in STEM throughout the lifespan.
    The EHR Directorate commitment to invest in fundamental research 
related to STEM across all education levels and to promote evidence-
based innovations in teaching practices, instructional tools, and 
programs is essential to advancing STEM education and preparing the 
next generation of STEM professionals. EHR funded researchers are 
asking key questions, for example, about how to spark students' 
interest in math and science and keep them engaged, or about why so 
many students lose interest and confidence and about what can be done 
to keep them engaged. Understanding these and many other questions will 
help the United States build a well-educated and technology-literate 
workforce necessary for a prosperous economic future.
    Key to advancing STEM education research is the EHR Core Research 
(ECR) program, an important resource to the field that builds 
fundamental knowledge and capacity to understand STEM teaching and 
learning and develop the STEM educator and workforce pipeline. ECR 
grants have supported critical work in equity, inclusion, and ethics in 
postsecondary academic workplaces and the academic profession, as well 
as research to improve STEM teaching and learning for students with 
disabilities. We also applaud NSF in investing in midscale research 
infrastructure, serving as a potential resource for addressing key 
needs that include building data infrastructure capacity, constructing 
networked learning laboratories, and developing innovative diagnostic 
assessment tools.
    As the Nation continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 
pandemic, research supported by EHR will be critical to fostering STEM 
learning in formal and informal settings. Through the RAPID program, 
EHR provided grants to education researchers to inform remote 
instruction, develop STEM curriculum that incorporated the COVID-19 
pandemic to understand scientific principles, and provide insight into 
issues of equity in STEM education. Additional survey work and research 
supported through RAPID funding highlighted how the pandemic affected 
undergraduate and graduate students, including their engagement and 
interest in STEM and their satisfaction with online STEM coursework.
    Increased investment in EHR is critical to support research to 
inform an educational system that will continue to incorporate 
technology inside and outside the STEM classroom and labs. In addition, 
the EHR Directorate's focus on developing our Nation's scientific 
workforce requires resources to ensure that early career scholars and 
graduate students who have experienced unanticipated disruptions to 
their scientific careers during the pandemic remain in the STEM talent 
pipeline. Some examples include material support to emerging scholars 
(both salary and ``soft support''), mechanisms to connect and build 
communities among scholars, and focus on mentoring.
Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate
    In addition to the significant investments in education sciences 
provided by EHR, AERA values the important role the SBE Directorate in 
funding important education research and in social, family, and peer 
contexts connected to learning. The SBE Directorate also houses the 
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES).
    The SBE Directorate supports research to better understand people 
and reveals basic aspects of human behavior in the context of education 
and learning. SBE funded research adds fundamental knowledge essential 
to promoting the Nation's economy, security, and global leadership. 
Understanding social organizations and how social, economic, and 
cultural forces influence the lives of students is important to 
improving teaching and learning and advancing STEM education.
    The budget for SBE is 4 percent of the budget for Research and 
Related Activities, yet it provides approximately 62 percent of the 
Federal funding for basic research in the social, behavioral, and 
economic sciences at academic institutions.
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES)
    In addition, AERA has a strong interest in the National Center for 
Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) located in the SBE 
Directorate. As one of the Federal principal statistical agencies, 
NCSES provides invaluable statistical information about the science and 
engineering infrastructure and workforce in the U.S. and around the 
world. NCSES collects and analyzes data on the progress of STEM 
education and the research and development, providing valuable 
information on the trajectories of STEM graduates both in STEM and non-
STEM careers.
    Additional resources in funding and staffing in fiscal year 2022 
for NCSES would support critical activities to develop new data 
techniques building on administrative data and to enhance data tools 
and visualizations to facilitate access to statistical resources. These 
methodological advances will be necessary for NCSES to implement the 
Foundations for Evidence-based Policymaking Act and to build the NSF 
data infrastructure to securely link its survey data with 
administrative data in other Federal agencies.
    NCSES will also play a pivotal role in supporting the overall NSF 
priority to bring the ``Missing Millions'' from traditionally 
underrepresented populations into the STEM pipeline. Expanding NCSES 
surveys and incorporating information on inclusion--including data on 
the participations of LGBTQ+ populations, persons with diverse 
(dis)abilities, and other demographic attributes-can help NSF, other 
science agencies and institutions, and fields of science understand 
disparities in STEM and inform broadening participation initiatives.
                             census bureau
    I also wish to emphasize the importance of adequate support for the 
Census Bureau, especially critical in the tabulation of data from the 
2020 Decennial Census and in maintaining important survey collections. 
AERA recommends funding the Census Bureau at $2 billion in fiscal year 
2022.
    We appreciated the inclusion of a robust investment in fiscal year 
2021 to ensure that the Census Bureau had the needed resources to 
conduct the 2020 Decennial Census. The requested amount of $2 billion 
for fiscal year 2022 will provide the agency with needed resources to 
process and finalize the enumeration and related activities for the 
2020 Census, which experienced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 
addition, this amount of funding will provide resources for planning 
for the 2030 Decennial Census and continue the administration of the 
Household Pulse Survey, which has provided valuable, real-time data to 
inform the COVID-19 response. The recommended funding support will also 
allow the Census Bureau to continue to conduct the American Community 
Survey and the Current Population Survey.
    Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony in 
support of at least $10 billion for the National Science Foundation and 
$2 billion for the Census Bureau in fiscal year 2022 appropriations. 
AERA would welcome the opportunity to work with you and your 
subcommittee to best further the crucial advances of the National 
Science Foundation and the important data provided by the Census 
Bureau. Please do not hesitate to contact me if AERA can provide 
additional information regarding this recommendation or the significant 
science made possible through the support of these agencies.

    [This statement was submitted by Felice J. Levine, PhD, Executive 
Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
          Prepared Statement of the American Geophysical Union
 fiscal year 2022 budget requests for the national aeronautics & space 
  administration, national oceanic & atmospheric administration, and 
                      national science foundation
    The American Geophysical Union (AGU), a non-profit, non-partisan 
scientific society, appreciates the opportunity to submit testimony 
regarding the fiscal year 2022 budget request for the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Science Foundation 
(NSF). AGU, on behalf of its community of 130,000 Earth and space 
scientists, respectfully requests that the 117th Congress appropriate 
the following:

  --$9 billion for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD),
  --$150 million for NASA's Office of STEM Engagement,
  --at least $6.9 billion for NOAA, and
  --at least $10 billion for NSF.

    AGU's appropriations requests for each respective agency take into 
consideration any previous budget cuts and is driven by the need for 
significant investment in Federal research and development to ensure 
that the U.S. remains at the forefront of research and innovation.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ The Perils of Complacency, American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences, September 2020, https://www.amacad.org/sites/default/files/
publication/downloads/Perils-of-Complacency_Report-Brief_4.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              national aeronautics & space administration
    AGU requests that Congress appropriate $9 billion for NASA's 
Science Mission Directorate (a 23 percent increase over fiscal year 
2021 levels) and $150 million for NASA's Office of STEM Engagement (an 
18 percent increase over fiscal year 2021 levels). This request will 
allow NASA to remain on track to steadily advance existing and new 
missions, provide unique opportunities for the next generation of STEM 
professionals and ensure that the U.S. maintains its global leadership 
in the Earth and space sciences.
    Additionally, we request that Congress appropriate equitable 
funding increases across the science mission divisions within NASA's 
Science Mission Directorate.
Earth Science and Planetary Science Divisions
    Over the last 5 years, billion-dollar disasters have cost the 
United States more than $600 billion and this trend is projected to 
worsen.\2\ It is critical that we increase our investments in NASA's 
Earth Science Division to better understand how Earth's weather and 
climate is changing on daily and long-term scales. Additionally, NASA 
Earth Science produces critical information and data that public and 
private sector decision-makers use to mitigate the resulting risks and 
understand the opportunities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) U.S. 
Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2021). https://
www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/, DOI: 10.25921/stkw-7w73
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The missions and discoveries of the Planetary Science Division 
inspire future generations of scientists and STEM professionals to 
choose science as a career. Robust funding for Planetary Science will 
allow NASA to pursue human space exploration of the Moon and Mars 
without sacrificing other decadal priorities, such as a balanced 
portfolio of missions and other exploration targets in our solar 
system.
    Earth and planetary sciences are complementary and integrally 
related to one another. From picking the perfect day to launch a 
satellite to ensuring that our understanding of other planets is 
accurate, our knowledge of Earth informs our understanding of other 
worlds in the solar system. In turn, our exploration of other worlds 
advances our knowledge of Earth's evolution and processes.
Heliophysics Division
    Increased funding for Heliophysics will support the continuation of 
the Diversify, Realize, Integrate, Venture, Educate (DRIVE) initiative. 
DRIVE's focus includes enabling novel technologies such as advanced 
computational tools, creating DRIVE Science Centers across the country, 
and supporting the work of early career investigators. Increased 
Heliophysics funding will also advance innovation to address space 
weather, including observational and computational capabilities, as 
well as research-to-operations and operations-to-research efforts. A 
better understanding of space weather will benefit our space- and 
ground-based national security assets and safeguard human health 
against radiation during long-duration deep space exploration 
activities.
Office of STEM Engagement
    As our country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must ensure 
that our educational institutions also survive. As such, it is critical 
that we invest in programs such as NASA's efforts to re-engage and 
support students interested in STEM. Increased funding for NASA STEM 
programs, including Space Grant, Minority University Research and 
Education Project (MUREP), and Established Program to Stimulate 
Competitive Research (EPSCoR), will directly benefit every State in the 
Nation by providing additional opportunities for STEM students of all 
ages.
             national oceanic & atmospheric administration
    AGU requests that Congress appropriate at least $6.9 billion for 
NOAA in fiscal year 2022 (29 percent increase over fiscal year 2021 
levels). From weather forecasts to fisheries data, to groundbreaking 
research about the world around us, NOAA provides critical data, 
products and services that are essential to our Nation's economic 
stability and directly benefit the American public, planners, emergency 
managers, and other decision makers. However, NOAA has been severely 
underfunded in previous spending bills and proposals. Since fiscal year 
2018, NOAA's funding has been cut by nearly seven percent.
    From large corporations to small businesses, the decision-based 
forecasts provided by NOAA save vital time, money, and resources. Just 
last year, nearly half of the record 30 named tropical storms during 
the Atlantic hurricane season made landfall-of which seven produced at 
least $1 billion each in damages.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. 
Calculating the cost of weather and climate disasters. https://
www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/calculating-cost-weather-and-climate-
disasters
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    NOAA science also plays a critical role in informing the world 
about changes in the climate system, as well as the effectiveness of 
certain mitigation strategies. For example, agricultural production can 
be boosted by an estimated $300 million annually with improved El Nino 
forecasts.\4\ However, NOAA is struggling to meet the increasing demand 
for climate data.\5\ Significantly investing in climate research and 
filling the consistent gaps in NOAA's workforce are both critical to 
help the agency meet this need. Without robust funding at NOAA, we risk 
losing the data needed to make informed and proactive decisions, and 
our National and economic security will be left in a dangerously 
vulnerable position.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ NOAA's Climate Program Office. https://cpo.noaa.gov/Our-Work/
Success-Stories
    \5\ Remarks from NOAA officials during House Committee on 
Appropriations hearing (15 April 2021). https://
appropriations.house.gov/events/hearings/increasing-risks-of-climate-
change-and-noaas-role-in-providing-climate-services
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      national science foundation
    AGU requests that Congress appropriate at least $10 billion for NSF 
in fiscal year 2022 (an approximately 18 percent increase over fiscal 
year 2021 levels). Ambitious and robust funding for NSF is critical if 
the U.S. hopes to maintain its leadership in science and technology and 
reap the economic and national security benefits of that leadership.
    As an example of the benefits of NSF investments, throughout the 
fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, we have reaped the benefits of 
decades of NSF investment in additive manufacturing and 3-D printing, 
which have enabled the scale up of PPE production, the understanding of 
the ecological transmission of zoonotic diseases, and supercomputing to 
better track the spread of the pandemic.
    However, the pandemic also highlighted the need to increase future 
investments in NSF, especially for STEM programs and systems and 
convergent science to ensure greater understanding of and resilience to 
pressing societal issues, including climate change, which present 
extremely challenging and complex scientific questions.
    In STEM, of particular need of support are K-12 education, 
including furthering our understanding of online teaching 
effectiveness, and programs for graduate students and early career 
students who can too easily fall out of the STEM pipeline at a time 
when our country needs future innovators. Increased funding for NSF is 
also needed to expand STEM opportunities and capacity evenly throughout 
our country, from urban and rural communities to Tribal colleges and 
universities and minority-serving institutions. To remain competitive, 
we must develop a more diverse and inclusive STEM workforce that will 
ask novel questions that will power the science and innovations that 
shape our future.
                               conclusion
    At a time when our Nation is recovering and has many pressing 
priorities that need to be addressed, the future of the U.S. will be 
strengthened by strong and sustained investments in the full scope of 
our research enterprise--particularly the science and education 
programs within NASA, NOAA, and NSF. AGU appreciates the subcommittee's 
leadership in these areas, as well as the opportunity to submit this 
testimony. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of our requests.

    [This statement was submitted by Brittany Webster, Program Manager, 
Science Policy & Government Relations and Michael Villafranca, Senior 
Specialist, Science Policy & Government Relations.]
                                 ______
                                 
 Prepared Statement of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium
    On behalf of the Nation's Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), 
which are the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), we 
are pleased to present our fiscal year 2022 recommendations regarding 
the National Science Foundation's TCU Program (NSF-TCUP), Louis Stokes 
Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP), and the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration's Minority University Research and 
Education Project (NASA-MUREP). We respectfully recommend the following 
funding levels:
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR):
  --Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP): TCUs urge the 
        subcommittee to fund competitively awarded NSF-TCUP grants at a 
        minimum of $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2022.
  --Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP): TCUs urge 
        the subcommittee to support the NSF-LSAMP program with an added 
        emphasis for American Indian, Alaska Native, and TCU students.
  --TCUs support President Biden's $100 million request to advance 
        racial equity in science and engineering.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
  --NASA Headquarters, Office of Education--Minority University 
        Research and Education Project (MUREP): TCUs urge the 
        subcommittee to expand the NASA MUREP program with robust 
        funding and establish a TCU-specific program within MUREP at 
        $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2022
  --TCUs support President Biden's $20 million request to expand 
        initiatives to attract and retain underserved and 
        underrepresented students in engineering and other STEM fields.
Tribal Colleges and Universities: Raising and Training the Nation's 
        Native STEM Workforce
    TCUs are an essential component of American Indian and Alaska 
Native STEM education, research, and workforce. Currently, 37 TCUs 
operate more than 75 campuses and sites in 16 States. TCU geographic 
boundaries encompass 80 percent of American Indian reservations and 
Federal Indian trust lands. American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) 
TCU students represent more than 230 federally recognized Tribes and 
hail from more than 30 States. Nearly 80 percent receive Federal 
financial aid and more than half are first generation students. In 
total, TCUs serve more than 160,000 AI/ANs and other rural residents 
each year through a wide variety of academic and community-based 
programs. TCUs are public institutions accredited by independent, 
regional accreditation agencies and, like all U.S. institutions of 
higher education, must regularly undergo stringent performance reviews 
to retain their accreditation status.
    The Federal Government, despite its direct trust responsibility and 
binding treaty obligations, has never fully funded TCU institutional 
operations as authorized under Federal law. Yet despite funding 
challenges, TCUs are responding to the STEM workforce needs across the 
country. In fall 2020, 1,733 TCU students were enrolled in one of 191 
STEM program at TCUs. TCUs have established programs in high-demand 
fields: 11 TCUs offer pre-engineering programs, two TCU offers 
bachelor's degrees in industrial and electrical engineering, five TCUs 
offer STEM teacher education programs, and 14 TCUs offer nursing 
programs. These efforts are preparing AI/AN nurses, engineers, and 
science and math teachers who contribute to a robust pipeline of STEM 
professionals in Indian Country. TCUs also train professionals in other 
high-demand STEM fields, including agriculture, information technology, 
and natural resource management.
    TCUs know that to break the cycle of generational poverty and end 
the culture of dependency that grips much of Indian Country, TCUs must 
bring industry partners and STEM jobs to Indian Country. TCUs and 
Tribes must promote new Native-owned and operated STEM-based 
businesses, create public-private partnerships, and build a culture of 
self-sufficiency and innovation. NSF and NASA funding is essential in 
supporting this effort to promote STEM-enabled economic development in 
Indian Country and throughout rural America.
    Each of the following Federal grant programs has invested in the 
development of STEM-centered instruction, research, and job creation 
across Indian country.
                   national science foundation (nsf)
    Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR)--Tribal Colleges 
and Universities Program (TCUP): TCUs urge the subcommittee to fund 
competitively awarded NSF-TCUP grants at a minimum of $20,000,000. The 
NSF-TCUP, administered by the NSF Education and Human Resources 
Directorate, is a competitive grant program that enables TCUs and 
Alaska Native Serving/Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions (AN/NHs) to 
develop and expand critically needed STEM education and research 
programs relevant to their indigenous communities.
    Since the program began in 2001, NSF-TCUP has become the primary 
Federal program for building STEM programmatic and research capacity at 
TCUs. For example, NSF-TCUP funding supported Navajo Technical 
University (Crownpoint, NM) in the development of its electrical and 
industrial engineering programs, which received accreditation from the 
Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) in 2018. This 
marks a significant milestone, with NTU leading the way as the first 
TCU to receive ABET accreditation.
    There are many success stories at the TCUs. In 2014, Cankdeska 
Cikana Community College, Sitting Bull College, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish 
College, and Turtle Mountain Community College established an 
engineering education partnership with North Dakota State University 
(NDSU) through funding from NSF TCUP's Pre-engineering Education 
Collaborative (PEEC). The TCUs and NDSU developed a formal curriculum 
and support system for students to obtain a bachelor's degree in 
engineering, beginning with pre-engineering coursework offered 
collaboratively by TCU and NDSU engineering faculty; then students 
transition to NDSU to complete their bachelor's degree. The first 
graduate of the program, Ryan Brown, was a pre-engineering student at 
CCCC who went on to earn his bachelor of science degree in civil 
engineering at NDSU in 2018. Brown returned to the Spirit Lake 
Reservation and currently serves as a project manager for the Spirit 
Lake Tribal Planning Department.
    Growing up in rural Montana, Cody Natoni Sifford (Dine) \1\ pursued 
a degree in environmental science at Salish Kootenai College (SKC) 
(Pablo, MT), participating in several internships with Federal 
agencies, and completing a master's degree in forest resources at the 
University of Washington Seattle. Sifford has since returned to Montana 
to serve as an adjunct professor at SKC and work as a geographic 
information systems analyst for the Confederated Tribes of Salish and 
Kootenai forest department.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Cody Natoni Sifford, Winds of Change, American Indian Science 
and Engineering Society, April 2017. https://woc.aises.org/content/
cody-natoni-sifford-navajo-confederated-Tribes-salish-and-kootenai-
geographic-information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    These success stories notwithstanding, AI/AN students are 
disadvantaged from pursuing STEM-centered career from an early age. AI/
AN youth have the highest high school drop-out rate of any ethnic or 
racial group in the country. Those who do pursue postsecondary 
education often require developmental classes before taking on a full 
load of college-level courses. Placement tests administered at TCUs to 
first-time entering students in academic year 2018-19 showed that 36 
percent required remedial math. Our data indicates that while 51 
percent will successfully complete the course, many will take more than 
1 year to do so.
    Through NSF-TCUP grants, TCUs and AN/NHs are actively working to 
address this problem by developing strong partnerships with their K-12 
feeder schools to engage students in culturally appropriate STEM 
education and outreach programs. Salish Kootenai College, located on 
the Flathead Indian Reservation, created a 2-year STEM Academy to 
prepare junior and senior high school students for college. 
Participating high school students engage in collaborative work with 
STEM researchers, conduct culturally relevant research, and take 
courses to earn college credit.
    TCUs use NSF-TCUP funding to provide students with valuable 
research experience in STEM fields. Through these opportunities, 
students conduct place-based research that serves their communities and 
can have national and international impacts. At Northwest Indian 
College (NWIC) (Bellingham, WA), students are conducting complex 
research related to food security focused on salmon, shellfish, and 
indigenous sea cucumbers. Through a partnership with Western Washington 
University, NWIC graduates continue to pursue their academic and career 
goals through WWU's master's degree programs. Aaniiih Nakoda College 
(Harlem, MT) faculty and students monitor streams for contaminants and 
are investigating West Nile virus vectors; and Sitting Bull College 
(SBC) (Fort Yates, ND) has established a water quality monitoring 
laboratory serving the Standing Rock Sioux and surrounding communities. 
SBC studies show that students participating in the college's research 
have retention rates that are double the rate of students who are not 
engaged in research.
    Even with its advances and successes, funding for the NSF-TCUP 
program has been stagnant for years. Therefore, not all of the TCUs 
have had an opportunity to benefit from this very important program. We 
urge the subcommittee to expand the competitively awarded NSF-TCUP 
grants at a minimum of $20,000,000.
    Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP): TCUs urge 
the subcommittee to support the NSF LSAMP program with an added 
emphasis for American Indian, Alaska Native, and TCU students. In 
FY2019, $46 million was appropriated for the LSAMP program to support 
historically underrepresented students in STEM fields. However, only 
one TCU was awarded direct funding under this program. The All Nations 
LSAMP (ANLSAMP) program at Salish Kootenai College (Pablo, MT) has had 
tremendous success in increasing AI/AN degree attainment in STEM 
programs. Many small, underfunded TCU STEM programs consider ANLSAMP as 
an important resource for expanding AI/AN student research 
opportunities, sharing best practices, and student support. ANLSAMP 
scholars receive financial support for conference travel, internship 
opportunities, and research stipends, which would otherwise not be 
possible. Through the combined efforts of the 23 TCUs and 11 mainstream 
institutions, more than 2,000 AI/ANs and under-resourced minority 
students have graduated with bachelor's degrees in STEM. Additionally, 
a recent survey revealed that more than 80 percent of ANLSAMP 
participants contacted had either graduated with a STEM major or 
bridged to an advanced degree program. Unfortunately, since the 
creation of the LSAMP program in 1991, NSF has neglected to prioritize 
AI/AN-serving programs, such as ANLSAMP, which are critically needed to 
support STEM degree attainment in Indian Country.
    In 2018, after several years of no funding for a TCU-led grant 
proposal, $1 million was awarded through an LSAMP grant and supplement 
to support TCU students over the next 5 years. However, it is alarming 
that less than one percent of the total $46 million was awarded to TCUs 
in FY2019. ($200,000 was provided in new funding, as a grant 
supplement, to TCUs in FY2019.) We ask that the subcommittee 
specifically urge NSF to strengthen support for AI/AN students through 
the LSAMP grant program.
          national aeronautics and space administration (nasa)
    Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP): TCUs 
urge the subcommittee to expand the NASA MUREP program with robust 
funding and support a TCU specific program within MUREP at $5,000,000 
for fiscal year 2022. Under its current design, MUREP provides a range 
of competitive awards to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 
Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other Minority Serving 
Institutions to recruit and retain underrepresented students in STEM 
fields. Due to the competitive aspect of current MUREP programs and 
limited funding, TCUs only receive funding from two MUREP grants: MUREP 
Institutional Research Opportunity (MIRO) and MUREP for American Indian 
and Alaska Native STEM Engagement (MAIANSE).
MUREP Institutional Research Opportunity (MIRO)
    In October 2019, under the MUREP MIRO program, Sitting Bull College 
received $1 million to further develop curriculum for an environmental 
science master's degree centered on air quality research on the 
Standing Rock Reservation. SBC students and faculty work with NASA's 
Langley Research Center, NASA's Godard Space Flight Center, and the 
University of North Dakota to develop a regional research facility to 
monitor air quality on the Standing Rock Reservation. In the same MUREP 
MIRO award cycle, Navajo Technical University was selected to perform 
critical research and produce parts through its advanced manufacturing 
program for the Space Launch System at NASA's Marshall Space Flight 
Center. NTU's contributions through advanced manufacturing research and 
innovative parts production are advancing space exploration for the 
entire Nation.
MUREP for American Indian and Alaska Native STEM Engagement (MAIANSE)
    The MAIANSE program provides a unique opportunity for direct 
collaboration between TCUs and NASA to engage students in NASA STEM 
related activities. Despite its popularity and value, participation in 
the MAIANSE program has been limited to three TCU projects each grant 
cycles due to limited funding.
    In order to support the past TCU investment, AIHEC supports 
President Biden's budget request to increase the Office of STEM 
engagement by $20 million and requests that the subcommittee expand the 
NASA MUREP program through robust funding and support a Tribal College 
and University-specific program within MUREP at $5,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2022.
                               conclusion
    Tribal Colleges and Universities provide access to high-quality, 
culturally appropriate postsecondary education opportunities, including 
STEM-focused programs, for thousands of AI/AN students. The modest 
Federal investment in TCUs has paid great dividends in terms of 
employment, education, and economic development. We ask you to renew 
your commitment to help move our students and communities toward self-
sufficiency by full considering our fiscal year 2022 appropriations 
requests. Thank you.
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of the American Institute of Biological Sciences
      fiscal year 2022 funding for the national science foundation
    The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) appreciates 
the opportunity to provide testimony in support of fiscal year 2022 
appropriations for the National Science Foundation (NSF). We encourage 
Congress to provide NSF with at least $10.2 billion in fiscal year 
2022.
    AIBS is a scientific association dedicated to promoting informed 
decision-making that advances biological research and education for the 
benefit of science and society. AIBS works to ensure that the public, 
legislators, funders, and the community of biologists have access to 
information that can guide informed decision-making.
    Biological research is in our National interest. Increasing our 
knowledge of how genes, cells, tissues, organisms, and ecosystems 
function is vitally important to efforts to improve the human 
condition. Food security, medicine and public health, national 
security, economic growth, and sound environmental management are 
informed by the biological sciences. The knowledge gained from NSF-
funded research contributes to the development of new research tools 
and industries.
    Biological research strengthens our economy. Research funding from 
NSF powers the expansion of the bioeconomy and has given rise to 
successful companies, such as Genentech, Ekso Bionics, and Ginkgo 
BioWorks, as well as new industries that provide more robust food crops 
or disease detection tools and techniques. The translation of 
biological knowledge into formal and informal education programs foster 
the development of the scientifically and technically skilled workforce 
needed by employers. Data show that employers continue to seek workers 
with scientific and technical skills. Science and engineering 
employment in the United States has grown more rapidly than the 
workforce overall and now represents 5 percent (or about 7 million) of 
all U.S. jobs.
    The cornerstone of NSF excellence is a competitive, merit-based 
review system that underpins the highest standards of excellence. 
Through its research programs, NSF invests in the development of new 
knowledge and tools that solve the most challenging problems facing 
society.

  --Combating emerging diseases: NSF-funded research is playing crucial 
        role in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fundamental 
        research supported by NSF led to the development of critical 
        diagnostic tools and medical devices being used to combat the 
        outbreak. NSF supported the discovery of bacteria from thermal 
        pools at Yellowstone National Park that contain thermostable 
        enzymes that allow for the rapid copying of genetic material 
        through a process called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This 
        process was integral to manufacturing a widely used clinical 
        test for determining whether a patient has been infected with 
        SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
  --Mobilizing big data: Access to and analysis of vast amounts of data 
        are driving innovation. NSF enables integration of big data 
        across scientific disciplines, including applications in the 
        biological sciences. Digitization of biodiversity and natural 
        science collections involves multi-disciplinary teams, which 
        have put more than 125 million specimens and their associated 
        data online for use by researchers, educators, and the public.
  --Enabling synthetic biology: DNA editing has become more advanced 
        and targeted with techniques such as CRISPR-CAS9 allowing 
        scientists to rewrite genetic code and redesign biological 
        systems. NSF funds research on how these techniques can be used 
        to bio-manufacture new materials, treat diseases, and 
        accelerate growth of the bioeconomy.

    Other examples of research that have benefited the public are 
chronicled in the AIBS report, ``Biological Innovation: Benefits of 
Federal Investments in Biology,'' which is available at https://
www.aibs.org/assets/pages/policy/AIBS-Biological-
Innovation-Report.pdf.
    The NSF is the primary Federal funding source for biological 
research at our Nation's universities and colleges, providing 67 
percent of extramural Federal support for non-medical, fundamental 
biological and environmental research at academic institutions.
    The NSF is also an important supporter of biological research 
infrastructure, such as field stations, natural history museums, and 
living stock collections. These place-based research centers enable 
studies that take place over long periods of time and variable spatial 
scales.
    Scientific collections are an important component of our Nation's 
research infrastructure. Recent reports have highlighted the value of 
mobilizing biodiversity specimens and data in spurring new scientific 
discoveries that grow our economy, improve our public health and 
wellbeing, and increase our National security. In 2019, the 
Biodiversity Collections Network released their report, Extending U.S. 
Biodiversity Collections to Promote Research and Education, outlining a 
national agenda that leverages digital data in biodiversity collections 
for new uses and calling for building an Extended Specimen Network. A 
2020 report by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and 
Medicine (NASEM), Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research 
and Education for the 21st Century, argued that collections are a 
critical part of our Nation's science and innovation infrastructure and 
a fundamental resource for understanding the natural world. Both 
reports articulate a common vision of the future of biological 
collections and define a need to broaden and deepen the collections and 
associated data to realize the potential for biodiversity collections 
to inform 21st century science. This endeavor requires robust 
investments in our Nation's scientific collections, whether they are 
owned by a Federal or State agency or are part of an educational 
institution or free-standing natural history museum or another research 
center. While most Federal agencies have a role to play in supporting 
the development of the Extended Specimen Network, the NSF's leadership 
through the Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections program 
has positioned NSF to play a central role in the development of the 
Extended Specimen Network.
    The NSF supports recruitment and training of our next generation of 
scientists. Support for undergraduate and graduate students is 
critically important to our research enterprise. Students learn science 
by doing science, and NSF programs engage students in the research 
process. NSF awards reached 1,900 colleges, universities, and other 
public and private institutions across the country in fiscal year 2020. 
Initiatives such as the Graduate Research Fellowship and the Faculty 
Early Career Development program are important parts of our National 
effort to attract and retain the next generation of researchers. Since 
1952, the number of students supported by NSF Graduate Research 
Fellowships has grown to more than 60,000. In fiscal year 2020, nearly 
313,000 people, including researchers, postdoctoral fellows, trainees, 
teachers and students, were supported directly by NSF.
    Unfortunately, Federal research and development investments are 
shrinking as a share of the U.S. economy. The U.S. is still the largest 
performer of research and development globally, but our share of 
worldwide scientific activity has declined considerably over the past 
20 years. Countries in East and Southeast Asia, especially China, have 
been rapidly increasing their investments in science. In fact, 
according to the National Science Board and the American Academy of 
Arts and Sciences, China may have recently surpassed the U.S in 
research and development spending. To remain at the global forefront of 
innovation and to fully realize the benefits of NSF-supported research, 
the government must make new and sustained investments in NSF. 
Unpredictable swings in funding disrupt research programs, create 
uncertainty in the research community, and stall the development of the 
next great idea.
    The President's budget request for fiscal year 2022 proposes a 20 
percent boost to NSF. If enacted, this increase will allow for critical 
Federal investments in scientific and educational research, as well as 
support for the development of the scientific workforce. Such an 
increase will also allow NSF to expand support for important new 
initiatives, such as the ``LEAding cultural change through Professional 
Societies (LEAPS) of Biology'' program, which aims to facilitate 
cultural changes in the biological sciences to broaden participation 
and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.
    Providing the NSF with at least $10.2 billion in fiscal year 2022 
is necessary in undoing the recent stagnant funding that slowed 
American scientific discovery. The requested funding will grow and 
sustain the U.S. bioeconomy and enable NSF to accelerate work on 
important initiatives at the frontiers of science and engineering.
    In addition to the appropriations process, Congress is currently 
considering reauthorization legislation relevant to the scientific 
community, including proposals to significantly expand the mission and 
budget of the NSF. Increasing investments in translational research 
will bolster U.S. global leadership and competitiveness in 
innovation.We ask Congress to also make robust investments in basic and 
foundational research.
    We also urge Congress to pass additional funding for U.S. 
researchers and science institutions to accelerate recovery from the 
COVID-19 pandemic. The Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) 
Act (HR. 869 and S. 289) will help natural history museums, botanical 
gardens, field stations, and other research institutions recover from 
the pandemic. These institutions lost revenue due to reduced, 
postponed, and canceled public programs, including formal and informal 
science education programs. Most of these institutions are non-profits 
and operate with budgets with limited capacity to absorb revenue losses 
resulting from reduced public visitation. Pandemic related closures and 
restrictions have also resulted in the loss of a field season for 
outdoor research, leading to research disruptions and a year's worth of 
critical data not being collected. Emergency relief funding proposed 
under the RISE Act, which includes $3 billion for NSF, would support 
U.S. researchers, including graduate students and postdoctoral 
researchers, who have had research interrupted as a result of the 
pandemic.
    We encourage Congress to continue supporting increased investments 
in our Nation's scientific capacity. Thank you for your thoughtful 
consideration of this request and for your prior efforts on behalf of 
science and the National Science Foundation.

    [This statement was submitted by Jyotsna Pandey, Ph.D., Public 
Policy Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
        Prepared Statement of the American Mathematical Society
                      national science foundation
    Founded in 1888, the American Mathematical Society (AMS) is 
dedicated to advancing the interests of mathematical research and 
scholarship and connecting the diverse global mathematical community. 
We do this through our book and journal publications, meetings and 
conferences, database of research publications \1\ that goes back to 
the early 1800s, professional services, advocacy, and awareness 
programs. The AMS has approximately 25,000 individual members worldwide 
and supports mathematical scientists at every career stage.
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    \1\ https://mathscinet.ams.org/mathscinet
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The AMS appreciates the opportunity to submit written testimony in 
support of fiscal year 2022 appropriations for the National Science 
Foundation (NSF).

    We encourage Congress to provide the NSF with at least $10 billion 
in fiscal year 2022.\2\
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    \2\ This is the same amount supported by the Coalition for National 
Science Funding.

    The NSF accounts for the majority of Federal support done by Ph.D. 
mathematicians at universities and colleges. In fiscal year 2018, 61 
percent of support for academic research in mathematics came from the 
Federal Government,\3\ and roughly half of that came from the NSF.\4\
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    \3\ https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20202/academic-r-d-in-the-united-
States
    \4\ The DOD contributes approximately 25 percent, and HHS 13 
percent. Other agencies (including DOE, USDA, NASA) contribute the 
remaining funds.
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    Investments in research, including the departments and programs in 
the CJS bill, lead to innovations and new technologies that improve our 
health, grow our economy, and enhance our quality of life. The U.S. was 
once the uncontested leader in science and technology, but has seen our 
advantage erode as other nations have dramatically increased their 
investments in research. In particular, China has continued to 
dramatically increase its investments in science and technology, which 
have grown by 17.3 percent annually between 2010 and 2017.\5\ During 
this same period, the U.S. investment has averaged a 4.3 percent 
increase annually.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ Research and Development: U.S. Trends and International 
Comparisons. Science and Engineering Indicators, National Science 
Board, January 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The NSF is an efficient agency--almost 95 percent of its 
appropriated funds go out the door in grants and awards to support 
research projects, facilities and STEM education. NSF will continue to 
make strategic investments in basic research, the STEM workforce, and 
research infrastructure that will advance the Nation's global 
competitiveness economically and scientifically. A significant increase 
in congressional appropriations would help address the effects of years 
of high-quality grant proposals that go unfunded due to lack of 
sufficient funding. Those unmet needs continue. A 2019 National Science 
Board report \6\ stated that in fiscal year 2018, ``approximately $3.4 
billion was requested for declined proposals that were rated Very Good 
or higher in the merit review process.'' This accounts for about 5,440 
declined proposals at the NSF. The U.S. is leaving potentially 
transformative scientific research unfunded, while other countries are 
making significant investments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2020/nsb202013.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The entire country benefits from NSF funding; the NSF invests in 
every State supporting researchers and students.\7\ Society has 
benefitted from the many products, procedures, and methods that have 
resulted from NSF supported research in mathematics--research performed 
over many years and typically not focused on specific applications. The 
applications of advances in theoretical science, including theory of 
mathematics, occur on a timescale that means the investment is often 
hard to justify in the short run. And yet if we look back to the 
success, as opposed to ahead to when we expect success, the investment 
in fundamental research has had huge payoffs. These benefits include 
innovations such as the Google Page Rank algorithm, enhancement of 
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and in cybersecurity. The plethora of 
applications that have resulted from basic research in the mathematical 
sciences is described in the National Academies report ``The 
Mathematical Sciences in 2025'' or in the executive summary ``Fueling 
Innovation and Discovery: The Mathematical Sciences in the 21st 
Century''.\8, \\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ https://nsf.gov/about/congress/factsheets.jsp
    \8\ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/15269/the-mathematical-sciences-in-
2025
    \9\ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/13373/fueling-innovation-and-
discovery-the-mathematical-sciences-in-the-21st
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, we are at a critical time for building and ensuring a 
stable STEM workforce of the future, a challenge exacerbated by the 
COVID-19 pandemic. Becoming a Ph.D. STEM researcher requires focus and 
dedication; the work is demanding. And the COVID-19 pandemic has 
derailed and even completely shattered many students' dreams and plans. 
Vitally important is NSF support for graduate students, postdoctoral 
fellows, and other early career scientists, who are disproportionately 
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and are most likely to have had their 
career goals deferred or derailed. We need to reach and support 
promising STEM students across all genders, races, ethnicities, and 
geographies. At this challenging time, we cannot risk losing a 
generation of scientists who leave the field and never return.
    Thank you for your consideration of this request, and for your 
prior efforts on behalf of the NSF.

    [This statement was submitted by Ruth Charney, Ph.D., President, 
and Karen Saxe, Ph.D., Director of Government Relations.]
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of the American Society for Engineering Education
 support of fiscal year 2022 national science foundation and national 
              aeronautics and space administration funding
    Summary: This written testimony is submitted on behalf of the 
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) to the Senate 
subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for 
the official record. ASEE appreciates the Committee's support for the 
National Science Foundation (NSF) and asks you to robustly fund the 
agency in fiscal year 2022, including the Research and Related 
Activities and the Education and Human Resources accounts. ASEE joins 
the Biden Administration in requesting support of at least $10.2 
billion for NSF in fiscal year 2022 to help alleviate impacts of 
historical underinvestment at NSF, continue to grow its core research 
and education activities, establish a new Technology, Innovation and 
Partnerships (TIP) directorate, and address critical technologies where 
the U.S. is facing major competition from China. At NASA, ASEE supports 
the Administration's proposed growth for the Space Technology Mission 
Directorate (STMD) to increase its investment in crosscutting NASA 
technology gaps which support engineers and scientists in developing 
technology to advance science and space missions in the National 
interest. ASEE also supports proposed growth to NASA's Office of 
Education to advance NASA's initiatives to broaden participation of 
underrepresented groups in science and engineering.
    Written Testimony: The American Society for Engineering Education 
(ASEE) is dedicated to advancing engineering and engineering technology 
education and research, and is the only society representing the 
country's schools and colleges of engineering and engineering 
technology. Membership includes over 12,000 individuals hailing from 
all disciplines of engineering and engineering technology and includes 
educators, researchers, and students as well as industry and government 
representatives. As the pre-eminent authority on the education of 
engineering professionals, ASEE works to develop the future engineering 
and technology workforce, expand technological literacy, and convene 
academic and corporate stakeholders to advance innovation and sound 
policy.
                      national science foundation
    Engineering shapes our Nation and powers our innovation ecosystem. 
NSF basic research, conducted in engineering schools and colleges 
around the country, catalyzes new industries and revolutionary 
advances. There is high demand for a workforce of well-trained, 
engineers in industry and government to leverage these discoveries and 
develop innovative new technologies to improve our future. The 
partnership between the Federal Government and universities is 
essential to growth and innovation across our economy, and is helping 
to solve challenges in health, energy, and national security. NSF is a 
tremendously important piece of this innovation ecosystem, funding 
basic engineering and engineering education research at universities 
and supporting students to enable access to engineering education.
    ASEE is grateful for recent increases, yet concerned that these 
investments have not kept pace with international competitors or 
growing research needs. Due to budget limitations, NSF is currently 
unable to fund $2 billion worth of very good and excellently rated 
proposals each year. With more funding, tremendous amounts of 
additional research and development could be undertaken, leading to 
novel and transformative discoveries. As the National Science Board 
predicted, in 2018 China surpassed U.S. investments in research and 
development. As some countries have been steeply accelerating research 
funding, increasing NSF's appropriation would help secure continued 
U.S. global innovation leadership.
    NSF funding has additionally fallen far behind other research 
agencies, risking distortions in the overall STEM ecosystem. For 
example, over the last decade the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of 
Science has grown twice as much as NSF and is now almost the same size 
despite covering a much smaller range of topics. Other agencies depend 
on NSF-funded discoveries and workforce development for their missions. 
NSF-funded research catalyzes fundamental advances that are utilized 
for national security applications while engineers trained with NSF 
funding become key components of the National security workforce and 
industrial base.
    ASEE is thankful for relief and research funding provided to NSF in 
the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan. NSF has a critical role to play 
in promoting economic recovery and research on many aspects of the 
pandemic. Continued support of NSF will be critical as the engineering 
community and the country move into the next phase of the COVID-19 
pandemic. Engineers across the country have adapted quickly but 
challenges and disparities remain. NSF will be crucial to rebuilding 
the STEM pipeline, and building a better, more resilient STEM 
workforce.

    ASEE follows the President's 2022 Budget Request in requesting that 
the Committee fund NSF at $10.2 billion in fiscal year 2022 to drive 
advances in research and education and ensure the U.S. retains global 
competitiveness and scientific leadership. While ASEE supports the 
President's proposal to create a new TIP directorate at NSF, it is 
essential that NSF continues to grow its core research and education 
activities.

    Investments in engineering education and research from NSF are 
essential for having a workforce trained and ready to contribute to 
industry, government, and academia. NSF is a major supporter of 
engineering research and workforce initiatives funding 43 percent of 
engineering and 83 percent of computer science academic fundamental 
research. NSF-funded advancements touch every corner of our lives and 
economy, from wireless systems to advanced manufacturing, and from new 
tools to combat brain diseases to technologies to ensure our 
cybersecurity. NSF supports engineering education at all levels, 
ensuring the next generation of the U.S. engineering workforce is 
appropriately prepared to contribute and innovate.
    The NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) provides critical support 
for engineering education and research across the breadth of the 
discipline. These investments have dual outcomes of training future 
engineers that will discover tomorrow's innovations, all while 
furthering today's cutting-edge research. Engineering investments at 
NSF provide critical advancements in areas such as resilient 
infrastructure, advanced materials and manufacturing, and 
bioengineering, in addition to equipping students with the skills they 
need to be the next generation of technological leaders. Divisions such 
as Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) support university research 
and Engineering Research Centers. ENG grantees have robust partnerships 
with industry, expand the boundaries of our understanding of how 
students most effectively learn engineering, provide experiential 
opportunities fundamental to engineering education.
    The NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and 
Engineering also plays a key role supporting engineering education and 
research, particularly within the Division of Information & Intelligent 
Systems, which supports efforts at the frontiers of information 
technology, data science, and artificial intelligence, among other 
areas. These investments are critical as we move into a world even more 
reliant on human-technology interactions. The Division of Computer and 
Network Systems has been building capacity within Minority Service 
Institutions to contribute to both the knowledge base and human 
resource base in computing and engineering.
    ASEE strongly supports NSF Education and Human Resources (EHR) 
funding to foster inclusive and effective learning and learning 
environments. The STEM workforce, particularly engineers, 
technologists, and computer scientists, drives our innovation and 
economic development. We need to fully develop all of our Nation's 
human talent in order to tackle pressing problems. Access to STEM 
experiences and skills are a critical aspect of developing well-rounded 
citizens, technological literacy, and the future STEM workforce. ASEE 
supports EHR programs including Improving Undergraduate STEM Education 
(IUSE) and Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE). The first is 
critical for preparing professional engineers and enhancing engineering 
educational experiences to broaden participation and retention, and the 
latter works to revolutionize graduate studies to best prepare students 
for STEM careers. ASEE supports the growth proposed in the President's 
Budget Request for NSF programs that foster participation in science 
and engineering from individuals from underrepresented groups.
    NSF plays a key role ensuring the development of new tools for 
teaching engineering design and analysis skills, which are under-taught 
in today's K-12 classrooms. As noted in the 2009 National Academies 
report Engineering in K-12 Education, engineering education has 
received little attention yet has the potential to improve student 
learning and achievement in other areas of STEM, increase awareness of 
engineering careers, and increase technological literacy. Engineering's 
focus on design and analysis enhances problem solving, teaches students 
new ways to approach challenges, and encourages students to connect 
science and math topics to real-world applications--all skills critical 
to the future technical workforce. ASEE supports programs to fill 
workforce needs including Advanced Technical Education (ATE) that 
prepares advanced technicians for America's high-skills workforce and 
graduate fellowships to create a pipeline of students knowledgeable and 
excited about engineering.
             national aeronautics and space administration
    ASEE is supportive of the Administration's overall proposed 
increase of 6.3 percent to $24.7 billion in funding for the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), especially in its Space 
Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), which would see a 29.5 percent 
increase to $1.425 billion. Of importance to ASEE, STMD activities 
support the workforce development pipeline of future space engineers 
and technologists by engaging directly with the academic community 
through early career faculty programs, early-stage research grants, and 
university-led multidisciplinary research institutes. The disruptions 
to the STEM pipeline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic makes this work 
even more crucial. STMD's broad portfolio of activities helps to meet 
NASA's science objectives, establishes new commercial and academic 
partnerships, and stimulates the growth of the Nation's technology 
sector. STMD programs fill significant capability gaps for NASA and 
better position the agency to meet its long-term strategic goals in 
areas across all its directorates ranging from propulsion and power 
generation to materials science and high-performance computing. ASEE 
applauds the Administration's support of STMD's vital role and urges 
the Committee to support STMD's ability to focus on a broad array of 
NASA technology challenges, continue its engagement with the academic 
and private sectors, and keep long-term focus beyond specific near-term 
mission goals.
    ASEE is also supportive of the Administration's proposed increase 
for NASA's Office of STEM Engagement and asks that the Committee 
support the proposed funding of $147 million for this office in fiscal 
year 2022 and beyond. NASA STEM Engagement programs inspire students to 
pursue engineering, science, and technology careers, and this office 
plays a vital role coordinating STEM education programs throughout the 
agency, including those at NASA centers. ASEE supports the continuation 
of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space 
Grant), which supports university consortia in all 50 States, funding 
fellowships for engineering and other STEM students, while also 
offering important resources for faculty professional development and 
strengthening curricula. ASEE is also supportive of initiatives at the 
NASA Office of STEM Engagement to broaden participation of 
underrepresented groups in STEM and to bring engineering design and 
analysis experiences to K-12 students.
    Conclusion: NSF education and research investments have truly 
transformed our world through engineering breakthroughs such as the 
internet, fiber-optics, and medical imaging technology. These 
investments keep our communities safe, lower healthcare costs, and spur 
our economy. Today, engineering research is opening possibilities 
through advances in areas such as artificial intelligence, biosensors, 
and advanced materials. We ask that you robustly fund NSF at $10.2 
billion to support critical education and research programs that will 
be instrumental in the Nation's recovery from COVID-19. In addition, at 
NASA we urge you to fund proposed increases for NASA's Space Technology 
Mission Directorate and Office of STEM Engagement. Thank you for the 
opportunity to submit this testimony.

    [This statement was submitted by Sheryl Sorby, President, and 
Norman Fortenberry, Sc.D., Executive Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
      Prepared Statement of the American Society for Microbiology
    The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) appreciates the 
opportunity to submit outside witness testimony for the Fiscal Year 
2022 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriations 
bill in support of increased funding for the National Science 
Foundation (NSF) and increased coordination of microbiome research by 
the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in Fiscal Year 
2022. ASM is one of the oldest and largest life science societies with 
30,000 members in the U.S. and around the world. Our mission is to 
promote and advance the microbial sciences, including programs and 
initiatives funded by the Federal Government departments and agencies, 
by virtue of the integral role microorganisms play in human health and 
society. Microbial science is a cross-cutting endeavor, and our 
members' federally funded research is fundamental to advances in human 
health, agriculture, energy and the environment.

    ASM calls on Congress to provide at least $10 billion for the 
National Science Foundation in Fiscal Year 2022.

    Investments by Congress in NSF-funded discoveries have strengthened 
the science and technology sectors of the U.S. economy, boosted 
workforce development and ensured America's global market 
competitiveness. For over 70 years, the NSF has invested in basic 
research and education at the frontiers of science and engineering, 
including high risk and transformative research not supported by other 
funding sources. NSF is the only Federal agency that supports 
innovative basic research across all fields of science and engineering, 
and its support of multidisciplinary research and education is critical 
to promoting the next generation of scientists, improving the future of 
the Nation's science and engineering enterprise, and maintaining our 
global competitive edge. NSF is divided into seven directorates that 
support science and engineering research and education: Biological 
Sciences, Computer and Information Science and Engineering, 
Engineering, Geosciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Social, 
Behavioral and Economic Sciences, and Education and Human Resources.
    Microbes are at the foundation of scientific discovery, and the NSF 
is a key supporter of microbial science research, including microbiome 
research, discovery of emerging pathogens, and global collaboration. 
ASM members around the world are working to improve lives through 
research on human and animal health, agriculture, energy, the 
environment, and biothreats. NSFfunded research advances our 
understanding of the 70 percent of emerging human pathogens that have 
non-human origins, which pose serious threats to human health and 
global health security, as we have recently seen with the emergence of 
COVID-19. Investments in NSF research over several decades facilitated 
the rapid sequencing and identification of the SARS-CoV-2 virus weeks 
after its discovery in late 2019, which enabled infectious disease 
experts to begin work early on to combat the spread of the virus.
    The NSF has excelled in its congressionally mandated mission ``to 
promote the progress of science; to advance the National health, 
prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the National defense.'' The 
NSF's dedication to progress is particularly notable in the area of 
microbiome research. The Understanding the Rules of Life: Microbiome 
Interactions and Mechanisms program is one example of this innovative 
work. The broader NSF Rules of Life Big Idea aims to enable discoveries 
that will improve our understanding of interactions within different 
ecosystems, and to identify causal, predictive relationships across 
different scales (spatial, temporal, levels of biological organization 
and complexity) that help define the ``rules'' for how life functions. 
It also seeks to develop research tools and infrastructure to further 
Rules of Life research, and to provide the capacity to approach more 
complex research questions.
    The goal of the Microbiome Interactions and Mechanisms program 
research within the Rules of Life Big Idea is to understand 
interactions and mechanisms that govern the structure and function of 
microbiomes. By integrating the wide range of accumulated data and 
information on microbiome structure and function, new causal models of 
interactions and interdependencies across scales and systems can be 
generated. To continue to achieve its goals, it is critical that the 
fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill robustly fund NSF.

    ASM urges Congress to request an update from the Office of Science 
and Technology Policy on the implementation and continuation of the 
Interagency Strategic Plan for Microbiome Research.

    Microbiome science aims to advance understanding of microbial 
communities (microbiomes) for applications in areas such as health 
care, food production, and environmental restoration to benefit 
individuals, communities, and the environment. Understanding of the 
microbiome has evolved significantly since the concept of the human 
microbiome emerged roughly two decades ago. Today it is understood that 
microbial communities exist on, in, and around people, plants, animals, 
soil, oceans, and the atmosphere, making the microbiome relevant to all 
living things. The rapid pace of discovery has led to greater 
technology needs and data sharing infrastructure.
    Launched in 2016, the National Microbiome Initiative pledged $121 
million in funding from Federal agencies and $400 million in total cash 
and in-kind contributions from 100 companies, foundations and academic 
institutions. As part of this initiative, the Federal Microbiome 
Interagency Working Group developed the Interagency Strategic Plan for 
Microbiome Research, providing recommendations for improving 
coordination of microbiome research among Federal agencies and between 
agencies and non-Federal domestic and international microbiome research 
efforts. The 5-year Strategic Plan envisioned coordinated microbiome 
research activities across 21 government agencies, set out interagency 
objectives, structure and operating principles, and noted several 
research focus areas. As the Strategic Plan's term ends in 2022, OSTP 
should evaluate the progress made, consider whether the Federal 
investment has been adequate to fully realize the promise of this 
initiative, and begin the process to develop a strategic plan for 
interagency collaboration in this essential research for the next 5 
years.
                               conclusion
    ASM is particularly grateful to Congress for its commitment to 
increased investments in the NSF in recent years. We urge Congress to 
revisit OSTP's past commitment to microbiome research and to increase 
funding for NSF in fiscal year 2022 to at least $10 billion. We look 
forward to continued Federal investment in microbe-powered innovation.

    [This statement was submitted by Allen Segal, Director of Public 
Policy and Advocacy.]
                                 ______
                                 
   Prepared Statement of the American Society for the Prevention of 
                           Cruelty to Animals
    On behalf of our over 2 million supporters, The American Society 
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) appreciates this 
opportunity to submit testimony to the Senate Appropriations 
subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. 
Founded in 1866, the ASPCA is the first humane organization established 
in the U.S. and serves as the Nation's leading voice for animal 
welfare. We respectfully request that the subcommittee consider the 
following concerns when making fiscal year 2022 appropriations.
                      police encounters with pets
    Media reports about violent encounters between law enforcement 
officers and pets--most often family dogs--are commonplace across the 
country. The ASPCA believes that the vast majority of these incidents 
are avoidable. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) can assist in 
reducing these incidents by collecting national data around them and 
including techniques to handle police and dog encounters in law 
enforcement de-escalation trainings. Tragedies like this take a serious 
toll on communities, further eroding trust with law enforcement, 
escalating tense situations, and endangering bystanders. On April 11, 
the New Orleans Police Department (PD) shot and killed an 18-week-old 
rescue puppy in his yard while responding to a 911 call. On March 23, 
the Tampa PD shot the dog of the woman who had called them for help. On 
February 26, an officer with the Lynchburg PD in Virginia shot and 
killed a dog while attempting to take a man into custody for a mental 
health evaluation. On November 16 of last year, an officer with the 
Faulkner County Sheriff's Department in Arkansas shot and killed a 
family dog after responding to the wrong residence. Shootings involving 
pets often account for a significant percentage of the total firearms 
discharges in a particular agency. Data from some municipalities 
suggest that 25-75 percent of all police firearm discharges are 
directed at dogs.\1\ One DOJ official estimated that several thousand 
dogs annually are killed by law enforcement officers and described the 
phenomenon as ``an epidemic''.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Bathurst, Cynthia, Donald Cleary, Karen Delise, Ledy VanKavage, 
and Patricia Rushing. 2015. The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and 
Encounters. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing 
Services; https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/Publications/cops-p206-pub.pdf
    \2\ Griffin, David; ``Can Police Stop Killing Dogs?.'' Police 
Magazine; Oct. 29, 2014; https://www.policemag.com/341722/can-police-
stop-killing-dogs
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    Additionally, research reveals that these incidents take a 
disproportionate toll on communities of color. An analysis of officer-
involved shootings in Los Angeles County revealed that between 28-46 
percent of all firearms discharges were directed at dogs, and these 
shootings were geographically clustered in low-income communities of 
color.\3\ This and other available data suggest that pit bull-type 
breeds are far more likely to be shot and killed than are other dog 
breeds. For example, from 2011 to 2014, police officers in Buffalo, New 
York killed 91 dogs--74 of which were identified as pit bull-type 
breeds.
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    \3\ Stefano Bloch, Daniel E. Martinez. 2020. Canicide by Cop: A 
geographical analysis of canine killings by police in Los Angeles. 
Geoforum: 111. 142-154; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/
abs/pii/S0016718520300440
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Encourage documentation and tracking for incidents of police use of 
        force against pets:
    Use of force reporting requirements among State and local law 
enforcement agencies are inconsistent, and many agencies do not require 
documentation for use of force incidents involving pets. Federally, no 
nationwide data exists regarding the prevalence of these tragedies, or 
for officer-involved shootings more broadly. DOJ's Federal Bureau of 
Investigations operates a National Use of Force Data Collection, which 
allows law enforcement to voluntarily provide data on use-of-force 
incidents. The voluntary data, which currently reflects only 40 percent 
of total law enforcement officer population, does not, apparently, 
include incidents involving pets.\4\ A publication by the DOJ's Office 
of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) recognized the lack of 
data on this issue and urged law enforcement agencies to examine 
questions like how often police officers discharge firearms in dog-
related incidents and how many dogs have been killed to better 
understand and address this problem.\5\ Understanding the scope and 
frequency of these incidents is fundamental to avoiding them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ See ``What is Collected?'' https://crime-data-
explorer.app.cloud.gov/officers/national/united-States/uof
    \5\ Bathurst, Cynthia, Donald Cleary, Karen Delise, Ledy VanKavage, 
and Patricia Rushing. 2015. The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and 
Encounters. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing 
Services; https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/Publications/cops-p206-pub.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Provide resources and training to de-escalate police encounters with 
        pets and reduce violent incidents:
    Sources indicate that officer trainings are beneficial to de-
escalate situations with dogs without resorting to lethal force.\6\ 
Several States including California, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, Nevada, 
and Illinois mandate training and created programs on proper responses 
to encounters with dogs. The COPS office, which provides training for 
police departments on a variety of topics, published The Problem of 
Dog-Related Incidents and Encounters in 2011 and has adapted the 
contents to a video training series. Funding for the use of such 
trainings or creating incentives to do so could avoid these tragedies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ Amendola, Karen, Valdovinos, Maria, Perea, Cesar. 2019. An 
Evidence-Based Approach to Dog Shootings in Routine Police Encounters: 
Regulations, Policies, Practices, and Training Implications. https://
www.policefoundation.org/publication/reducing-dog-shootings-in-routine-
police-encounters-regulations-policies-practices-and-training-
implications/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ASPCA requests that the subcommittee recognize the impact of law 
        enforcement's use of force in communities and the need to avoid 
        such incidents by including the following report language in 
        its FY22 Appropriations bill:
    It has been estimated that thousands of dogs are killed annually by 
law enforcement officers. Many States and municipalities do not require 
that police shootings directed at pets be reported. However, data from 
some localities suggests that anywhere from 25-75 percent of all law 
enforcement firearms discharges are directed at dogs, and that these 
incidents are geographically clustered in low-income communities of 
color where police shootings involving people are also concentrated. 
Police shootings directed at pets escalate encounters with policed 
communities and erode trust in law enforcement. The Committee is 
concerned about the lack of data and reporting requirements for such 
encounters, and directs the U.S. Department of Justice to include 
incidents involving pets in any nationwide Federal database created to 
track law enforcement's use of force against people, or to provide 
Congress with a report within 180 days on how the Department can 
collect and maintain comprehensive data on law enforcement's use of 
force against people and pets, as well as any policy recommendations 
needed to implement that data collection. Further, the Committee 
encourages the U.S. Department of Justice to include training 
opportunities for police and dog encounters in the Community Oriented 
Policing Service's grants made available for de-escalation training.

    [This statement was submitted by Nancy Perry, Senior Vice 
President, Government Relations.]
                                 ______
                                 
     Prepared Statement of the American Society of Plant Biologists
  addressing the national science foundation's fiscal year 2022 budget
    The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) submits this 
testimony for the official record to support at least $10.2 billion for 
the National Science Foundation (NSF) for fiscal year 2022. ASPB 
recognizes the difficult fiscal environment our Nation faces, but 
believes that sustained investments in scientific research represents a 
critical step toward economic recovery and continued global 
competitiveness for our Nation.
    ASPB would like to thank the subcommittee for its consideration of 
this testimony and for its strong support for the research missions of 
NSF.
    ASPB, founded in 1924 as the American Society of Plant 
Physiologists, was established to promote the growth and development of 
plant biology, to encourage and publish research in plant biology, and 
to promote the interests and professional advancement of plant 
scientists in general. ASPB members educate, mentor, advise, and 
nurture future generations of plant biologists; they work to increase 
understanding of plant biology, as well as science in general, in K-16 
schools and among the general public; they advocate in support of plant 
biology research; they work to convey the relevance and importance of 
plant biology; and they provide expertise in policy decisions world-
wide. Overall, ASPB members, as representatives of the society, work to 
disseminate information and excitement about plant sciences, especially 
through ASPB's advocacy, outreach activities, conferences, and 
publications.
    food, fuel, environment, and health: plant biology research and 
                            america's future
    Plants are vital to our very existence. They harvest sunlight, 
converting it to chemical energy for food and feed; they absorb carbon 
dioxide and produce oxygen; and they are the primary producers on which 
most life depends. Indeed, plant biology research is making many 
fundamental contributions in the areas of energy security and 
environmental stewardship; the continued and sustainable development of 
better foods, fabrics, and building materials; and in the understanding 
of biological principles that underpin improvements in the health and 
nutrition of all Americans.
    Plant science has become that backbone of agricultural innovation, 
and a thriving agricultural sector has become a cornerstone for 
American economic success. Agriculture and agriculture related 
industries comprise 5.4 percent of the U.S. GDP, contributing nearly $1 
trillion and 21 million jobs to the economy.\1\ In fact, despite 
persistent U.S. trade deficits, there has been a surplus in 
agricultural trade since 1960. This surplus is projected to continue, 
in spite of projected decreases in planted acres of major crops.\2\ 
These projections rely on steady increases in yields, a breakthrough 
that is wholly dependent upon continued fundamental and applied 
agricultural research in crop science and plant biology. To maintain 
and increase U.S. agricultural productivity, critical investments in 
basic biological sciences are needed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-
charting-the-essentials/ag-and-food-sectors-and-the-economy/
    \2\ https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/92600/oce-2019-
1.pdf?v=3630.9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In particular, plant biology is at the interface of numerous 
scientific breakthroughs. For example, with high throughput 
experimental approaches facilitating extraordinary syntheses of 
information that are NSF-supported, plant biologists are using computer 
science applications to make tremendous strides in our understanding of 
complex biological systems, ranging from single cells to entire 
ecosystems. Understanding how plants function ultimately will result in 
better and more productive crops, new sources of fuel, and the 
development of better medicines to treat diseases like cancer.
    Despite the significant positive impact plants have on our Nation's 
economy and in addressing some of our most urgent challenges, including 
food and energy security, Federal investments in fundamental plant 
biology research are modest. Nevertheless, plant scientists have 
maximized and leveraged this funding to begin to understand the basic 
functions and mechanisms of plants, providing a foundation for vital 
advances in practical applications in agriculture, health, energy, and 
the environment.
           robust funding for the national science foundation
    ASPB encourages strong support for the Directorate of Biological 
Sciences (BIO) and proportional funding increases across all of the 
scientific disciplines NSF supports. As scientific research becomes 
increasingly interdisciplinary with permeable boundaries, a diverse 
portfolio at NSF is needed to maintain transformational research and 
innovation. NSF funding for plant biology specifically enables the 
scientific community to address cross-cutting research questions that 
could ultimately solve grand challenges related to a sustainable food 
supply, energy security, and improved health and nutrition.
    NSF BIO is a critical source of funding for scientific research, 
providing the majority of the Federal support for non-medical basic 
life sciences research at U.S. academic institutions and beyond. BIO 
supports research ranging from the molecular and cellular levels to the 
organismal, ecosystem, and even biosphere levels. These investments 
continue to have significant pay offs, both in terms of the knowledge 
directly generated and in deepening collaborations and fostering 
innovation among communities of scientists.
    The Biological Sciences Directorate's Plant Genome Research Program 
(PGRP) is an excellent example of a high impact program that has laid a 
strong scientific research foundation for understanding plant genomics 
as it relates to energy (biofuels), health (nutrition and functional 
foods), agriculture (impact of changing climates on agronomic 
ecosystems), and the environment (plants' roles as primary producers in 
ecosystems). ASPB asks that the PGRP be funded at the highest possible 
level and have sustained funding growth to address 21st century 
challenges.
    ASPB is also encouraged by the ongoing efforts of the Reintegrating 
Biology initiative. The Society hopes that these efforts will result in 
innovative, cross-disciplinary efforts that advance both plant science 
and biological research as a whole. Finally, ASPB is very pleased to 
see NSF increase its support for biotechnology, both within BIO and as 
proposed in the new Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships 
Directorate. Investments in biotechnology will transform agriculture, 
energy, and healthcare, and fundamental and applied plant science 
research have roles to play in each area.
    Without significant and increased support for BIO and NSF as a 
whole, promising fundamental research discoveries will be delayed and 
vital collaborations around the edges of scientific disciplines will be 
postponed, thus limiting the ability of the U.S. to respond to the 
pressing scientific problems that exist today and the new challenges on 
the horizon. Addressing these scientific priorities would also help to 
improve the competitive position of the U.S. in a global marketplace.
 continued support for nsf education and workforce development programs
    As discussed above, many of the challenges brought by a changing 
world will need be addressed specifically by plant scientists. A 
significant--but sustainable--increase in crop productivity will be 
needed to match the demand for food expected from the rate of 
population growth. At the same time, climate change will present new 
trials for crops and other plant ecosystems. These challenges will 
require efforts to increase productivity beyond current practices, 
including improvement in crop water use efficiency and enhanced crop 
photosynthesis efficiency and performance, to name just a few 
approaches. More knowledge and innovation will be needed to replace 
chemicals from non-renewable sources (from fuels to biomedical 
applications) with plant-derived metabolites. These types of 
innovations will require contributions from basic and applied plant 
science fields and collaboration from other sciences and engineering.
    To tackle these challenges, a strong and diverse community of plant 
scientists, with increased involvement from women and marginalized 
scientists, will be needed. However, the current training pipeline does 
not appear prepared to ensure the availability of this workforce. The 
number of Ph.D. degrees awarded in the U.S. in biomedical sciences in 
the last two decades has increased at an unsustainable rate, even 
triggering warnings from members of the National Academy of Sciences; 
however, this trend has not been paralleled by increases in plant-
related Ph.D. degrees. In fact, plant science doctoral degrees, both 
basic and agronomy-related, have remained stagnant during this time 
period. Clearly, a strong investment in plant science research, both 
basic and applied, renewed efforts to transform public perception of 
plant biology and plant biologists, and a push to increase the number 
of students entering the pipeline leading to plant science degrees are 
necessary to change these trends. Developing the workforce that will 
contribute the solutions to future challenges is urgent.
    The NSF is a major source of funding for the education and training 
of the American scientific workforce and for understanding how 
educational innovations can be most effectively implemented. NSF's 
education portfolio impacts students at all levels, including K-12, 
undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate, as well as the general 
public.
    ASPB urges the subcommittee to support expanding NSF's fellowship 
and career development programs--such as the Postdoctoral Research 
Fellowships in Biology, the Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) and the 
Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) programs--thereby providing 
continuity in funding opportunities for the country's most promising 
early career scientists.
    ASPB urges support for NSF to further develop programs aimed at 
increasing the diversity of the scientific workforce by leveraging 
professional scientific societies' commitment to provide a professional 
home for scientists throughout their education and careers and to help 
promote and sustain broad participation in the sciences. Discrete 
focused training and infrastructure support programs for Hispanic 
Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and 
Tribal Colleges and Universities remain vitally important, because they 
foster a scientific workforce that reflects the U.S. population.
    ASPB urges support for education research that enhances our 
understanding of how educational innovations can be sustainably and 
most effectively implemented in a variety of settings. NSF Education 
and Human Resources programs provide opportunities to expand NSF's 
research and evaluation efforts to address scale-up and sustainability. 
ASPB encourages continued support for education research programs 
within NSF's Education and Human Resources portfolio with a focus on 
understanding how previous investments in educational strategies can be 
made most effective.
    Grand research challenges will not be resolved in a year, an 
administration, or a generation, but will take continued attention and 
investment at Federal research agencies, such as the NSF, over decades.
    Thank you for your consideration of ASPB's testimony. For more 
information about ASPB, please visit www.aspb.org.
                                 ______
                                 
           Prepared Statement of the Animal Welfare Institute
fiscal year 2022 funding priorities for the u.s. department of commerce 
            (doc) and the u.s. department of justice (doj).
                      u.s. department of commerce
North Atlantic Right Whale-Related Research and Development--$20 
        million
    In 2020, North Atlantic right whales were designated as critically 
endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature 
(IUCN). Elevated mortalities of the species from entanglements in 
fishing gear and vessel strikes have been declared an Unusual Mortality 
Event (UME) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA) since 2017. The annual documented rate of anthropogenic 
mortality and serious injury, due to both entanglement in gear and 
vessel strikes, has exceeded the population's potential biological 
removal level (PBR) since 1995.
    In October 2020, scientists from the New England Aquarium released 
a new population estimate for North Atlantic right whales, indicating 
that the population numbered only 356 as of the end of 2019.\1\ Of 
these 356 whales, researchers estimate 70 breeding females remain. 
Without intervention, the current combination of low birth rates and 
increased mortalities could leave the species functionally extinct 
within 20 years.\2\
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    \1\ New England Aquarium (2020) Statement on North Atlantic right 
whale population estimate. October 29, 2020. Available at https://
www.neaq.org/about-us/news-media/press-kit/press-releases/statement-on-
north-atlantic-right-whale-population-estimate/
    \2\ Cecco, L. (2020). Humans pushing North Atlantic right whale to 
extinction faster than believed. The Guardian. October 30, 2020. 
Available at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/30/north-
atlantic-right-whale-extinction-faster-than-believed
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    Right whales are extremely vulnerable to being caught in the 
vertical buoy lines used in lobster and crab trapping gear. 
Entanglement can lead to drowning, reduced mobility, and, in some 
cases, a long, painful death from starvation. Collisions from vessels 
of all sizes can also cause serious injuries, such as blunt force 
trauma, propeller cuts, and broken bones. Three North Atlantic right 
whale calves were killed or seriously injured by vessel strikes in U.S. 
waters in the last 13 months alone. In February 2021, an adult whale 
was confirmed dead due to injuries from entanglement. Two other 
entangled whales have been added to the serious injuries list this 
year.
    Studies have shown that mortalities from known entanglements have 
continued to increase: from 21 percent (1970-2002) to 51 percent (2003-
2018).\3\ Entanglements caused as many as 85 percent of diagnosable 
deaths from 2010 to 2015. In February 2021, a study coauthored by 
leading North Atlantic right whale scientists found that from 1990-
2017, observed carcasses only accounted for 36 percent of North 
Atlantic right whale mortalities.\4\ These ``cryptic mortalities,'' 
i.e., deaths caused by human activities without an observed carcass, 
represent a larger proportion of the total mortality than previously 
believed.
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    \3\ Sharp, S, et.al (2019). Gross and histopathologic diagnoses 
from North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis mortalities between 
2003 and 2018. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 135(1), 1-31. 
doi:10.3354/dao03376)
    \4\ Pace, R. et al. (2021). Cryptic mortality of North Atlantic 
right whales. Conservation Science and Practice. 3. 10.1111/csp2.346.
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    The final fiscal year 2021 appropriations package included $5 
million for North Atlantic right whales within the Marine Mammals, Sea 
Turtles, and Other Species line item. Within this funding, $1 million 
was directed to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA) for the continuation of a pilot program developing and field-
testing new fishing gear technologies designed to reduce entanglements.
    We appreciate Congress' concern for this species and trust that it 
will recognize that a substantial increase in funding is necessary if 
we are to save North Atlantic right whales from extinction. Along with 
50 other NGOs, AWI submitted a letter to House and Senate CJS 
Appropriations subcommittees that included a proposed spending plan. 
Within that plan, we believe funding should be appropriated to NOAA to 
develop and implement new rules aimed at reducing the mortality rate of 
North Atlantic right whales by vessel strikes, fishing-gear 
entanglements, and other threats. There must also be investment in 
reducing vessel-strike risk in high-traffic areas as well as a 
transition to whale-safe fishing gear. We believe the pilot program to 
refine and field test innovative fishing gear technologies, such as 
ropeless gear, should be expanded, including the development of 
geolocation technologies. Lastly, surveys and monitoring, enforcement, 
disentanglement, stranding response, and plankton recorder surveys are 
crucial to the conservation of this species.
    We encourage Congress to direct investment to the development of 
ropeless technologies instead of expensive, short-term investments in 
``weak rope.'' The use of 1,700-lb breaking strength lines (known as 
``weak rope'') may decrease the severity of entanglement injuries 
suffered by right whales but does not reduce the likelihood of 
entanglement in the first place nor the sub-lethal impacts of 
entanglement on whales. This gear also does not reduce the risk of 
serious injury or mortality for right whales who are less than 2 years 
old.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ Knowlton et al. (2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    NOAA estimates Americans are willing to pay $4.38 billion annually 
for the recovery of the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Further, 
in 2008, this species generated an estimated $2.3 billion in sales in 
the whale watching industry and across the broader economy.\6\ Research 
has found large whales are worth about $2 million each over their 
lifetimes. This value is based on their contributions to carbon 
sequestration, which combats climate change, as well as their ability 
to enhance fisheries and provide ecotourism value. Overall, the 
estimated economic value of the planet's whale population is over $1 
trillion.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ NOAA Fisheries (2020, February 24). Protected species economics 
research. Retrieved from https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
socioeconomics/protected-species-economics-research
    \7\ Chami, R., Cosimano, T., Fullenkamp, C., & Oztosun, S. (2019). 
Nature's solution to climate change. International Monetary Fund: 
Official Website./Finance&Development, 56(4), 34-38. Retrieved from 
https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2019/12/natures-solution-to-
climate-change-chami.htm
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    If we are to save this species, it will require investment and 
cooperation among Congress, agencies, scientists, and industry. We hope 
the subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies 
recognizes the urgency of this situation and invests in protections for 
North Atlantic right whales.
Unusual Mortality Event Fund--$4 million with at least $750,000 
        dedicated to the current UME of Atlantic Florida manatees
    Marine mammals are important indicator species of ocean health. 
Monitoring the health of marine mammals, especially during Unusual 
Mortality Events (UME), can reveal emerging threats, potential impacts 
of human activities, and the effectiveness of management actions. A UME 
is defined as ``a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant 
die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands immediate 
response.'' There are currently 10 active UMEs around the country in 
every ocean (Alaska ice seals, West Coast gray whales, Northeast 
pinnipeds, Southwest Florida bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic minke 
whales, North Atlantic right whales, Atlantic humpback whales, 
Guadalupe fur seals, Atlantic Florida manatees, and Florida East Coast 
manatees). In the newest UME to be declared, the 2021 Atlantic Florida 
manatee, nearly 750 manatees have died this year alone. Rescue 
organizations are hampered by the lack of facilities and funds for 
responding to overwhelming numbers of live manatees in need of rescue 
and rehabilitation.
    Since 1991, 70 marine mammal UMEs have been declared. The UME 
Contingency Fund was established through the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act to enable the National Marine Fisheries Service to reimburse marine 
mammal stranding network partners for costs related to caring for and 
treating live animals that strand as part of UMEs; collecting, 
preparing, and sending biological samples to the National Marine Mammal 
Tissue Bank and other diagnostic laboratories to investigate the causes 
of UMEs; and collecting important marine mammal health data to inform 
and improve future UME responses and marine conservation. Although 
Congress created this fund in 1992, it provided appropriations only in 
2005; all other contributions to the Fund have been through voluntary 
assistance. Considering the growing number of UMEs, $4 million should 
be allocated to the Unusual Mortality Event Contingency Fund to enable 
robust marine mammal stranding response efforts, with $750,000 
dedicated to the current Atlantic Florida manatee UME.
John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program--$4 
        million
    The John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program 
(Prescott Grant Program), a program under NMFS, provides competitive 
grants to marine mammal stranding network organizations to do the 
following: (1) rescue and rehabilitate sick, injured, or distressed 
live marine mammals, and (2) investigate the events surrounding, and 
determine the cause of, the death or injury of marine mammals. Over the 
past 20 years, the Prescott Grant Program has been vital to protecting 
and recovering marine mammals across the country while also generating 
critical information regarding marine mammals and their environment. As 
the sole source of Federal funding for the National Marine Mammal 
Stranding Network, which is comprised of over 90 member organizations 
within 23 States, robust funding is required for the Prescott Grant 
Program to enable it to continue its vital work.
Enforcement and Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP)--$4 million
    The Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) was established in 
2016 to require U.S. importers of certain fish and fish products to 
provide and report key data, with the aim of uncovering illegal, 
unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and/or seafood fraud and 
preventing it from entering US commerce. The program initially oversaw 
imports of 11 species, including sharks and sea cucumbers, two marine 
species that are increasingly threatened by IUU fishing. In 2019, two 
additional species, shrimp, and abalone, entered SIMP, thereby doubling 
the volume of imported products covered by SIMP. The addition of shrimp 
has implications for the critically endangered vaquita, of which only 
about 10 remain. The use of illegal gillnets for catching shrimp in the 
Gulf of California, and the subsequent bycatch of vaquitas, has been a 
major factor in the latter species' decline.
    A 2021 report ``Seafood Obtained via Illegal, Unreported, and 
Unregulated Fishing: U.S. Imports and Economic Impact on U.S. 
Commercial Fisheries,'' compiled by the U.S. International Trade 
Commission found that $2.4 billion worth of seafood imports derived 
from IUU fishing was imported in 2019 (11 percent of total seafood 
imports). Over 13 percent of the U.S. imports caught at sea were 
estimated to be caught using IUU fishing practices. Top species 
included swimming crab, wild-caught warmwater shrimp, yellowfin tuna, 
and squid. The report noted that IUU-sourced seafood is a threat to the 
livelihood of U.S. fishermen. These practices also pose risks to marine 
ecosystems, public health, and human rights.
    In January 2020, the U.S. Government allocated $8 million to fight 
IUU fishing and bolster SIMP as part of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade 
agreement (USMCA) that was approved in January 2021. As part of the 
agreement, funding will go to NOAA to help it cooperate with the 
Mexican Government in fighting illegal fishing through 2023. Additional 
funding of $4 million is necessary to ensure full enforcement of SIMP 
in fiscal year 2022.
Marine Mammal Commission (MMC)--$5.25 million
    The Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) is an independent Federal agency 
established by Congress in 1972 under the MMPA. Responsible for 
overseeing the proper implementation of the MMPA, the MMC provides 
comprehensive, independent, science-based oversight of all Federal and 
international policy and management actions affecting marine mammals. 
The MMC's work is crucial to maintaining healthy populations of marine 
mammals, including whales, manatees, dolphins, seals, sea otters, 
walruses, and polar bears, and ensuring their survival for generations 
to come. Additionally, the MMC seeks to ensure that Alaska Natives can 
meet their subsistence needs through hunting of marine mammals. We are 
grateful that Congress rejected last year's budget request defunding 
this agency and instead funded the MMC at $3.769 million in fiscal year 
2021. In order for the MMC to fully fulfill its obligations, we ask 
that $5.25 million be appropriated for fiscal year 2022.
                       u.s. department of justice
Environment and Natural Resources Division/Environmental Crimes 
        Section--Additional $2 million
    AWI asks the subcommittee to provide an additional $2 million, over 
and above the amount that would otherwise be appropriated, to the 
Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice's Environment 
and Natural Resources Division, to be designated for the Section's work 
on animal cruelty crime.
    Congress has taken significant steps in the last decade to 
strengthen Federal laws to protect animals from cruel treatment. For 
those efforts to be meaningful, it is imperative that the Federal 
Government's enforcement efforts be robustly supported. The attorneys 
in the Environmental Crimes Section are tasked with ensuring that 
justice is served when the Federal statutes and enforcement regimes 
that provide for the humane treatment of captive, farmed, and companion 
animals across the country are violated. These laws include the Animal 
Welfare Act, the Horse Protection Act, the Humane Methods of Slaughter 
Act, the 28-Hour Law, the Animal Crush Video Statute, the Animal 
Fighting Venture Prohibition Act, and, since 2019, the Preventing 
Animal Cruelty and Torture Act.
    This is a tremendous amount of responsibility, and it is a 
responsibility that both Congress and the American public expect to be 
executed vigorously. The resources available to bring criminal 
prosecution under these laws has not kept pace with the improvements 
made in the laws. Given the increased workload the Section has taken on 
in just the last couple of years, a $2 million increase in its funding 
is warranted.

    [This statement was submitted by Nancy Blaney, Director, Government 
Affairs.]
                                 ______
                                 
            Prepared Statement of the Anti-Defamation League
    funding to counter domestic violent extremism, hate crimes, and 
                        discrimination in voting
    On behalf of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), I write to request 
that you designate increased funding for the department of Justice's 
efforts to combat domestic violent extremism, prevent and prosecute 
hate crimes against Jews, Jewish institutions, and other targeted 
communities, and challenge discrimination in voting by vigorously 
enforcing the Voting Rights Act.
Countering Violent Domestic Extremism
    On January 6, we watched as an insurrection fueled by violent 
conspiracy theories and white supremacy gripped the Nation and attacked 
our democracy. Unfortunately, this act of domestic terrorism was not a 
surprise; it is a threat ADL has been warning about for many years, and 
one we had warned law enforcement about once this specific threat 
became clear, even before the tragic events unfolded.
    ADL recommends that Congress make investments that adapt to the 
threat from domestic extremists, which is severe and growing. The 
majority of violence committed against Americans by extremists is now 
homegrown, and we must reorient our counterterrorism capabilities 
accordingly. To address this threat, the Congressional Budget Office 
estimates that an additional 175 FBI field agents, 45 additional 
employees, 25 U.S. Attorney office personnel, and 18 additional DHS 
analysts are needed, as well as a budget to support reporting and 
coordination. These funds for personnel, training, and reporting will 
help catalyze a range of activities to better understand the domestic 
terror threat, to ensure resources are used proportionate to the threat 
posed, and to work across agencies to better prepare to keep 
communities safe. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act (H.R. 350/S. 
963) would in part ensure resources are used based on the threat of a 
terrorist movement. While we work to support the passage of the DTPA, 
personnel for the offices and training opportunities for State and 
local partners can and should be funded separate and apart from the 
bill. ADL supports $11 million in fiscal year 2022 and an estimated 
$184 million over 5 years to increase resources and staffing to help 
counter domestic terrorism. ADL also requests that report language 
reflect the need for transparency and threat-proportionate 
appropriations.
    In addition, ADL recommends increased investment in research that 
closes gaps in our ability to prevent domestic extremism that will 
otherwise endure as an increasingly dangerous and destabilizing force 
in American communities. Data should drive policy. ADL requests $20 
million above current levels to the Office of Justice Programs, 
dedicated specifically to research and data related to domestic violent 
extremism issues.
Eliminating Extremism in Law Enforcement
    ADL urges the Committee to recognize and address the fact that some 
public safety officers are extremists, as evidenced by the 
participation of active law enforcement personnel in the attempted 
insurrection of January 6. Additionally, FBI assessments dating back 
more than 15 years, among other sources, have noted that such 
extremists seek out positions in law enforcement and work to recruit 
law enforcement personnel into their ranks in order to gain access to 
sensitive security-related information as well as tactical knowledge 
and training. The consequences of this infiltration are potentially 
severe, ranging from deterioration of police-community relations to 
destruction, conflict, and death resulting from extremist officers' 
activities. ADL requests that the Committee encourage the Justice 
Department to provide the highest priority to Community Oriented 
Policing Services (COPS) program applicants and law enforcement 
agencies that request support for screening applicants and personnel 
for persistent racism and/or violent extremist ideologies or 
affiliations, and further encourage the Department to prioritize COPS 
grants to program applicants and law enforcement agencies that require 
their employees to complete training on extremism. ADL also asks that 
the Committee support improved security clearance policies, procedures, 
and trainings to ensure that individuals whose possible adherence to 
violent extremist ideologies raises questions about their judgment or 
trustworthiness do not have security clearances, including directing 
the Department to report no later than 90 days after enactment of this 
act on its progress in developing these improved policies, procedures, 
and trainings.
Clearinghouse for Online Extremism
    With domestic violent terrorism posing a growing threat, we must 
seek creative ways to address the critical role that social media plays 
in fueling the rise of extremism. However, we must not empower law 
enforcement to engage so thoroughly in social media investigations that 
civil liberties would be at risk. ADL proposes the creation of an 
independent nonprofit organization, mirroring the founding of the 
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to investigate 
online threats proactively with careful parameters to ensure that the 
broad nature of these investigations does not provide surveillance 
powers to law enforcement, but is independent. ADL requests $500,000 to 
the National Institute of Justice for a six-month study into the 
feasibility, costs, and operational options for an independent 
clearinghouse for online extremist content.
Strengthening Hate Crimes Data Collection
    A more complete understanding of where, when, and against whom hate 
crimes occur is a necessary component of an effective and coordinated 
campaign to eradicate this scourge. In the nearly 30 years during which 
the FBI has compiled data pursuant to the Hate Crime Statistics Act, 
however, DOJ has yet to produce information that paints an accurate and 
comprehensive picture of hate crime. Multiple factors contribute to 
deficits in our knowledge about this phenomenon, including victimized 
communities' distrust and avoidance of law enforcement agencies; lack 
of training for officers in recognizing and investigating bias 
motivations; and frontline agencies' limited capacity to maintain and 
share records with DOJ combined with the lack of a reporting mandate. 
Congress can and must support stakeholders in overcoming these 
challenges by providing funding for data improvement programs that we 
expect will soon be authorized by the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act. ADL 
recommends that you provide total funding of at least $15 million for 
grant programs to State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to 
implement the National Incident-Based Reporting System, to create 
State-run hate crime reporting hotlines, and to conduct training and 
develop protocols for identifying, analyzing, investigating and 
reporting hate crimes. In addition, we urge you to adopt report 
language that urges DOJ to support hate crime statistics improvement 
through its other funding programs including the Edward Byrne Memorial 
Justice Assistance Grants program, as well as language that urges the 
FBI to increase its outreach to, and consider developing awards or 
other incentives for, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement 
agencies, to encourage them to provide substantive and accurate hate 
crime statistics.
State and Local Police Training on Recognizing and Investigating Hate 
        Crimes
    ADL is alarmed at increases in reports of hate crime. In spite of 
declining law enforcement agency participation, the FBI's Hate Crime 
Statistics Act reports have documented year-to-year growth in the 
number of recorded hate crimes in recent years, culminating in the most 
deadly year on record in 2019, in which at least 51 people lost their 
lives in bias-motivated attacks. Anecdotal data captured by community-
based organizations and surveys that ask Americans about their 
subjective experiences indicate that hate crime is a far more 
widespread and devastating phenomenon than even the FBI's report 
demonstrates. Behind each victim is an entire community of people who 
share the characteristics for which the person was attacked, and who 
experience the fear and instability that these acts cause. The Federal 
Government's leadership is indispensable to the critical task of 
improving effectiveness at tracking, mitigating the harms caused by, 
and ultimately, preventing destructive bias-motivated aggression. ADL 
requests $100 million for grants to State, local, and Tribal law 
enforcement agencies to conduct educational outreach and training on 
hate crimes and to investigate and prosecute hate crimes, as authorized 
by section 4704 of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes 
Prevention Act (Public Law 111-84).
Community Relations Service
    The Community Relations Service saves lives and preserves community 
cohesion, and must be taken to scale to meet expanding demand resulting 
from COVID-19-related hate crimes targeting the Asian-American Pacific 
Islander community, scapegoating of Jews, Muslims, and members of 
immigrant communities for the actions of foreign nations and entities, 
and other increases in discrimination and hate. CRS's efforts are 
symbolically important and practically effective. For example, after a 
gunman killed a worshipper and wounded three others at the Chabad of 
Poway, CA, on April 27, 2019--exactly 6 months after the shooting at 
the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh--members of the surrounding 
community asked CRS to help reestablish community safety and rebuild 
residents' confidence that they could safely attend religious services. 
Within days of the shooting, CRS brought the local U.S. Attorney's 
Office together with leaders of local faith communities to assess 
tensions, identify concerns, and share best practices for addressing 
hate crimes and protecting religious institutions. CRS served as a 
liaison between community stakeholders and the State and Federal 
agencies involved in investigating the shooting and also worked with 
stakeholders to convene continuing conversations, including a Bias 
Incidents and Hate Crimes forum held by an interfaith coalition of San 
Diego-area religious communities and an August 2019 training that 
brought the U.S. Attorney's Office back together with faith community 
leaders to build capacity to prevent and respond to hate crimes. ADL 
supports $40 million for the Community Engagement Relations program to 
offer services in more communities in need.
Voting Rights Act Enforcement by the Voting Section
    Before, during, and after the 2020 Presidential Election, 
disinformation about threats to election security and integrity spread 
widely, and in significant part due to some political figures' repeated 
public critiques of normal procedures such as mail voting and of 
extraordinary measures undertaken to avoid COVID-19-related perils, 
including proactive mailing of mail ballot applications and expansion 
of early voting hours and periods. Election administrators, Federal and 
international experts at agencies like the Department of Homeland 
Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and 
independent audits of paper records of votes cast have all affirmed 
that election results were valid, and no significant or widespread 
fraud or irregularities occurred. Nonetheless, according to the Brennan 
Center for Justice, as of March 24, 2021, State lawmakers had 
introduced 361 bills that would restrict access to the ballot in 47 
States' current legislative sessions. These measures take direct aim at 
aspects of the voting process that disproportionately affect voters of 
color and preserving equal access to elections in 2021 and beyond will 
depend upon the strength and readiness of the most capable and expert 
voting rights prosecutor in the Nation, the Civil Rights Division's 
Voting Section.
    The Voting Section requires expanded capacity to respond to the 
States and localities that already have adopted discriminatory voting 
restrictions or are poised to follow suit. The Voting Section also will 
soon undertake monitoring, evaluation, and enforcement of anti-
discrimination standards in the post-2020 Census redistricting cycle 
which will be the first to occur in the absence of the protective 
mechanisms of the Voting Rights Act's fully-functional preclearance 
process. As a result, Section attorneys will not receive explanation 
and analysis of new district maps from jurisdictions with long 
histories of acting deliberately to limit marginalized voters' 
opportunity to elect representatives of their choice, and will instead 
have to exponentially increase original review of as many as hundreds, 
or thousands, of new plans. As we consider the work before the Voting 
Section, finally, we are mindful of the need for more capacity to 
ensure the effective implementation of Section 203 of the Voting Rights 
Act after new coverage determinations are published in calendar year 
2021. To manage these critical tasks, ADL requests an additional $5 
million for the Civil Rights Division for additional attorney positions 
to conduct Voting Rights Act enforcement activities.

    [This statement was submitted by Max Sevillia, Vice President, 
Government Relations, Advocacy, and Community Engagement.]
                                 ______
                                 
 Prepared Statement of the Association for Psychological Science (APS)
supporting increased appropriations for the national science foundation 
                                 (nsf)
         highlights of aps recommendations for fiscal year 2022
  --APS supports the Administration's recommended funding level of 
        $10.2 billion for NSF in fiscal year 2022. In immediate terms, 
        increased funding is necessary in fiscal year 2022 to help the 
        research community recover from COVID-19 and its effects on 
        research, education, and the professional development of the 
        next generation of scientists. In the longer term, a bold 
        approach to NSF funding advances NSF's transformational Big 
        Ideas initiatives; protects core programs that sustain science 
        and engineering fields; builds and operates world-class 
        research infrastructure, including the human capital that 
        conducts and supports research; and trains a diverse, inclusive 
        future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) 
        workforce so that the U.S. can remain globally competitive.
  --NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) 
        Sciences conducts research that increases our fundamental 
        understanding of human development, cognition, behavior, and 
        more. One of the best ways to mitigate the crises created by 
        the COVID-19 pandemic is through an understanding of human 
        behavior. Supporting SBE is important to our ability to recover 
        from the problems arising from COVID-19 as well as to prevent 
        or mitigate economic, health, and security problems arising 
        from other national and international problems. Scientific 
        research supported by SBE also enables discovery in other 
        critical areas that range from addressing the needs of an aging 
        population, to strengthening racial equity and limiting bias, 
        to preparing our military with the insights it needs to 
        understand behavior in a changing world. Through its various 
        core programs, as well as its contributions to cross-
        directorate NSF investments, SBE supports approximately 5,000 
        scientists, educators, and students in a typical year. 
        Unfortunately, SBE has often been a popular target for budget 
        cuts and messaging amendments. APS urges the Committee to 
        recognize the important contributions of NSF's Social, 
        Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate with supportive 
        report language and implied funding increases.
  --NSF's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and 
        supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM 
        disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and 
        doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. The program 
        encourages the best and brightest students--a diverse cohort--
        to pursue STEM as a career and recognizes those individuals who 
        propose to conduct meritorious scientific research capable of 
        broad impacts; it sets promising students on a trajectory for 
        success in their scientific careers. Given the significant 
        disruptions that COVID-19 has caused for the future careers of 
        student scientists, NSF should be strengthening its support for 
        students. APS urges the Committee to provide the resources 
        necessary to fund no less than 2,000 awards in fiscal year 2022 
        and urges the program to grow to 3,000 in future years.
                  statement of aps executive director
    Madam Chairwoman and Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the 
opportunity to provide testimony as you consider funding priorities for 
Fiscal Year 2022. I am Robert Gropp, Executive Director of the 
Association for Psychological Science (APS). APS is a nonprofit 
scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of scientific 
psychology for the benefit of science and society. APS's 30,000 members 
are scientists and educators at the Nation's universities and colleges, 
conducting research supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). 
The research funded by NSF's Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences 
Directorate (SBE) provides a fundamental understanding of the human 
condition. As the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic and its 
effects, essential tools at our disposal are behavioral in nature, 
bringing the science supported by SBE to the forefront. SBE-supported 
scientists develop and employ rigorous methods to discover principles 
of human behavior at levels ranging from cells to society and from 
neurons to neighborhoods. We urge the Committee to include supportive 
report language and implied funding increases for the SBE Directorate 
in the Fiscal Year 2022 CJS Appropriations bill and report.
    Madam Chairwoman, APS joins the scientific community in supporting 
a fiscal year 2022 appropriation of $10.2 billion for NSF. This funding 
level would advance innovation, discovery, and productivity; help us 
face current and future societal challenges; and boost our economy 
given the ways science, engineering, and math support so many of our 
country's jobs.
             recognizing the leadership of the subcommittee
    Madam Chairwoman, as the leading voice for scientific psychology in 
all its forms, APS recognizes and appreciates your leadership and the 
leadership of this subcommittee in supporting Federal research. We 
applaud your commitment to maintaining our Nation's economic growth, 
national security, and overall global competitiveness through 
investment in science. We are grateful for the appropriations the 
agency received in fiscal year 2021, yet we respectfully recognize that 
more is required to address the effects of historical underinvestment 
in fundamental research in the United States. According to NSF, in 
fiscal year 2020, 42,727 applications were received, but only 12,172 
were funded. Many of these unfunded applications were deemed 
meritorious by independent scientific reviewers. When deserving 
proposals go unfunded, scientific progress and the resulting benefits 
to society are delayed or lost.
    The potential impact of these missed opportunities is even starker 
when considering the return on investment in scientific research and 
the significant investments that other nations are making in comparable 
research areas. According to the National Science Board's 2020 Science 
and Engineering Indicators, ``Where once the U.S. was the uncontested 
leader in science and engineering, we are now playing a less dominant 
role.'' The United States was the largest R&D performer in 2017, 
followed by China. To remain at the forefront of scientific discovery 
and continue leading the world in science and engineering, we must 
invest strategically and robustly now. NSF increases the 
competitiveness and growth of our country, but also of each State as 
well. In fiscal year 2020, for example, New Hampshire research 
institutions were competitively awarded a total of $42,904,000 in NSF 
grant funding, and Kansas research institutions were awarded a total of 
$44,239,000.
     funding for the national science foundation and policy issues
    As previously noted, APS recommends an fiscal year 2022 funding 
level of $10.2 billion for NSF, a funding level that makes clear that 
scientific research is a national priority.
    APS does not recommend that Congress allocate funding at the 
directorate level. We do encourage Congress to provide sufficient 
funding to allow NSF to make additional and strategic new investments 
in SBE. As mentioned previously, this research is key to responding to 
COVID-19 and its effects, including the ways the pandemic has affected 
disproportionately those from disparity groups. Reports from NSF 
indicate that the SBE community is applying at record rates for funding 
to address behavioral elements of COVID-19, and that these applications 
are exceptionally meritorious and capable of broad and immediate 
impacts.
    In addition to offering potential solutions to COVID-19's effects, 
SBE provides critical support to the behavioral science community 
broadly. Despite being the smallest directorate at NSF, SBE funds 55 
percent of all university-based social and behavioral science research 
in the United States. In 2020, SBE awarded approximately $1.9 million 
and $983,000 in fiscal year 2020 research grants to the Chairwoman and 
Ranking Member's home States of New Hampshire and Kansas, respectively. 
We therefore urge the Committee include the following report language:

          Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE).--The 
        Committee supports SBE and recognizes the fundamental 
        importance of the research it supports in advancing scientific 
        understanding of critical challenges facing our Nation, 
        including increased misinformation, polarization, and bias. SBE 
        sciences also afford insights into advancing public health, 
        defense and security, education and learning, and the interface 
        of humans and technology. SBE funds over half of our Nation's 
        university-based behavioral science research, yet it is among 
        the smallest NSF research directorates. Because the Committee 
        believes SBE research provides an evidence-based understanding 
        of human behavior, it recommends an increase over the fiscal 
        year 2021 levels for SBE activities commensurate with its 
        potential for impact.

    The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship 
Program (GRFP) is the country's oldest fellowship program that directly 
supports graduate students in various science, technology, engineering 
and mathematics fields. These fellows are anticipated to become 
knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, 
teaching, and innovations in science and engineering; they are crucial 
to maintaining and advancing the Nation's technological infrastructure 
and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-
being of society at large. Importantly, they enable the most promising 
candidates from groups historically underrepresented in science to 
choose science as a career.
    Over the last several years, both GRFP program solicitations and 
the Administration's budget requests state that NSF is planning to 
reduce the number of awards to 1,600 down from the previous award level 
of 2,000 awards. It is only when Congress intervenes with directive 
report language in the CJS Appropriations reports that the awards are 
brought up to the steady level of 2,000 per year.
    Given that many students are suffering disruptions or delays to 
their education resulting from COVID-19, NSF should be doing more to 
support the careers of student scientists. A cut in the number of GRFP 
awards sends an unintended message to those at early career levels that 
NSF's support is declining. APS urges the following report language be 
included in the fiscal year 2022 report supporting these important 
training grants.

          Graduate Research Fellowship Program.--The Committee notes 
        that the Graduate Research Fellowship program (GRFP) has a long 
        history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of 
        success in their future academic and professional careers and 
        recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF 
        supported sciences, engineering, and mathematics, including the 
        field of behavioral science. In recognition of the outstanding 
        contributions of this program to launch the careers of talented 
        graduate students as they become lifelong leaders who 
        contribute to scientific innovations and teaching, the 
        Committee has provided the resources necessary to fund more 
        than 3,000 grants in fiscal year 2022 and urges the program 
        continue to grow in future years.

    There is significant support in Congress and the Administration to 
expand the National Science Foundation with increases in funding as 
well as a new Technology and Innovation Directorate. APS appreciates 
the enthusiasm and attention to science and technology, and we 
wholeheartedly support efforts to grow scientific advancement. We 
request that Congress ensure that its efforts further strengthen NSF's 
unique mission of supporting fundamental research in all fields. We 
also encourage Congress to continue to support NSF's initiatives that 
ensure the U.S. science and technology workforce reflects the U.S. 
population, increase the number of leaders in science from historically 
underrepresented backgrounds, and support funding for and outreach to 
deserving colleges and universities that are not typical recipients of 
NSF support.
                         summary and conclusion
    APS shares your commitment to fostering innovation and economic 
competitiveness through investing in our Nation's research 
infrastructure. While we request $10.2 billion for NSF, even more 
Federal funding for the agency could result in more research that can 
lead to new knowledge, new discoveries, and possibly products, 
services, and new industries. Additional SBE research will continue to 
help us understand patterns of stability and change at the individual, 
group, organizational, and societal levels that can be applied to 
promote the progress of science and to advance national health, 
prosperity, and welfare. Continued support for the Graduate Research 
Fellowship program at current levels, or even higher, provides training 
support for our future scientists and engineers.
    We appreciate the opportunity to provide this testimony. and thank 
you for your leadership.

    [This statement was submitted by Robert Gropp, Executive Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
                       Prepared Statement of CAST
                      national science foundation
    Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran and Members of the 
subcommittee, since 1984, CAST (originally the Center for Applied 
Special Technology) has worked relentlessly to ensure that our Nation 
is one where learning has no limits for all individuals. We pioneered 
Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a set of principles and guidelines 
for inclusive curriculum design that is now included in the Every 
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Higher Education Opportunity Act 
(HEA), the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st 
Century Act (Perkins V) and the National Education Technology Plan.
    CAST is a non-profit organization that uses educational technology 
coupled with our expertise in the learning sciences to ensure all 
learners can and do reach their full potential. With grants provided by 
the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Departments of Education 
(ED) and Labor (DOL) as well as the private sector, we work to ensure 
the full power of UDL is utilized to harness technology and 
instructional practices to remove barriers to learning in digital as 
well as physical settings. UDL encourages the design of flexible 
learning environments that anticipate learner variability and provide 
alternative routes or paths to success; UDL acknowledges that 
variability across all learners is the norm rather than the exception. 
UDL provides both viable alternatives for all learners to access 
blended and online education and provides a responsive framework to 
support educators in their professional learning and application in any 
teaching environment. CAST's aim is to create a level playing field 
where all learners have equitable opportunities to succeed.

    In fiscal year 2022, CAST requests: (1) National Science 
Foundation: receive a 20 percent overall increase. (2) National Science 
Foundation--Education and Human Resources: receive a 16 percent 
increase from $1.1B to $1.287B.

    Since pioneering UDL more than 30 years ago, CAST has brought UDL 
into K-12 schools, into postsecondary settings and increasingly into 
career and technical education programs including STEM. Currently, 
through public-private partnerships, including funding provided by NSF, 
CAST is working to increase equity, diversity and inclusion of all 
students in STEM including English Learners, students with low 
literacy, and students with disabilities by: developing accessible STEM 
educational resources and making them more widely available to teachers 
and students; increasing engagement of [all] students, youth, adults in 
STEM education/STEM careers; and, ensuring STEM teachers have 
opportunities to be trained and receive a credential in the use of UDL.

    Examples of successful initiatives led by CAST and funded and/or 
co-funded by NSF include:

    STEMfolio: The Career Exploration and Readiness Environment for 
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (CEE-STEM) program is 
led by CAST with funding through NSF. CEE-STEM provides an e-portfolio 
called STEMfolio, which supports non-traditional high school students 
to collect information, reflect and record information regarding STEM 
careers of interest, chronicle their STEM learning in both classroom 
and job sites related to those careers, and take actions to connect 
with STEM postsecondary and employment opportunities. For educators, 
rubrics are provided so that teachers can evaluate students' 
understanding of various careers and the quality of materials in the 
student portfolio. STEMfolio is explicitly designed to increase 
diversity and inclusion in STEM, by helping marginalized students see 
the relevance and achievability of STEM career paths. By partnering 
with YouthBuild USA in the design and piloting of the tool, CAST has 
made sure that STEMFolio supports STEM learning and career pathways for 
young adults who are members of ethnic minority groups and who are 
economically disadvantaged, many of whom have dropped out of 
traditional high school paths and may also be justice-involved or be 
young parents.
    UDL for Learning Science Notebook (SNUDLE): With NSF and ED 
funding, the SNUDLE project is designed to support elementary school 
students with learning disabilities in active science learning. Study 
results have shown the tool's support for science learning and the 
science inquiry process have statistically significant effects on 
students with disabilities science performance and their motivation for 
science learning.
    Co-Organize Your Learning (CORGI): With NSF and ED funding, this 
project is designed to enhance student engagement and learning through 
a Google application (app) designed for students and teachers to use to 
collaboratively answer questions requiring higher order reasoning.
    Multi-Gen STEM Makerspaces Project is a Makerspace initiative 
designed to increase access to STEM engagement, multi-disciplinary 
learning and opportunity by residents of low-income communities. 
Makerspaces have cropped up in schools, libraries, museums, and other 
settings, but low-income communities have not had the same access to 
these resources and their learning opportunities as have more affluent 
ones. CAST is changing that by working in partnership with an 
affordable housing complex in Stamford, CT. With NSF funding, we are 
co-designing makerspace guidelines, workshops and a Multi-Gen Makers 
Playbook that can be hosted and sustained in affordable housing 
complexes across the country to provide an engaging, accessible route 
to embed STEM learning in families' lives, allowing caregivers, 
children, young adults, and neighbors to gather and share their 
existing knowledge and skills, collaborate authentically and build on 
it, using STEM to meet personally relevant goals, to pursue a STEM 
career pathway, or to nurture a hobby or interest.
    Advanced Technological Education: Making Community College 
Technician Education More Accessible for Everyone (AccessATE). Through 
support from NSF, the project goal is to support the ATE community and 
provide ATE grantees with the tools and knowledge to increase the 
accessibility and usability of their resources and activities. CAST is 
providing technical assistance on accessibility and UDL to ATE Centers 
and recipients of ATE research grants. Partners include: Internet 
Scout, the Accessible Education Materials Center, DeafTEC, Human 
Engineering Research Laboratories and the National Center for 
Accessible Media. The AccessATE work specifically supports: Community 
college programs (e.g., Corrections, Manchester Community College, CT); 
and Marginalized rural youth (increasing access to work-based learning 
through outdoor recreation).
    Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI). This public-
private initiative to ``secure U.S. global leadership in advanced 
manufacturing'' brings CAST together with career and technical 
education schools, industry partners, and colleges to produce prototype 
career exploration modules that showcase the varied pathways into these 
new industries. The goal is to increase the number of students from 
under-represented populations and backgrounds pursuing careers in these 
nascent fields. Partners are: ARMI (industry and business), ATE 
community and career and technical education (CTE) via Federal Perkins 
funds.
    As you can see, continuing to support NSF's education portfolio is 
essential, especially as the agency seeks to leverage the UDL 
framework. Funding for this work is critical to mitigating the current 
impact of digital, in-person or hybrid learning and, instead, achieving 
the inclusive potential of flexible learning environments because the 
U.S. population of learners is predictably diverse. Federal investments 
made by NSF to support teachers and other educators, as well as 
learners of all ages must plan for this diversity. To ensure equity, it 
is vital that all learners, including K-12 students, hard-to-engage 
youth, first-time career seekers, or adults desiring new opportunities, 
have access to STEM workforce development as well as career pathways 
and programs that are designed with the variability of their learning 
in mind. Continuing to invest in educational innovations that 
incorporate effective implementation of UDL while prioritizing the need 
to include UDL as part of the infrastructure of STEM education, 
including faculty training and expanding community and individual 
awareness creates equity and makes sense.
    CAST appreciates the opportunity to provide recommendations to the 
subcommittee regarding the fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill and 
urges you to expand investments in the NSF as recommended. We look 
forward to working with you as you develop a final appropriations bill 
that supports the NSF and also recognizes UDL as a vital component to 
STEM education and career training to increase and sustain a vital 
workforce.

    [This statement was submitted by Linda G. Gerstle, CEO.]
                                 ______
                                 
    Prepared Statement of the Coastal States Organization, National 
Estuarine Research Reserve, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, IOOS 
                 Association, and Sea Grant Association
    support for fiscal year 2022 appropriations to promote climate 
 resilience and adaptation for the nation's oceans, coasts, and great 
                                 lakes
    This joint statement is submitted on behalf of the non-profit 
organizations listed above who share a deep concern for the health of 
the Nation's oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes. The members of our 
organizations work as partners to assist our coastal communities 
enhance their resilience by leveraging each other's contributions and 
strengths in an effort to ensure we maximize the use of our resources 
towards synergistic outcomes i.e., ``a whole that is greater than the 
sum of the parts.''
    America's coasts are highly desirable places to live, with growing 
populations, however, at this interface between land and water, coastal 
dynamics are constantly in flux, bringing a unique set of challenges:

  --COVID-19. The global COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and 
        compounded economic and social challenges at many levels, 
        particularly for disadvantaged communities.
  --Climate Change. Coastal residents are increasingly threatened by 
        hurricanes, fires, flooding, typhoons and tsunamis, as well as 
        chronic challenges, including coastal inundation (due to rising 
        sea levels and land subsidence), erosion, and increasing storm 
        intensity.
  --Racial Equity. Historically underserved and underrepresented 
        communities, particularly Black, Indigenous and people of 
        color, are disproportionately impacted by weather, climate, and 
        disease impacts.
  --Economic Recovery. Loss of jobs and market-related impacts have 
        been acutely felt in coastal communities.

    Coastal resilience is a complex and continuously evolving issue and 
effectively addressing it requires a collaborative framework of 
Federal, State, and local partners. NOAA's partner programs--Coastal 
Zone Management, Sea Grant, National Estuarine Research Reserves, 
National Marine Sanctuaries and the Integrated Ocean Observing System--
work together to provide tailored information, planning resources, 
protected land and water areas, science and science translation that 
provide a comprehensive and integrated set of services to address 
national priorities effectively at the local, State and regional level. 
Depending on geography and the specific challenge, each of these 
partners provides a critical tool in the toolbox needed to support 
communities in addressing coastal resilience and climate adaptation:

  --Innovative science is necessary to develop new coastal resource 
        management, protection, and restoration techniques.
  --Sustained observations and accurate data collection are necessary 
        to inform innovated science.
  --Modeling and visualization tools are necessary to translate data 
        into meaningful information to inform coastal decision-making.
  --Coastal zone management policies informed by data and science are 
        necessary to ensure wise management of the coasts.
  --Policies to enforce wise coastal management, resilience planning, 
        implementation of coastal restoration and resilient 
        infrastructure projects, and timely and robust coastal hazard 
        response are necessary to translate data and science into 
        effective coastal management
  --Education and communication resources for best practices and risk 
        communication are necessary to ensure that the public has 
        reliable and actionable information regarding coastal hazards.
  --Conservation, protection, and stewardship of coastal places is 
        necessary to provide coastal protections from coastal hazards 
        and to study sentinel-sites to inform coastal adaption and 
        hazard mitigation efforts.

    If any of these tools is missing, or Federal investments do not 
adequately support each of these tools, efforts to address coastal 
climate resilience and adaptation will be hampered and less effective. 
The immense challenges facing our coastal communities and ecosystems 
are much too large for any one organization to be able to solve alone. 
Thriving and collaborative partnerships are essential to supporting the 
vision of safe and sustainable coasts. Each of the partners here play a 
critical role in advancing coastal resilience and adaptation and 
actively work collaboratively to advance these goals.
    Over 126 million residents--40 percent of the population of the 
United States--live in coastal counties occupying only 10 percent of 
the U.S. landmass. These counties employ 56 million people, resulting 
in $3.4 trillion in wages annually, and produce more than $8.3 trillion 
in goods and services. Weather- and climate-related hazards, and the 
resulting loss of life as well as environmental and economic impacts, 
have increased at an alarming rate. Since 1980, the Nation experienced 
285 weather and climate disasters where overall damages reached or 
exceeded $1 billion. The cost of these 285 events exceeds $1.875 
trillion. Just in the last 5 years (2016-2020), the Nation was 
subjected to 81 events that resulted in nearly 4,000 deaths and damages 
that exceed $600 billion.
    These weather and climate coastal hazards threaten critical coastal 
infrastructure, water and food supplies, and lives and livelihoods. 
These hazards can create both governance challenges and social 
instability and have a disproportionate impact on under resourced 
communities and communities of color. The increasing physical and 
economic damages, social justice implications, and community 
devastation is testing governments at all levels, and have shown that 
more is needed to ensure that our coastal communities are prepared for, 
have taken mitigation measures to reduce the impact of, and are able to 
respond to and recover from major episodic and chronic weather and 
climate threats. To ensure coastal communities are prepared to address 
increasing coastal hazards, a robust investment in a networked 
resilience initiative is necessary.
    Sea Level Rise in New Hampshire.--New Hampshire Seacoast 
communities experience increasingly frequent and severe storm impacts. 
This can lead to devastating flooding, as seen in three back-to-back 
Nor'easters in 2018 that knocked out power to millions in New England, 
drove erosion that carved up the coast, and floated dumpsters down main 
streets in Hampton, NH. University of New Hampshire researchers with 
support from New Hampshire Sea Grant in partnership with staff at the 
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Service (NHDES)'s Coastal 
Program spearheaded the Coastal Landowner Technical Assistance Program 
(LTAP)--to guide residents through assessing and mitigating flooding 
and erosion risk on their properties. Since launching in 2019, LTAP has 
helped over 70 participants at 25 flood- and/or erosion-prone sites. 
LTAP provides consistent technical assistance to coastal landowners to 
help understand their potential coastal flood risks and restoration 
opportunities, clarify goals for managing their property, and identify 
conceptual options that may enhance the resilience of their properties, 
neighborhoods, and community's natural resources.
    South Carolina, Delaware, North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia--
Using Data to Prepare for Hurricanes and Severe Storm Impacts.--Downed 
power lines, flooding, damaged buildings--some hurricane impacts are 
easy to spot. Others, like changes in water salinity that impact local 
fisheries, are harder to assess. Not knowing where such changes occur, 
or how long they linger, is a perennial challenge for coastal decision 
makers. To meet this need, the National Estuarine Research Reserve 
System-Wide Monitoring Program (NERRS SWMP) and the Integrated Ocean 
Observing System (IOOS) along the East Coast partnered to track 
salinity changes that resulted from Hurricanes Joaquin in 2015 and 
Matthew in 2016. Both networks collect data that can be used to track 
storm signals: NERRS data typically comes from nearshore and upstream 
areas, and IOOS data is collected further offshore. By putting these 
datasets together, you can paint a picture of a hurricane and its 
impacts in near real-time as a storm moves along the coast and into the 
watershed. The team found that, depending on the location, the changes 
in salinity persisted for a week to more than a month after the storm 
had passed. Using visualizations and data mapping, they showed the 
magnitude and duration of these changes--powerful information for 
managers of fisheries that are sensitive to salinity. By forming an 
extended network of monitoring stations collecting data over large 
geographic areas, NERRS and IOOS have the potential to accelerate 
understanding of the science around a range of storm impacts and their 
drivers.
    Hawaiian Indigenous Seafoods, COVID, and Marine Conservation.--
Food, land, and people are closely interwoven in the mission of 
Hawai`i's He`eia National Estuarine Research Reserve. In 2020, the 
Reserve, Hawai'i Sea Grant Program, Paepae o He`eia and Kako`o `Oiwi 
tied these threads together to help food service workers hit hard by 
the COVID-19 pandemic with a professional development experience based 
on Indigenous seafood. Revitalizing Indigenous food systems and 
associated food culture is a central component of coastal and marine 
conservation in the Hawaiian Islands. In this 7-week training, 
participants explored the history, ecology, cultural practices, 
cultivation, and harvesting techniques of Indigenous seafoods and 
learned how to prepare and preserve them. The food service industry was 
one of the hardest hit in Hawai?i during the pandemic, with a 58 
percent loss of full-time employees between January and April 2020. In 
addition to professional development, training organizers worked to 
support employee retention, increase public understanding of local 
foods, and strengthen partnerships between Indigenous seafood 
practitioners and local restaurants. By providing a stipend to 
participants, the program also was a short-term source of income to 
workers facing unemployment or underemployment due to the pandemic. 
Participants have become informal educators, able to introduce and 
explain native foods and their preparation techniques to the public.
    Collaboration Enhances Hazard Resilience in Washington.--The 
Washington Coastal Zone Management Program (CZM), Washington Sea Grant 
(WSG), and the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) 
are longstanding partners in addressing Federal hazard resilience 
objectives along the State's 3,000-mile marine coastline by applying 
scientific and technical innovations to coastal management policy and 
community assistance programs. The team worked with science partners 
and pilot communities to produce localized sea level rise projections 
that are relevant to existing planning and funding processes. The 
project relied on Washington Sea Grant expertise to rapidly improve the 
scientific information and tools to evaluate risk, CZM planning and 
design guidance to support local adaptation strategies and NERR 
leadership to develop a new climate resilience series in the State's 
Coastal Training Program. A redesigned website for the Washington 
Coastal Hazards Resilience Network provides improved access to related 
technical information and case histories. The net effect has been 
greater collective capacity in Washington to support local initiatives.
    Building Alaskan Community Resilience to Harmful Algal Blooms.--The 
economic, environmental and health impact of harmful algal blooms 
(HABS) is increasing around the country as new species emerge and 
existing problems grow worse. For example, in Alaska the State saw its 
first paralytic shellfish poisoning fatality in more than a decade last 
year. The impacts of HABs on shellfish threaten public health and 
Alaska's economy, which includes an estimated $12.8 billion in economic 
output related to the annual commercial and wild shellfish harvest each 
year. In response to this growing threat, the Alaska Ocean Observing 
System supported detection and early warning of harmful algal blooms 
through the deployment of sensors, development of forecasts and data 
integration and management. The Kachemak Bay National Estuarine 
Research Reserve initiated an ongoing HABs community monitoring program 
that is helping citizens, businesses, and the State--which lacks a 
shellfish monitoring program--respond to the challenge. Working 
together--the Reserve joined the Alaska Sea Grant Program and the 
Alaska Ocean Observing System to form the statewide Alaska Harmful 
Algal Bloom Network. This collaboration is helping to understand and 
track HABs and their impacts on a harvest that yields 36 million pounds 
of wild food annually. These programs work with local shellfish 
growers, Tribes, and resource managers to support phytoplankton 
monitoring, shellfish sampling, workshops, risk communication training, 
public service announcements, and weekly monitoring reports.
    Oregon Shoreline Armoring.--Oregon Sea Grant (OSG) and the Oregon 
Coastal Zone Program within the Oregon Department of Land Conservation 
and Development (DLCD) was tasked with addressing shoreline armoring 
(the practice of using physical structures to protect shorelines from 
coastal erosion) in Goal 18 of Oregon's statewide land use planning 
goals on conserving and protecting Oregon's beaches and dunes, and on 
reducing hazards to human life and property. A diverse focus group, 
including a program manager from the Oregon Department of 
Transportation, a director of a public utility, a county planner, a 
city manager, an engineering geologist, an economist and a land use 
attorney, was asked to address key topics related to shoreline 
armoring. Permits for armoring are limited to areas of development 
prior to 1977, when goal 18 was implemented. The topic is 
controversial, with OSG playing a neutral role. The group ultimately 
produced a consensus report that is used by DLCD in its management of 
the Oregon coast.
    In conclusion, we urge the subcommittee to strongly support 
programs and initiatives in the fiscal year 2022 budget for NOAA) that 
collectively help strengthen our coastal communities' resilience 
specifically:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$107.9 million in fiscal year 2022 for   $40 million for National Oceans
 the National Sea Grant College Program   and Coastal Security Fund
 and $15 million for Sea Grant
 Aquaculture..
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$36.8 million for the Integrated Ocean   $88.5 million for Coastal
 Observing Program.                       Management Grants and $50.45
                                          million for Coastal Zone Mgt
                                          and Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$32 million for National Estuarine       $35 million for NOAA Education
 Research Reserve System operations and   programs
 $10 million for procurement,
 acquisition & construction.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$72 million for National Marine          $6 million for the Digital
 Sanctuaries operations and $8.5          Coast Program
 million for procurement, acquisition &
 construction.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes research, education, conservation, 
and resource management programs funded by this subcommittee are 
investments in the future health, resiliency, and well-being of our 
coastal communities which will result in returns of improved quality of 
life, as well as environmental and economic outcomes many times over 
the Federal investment. Thank you for the opportunity to provide this 
joint statement.

                                 ______
                                 
 Prepared Statement of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
    The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) is pleased 
to share our views on the Department of Commerce's fiscal Year 2022 
budget and has identified the following funding needs:

          $109.0 million for Salmon Management Activities of which:

        -- $26.5 million for Mitchell Act Programs to support on-going 
            operation and maintenance of the program and produce the 
            targeted fish mitigation numbers; and
        -- $43.5 million for the Pacific Salmon Treaty in annual 
            operations for the implementation of the 2019-2028 
            Agreement.

          $70 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund to 
        support on-the-ground salmon restoration activities.
          $4 million for Columbia River Pinniped Management to support 
        implementation of the MMPA Section 120(f) permit issued by 
        NOAA-F in 2019
          $80.8 million for Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) in 
        NOAA National Ocean Service budget

        -- $69.5 million supports IOOS Regional Associations, including 
            the NANOOS (Northwest Associations of Network Ocean 
            Observing Systems) regional association, which serves 
            Oregon and Washington.
        -- $11.3 million supports IOOS National program in the 
            Navigation, Observation and Positioning budget line.

    Background: The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission 
(CRITFC) was founded in 1977 by the four Columbia River treaty Tribes: 
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Confederated 
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, Confederated Tribes 
and Bands of the Yakama Nation, and the Nez Perce Tribe. CRITFC 
provides coordination and technical assistance to the Tribes in 
regional, national and international efforts to protect and restore 
fisheries and fish habitat.
    In 1855, the United States entered into treaties with the four 
Tribes.\1\ The Tribes ceded tens of millions of acres of our homelands 
to the U.S. and the U.S. pledged to honor our ancestral rights, 
including the right to fish at all usual and accustomed places. 
Unfortunately, a long history of hydroelectric development, habitat 
destruction, and over-fishing by non-Indians brought the salmon 
resource to the edge of extinction with 12 salmon and steelhead trout 
populations in the Columbia River basin listed under the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Treaty with the Yakama Tribe, June 6, 1855, 12 Stat. 951; 
Treaty with the Tribes of Middle Oregon, June 25, 1855, 12 Stat. 963; 
Treaty with the Umatilla Tribe, June 9, 1855, 12 Stat. 945; Treaty with 
the Nez Perce Tribe, June 11, 1855, 12 Stat. 9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Today, the treaties form the bedrock of fisheries management. The 
CRITFC Tribes are among the most successful fishery managers in the 
country, leading restoration efforts and working with State, Federal, 
and private entities. CRITFC's comprehensive plan, Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-
Kish-Wit, outlines principles and objectives designed to halt the 
decline of salmon, lamprey, and sturgeon populations and rebuild the 
fisheries to levels that support Tribal ceremonial, subsistence, and 
commercial harvests. To achieve these objectives, the plan emphasizes 
strategies that rely on natural production, healthy rivers, and 
collaborative efforts.
    Several key regional agreements were completed in 2008. The 
Columbia Basin Fish Accords set out parameters for management of the 
Federal Columbia River Power System for fish passage. New agreements in 
U.S. v. Oregon and the Pacific Salmon Commission established fishery 
management criteria for fisheries ranging from the Columbia River to 
Southeast Alaska. The U.S. v. Oregon agreement also contains provisions 
for hatchery management in the Columbia River basin. We have 
successfully secured other funds to support our efforts to implement 
these agreements, including funds from the Bonneville Power 
Administration (BPA), the Department of Interior, and the Southern Fund 
of the Pacific Salmon Treaty, to name just a few. Continued Federal 
funding support is needed to accomplish the management objectives 
embodied in the agreements.
Salmon Management Activities
    Columbia River (Mitchell Act) Hatchery Program: We request the 
Mitchell Act be funded at $26.5 million for fiscal Year 2022. The 
Mitchell Act enables Federal agencies to work with the Lower Columbia 
River treaty Tribes and the States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho to 
establish and operate a series of hatcheries and passage facilities to 
improve declining fish runs in the Columbia River, ensure conservation 
of these critical natural resources, maintain economically viable 
Tribal, commercial, and sports fisheries and provide prey for Southern 
Resident killer whales. Today, the Mitchell Act funds 60 programs that 
produce approximately 40 million fish annually--nearly 30 percent of 
the total salmon and steelhead production in the Columbia Basin.
    The request for an additional $4.5 million in Mitchell act funds 
above the fiscal Year 2021 funding level ($22 million) is to ensure 
that mitigation hatcheries maintain levels of production and meet new 
operating requirements consistent with Federal obligations. There is an 
obligation to treaty Tribes and other stakeholders for mitigation and 
in order to reach mitigation responsibilities, there must be full 
hatchery production.
    Pacific Salmon Treaty Program: CRITFC supports the U.S. Section 
recommendation of $43.5 million for implementation of the revised 
Pacific Salmon Treaty (Treaty).
    The Department of Commerce principally funds programs conducted by 
the States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska and the NMFS. 
However, the cost of programs conducted by these States to fulfill 
national commitments created by the Treaty continue to be substantially 
greater than the funding provided in the NMFS budget. Consequently, 
they have supplemented the Federal Treaty appropriations from other 
sources, including their general funds. Many of those funding sources 
are limited or no longer available and this has been exacerbated by the 
ongoing global pandemic.
    The $20 million increase in the fiscal Year 2020 budget and the $5 
million in the fiscal year 2021 budget were greatly appreciated, 
however it falls short of what the U.S. Section estimates is needed to 
fully implement the revised Annex Chapters to the Pacific Salmon 
Treaty.
    Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Program (PCSRF): The PCSRF program 
was developed in 2000 by the State of Alaska, the Pacific Northwest 
States, and the treaty Tribes since the renewal of the Pacific Salmon 
Treaty in 1995 to fulfill the unmet needs for the conservation and 
restoration of salmon stocks shared in the Tribal, State, and 
international fisheries. Since that time, the number of entities 
eligible for receiving funding has grown.
    PCSRF has funded 401 Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, Nez Perce, and 
CRITFC Tribal salmon recovery projects. These projects have contributed 
greatly to the PNW effort to avoid extinction of Columbia Basin salmon 
species and their habitat. Accomplishments include 4,581 stream miles 
monitored; 413 miles of stream made accessible to salmon; 4,971 acres 
of riparian area treated; 11,341 acres conserved by acquisition or 
lease; and 2 million salmon fry/smolts released annually. PCSRF is 
vital to fulfill the region's goal of full salmon recovery and 
sustainability of the fishery and provide for meaningful exercise of 
the treaty-reserved rights of the lower Columbia River treaty Tribes.
    The co-managers have developed an extensive matrix of performance 
standards to address accountability and performance standards, which 
includes the use of monitoring protocols to systematically track 
current and future projects basin-wide. The PCSRF projects implemented 
are based on the best science, adequately monitored, and address the 
limiting factors affecting salmon restoration. Projects undertaken by 
the Tribes are consistent with CRITFC's salmon restoration plan and the 
programmatic areas identified by Congress.
    We recommend a funding level of $70 million for the PCSRF fiscal 
Year 2022 allocation. Long-term economic benefits can be achieved by 
making PCSRF investments on-the- ground to rebuild sustainable, 
harvestable salmon populations into the future.
    Columbia River Section 120 (f) Pinniped Removal Program: Since 
2002, sea lions in the Columbia River have significantly impacted 
endangered and threatened stocks of salmon and steelhead. Sea lions 
also prey on Pacific lamprey and mature sturgeon below Bonneville Dam, 
and on listed salmon and steelhead runs in the Willamette River and 
other tributaries to the Columbia River. Thirty-two wild salmon 
populations bound for the upper Columbia and Snake rivers are 
vulnerable to predation by sea lions immediately below Bonneville Dam. 
Other ESA-listed salmon and steelhead populations passing through the 
lower Columbia River when sea lions are feeding include lower Columbia 
River chinook, lower Columbia River steelhead, middle Columbia River 
steelhead, Snake River basin steelhead, upper Willamette River chinook, 
and upper Willamette River steelhead. All six of these are listed as 
``threatened'' under the ESA.
    Despite non-lethal and limited lethal-take measures, the number of 
salmon and steelhead consumed by sea lions below Bonneville Dam more 
than doubled between 2006 and 2015, as larger Steller sea lions 
increased in numbers and began to take a higher toll; management and 
Federal authorization was initially focused on California sea lions and 
not Steller sea lions. In response, Congress amended the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act (MMPA) in December 2018 to provide State and Tribal 
resource managers greater flexibility to manage sea lions. In August, 
2020, the Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Warm Springs along with 
Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, received a MMPA Section 120(f) permit 
from the National Marine Fisheries Service to actively manage pinniped 
populations in the lower Columbia River and its tributaries. The 
authority under this permit increases the scope and scale from earlier 
management efforts and expands lethal removal authority to also include 
Steller sea lions. This permit expands the area of potential removals 
and will increase removal activity from 3 months per year to 10 or more 
months per year. Previously, removing sea lions required a multistep 
process which included branding the animals and identifying repeat 
offenders. This new authority will streamline that process and, as a 
result, will increase the number of trappings and removals. In order to 
fully implement the Section 120(f) permit, the States and Tribes are 
requesting $4 million in Federal funds. This will supplement current 
State and Tribal contributions.
    Regional and National Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) in 
NOAA National Ocean Service budget: CRITFC supports the Commerce 
Department's recommendation of $69.5 million for IOOS Regional 
Associations, and $11.3 million in the Navigation, Observations and 
Positioning line for IOOS national program efforts.
    The Commerce Department's budget justification requests increased 
funding for the National IOOS office to create and foster natural and 
economic resilience, including the creation of a Marine Life Program in 
IOOS, and to improve data management and cyberinfrastructure (DMAC) to 
enhance Regional IOOS expertise for stakeholder engagement and co-
development of IOOS decision support products and services.
    IOOS is the Nation's premier coastal and Great Lakes observing 
program, providing information that helps protect lives, economies, and 
our environment. Fully funding IOOS consistent with the Commerce 
Department's budget request will maintain and improve critical program 
management and system development. Prior years' funding levels for IOOS 
have been insufficient to fully fund the identified regional needs for 
observation and modeling that are essential for understanding threats 
to Columbia River salmon in the estuary and ocean.
    In 2020, CRITFC assumed responsibility for the Coastal Margin 
Observation and Prediction (CMOP) program, a modeling and observation 
system covering the Columbia River estuary and coastal ocean. CMOP is 
funded as a component of NANOOS (Northwest Ocean Observing System, the 
Regional Association serving Oregon and Washington. As a Regional 
Association, NANOOS works with local experts, scientists, managers, 
industry, and stakeholders within the community to understand needs, 
identify priorities, and determine cost-effective solutions. NANOOS is 
committed to addressing national priorities in a manner that is 
tailored to the unique needs of our region and that will make a 
difference to stakeholders and constituents.
    In summary, the CRITFC and our four member Tribes have developed 
the capacity and infrastructure to become the regional leaders in 
restoring and rebuilding salmon populations of the Columbia Basin. Our 
collective efforts protect our treaty-reserved fishing rights and 
provides healthy, harvestable salmon populations for all citizens to 
enjoy. We will be pleased to provide any additional information that 
this subcommittee may require.
    Contact: Paul Ward, Director of Government Affairs, 
[email protected].

    [This statement was submitted by Jeremy Takala, Chairman.]
                                 ______
                                 
       Prepared Statement of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership
    On behalf of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL), which 
represents our Nation's leading ocean science, research, and technology 
organizations from academia, industry, and the larger nonprofit sector, 
I appreciate the opportunity to submit for the record our fiscal year 
2022 funding priorities for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
    The last year brought unprecedented challenges to our Nation and 
our world, challenges whose impacts we will be feeling for years to 
come. As our Nation moves from relief to recovery to resilience, it is 
critically important the Federal Government continue to invest in 
sciences outside the medical realm, increasing support for our ocean 
science agencies and programs. As the world's leading maritime nation, 
the success of our National economy is deeply tied to that of the 
maritime, or ``blue'' economy, and a resilient national recovery must 
include a significant revitalization of the blue economy. The blue 
economy has weathered previous recessions better than the overall 
economy; by 2016, employment had increased by 14.5 percent compared to 
pre-recession levels (2007), dwarfing the 4.8 percent employment growth 
of the National economy. Projections also show the growth of the blue 
economy is likely to outpace that of the global economy. While a strong 
pillar of our economy, the blue economy is not exempt from the negative 
impacts of COVID, and it's clear that its revitalization will be 
critical to ensuring our post-COVID economic prosperity.
    Investing in ocean science and technology, in addition to growing 
the blue economy, will allow us to understand our changing ocean and 
climate, enable science-based decision making on topics ranging from 
resource management to offshore wind, protect our coastal communities, 
enable resilience, and strengthen our National security. NOAA, NSF, and 
NASA each play important roles in understanding our Earth system--
including the ocean, in educating our Nation's citizens to create a 
more environmental- and ocean-literate society; in growing a diverse 
and equitable Federal workforce; and much more. Additionally, these 
agencies are already heavily invested in climate research, and it is 
necessary to support and grow these existing programs, as well as the 
opportunity to grow coordination and collaboration across related issue 
areas.
    I appreciate and support the administration's widespread increases 
to ocean agencies and programs in the president's budget request. 
However, I was disappointed in the flat funding ($3 million) proposed 
for the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP). Given the 
current energy surrounding the program, due in part to its 
reauthorization in fiscal year 2021, and the increasingly important 
role of cross-sectoral partnerships, a more robust investment would 
ensure the rapid and flexible creation of multisector partnerships to 
solve complex ocean problems and to advance the economic, 
environmental, and national security interests of the United States. 
Increased investment would also signal to non-Federal partners the 
government's acknowledgement of the importance of their role and the 
potential for partnerships to advance our ocean enterprise. To fully 
utilize NOPP and facilitate the success of projects promoting national 
goals related to ocean knowledge, I respectfully request the 
subcommittee provide at least $20 million in NOPP funding--$10 million 
to NOAA and $10 million to NASA, and I also encourage strong support of 
the program through NSF. Of the $10 million to NOAA, at least $1 
million should be directed to the Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP), 
NOPP's statutory Federal Advisory Committee Act body, as NOAA is now 
statutorily required through the fiscal year 2021 reauthorization to 
provide administrative and technical support.
            national oceanic and atmospheric administration

 I respectfully request at least $7.2 billion for NOAA (3 percent more 
                           than the request).

    To make the best, proactive management decisions possible, it is 
necessary that we first understand our ocean. So much of our ocean 
remains unknown-more than 80 percent is unexplored, unmapped, or 
unobserved. We must grow our Nation's ability to both observe and to 
explore the ocean. I respectfully request at least:

  --$100 million for the Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (130 
        percent more than the request), the only Federal organization 
        dedicated to ocean exploration. Due to the cooperative nature 
        of the enterprise, I also request report language addressing 
        the importance of collaboration and coordination among Federal 
        and State agencies, academic institutions, industry, Indigenous 
        communities, philanthropy and other oceanographic partners to 
        maximize return on investment and advance shared data, science 
        and public engagement, and innovative technology.
  --$69.5 million for the U.S Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) 
        regional system (equal to the request), which includes at least 
        $40.2 million for the National network of regional coastal 
        observing systems; $2.5 million to install high-frequency radar 
        systems to close gaps in the surface current mapping system, 
        $3.5 million to support underwater gliders; $2.5 million to 
        streamline observations, coastal resiliency, and coastal 
        climate observations; $3.5 million to expand pilot projects for 
        a National Harmful Algal Bloom Observing Network; and $4.3 
        million for ocean technology and modeling innovation. 
        Additionally, I request at least $7.3 million for the Program 
        Office. I also support language in the request around the 
        establishment of a Marine Life Program and the $15 million in 
        external grant funding to expand marine life observations 
        (which should include activities around eDNA and 'omics), 
        support analysis, and forecast implications of climate change. 
        Finally, I support authorizing language around maintaining and 
        expanding the Ocean Noise Reference Station Network (in 
        coordination with IOOS) and request $1.5 million for this work.
  --$66.8 million for the Sustained Ocean Observations and Monitoring 
        Program (SOOM) (equal to the request) to maintain observations 
        to better understand and respond to changing ocean conditions. 
        SOOM, whose funding has remained essentially flat since fiscal 
        year 2005, funds an array of monitoring capabilities necessary 
        to understand the long-term impacts of the changing climate; to 
        enhance hurricane forecasting, tsunami warning systems, and 
        storm surge monitoring; to improve weather forecasting; to 
        assess and plan for environmental variability and change; and 
        to sustainably manage marine ecosystems.
  --$10 million for Uncrewed Systems (150 percent more than the 
        request) within the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 
        to advance research and evalution for operational readiness, 
        including testing and evaluation in partnership with academia, 
        industry, and other non-governmental organizations in support 
        of the CENOTE Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-394). I respectfully 
        request at least half the funding be for uncrewed maritime 
        systems and that, to the extent practicable, funds be 
        competitively awarded in open competition.

    NOPP is not the only partnership program that brings great benefit 
to the ocean science community. Many programs at NOAA advance 
cooperation and coordination between Federal and non-Federal partners 
and provide extramural funding opportunities. I respectfully request at 
least:

  --$42 million for the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science 
        Competitive Research Program (NCCOS CRP) (equal to the 
        request), which has supported coastal and Great Lakes States 
        and U.S. territories with groundbreaking and innovative 
        research over the last 30 years. The $68.5 million has funded 
        113 projects around a variety of topics, including harmful 
        algal blooms (HABs), hypoxia, coastal change, and regional 
        ecosystems. However, the program has received many more 
        proposals than it has funded, with more than $441 million 
        requested. Continuing to grow this account is necessary to 
        support the increasing demand for these funds to address HABs 
        and hypoxia challenges.
  --$115.7 million for the National Sea Grant College Program (Sea 
        Grant) (equal to the request) and $15 million for Sea Grant 
        (Marine) Aquaculture (15 percent above the request). For 
        decades, Sea Grant has supported coastal and Great Lakes 
        communities, improving community and economic resiliency, 
        ensuring healthy coastal ecosystems, and advancing 
        environmental literacy and workforce education.

    The importance of STEM education and extensions programs cannot be 
overstated. Expanding and growing our ocean-STEM pipeline to reach 
underserved and underrepresented communities is an imperative, as the 
ocean sciences severely lack diversity. This will also benefit the 
ocean-STEM pipeline and associated workforce, whose stability and 
diversity are at risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lingering 
inequities. I respectfully request at least:

  --$50 million for NOAA's Office of Education (22 percent more than 
        the request), including a $20 million increase for NOAA's Bay-
        Watershed Education and Training and Environmental Literacy 
        Program grants (ELP). Sustained and adequate funding for these 
        programs advances NOAA's mission, grows the STEM workforce, and 
        strengthens our economy. As the longest-standing and most 
        comprehensive national grants program with a focus on 
        environmental literacy, ELP grants have and will continue to 
        keep our coastal communities--and our Nation as a whole--safe, 
        secure, and prosperous.
                      national science foundation

I respectfully request at least $10.2 billion for the agency (equal to 
                             the request).

    I thank the subcommittee for providing $127 million in fiscal year 
2019 to finish out the 3-year funding profile to complete construction 
of all three Regional Class Research Vessels (RCRVs). With more modern 
technology and abilities than previous generations, these long-awaited 
RCRVs will provide even more access to the marine realm, and I 
respectfully request the subcommittee maintain full operational and 
maintenance support for these critical research vessels, including 
funding needs related to COVID-19 delays and impacts. I appreciate the 
committee's efforts to bring the RCRVs online and believe now is the 
time to initiate conversations focused on ensuring continued access to 
Global Class Research Vessels in the future.
    NSF's Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) supports basic research 
from the ocean to the poles to the atmosphere. GEO is only growing in 
relevance to NSF's mission, particularly as we gain a better 
understanding of the impacts of a changing climate on everything from 
the ocean and human health to its role as an essential element of our 
National security. This research will help our Nation meet the 
challenges of today, particularly around the changing climate, from 
understanding, adapting to, and mitigating the impacts of change to 
predicting environmental hazards and extreme events. I respectfully 
urge strong support for GEO to help us understand our global 
environment.
    STEM education at NSF plays a vital role in securing our National, 
homeland, economic, energy, food, and water securities. Broadening the 
backgrounds of scientists to represent all people across our Nation, 
better reflecting our diversity of gender, race, class, and 
perspective, is critical for all STEM fields. A diverse, STEM-literate 
workforce strengthens our Nation's economy and is vital to maintaining 
the Nation's leadership in science and technology innovation. It is 
imperative to reinforce the importance of funding Federal programs that 
empower underrepresented groups to become the next generation of ocean-
STEM leaders at every educational and technical level. The NSF INCLUDES 
(Inclusion across the Nation of Communities and Learners of 
Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) program aims 
to increase access to and participation in STEM learning by demographic 
groups with historically low participation in these fields. Programs 
such as this--that support a more diversified academic core in the 
science and technology workforce--are key to ensuring the inclusion of 
underrepresented groups and in growing our blue economy, and I 
respectfully urge strong support for NSF INCLUDES.
    U.S. investment in scientific ocean drilling over the past 55 years 
has been vital to the health and sustainability of our Nation and our 
planet. Scientific ocean drilling has been and will continue to be a 
foundational platform to make advances of acute societal relevance and 
resilience. For example, it has allowed us to grow our understanding of 
past climate change and sea level rise and is critical to our 
understanding of future climate risk and the assessment of possible 
adaptation and remediation scenarios. Additionally, it has been and 
will continue to provide the critical insights and state-of-the-art 
monitoring data that will enable more reliable forecasts and 
assessments related to understanding the tectonic processes that result 
in mega-earthquakes and tsunami, which cause some of our planet's 
deadliest and most costly natural disasters, impacting highly 
vulnerable communities. Scientific ocean drilling also provides an 
opportunity to grow our STEM leadership and to diversify our workforce 
and represents one of this Nation's most successful, productive, and 
impactful investments advancing national STEM education and basic 
research. Maintaining U.S. leadership in scientific ocean drilling--
through beginning to take actions necessary to build and support 
operations of a new drill ship to carry the International Ocean 
Discovery Program beyond the 2024 horizon that it is scheduled to end--
is of the utmost importance.
             national aeronautics and space administration
    Understanding our home planet is central to NASA's mandate, and 
space provides a unique perspective from which to understand Earth on a 
planetary scale. To grow our understanding of Earth--and to better 
prioritize understanding the changing climate--I respectfully request 
at least $9 billion for the Science Mission Directorate (14 percent 
more than the request) and at least $2.5 billion for NASA Earth Science 
(9 percent more than the request). This should include support for the 
agency's Earth-facing missions, specifically the Plankton, Aerosol, 
Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission and the Climate Absolute Radiance 
and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder instrument. Both were 
recommendations from the 2007 Earth Science decadal survey.
    Education programs bringing students into the STEM pipeline are 
critically important and need to increase their outreach to attract and 
retain underserved and underrepresented students in STEM fields. I 
request at least $147 million for the Office of STEM Engagement (equal 
to the request).
    By maintaining and growing these funding levels across all three 
agencies, the committee would also be supporting our Nation's 
leadership on recently announced U.S.-led initiatives that are part of 
the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

    [This statement was submitted by Dr. Alan P Leonardi, President and 
CEO.]
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of the Consortium of Social Science Associations
     support of fiscal year 2022 funding for the national science 
foundation, census bureau, national institute of justice, and bureau of 
                           justice statistics
    On behalf of the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA), 
I offer this written testimony for inclusion in the official committee 
record. For fiscal year 2022, COSSA urges the Committee to appropriate:

  --$10.2 billion for the National Science Foundation
  --$2 billion for the Census Bureau
  --$42 million for the National Institute of Justice
  --$50 million for the Bureau of Justice Statistics

    First, allow me to thank the Committee for its long-standing, 
bipartisan support for scientific research. Strong, sustained funding 
for all U.S. science agencies is essential if we are to make progress 
toward improving the health and economic competitiveness of the Nation. 
The need for increased investment in science has become even more 
pronounced in light of the disruptions caused over the past year by the 
COVID-19 pandemic.
    COSSA serves as a united voice for a broad, diverse network of 
organizations, institutions, communities, and stakeholders who care 
about a successful and vibrant social and behavioral science research 
enterprise. We represent the collective interests of all STEM 
disciplines engaged in the rigorous study of why and how humans behave 
as they do as individuals, groups and within institutions, 
organizations, and society.
    Social and behavioral science research is supported across the 
Federal Government, including at the National Science Foundation and 
the Department of Justice. Further, Federal statistics produced by the 
Census Bureau and other Federal statistical agencies provide data 
needed to conduct social science research to inform policy decisions. 
Taken together, Federal social and behavioral science and statistical 
data help provide answers to complex, human-centered questions.
    In short, knowledge derived from social and behavioral science 
research has made our population healthier, our democracy fairer, our 
Nation safer, and our economy stronger, and not just in times of 
crisis. Without these sciences, policymaking on major national and 
global issues would not be based on evidence, and billions of dollars 
would be wasted.
                      national science foundation
    COSSA joins the broader scientific community in support of $10.2 
billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in fiscal year 2022. 
The U.S. scientific enterprise, including NSF, requires stability, 
predictability, and sustainable funding growth, as well as Federal 
policies that are patient and can tolerate a reasonable amount of risk 
in order to achieve the greatest payoff.
Supporting All of STEM
    NSF is the only U.S. Federal agency tasked with supporting basic 
research across all fields of science. NSF supports about a quarter of 
all federally funded basic scientific research conducted at colleges 
and universities nationwide and serves as the largest single funder of 
university-based basic social and behavioral science research. Though 
NSF's Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE)--one 
of seven research directorates at NSF--represents less than five 
percent of the entire NSF research budget, it supports around two-
thirds of total Federal funding for academic basic research in the 
social and behavioral sciences (excluding psychology). As the primary 
funding source for the majority of our disciplines, stagnant or reduced 
funding for SBE has an outsized impact on the social and behavioral 
science community. As increased investment is made in NSF, we are 
hopeful the social, behavioral and economic sciences will see 
commensurate investments.
    Further, while by far the smallest of the research directorates, 
SBE's impact is huge. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering 
and Medicine stated in its 2017 consensus report, The Value of Social, 
Behavioral, and Economic Sciences to National Priorities,\1\ that 
``nearly every major challenge the United States faces-from alleviating 
unemployment to protecting itself from terrorism-requires understanding 
the causes and consequences of people's behavior. Even societal 
challenges that at first glance appear to be issues only of medicine or 
engineering or computer science have social and behavioral 
components.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24790/the-value-of-social-
behavioral-and-economic-sciences-to-national-priorities
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Keeping NSF Competitive
    Authorizing proposals for NSF have surfaced in the last year, 
particularly proposals to create new directorates at the agency 
focusing on technology transfer and convergence research. The bills 
would authorize significant funding increases to achieve their goals, 
which is greatly appreciated and needed. COSSA hopes that any effort to 
embolden NSF to continue exploring the frontiers of science will be met 
with a commitment to maintaining the agency's defining characteristic, 
which is to be the incubator for basic scientific discovery across all 
areas of science. NSF's investigator-initiated, discovery-driven 
identity is what makes it special and has kept the American science 
enterprise at the leading edge of innovation. We look forward to 
working with the authorizing committees to develop a roadmap for NSF 
that keeps it at the upper echelon of innovation and urge appropriators 
to stay mindful of NSF's longstanding, unique role as part of the U.S. 
scientific enterprise.
               census bureau, u.s. department of commerce
    COSSA requests that the Committee appropriate $2 billion for the 
Census Bureau in fiscal year 2022. Social scientists across the country 
rely on the Census Bureau for accurate, timely, objective, and relevant 
data to better understand the U.S. population and to produce findings 
that help us shape policies that better serve the American people.
    After a decade in which the Census Bureau received inconsistent and 
delayed funding, had to curtail essential research and testing of 
operations, and experienced significant pandemic-related disruptions, 
investments are needed to not only help the agency recover, but to also 
help it improve the collection and delivery of official statistics for 
the Nation. A modest increase in funding in fiscal year 2022 could help 
the Census Bureau recover from years of postponed enhancements, sustain 
and strengthen its mission, and pursue numerous necessary operational 
innovations. In March 2021, GAO kept the Census on its list of ``High 
Risk'' government operations, in part due to these factors.
    These efforts are intended to provide the public and private 
sectors with more robust, granular and timely data for decision-making. 
COSSA supports efforts in Congress to provide the Bureau with greater 
authority for multi-year funding, beginning in fiscal year 2022, to 
strengthen the innovations necessary to consolidate and integrate 
legacy surveys and systems into a new, more nimble data collection and 
dissemination model.
    In addition, COSSA calls on Congress to fully fund the American 
Community Survey (ACS) and maintain its status as a mandatory Federal 
survey. The ACS is the only source of comparable, consistent, timely, 
and high-quality demographic and socio-economic data for all 
communities in the U.S. As a component of the Decennial Census, the ACS 
is a ``mandatory'' national survey. The disruptions to the 2020 Census 
caused by the pandemic and natural disasters will likely have an impact 
on the quality of census data at smaller geographic levels, particular 
in rural areas. The Census Bureau needs additional funds to expand the 
ACS sample size (which has not been expanded since 2011) to produce 
more timely, granular data for a significant number of geographies and 
sub-populations than currently achievable. This would provide 
communities more timely data to fill in any gaps in the 2020 results.
       national institute of justice, u.s. department of justice
    COSSA requests that the Committee appropriate at least $42 million 
for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) within the U.S. Department 
of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP). NIJ serves as the 
research arm of the Department of Justice, filling an important role in 
helping the agency to understand and implement science-based strategies 
for crime prevention and control. It supports rigorous social science 
research that can be disseminated to criminal justice professionals to 
keep communities safe.
    Despite our growing need for objective, science-backed solutions, 
over the past decade, NIJ's purchasing power has dropped by 36 percent 
due to the combined effect of declining appropriations and inflation. 
Compounding this pressure are Congressionally-mandated directives for 
specific activities, nearly always without the inclusion of additional 
funding to the agency's bottom line. Nearly 40 percent of NIJ's fiscal 
year 2021 appropriation is directed to Congressionally requested 
research, not including a number of additional projects requested 
without allocated funding.
        bureau of justice statistics, u.s. department of justice
    COSSA urges the Committee to appropriate at least $50 million for 
the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) within OJP. As the Department's 
principal statistical agency, the Bureau of Justice Statistics produces 
high-quality data on all aspects of the United States criminal justice 
system, including corrections, courts, crime type, law enforcement 
personnel and expenditures, Federal processing of criminal cases, 
Indian country justice statistics, and victims of crime.
    Despite a growing demand from policymakers, researchers, and other 
stakeholders for high-quality criminal justice data across an expanding 
array of variables, BJS has also faced significant budgetary challenges 
over the past decade. The agency's purchasing power has dropped by more 
than 37 percent since fiscal year 2011 due to the combined effect of 
declining appropriations and inflation. This decline in funding has a 
direct impact on BJS's ability to release its data in a timely manner. 
Over the past several years, the release of numerous reports and 
datasets have been delayed--in some cases by several years. In 
addition, annually collected data has been combined into 2-year 
reports, further increasing the lag between collection and public 
release. Data users' frustrations have been exacerbated by the fact 
that BJS's overall dissemination practices are antiquated and out of 
step with current best practices for statistical agencies. The agency's 
website has not had a significant update since at least 2011 and lags 
its peer statistical agencies in terms of usability, accessibility, and 
visualizations. BJS needs additional investment to ensure it has the 
resources to produce and release data in a timely manner, as well as to 
enhance its capacity to disseminate the invaluable data to stakeholders 
who rely on it.
    Thank you for the opportunity to offer this statement. Please do 
not hesitate to contact me should you require additional information.

    [This statement was submitted by Wendy A. Naus, Executive 
Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
Prepared Statement of the Court Appointed Special Advocates/Guardian ad 
                                 Litem
    Chairman Leahy, Chair Shaheen, Vice Chairman Shelby, Ranking Member 
Moran, and Members of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related 
Agencies subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit remarks 
on the Department of Justice (DOJ) fiscal year 2022 budget including 
funding of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program through 
the Office of Justice Programs' State and Local Law Enforcement 
Assistance Account at the fiscal year 2022 President's budget request 
level of $14 million.
    CASA/GAL advocacy is a well-established model strongly associated 
with improved long-term outcomes for child victims, for which the need 
continues to be critical. With Congressional support at the requested 
level, the CASA/GAL network in 49 States and the District of Columbia 
will enhance and advance specialized training, tools, and resources to 
continue delivering vital one-on-one best-interest advocacy that 
addresses the complex and ever-evolving needs of traumatized children 
who have been victimized by one or more primary caregivers.
    Emerging issues such as the commercial sexual exploitation of 
children and our Nation's growing opioid epidemic--for which children 
account for an increasing number of victims--both necessitate a greater 
specialization within one-on-one advocacy, with a keen and deliberate 
focus on progressing toward the call within the Victims of Child Abuse 
Act to serve every child victim. As we enrich CASA/GAL advocacy to 
encompass evolving direct service needs, our National network will 
further strengthen its capacity to serve over 276,000 child victims of 
abuse and neglect.
    Child victimization and maltreatment by primary caregivers is 
distressingly on the rise, and with it, so too rises the impact on the 
child and society. Traumatized victims of child abuse and neglect face 
significant and multiple risk factors, most notably, juvenile 
delinquency, adult criminality, and poor educational performance that 
affects future employment and stability. These issues result in a hefty 
impact on Federal, State and local spending--at least one-quarter of 
the DOJ budget is dedicated to our Nation's prison system, and at the 
same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
estimates the economic and social costs of child abuse and neglect to 
total $124 billion nationwide per annum. Local CASA/GAL programs offer 
an effective service to child victims of abuse and neglect that 
improves outcomes, increases the efficient functioning of our court 
systems, and saves hundreds of millions in Federal and State taxpayer 
dollars annually in the process.
    CASA/GAL programs are, at the heart of their operation, a highly 
effective leveraging of community-based resources to provide dedicated 
and sustained one-on-one advocacy for child victims and advise the 
courts of the child's best interests and needs throughout abuse and 
neglect proceedings. Research has shown that the presence of a caring, 
consistent adult in the life of a child victim is associated with 
improved long-term outcomes. These efforts, which focus on helping the 
child find a safe, permanent home where they can both heal and thrive, 
require thorough background screening, specialized training, and 
resources to promote a nationwide system of programs that adhere to and 
assure the highest quality of services and care for the child victim.
    CASA Program funds through DOJ achieve and uphold national standard 
setting, assessment, accountability, and evaluation across nearly 950 
local, State, and Tribal programs to promote improved child outcomes 
and effective stewardship of public investments in victim advocacy. 
Evidence-based practices, intensive technical assistance, direct 
program guidance and partnerships, and national program standards and 
quality assurance processes all lie at the foundation of effective 
CASA/GAL program service delivery in communities across the Nation.
    Given the nature of the CASA/GAL advocates' intensive work with 
child victims of abuse and neglect, standards of rigorous screening, 
training, supervision, and service are implemented nationwide, with 
congressional support, to ensure consistent quality for victims who 
directly benefit from having their needs and rights championed in the 
courtroom and in the community. Comprehensive pre-service, in-service, 
and issue-focused training curricula--including training in 
disproportionality, cultural competency, and working with older youth--
ensures a cutting edge approach to victim services centered on the 
child thriving well into the future as a member of the community. 
Federal support is foundational to the solid and high-quality 
functioning of a national child advocacy network for victims of abuse 
and neglect.
    As the needs of child victims of abuse and neglect grow and change, 
so must the specialization of one-on-one advocacy and services by CASA/
GAL programs. Since the Victims of Child Abuse Act was passed, the 
landscape of victims' services for children has evolved significantly. 
Researchers and practitioners know more now than ever about trauma, and 
its associated impacts on child development, as well as the significant 
and multiple risk factors and issues faced by abused and neglected 
children such as mental health/post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 
commercial sex trafficking, overmedication, and the growing effects of 
substance abuse and the opioid epidemic in particular. Further, we know 
that youth of color in particular face very significant challenges--in 
addition to victimization--on their path to a thriving adulthood. CASA/
GAL advocates bring one-on-one attention and a dedicated focus to each 
of the issues that the child victim faces, but additional resources are 
needed to enhance and build their knowledge base as part of a 
continuous advocacy development process.
    These complex issues warrant adaptive and responsive training, 
technical assistance, and resources, while continuing on a trajectory 
of maintaining quality care and services within current CASA/GAL 
caseloads and also simultaneously building the capacity to take on 
additional cases when appointed by the court. National CASA/GAL 
Association is committed to continuous improvement of training, 
technical assistance, and resource delivery to strengthen and support 
local CASA/GAL programs and State organizations to help advocates 
remain at the forefront of emerging child welfare issues.
    Federal support at the requested level is instrumental to bridging 
advocacy training and best practice tools into multiple and new 
emerging issue areas including child sex trafficking, substance abuse 
and opioid-overuse, and the overmedication of child victims, for 
example. Advocates need to be well versed in warning signs for these 
issues, as well as the available services, resources, and coordination 
of community and court efforts in order to best address the child 
victim's case.
    Fiscal year 2022 funding of $14 million will be targeted to 
fortifying resources and training generally for CASA/GAL programs, and 
in key focus areas including commercial sexual exploitation, children 
impacted by substance abuse disorders, children of incarcerated parents 
and young people aging out of foster care, based upon existing best 
practices and models. In addition, this Federal funding will be used to 
target resources to serve over 276,000 child victims of abuse and 
neglect, and continue efforts toward the development of State CASA/GAL 
organizations in the States currently without this resource that 
enhances support of program service delivery in local communities. 
Additional projects include sustaining development of training on best 
practices in addressing the needs of children impacted by the opioid 
epidemic and other forms of substance abuse, child sex trafficking, 
unaccompanied children and addressing racial disproportionality in 
child welfare and the need for racially and culturally sensitive 
recruitment and matching of CASA/GAL advocates.
    According to the most recent government data available, the number 
of child maltreatment cases has increased to over 700,000 per annum. 
This remains a significant population with equally significant and 
complex issues and risk factors. Without the benefit of a specially 
trained CASA/GAL advocate that is able to devote dedicated time and 
attention to the details of the case, the child victim faces a complex 
and cumbersome court process and foster care system that is 
overwhelmed, overburdened, and under-resourced. Our ability as a 
national network to serve every child victim of abuse and neglect is 
directly tied to strengthening and expanding a foundational and 
interwoven program of advocate training, technical assistance, 
standards, tools, and resources that are funded with DOJ support.
    While children who are the victims of maltreatment have suffered 
deep layers of trauma, these experiences do not have to be their only 
life story. Juvenile detention and adult incarceration do not have to 
be the path to their future. Substance abuse, PTSD, homelessness, and 
joblessness do not have to be the basis of their experiences. We can 
change their trajectory, together, with congressional support.
    Caring, dedicated, and extensively trained CASA/GAL advocates bring 
about positive changes in the lives of child victims. Full funding is 
needed to continue expanding the advocate pipeline, enhance the 
training, resources, and services provided to and through CASA/GAL 
programs, and strengthen outcomes for future members of our Nation's 
workforce.
    We urge the subcommittee to support the President's fiscal year 
2022 budget request for the Court Appointed Special Advocates Program 
to address the overwhelming need for dedicated advocacy on behalf of 
child victims of abuse and neglect. Thank you for your consideration.

    [This statement was submitted by Tara L. Perry, Chief Executive 
Officer.]
                                 ______
                                 
                  Prepared Statement of CRS Remembered
                          Nos Quoque Servivit
Dear Representative De Lauro and Senator Shaheen:

    CRS Remembered, a private membership organization of retired and 
former employees of the Community Relations Service (CRS)of the U.S. 
Department of Justice, respectfully urges the subcommittee on Commerce, 
Justice, Science, and Related Agencies to provide CRS with a budget of 
not less than $50-million.for its community peace building efforts.
    As you know CRS is the only Federal agency that is specifically 
dedicated to working with community groups and local government 
agencies to prevent, de-escalate, and resolve community-wide conflicts 
based on race, color, and national origin. It was established by 
Congress at a time in 1964 when our country was experiencing increasing 
levels of divisive racial tensions . In this regard at the signing of 
the historic 1964 Civil Right Act President Lyndon Johnson said, 
``come, let us reason together.'' Clearly, now is the time for Congress 
to step up again to support the ideals of a democratic society that 
comes together to work out its racial. Ethnic and other social 
differences thru dialogue at a peace table instead of thru 
confrontation and violence at the street level.
    As the U.S. again hits historic levels of polarization and 
division, America needs CRS (the nation's peacemaker) to effectively 
help civic non-governmental organizations and local government agencies 
resolve local conflicts arising out of differences based on race color, 
national origin and other underlying personal human attributes. 
Unfortunately, CRS is now down to just 16 peacemaking mediators for the 
entire number of States and territories under its jurisdiction. 
President Biden's fiscal year 2022 budget requests $20-million for CRS, 
a funding level is simply not enough to make a dent in the enormous 
problem of endemic intracommunity divisiveness that plagues our Nation 
today.
    In closing we again urge you to invest in America's domestic 
peacebuilding capacity by providing at least $50-million to CRS to also 
include a funding a grants program to support domestic locally-based, 
non-profit peace making groups.

    [This statement was submitted by Miguel J. Hernandez on behalf of 
CRS Remembered.]
                                 ______
                                 
               Prepared Statement of Cynthia Mousseau, JD
 On Behalf of New England Innocence Project and the National Innocence 
                                Network
innocence and forensic science programs at the departments of justice & 
                                commerce
    My name is Cynthia Mousseau and I serve as a Staff Attorney at the 
New England Innocence Project (NEIP). On behalf of NEIP and as a member 
of the Innocence Network, a coalition of approximately 60 local 
innocence organizations working to exonerate the innocent and prevent 
wrongful convictions nationwide, thank you for the subcommittee's 
critical funding increases and strong support for innocence and 
forensic science programs in fiscal year 2021. Thank you also for 
allowing me to submit written testimony for the record as you consider 
appropriations requests for fiscal year 2022. I urge you to please 
increase funding for the following programs at the Bureau of Justice 
Assistance at the Department of Justice and at the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology at the Department of Commerce, including:

  --$15 million for the Wrongful Conviction Review Program at the 
        Department of Justice's (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance 
        (BJA) (the Wrongful Conviction Review Program is part of the 
        Capital Litigation Improvement Program);
  --$15 million for the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing 
        Program at DOJ/BJA
  --$25 million for the Department of Commerce's National Institute of 
        Standards and Technology (NIST) to support and conduct 
        foundational forensic science research, including $2 million 
        for technical merit evaluations.

    These innocence and forensic science programs increase the fairness 
and accuracy of the criminal legal system; address arbitrary racial 
disparities and inequities; provide the strongest possible forensic 
science tools to legal system stakeholders; and generate greater public 
safety for our Nation.

    Data from the National Registry of Exonerations show that the 
number of exonerations has significantly increased since Federal 
innocence programs--the Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing and 
Wrongful Convictions Review programs--began receiving funding in 2008 
and 2009, respectively. Between 2009 and 2016, the total number of 
exonerations increased by 82 percent. This dramatic increase is in part 
a result of the decision to invest in these programs.
    2019 set the record for the highest number of years individuals 
lost to being wrongfully convicted--an average of 13.3 years per 
exoneree. More than 25,000 life years have been lost to wrongful 
incarceration. The National Registry of Exonerations currently lists 
more than 2,800 exonerations since 1989. Half of the people exonerated 
are Black, and innocent Black people spend approximately 45 percent 
longer wrongfully imprisoned than innocent white people. This racial 
disparity holds true across different types of convictions. Investing 
in innocence and forensic science progams helps to increase the 
accuracy, equity, and integrity of the criminal legal system.
    The New England Innocence Project (NEIP), headquarted in 
Massachussetts, is the only innocence organization serving Vermont, 
Maine, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Federal grant funds help expand 
its reach into States that have insufficient resources to meet their 
needs. With the support of Federal funds, NEIP has provided direct 
representation and/or support that has resulted in 16 exonerations over 
the past 17 years. 5 recently released exonerees collectively spent 160 
years in prison. Additionally, NEIP has: (1) organized a work group 
with the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, the Massachusetts public 
defender agency's innocence program, and the Massachusetts State Police 
Crime Lab to establish a pilot program to identify wrongful convictions 
caused by erroneous microscopic hair analysis; (2) conducted numerous 
trainings throughout New England for prosecutors, defense attorneys, 
law enforcement, judges, and the public to raise awareness and prevent 
causes of wrongful conviction, including eyewitness misidentification, 
false confessions, flawed forensic science, and racial bias; and (3) 
provided technical assistance for the proper implementation of 
conviction integrity units.
    Cases without DNA evidence are difficult and often take many years 
to complete. It is a long, arduous, and resource intensive process to 
prove an individual's innocence after he/she has been wrongfully 
convicted. An average case at NEIP requires years of work and thousands 
of dollars to adequately investigate and litigate. During this very 
long time, the innocent person is languishing behind bars.
    Freeing innocent individuals and preventing wrongful convictions 
through reform also greatly benefits public safety. Every time DNA 
identifies a wrongful conviction, it enables the possible 
identification of the person who actually committed the crime. Such 
true perpetrators have been identified in more than half of the DNA 
exoneration cases. Unfortunately, many of these individuals went on to 
commit additional crimes while an innocent person was convicted and 
incarcerated in their place.
    To date 375 individuals in the United States have been exonerated 
through DNA testing, including 21 who served time on death row. 
However, the value of Federal innocence and forensic science programs 
is not to just these exonerated individuals. It is important to fund 
these critical programs because reforms and procedures that help to 
prevent wrongful convictions also enhance the accuracy of criminal 
convictions and result in a fairer and more accountable system for 
victims of crime.
                   wrongful conviction review program
    We know that wrongful convictions occur in cases where DNA evidence 
may be insufficient or unavailable to prove innocence. The National 
Registry of Exonerations currently lists more than 2,800 exonerations 
since 1989, the vast majority of which did not have the presence or 
benefit of testable DNA. The Wrongful Conviction Review Program 
provides critical support to ensure that experts are available to 
navigate the complex landscape of post-conviction litigation, as well 
as oversee the thousands of volunteer hours local innocence 
organizations leverage to help investigate these complex non-DNA cases 
and support the significant legal work they require. The Wrongful 
Conviction Review Program has contributed to approximately 37 
exonerations over the past 4 years.
    For example, in 2019, Darrell Jones, who was wrongfully convicted 
of murder and served 32 years, was freed as a result of the work of the 
Committee for Public Counsel Services Innocence Program. The Wrongful 
Conviction Review Program provided funding that enabled his team to 
hire an investigator who identified exculpatory witnesses as well as 
two forensic experts. In 2020, Arturo Jimenez, who was wrongfully 
convicted of murder and served 25 years, was freed because the Wrongful 
Conviction Review program funded an investigator who uncovered key 
evidence that helped the Northern California Innocence Project secure 
his exoneration.
    The Wrongful Conviction Review Program provides funding to local 
innocence organizations so that they may provide this type of expert, 
high quality, and efficient representation for innocent individuals. 
The program's goals also are to help alleviate burdens placed on the 
criminal legal system through costly and prolonged post-conviction 
litigation and to identify, when possible, the person who actually 
committed the crime.
    In recent years, approximately 10-15 percent of local innocence 
organizations received Wrongful Conviction Review funding. To continue 
and expand this important work, I urge you to provide $15 million for 
the Wrongful Conviction Review Program in fiscal year 2022. (Please 
note the Wrongful Conviction Review Program is part of the Capital 
Litigation Improvement Program.)
    I also urge you to include in the fiscal year 2022 report for the 
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill 
the final fiscal year 2021 report language for the Wrongful Conviction 
Review program. It described the need for legal representation and 
investigation services for individuals with post-conviction claims of 
innocence. It also directed at least 50 percent of funds appropriated 
to the Capital Litigation Improvement and Wrongful Conviction Review 
grant programs support Wrongful Conviction Review grantees providing 
high quality and efficient post-conviction representation for 
defendants in post-conviction claims of innocence. It also clarified 
that Wrongful Conviction Review grantees shall be nonprofit 
organizations, institutions of higher education, and/or State or local 
public defender offices that have in-house post-conviction 
representation programs that show demonstrable experience and 
competence in litigating postconviction claims of innocence. Finally, 
the report language directed that grant funds shall support grantee 
provision of post-conviction legal representation of innocence claims; 
case review, evaluation, and management; experts; potentially 
exonerative forensic testing; and investigation services related 
supporting these post-conviction innocence claims.
          the bloodsworth post-conviction dna testing program
    The Bloodsworth Program supports States and localities that want to 
pursue post-conviction DNA testing in appropriate cases. Grantees range 
from State and local prosecutor offices to law enforcement agencies and 
crime labs, which can collaborate with local innocence organizations 
when appropriate. For example, an Arizona grant allowed the State's 
Attorney General's Office to partner with Arizona Justice Project to 
create the Post-Conviction DNA Testing Project that canvassed 
incarcerated individuals, reviewed cases, located evidence, and filed 
joint requests with the court to release evidence for DNA testing. In 
addition to identifying the innocent, Arizona Attorney General Terry 
Goddard noted that the ``grant enable[d] [his] office to support local 
prosecutors and ensure that those who have committed violent crimes are 
identified and behind bars.''
    The Bloodsworth program is a powerful investment for States seeking 
to free innocent individuals and identify the individuals who actually 
committed the crimes. The program has resulted in the exonerations of 
at least 51 wrongfully convicted persons in 14 States. The person who 
actually committed the crime was identified in 13 of those cases. In 
2020, an additional 5 people were exonerated through the program. The 
success of this program both in generating individual exonerations 
while supporting broader system review when problems arise has made it 
popular--DOJ has reported in recent years that it has received twice as 
many qualified applicants as it has funding to grant.
    For example, Virginian Thomas Haynesworth, who was wrongfully 
incarcerated for 27 years, was freed thanks to Bloodsworth-funded DNA 
testing that also revealed the person who actually committed the crime. 
The culpable person in that case went on to terrorize the community by 
attacking 12 women, with most of the attacks and rapes occurring while 
Mr. Haynesworth was wrongfully incarcerated. Given the importance of 
this program to both innocent individuals and public safety, I urge you 
to provide the $15 million to continue and expand the work of the 
Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program in fiscal year 2022.
                      forensic science improvement
    To continue the critical work to improve forensic science, and help 
prevent wrongful convictions, I urge you to provide $25 million for 
NIST to support foundational forensic science research, including $2 
million to conduct technical merit evaluations.
    As the Federal entity that is both perfectly positioned and 
institutionally constituted to conduct foundational forensic science 
research, NIST's work will improve the validity and reliability of 
forensic evidence, a need cited by the National Academy of Sciences 
2009 report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A 
Path Forward. NIST's reputation for innovation will result in 
technological solutions to advance forensic science applications and 
achieve a tremendous cost savings by reducing court costs posed by 
litigating scientific evidence.
    Additionally, some forensic science methods have not yet received 
an evaluation of their technical merit and NIST needs additional 
support to conduct these vital reviews. The forensic science activities 
and research at NIST will help to improve forensic disciplines and 
propel forensic science and the criminal legal system toward greater 
accuracy and reliability, and as a result, help prevent wrongful 
convictions and improve system equity.
                               conclusion
    Thank you for your leadership in ensuring the accuracy, equity, and 
integrity of our Nation's criminal legal system. I urge you to support 
all of the aforementioned programs, including the Wrongful Conviction 
Review and Bloodsworth grant programs at DOJ's Bureau of Justice 
Assistance, as well as NIST forensic science research at the Department 
of Commerce. If you have questions or need additional information, 
please contact Jenny Collier, Federal Policy Advisor to the Innocence 
Project, at [email protected].
                                 ______
                                 
            Prepared Statement of the Daughters of Penelope
   fiscal year 2022 funding: vawa, voca programs & crime victims fund
    Chairwoman Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member Jerry Moran, and 
distinguished Members of the Commerce, Justice, and Science 
Appropriations subcommittee, the Daughters of Penelope (DOP), an 
international service organization for women of Greek heritage and 
Philhellenes, which is dedicated in part to supporting victims of 
domestic violence, is requesting support for Victims of Crime Act 
(VOCA) (Office of Justice Programs--OVC) and Violence Against Women Act 
(VAWA) (Office of Violence Against Women--OVW) programs at the 
Department of Justice. Specifically, we request a Crime Victims Fund 
cap for fiscal year 2022 to be set at least at $2.65 billion and 
without any transfers to programs not authorized under the VOCA 
statute. Further, we call for the Senate to pass S.611, VOCA Fix to 
Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021. Moreover, we support the 
Biden administration's strong proposed investment request of $1 billion 
for VAWA programs and for Congress to pass a strong bipartisan-backed 
reauthorization of VAWA.
                   voca programs & crime victims fund
    The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) created the Crime Victims Fund 
(CVF), which serves as a mechanism to fund compensation and services 
for the Nation's victims of Federal crime. The Fund is comprised of 
money from criminals, and by law, the Fund is dedicated solely to 
victim services. For example, the Fund is used to help pay for State 
victim compensation and assistance programs and grants to victim 
service providers. A considerable amount supports victims' out-of-
pocket expenses such as medical and counseling fees, lost wages, and 
funeral and burial costs. According to the Department of Justice, in 
fiscal year 2018, Victim Assistance programs funded 7,417 unique State 
and local victim service organizations through over 9,472 grant 
awards.\1\ These agencies provided services to nearly millions of 
victims of crime, including victims of murder, assault and sexual 
assault, domestic violence, child abuse, stalking and elder abuse, and 
others.
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    \1\ https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1160581/download, Page 
59.
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    The Crime Victims Fund is financed by fines, forfeitures, or other 
penalties paid by Federal crime offenders. Therefore, the Crime Victims 
Fund is not funded by taxpayer dollars. However, it is unfortunate 
Congress often carves out funds from the CVF to use as offsets for 
other government programs. Because CVF is comprised of non-taxpayer 
dollars, it should not be considered available for use for non-VOCA 
programs in the Federal budget. Moreover, according to a previous 
statement of the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus, ``not only does 
raiding the Crime Victims Fund violate the intent of the law, but it 
violates the [VOCA] statute itself...'' Therefore, we recommend to the 
subcommittee that the Fund be used only for programs authorized under 
the VOCA statute. However, recent appropriations bills passed by 
Congress, and previous administrations' budget requests, have carved 
out funds from the Crime Victims Fund for non-VOCA authorized programs. 
As examples, the fiscal year 2021 appropriations year-end legislative 
package transferred $435 million from the CVF to VAWA programs. We 
request the elimination of transfers that harm the Fund's long-term 
viability and ability to commit fully to crime victims. Another 
unfortunate development has been that over the course of the last 
decade, the Department of Justice has brought fewer Federal criminal 
cases and has instead entered into deferred prosecution and non-
prosecution agreements. The monetary penalties from these agreements 
are deposited into the General Treasury rather than into the CVF, 
resulting in the loss of billions of dollars. This has resulted in 
catastrophic cuts to VOCA. Grants have decreased by 70 percent over the 
last 4 years. This is why we support swift passage of S.611, VOCA Fix 
to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 and sincerely thank the 
U.S. House of Representatives for passing its companion bill, H.R.1652. 
Finally, we recommend setting the Crime Victims' Fund cap to at least 
$2.65 billion. Congress established an appropriation cap on funds 
available for distribution intended to maintain the CVF as a stable 
source of support for future victim services. At the cap level, 
Congress will not only ensure the continuation of enhanced services to 
victims to meet their needs, but it also does not contribute or add to 
the National debt or deficit because these are non-taxpayer funds.
                             vawa programs
    Domestic violence is a pervasive, life-threatening crime affecting 
millions of individuals across our Nation regardless of age, gender, 
socio-economic status, race or religion. The statistics are alarming. 
According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV): \2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ NNEDV Domestic Violence Fact Sheet, accessed https://nnedv.org/
wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Library_General_DV_SA_Factsheet.pdf

  --More than 1 in 3 women have experienced rape, physical violence, 
        and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
  --Approximately 8 million women are raped, physically assaulted, and/
        or stalked by a current or former intimate partner each year.
  --1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have experienced rape in her or his 
        lifetime.
  --Nationwide, an average of 3 women are killed by a current or former 
        intimate partner every day.

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
and The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) 
2015 Data Brief:

  --In the United States, intimate partner contact sexual violence, 
        physical violence, and/or stalking was experienced by 36.4 
        percent (or 43.6 million) of U.S. women during their 
        lifetime.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/2015data-
brief508.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  --One in 4 women and 1 in 10 men have experienced physical violence 
        by an intimate partner during their lifetime.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/NISVS-infographic-
2016.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  --In 2015, 1,270 women and men were murdered by an intimate partner 
        (e.g. husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend).\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/NISVS-
StateReportBook.pdf

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Also, of concern, are the following stats:

  --On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an 
        intimate partner in the United States. During 1 year, this 
        equates to more than 10 million women and men.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-
a.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  --Nationwide, an average of 3 women are killed by a current or former 
        intimate partner every day.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ NNEDV Domestic Violence Fact Sheet, accessed https://nnedv.org/
mdocs-posts/domestic-violence-and-sexual-assault-factsheet/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  --Approximately 15.5 million children are exposed to domestic 
        violence annually.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ Ibid.

    Our Nation's response to intimate partner and domestic violence is 
driven by VAWA programs. Each of these programs is critical to ensuring 
that victims are safe, that offenders are held accountable, and that 
our communities are more secure. Thanks to VAWA, steady progress has 
been made there are many victims who still suffer in silence. A 2019 
24-hour survey of domestic violence programs across the U.S. found that 
although 19,159 Hotline calls were answered (averaging more than 13 
calls every minute). However, 11,336 requests for services (such as 
emergency shelter, transportation, or legal representation) went unmet 
because programs lacked the resources to provide them.\9\ Sixty-eight 
percent of the unmet services were for Housing and Emergency Shelter. 
In total, 77,226 victims were served in 1 day. The unconscionable gap 
between need and resources only widens.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ 14th Annual National Domestic Violence Counts National Summary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   daughters of penelope's work to support domestic violence shelters
    Why are VAWA and VOCA programs important to the Daughters of 
Penelope? In addition to our chapters supporting domestic violence 
shelters in their respective local communities, the Daughters of 
Penelope is a national sponsor and stakeholder of two domestic violence 
shelters--Penelope House in Mobile, Alabama, and Penelope's Place in 
Brockton, Massachusetts. In the past, the Daughters of Penelope has 
supported WIN Hellas, which is an NGO based in Athens, Greece that is 
active in the prevention of violence against women.
    Penelope House was the first shelter established in Alabama when it 
opened its doors in 1979. Since then, Penelope House is recognized as a 
model shelter for others to emulate. VAWA and VOCA grant funding has 
been critical in helping Penelope House to meet its mission of 
providing safety, protection, and support to victims of domestic 
violence and their children through shelter, advocacy, and individual 
and community education. Penelope House has been awarded VAWA and VOCA 
grants from the following programs: Shelter Services, Court Advocate 
Program, and Transitional Living Program. Portions of these grants help 
to fund the case managers, case and court advocates, and children's 
counselors and program coordinators, among other employees who help to 
provide the life-saving support to domestic violence victims and their 
children.
 statistics--effectiveness and importance of vawa & voca grant funding
  --VOCA/VAWA grant funding comprised 30 percent of Penelope House's 
        2020 budget.
  --VOCA is the largest source of Penelope House's funding.

    Penelope House's Court Advocacy Program is funded by VOCA & VAWA. 
Its 2020 stats, which were greatly impacted by the coronavirus 
pandemic, for clients served were:

  --Adult Clients: 5,997
  --Children: 5,344
  --Court Appointments with Clients: 4,078
  --Clients Assisted to obtain protection from abuse or no contact 
        orders: 1,000

    VOCA supports the salaries and benefits for seven Court/Victim 
Advocates who provide services to victims of domestic violence 
throughout Mobile, Washington, Clarke and Choctaw Counties of Alabama 
as they navigate within the court system. (VOCA grant funding has 
become increasingly important to Penelope House because Penelope 
House's services has been expanded to include more counties in 
Alabama.)
    VAWA supports a full-time Court Advocate Administrative Assistant 
and a portion of the salary for a Court/Victim Advocate for the Court 
Advocacy Program. The Court Advocate Administrative Assistant provides 
administrative support to Court/Victim Advocates and assistance to the 
Court Advocacy Supervisor. The assistant also collects and complies 
program data needed for the evaluation of the Court Advocacy Program. 
The Court Advocate Administrative Assistant is dually trained to serve 
as a Court/Victim Advocate when necessary, in case of illness or any 
other absence of court advocates. Thus, a victim will not have to be 
alone as he/she attempts to navigate within the court system.

    Penelope House's Emergency Shelter Program is funded by VOCA. It's 
2020 service stats--again adversely impacted due to the pandemic-were:

  --Adults sheltered: 252
  --Children sheltered: 273
  --Total Client Service Hours: 10,536.5
  --Total Nights of shelter provided: 4,881
  --Crisis calls: 1,419
  --Meals Served: 14,573
                             recommendation
    The Daughters of Penelope (DOP) is requesting support for Victims 
of Crime Act (VOCA) and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs, 
which are vital to DOP programs that serve its mission. Specifically, 
we request a Crime Victims Fund cap for fiscal year 2022 to be set at 
least $2.65 billion and without any transfers to programs not 
authorized under the VOCA statute. We also support the Biden 
administration's strong investment request of $1 billion VAWA programs. 
The Crime Victims Fund is not funded by taxpayer dollars. Therefore, 
the cap can be sustained or raised without adding to the National debt 
or deficit and transfers (or carve outs) must be eliminated in fiscal 
year 2022 and going forward.
    Clearly, as the missions of domestic violence centers across the 
country, such as Penelope House, have expanded into jurisdictions due 
to the unfortunate increased need to provide victims' services, the 
viability of the CVF and VOCA and VAWA grants have become increasingly 
important to meet the victims' needs. Moreover, it is estimated the 
COVID-19 pandemic caused an estimated 8.1 percent increase in domestic 
violence incidents due to stay-at-home orders.\10\ Thank you for the 
opportunity to present and submit our written testimony before the 
subcommittee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\ https://phys.org/news/2021-04-domestic-violence-pandemic.html

    [This statement was submitted by Elena Saviolakis, Executive 
Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
                 Prepared Statement of Demand Progress
  transparency and the public availability of opinions issued by the 
              justice department's office of legal counsel
Dear Chairman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
Committee:

    Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on improving 
transparency and accountability for legal opinions rendered by the 
Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice.
Background
    The Office of Legal Counsel's (OLC) core function, according to an 
OLC memoranda, is to provide ``controlling advice to Executive Branch 
officials on questions of law that are centrally important to the 
functioning of the Federal Government.'' \1\ This legal advice ``may 
effectively be the final word on the controlling law,'' yet it is 
routinely withheld from both Congress and the public.\2\ This 
withholding in effect creates secret law that controls agency actions 
but is shielded from both public debate and Congressional oversight.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Department of Justice, Memorandum for Attorneys of the Office 
re: Best Practices for OLC Advice and Written Opinions, July 16, 2010, 
available at: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/olc/legacy/
2010/08/26/olc-legal-advice-opinions.pdf
    \2\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Secrecy undermines accountability. Congress must understand how the 
Executive branch interprets the Constitution and implements laws 
enacted by Congress. Allowing OLC legal opinions to remain the sole 
province of the Executive branch thwarts Congress's lawmaking and 
oversight prerogatives. It removes consequences for agency decisions 
and short-circuits the public feedback process integral to our 
democracy.
    Secrecy also poisons the operations of the Office of Legal Counsel. 
Public scrutiny would create an invisible but persistent pressure for 
the promulgation of responsible, high quality, objective legal 
opinions. By contrast, OLC legal opinion secrecy ensures the most 
salient incentive for OLC attorneys is to lean towards a legal opinion 
that a given administration desires--not the legal opinion that best 
reflects the law. There are high profile examples of this happening.\3\ 
Building transparency into the process helps ensure that OLC legal 
analyses face scrutiny by Congress, scholars, and members of the 
public.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ See, for example, a Statement by Sen. Patrick Leahy at a 
February 26, 2010 hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary 
entitled The Office of Professional Responsibility Investigation into 
the Office of Legal Counsel Memoranda, in which he said, ``The 
fundamental question here is not whether these were shoddy legal memos. 
They were shoddy legal memos. Everybody knows that. . . .  It failed to 
cite significant case law; it twisted the plain meaning of statutes. 
The legal memoranda were designed to achieve an end.'' (emphasis 
added). See also
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In December 2004, 19 former senior DOJ officials--including the 
now-nominee for Assistant Attorney General for OLC, Christopher 
Schroeder--endorsed a document calling for increased transparency, 
entitled Principles to Guide the Office of Legal Counsel.\4\ One 
principle was that ``OLC should publicly disclose its written legal 
opinions in a timely manner, absent strong reasons for delay or 
nondisclosure.'' \5\ According to the Principles document, public 
disclosure of written legal opinions is important because:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ ``Principles to Guide the Office of Legal Counsel'' (Dec. 21, 
2004), available at: https://
scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://
www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2927&context=faculty_scholarship. 
In 2020, a related statement was released by the American Constitution 
Society, entitled ``The Office of Legal Counsel and the Rule of Law,'' 
and a comparable constellation of legal experts contributed to that 
document. It endorses a strong presumption in favor of publishing final 
OLC opinions, disclosing its classified, privileged, and sensitive 
material to Congress when an agency relies upon OLC advice to justify a 
major policy decision or executive action, and releasing a public index 
of its memos. https://www.acslaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/OLC-
ROL-Doc-103020.pdf
    \5\ Id.

          Such disclosure helps to ensure executive branch adherence to 
        the rule of law and guard against excessive claims of executive 
        authority. Transparency also promotes confidence in the 
        lawfulness of governmental action. Making executive branch law 
        available to the public also adds an important voice to the 
        development of constitutional meaning-in the courts as well as 
        among academics, other commentators, and the public more 
        generally-and a particularly valuable perspective on legal 
        issues regarding which the executive branch possesses relevant 
        expertise.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ Id. (emphasis added)

    A similar statement on the Office of Legal Counsel and the rule of 
law was released in October 2020, with significant contributions from a 
comparable array of legal experts.\7\ It endorsed publication of and 
transparency for OLC opinions. Specifically, the statement endorsed: a 
strong presumption in favor of publishing final OLC opinions; 
disclosing OLC advice deemed classified, privileged, or sensitive to 
congressional committees when an agency relies upon that advice to 
justify a major policy decision or executive action; and releasing a 
public index of its memoranda. ``OLC exercises a form of public trust, 
and because its views of the law's meaning shape executive action and 
policy, Congress and the public both have compelling interests in 
understanding the legal basis of executive action.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ ``The Office of Legal Counsel and the Rule of Law,'' American 
Constitution Society
(October 2020), available at: https://www.acslaw.org/wp-content/
uploads/2020/10/OLC-ROL-Doc-103020.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommendations
    The good news is Congress can remedy this secret law problem. Our 
request is twofold. First, direct the Office of Legal Counsel to make 
its opinions publicly available upon promulgation, except in narrow 
circumstances. Second, direct the Office of Legal Counsel to release an 
index of all current OLC opinions and keep it up-to-date.
    We note that OLC legal opinions are rendered both as ``formal 
opinions'' and ``informal advice.'' Both constitute legal advice that 
is binding within the Executive branch, follow a formal approval 
process, have precedential value within OLC, and are tracked in an OLC 
database. The major distinction is only the format in which the advice 
is rendered: a ``formal opinion'' is turned into a carefully formatted, 
written document and some are published online, whereas ``informal 
advice'' may be rendered as an email or in verbal form, which is then 
reduced to a memo for the record. Accordingly, we would apply the 
principle of transparency first articulated in the Principles document 
to disclosure of OLC legal opinions regardless of format.
    The default rule must be that OLC legal opinions will be made 
publicly available contemporaneously with their issuance. While there 
will be exceptions to public disclosure, those exceptions should be 
narrow, constrained, and used only when absolutely necessary. Congress 
should still be informed.
    Congress should also direct OLC to publicly release an index of all 
its opinions and to keep that list up to date. It should contain the 
full name of the opinion; the date it was finalized or revised; each 
author's name (i.e., the person who signed it); each recipient's name; 
identify whether the opinion has been withdrawn; and other salient 
information.
    There is precedent for an index. The FOIA Improvement Act, enacted 
in 2016, established a 25-year limit for the Executive branch to assert 
deliberative process privilege as an exemption to a FOIA request.\8\ A 
resulting lawsuit brought by the Knight First Amendment Center, Francis 
v. DOJ, resulted in an agreement whereby the DOJ is producing indexes 
of OLC opinions more than 25 years old.\9\ Similarly, the 2020 
statement by legal experts endorsed indices.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ Public Law 114-185 (114th Congress). https://www.congress.gov/
bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/337
    \9\ The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University is 
publishing the index on its website. https://knightcolumbia.org/
reading-room/olc-opinions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    We are aware of some limited disclosure provisions within the 2010 
Office of Legal Counsel Memorandum for Attorneys of the Office: Best 
Practices for OLC Legal Advice and Written Opinions.\10\ It fails, 
however, to include a presumption of disclosure and creates multiple 
veto points. The last dozen years have demonstrated that this 
memorandum does not go far enough to protect the integrity of OLC legal 
opinions or confidence in the work of OLC attorneys. Indeed, the 2020 
statement by legal experts declares ``OLC itself has been in crisis for 
some time.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\ See ``Best Practices for OLC Legal Advice and Written 
Opinions,'' Office of Legal Counsel (July 2010), available at https://
www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/olc/legacy/2010/08/26/olc-legal-
advice-opinions.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legislative Text
    The committee report accompanying the House CJS Appropriations 
Committee included language in fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2020 
that, if written into bill text, would favorably resolve the issue.\11\ 
We recommend that the Senate adopt that language:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\ See Report, Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Bill, 2021, H. Rpt. 116-455, p. 59, https://
www.congress.gov/116/crpt/hrpt455/CRPT-116hrpt455.pdf, superseded by 
Joint Explanatory Statement, p. 61, https://docs.house.gov/
billsthisweek/20201221/BILLS-116RCP68-JES-DIVISION-B.pdf; see Report, 
Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 
2020, H. Rpt. 116-101, pp. 45-46, https://www.congress.gov/116/crpt/
hrpt101/CRPT-116hrpt101.pdf, superseded by Joint Explanatory Statement, 
p. 30, https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/
democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/HR%201158%20-
%20Division%20B%20-%20CJS%20SOM%20FY20.pdf.

          To serve the public interest, and in keeping with 
        transparency and the precedent of public reporting of judicial 
        decisions, the Committee asks the Attorney General to direct 
        OLC to publish on a publicly accessible website all legal 
        opinions and related materials, except in those instances where 
        the Attorney General determines that release would cause a 
        specific identifiable harm to the National defense or foreign 
        policy interests; information contained in the opinion relates 
        to the appointment of a specific individual not confirmed to 
        Federal office; or information contained in the opinion is 
        specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than 
        sections 552 and 552b of title 5, United States Code). For 
        final OLC opinions for which the text is withheld in full or in 
        substantial part, the Attorney General should provide Congress 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        a written explanation detailing why the text was withheld.

          In addition, the Attorney General should also direct OLC to 
        publish on a publicly accessible website a complete index of 
        all final OLC opinions in both human-readable and machine-
        readable formats, arranged chronologically, within 90 days of 
        the enactment of this act, which shall be updated immediately 
        every time an OLC opinion or a revision to an opinion becomes 
        final. The index shall include, for each opinion: the full name 
        of the opinion; the date it was finalized or revised; each 
        author's name; each recipient's name; a unique identifier 
        assigned to each final or revised opinion; and whether an 
        opinion has been withdrawn.

    The language was superseded in the joint explanatory statement for 
fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2020 that make the request more 
diffuse and, in light of recent experience, was unduly deferential to 
the Justice Department. As the underlying issue persists, we 
respectfully suggest it is time to take a more robust approach.
    To ensure an informed public, to protect against secret law, and to 
allow Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities, OLC legal 
opinions must be available to the public and Congress. Thank you again 
for the opportunity to submit this testimony.

    [This statement was submitted by Ginger McCall, Legal Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
Prepared Statement of Eli Parson, Graduate of the San Francisco Family 
               Treatment Court, San Francisco, California
   On Behalf of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals
    Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and distinguished Members 
of the subcommittee, I am honored to have the opportunity to submit my 
testimony on behalf of the 1.5 million graduates of treatment court 
programs and the 150,000 people the programs will connect to lifesaving 
addiction and mental health treatment this year alone. Given the 
overlapping crises of substance use and the COVID-19 pandemic, I am 
requesting that Congress provide funding of $100 million for the Drug 
Court Discretionary Grant Program and $30 million for the Veterans 
Treatment Court Grant Program at the Department of Justice for fiscal 
year 2022.
    I am writing to you today as a treatment court graduate, father, 
and advocate for parents and children affected by substance use 
disorder. I am a 2008 graduate of the San Francisco Family Treatment 
Court--a program of the family civil court system that allowed me to 
remain a father while connecting me with the support, treatment 
services, and parental coaching I needed to overcome a lifelong 
substance use disorder. Without the support of the court, my now 13-
year-old daughter would be growing up in the child welfare system 
without her father. Instead, she is a healthy, thriving teenager 
preparing for her first year of high school with me by her side. The 
treatment court drastically changed the trajectory of both our lives.
    Since 2011, I have worked for the Homeless Prenatal Program, an 
organization that serves, among other child welfare programs, the San 
Francisco Family Treatment Court. In that role, I witness firsthand the 
transformation and triumph families experience as parents overcome 
substance use disorders and are reunited with their children. But I'm 
also seeing the grips of twin crises on families coming to me for help: 
the substance use epidemic and the ongoing effects of COVID-19, 
including isolation and economic devastation. Treatment courts, such as 
adult drug courts, veterans treatment courts, family treatment courts, 
and others offer a public health and public safety response to these 
crises as they seek to enhance and expand to serve more individuals in 
their communities.
    With overwhelming empirical evidence showing their effectiveness, 
it is easy to see that treatment court programs across the country 
merit continued funding. The Government Accountability Office finds the 
drug court model reduces crime by up to 58 percent. Further, the Multi-
Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation conducted by the Department of Justice 
confirmed drug treatment courts significantly reduce both drug use and 
crime, as well as finding cost savings averaging $6,000 for every 
individual served. Additional benefits include improved employment, 
housing, financial stability, and reduced foster care placements. 
Veterans treatment courts, which expand on the drug court model to 
include veteran justice outreach specialists from the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, volunteer veteran mentors from the community, and a 
myriad of veteran-specific local, State, and Federal resources have 
proven equally effective. As our heroes in uniform continue to 
transition home, it is critical that we have interventions like 
veterans treatment court in place to ensure they have the treatment, 
structure, and support to transform the lives of those who will 
inevitably struggle.
    Beyond the numbers, treatment court programs are making a 
difference in real families across the country, including mine. When my 
daughter was born in 2007, child welfare services prevented me from 
bringing her home from the hospital. At that time, I was in the midst 
of a decades-long battle with substance use. Childhood trauma led me to 
trying alcohol at age 12, using harder drugs by age 14, homelessness at 
age 16, and a lifelong struggle with depression and anxiety. Leaving 
the hospital empty-handed was the most painful moment of my life. It 
was then I knew I had to do what I could to earn the right to bring my 
daughter to the home she deserved. I knew I wanted to change--I just 
needed help.
    I found that help in the San Francisco Family Treatment Court. 
Until I entered the program, my experience with the court system left 
me feeling silenced in my own battle to be healthy and regain custody 
of my daughter. In treatment court, I found hope for the first time, 
something I'd longed to feel for years. Suddenly, I became an active 
participant in a journey to finding my own health and safety so that I 
could guarantee the same for my daughter when we were reunited. The 
multidisciplinary team of the judge, child welfare officers, substance 
use treatment providers, and others were committed to ensuring I 
received the intensive outpatient treatment and other social services I 
needed to ensure my daughter could be reunited with a father free of 
substance use.
    The services I received through this treatment court program 
allowed me to realize my life's greatest achievement: fatherhood. My 
daughter has never known the man sent away from the hospital that day 
in 2007, and it's because of the San Francisco Family Treatment Court.
    I'm not alone in my success. Treatment courts have reunited 
thousands of families by connecting those with mental health and 
substance use disorders with treatment options best suited to them, 
including medication-assisted treatment when deemed appropriate by a 
medical provider. Together, the court team offers the tools to overcome 
addiction and past trauma to create meaningful, healthy relationships.
    Continued support from the Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program 
at the Department of Justice ensures the nearly 4,000 treatment courts 
in the United States today provide critical services to reunite loving 
families. But we know there are many more who still need this 
opportunity. I strongly urge this committee to recommend funding of 
$100 million to the Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program and $30 
million to the Veterans Treatment Court Grant Program in fiscal year 
2022, so families like mine continue to receive lifesaving services.
                                 ______
                                 
       Prepared Statement of the Entomological Society of America
  fiscal year 2022 appropriations for the national science foundation
    The Entomological Society of America (ESA) respectfully submits 
this statement for the official record in support of funding for the 
National Science Foundation (NSF). ESA joins the research community by 
requesting a robust fiscal year 2022 appropriation of $10 billion for 
NSF, including strong support for the Directorate for Biological 
Sciences (BIO). Through activities within BIO, NSF advances the 
frontiers of knowledge about complex biological systems at multiple 
scales, from molecules and cells to organisms and ecosystems. In 
addition, the directorate contributes to the support of essential 
research resources, including biological collections and field 
stations. NSF BIO is also the Nation's primary funder of fundamental 
research on biodiversity, ecology, and environmental biology.
    NSF is the only Federal agency that supports basic research across 
all scientific and engineering disciplines outside of the biomedical 
sciences. Each year, the foundation supports an estimated 300,000 
researchers, scientific trainees, teachers, and students, primarily 
through competitive grants to approximately 2,000 colleges, 
universities, and other institutions in all 50 States. NSF also plays a 
critical role in training the next generation of scientists and 
engineers through programs like the NSF Research Traineeship, ensuring 
that the United States will remain globally competitive in the future.
    NSF-sponsored research in entomology and other basic biological 
sciences, which is primarily supported through NSF BIO, provides the 
fundamental discoveries that advance knowledge and facilitate the 
development of new technologies and strategies for addressing societal 
challenges related to economic growth, national security, and human 
health. Because insects constitute two out of every three animal 
species, fundamental research on their biology has provided 
foundational insights across all areas of biology, including cell and 
molecular biology, genomics, physiology, ecology, behavior, and 
evolution. In turn, these insights have been applied toward meeting 
challenges in a wide range of fields, including conservation biology, 
habitat management, livestock production, and pest management.
    Insects have long played an essential role as model organisms for 
understanding basic biological processes across all organisms, 
including people. Insects are often ideal for biological models in 
laboratory experiments because they are generally small and inexpensive 
to obtain, they complete development rapidly, and they can be 
maintained without the special facilities required for vertebrate 
animals.
    The common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, for example, has 
been the subject of NSF-funded research that has profoundly transformed 
the understanding of human health and development in countless ways. 
Equally important, the ability to dramatically reduce the cost of 
sequencing genomes has played a critical role in advancing science in 
the last two decades. In 2018, entomologists were able to complete one 
of the first genome sequences by a single lab for under $1,000 using 
the fruit fly.\1\ This breakthrough not only expanded the accessibility 
of genome sequencing but also changed the way scientists understand the 
fruit fly itself as a model organism. Previously it was thought each 
fruit fly was essentially genetically identical. This study revealed 
there are significant differences in the sequences of many important 
genes, indicating that genome variation is much greater than previously 
believed. This will likely have tremendous medical value to patients, 
health care workers, and scientists.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Solares, Edwin A et al. ``Rapid Low-Cost Assembly of the 
Drosophila melanogaster Reference Genome Using Low-Coverage, Long-Read 
Sequencing.'' G3 (Bethesda, Md.) vol. 8,\10\ 3143-3154. 19 Jul. 2018, 
doi:10.1534/g3.118.200162
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    One NSF BIO-supported project that illustrates the broad reach of 
basic entomological research is focused on insect genetics. With food 
demands rising across the world, there is a need for sustainable, 
alternative protein sources such as mass-reared insects. While there 
are various problems associated with commercial insect production, many 
of them can be addressed by studying and altering genomes to select 
desirable life history traits.\2\ In August 2020, scientists from 
Indiana University--Purdue University Indianapolis and Beta Hatch Inc. 
published a draft genome assembly for the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio 
molitor), a promising alternative source of protein for animal feed, 
and perhaps even human consumption. The NSF-funded work used a new 
sequencing technology that combines aspects of two sequencing methods 
to create longer DNA sequences with lower error rates.\3\ This high-
quality draft genome is now available for researchers and industry as a 
valuable tool for optimizing mass rearing of mealworms.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ https://www.wageningenacademic.com/doi/epdf/10.3920/
jiff2019.0057
    \3\ https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/
disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301188&org=BIO&from=news
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In another example of focused on genetics, NSF-funded researchers 
at Tufts University discovered that two genes are allowing the European 
corn borer moth to adapt to climate change by enabling synchronization 
between their life cycle and seasonal environmental changes. The 
invasive European corn borer moth is unique in its apparent ability to 
perfectly time its life cycle with the seasons so that populations do 
not die off from unexpectedly long or short winters. Genetic analysis 
of moths from across a range of climates (longer summers and shorter 
winters in the south, shorter summers and longer winters in the north) 
in the United States revealed genetic variations in two genes (known as 
clock genes) which were associated with development and generation 
time. The results of this study suggest potential mechanisms with which 
species will be able to adapt to changes in climate that expose them to 
variable season lengths.
    NSF BIO also supports the development of technologies that directly 
impact economic sectors that are highly dependent on entomology. NSF 
recently awarded funding for a Small Business Innovation Research 
(SBIR) Phase I project aimed at ensuring healthier honey bee 
populations through data analysis and modeling.\4\ The project seeks to 
build newer and more robust algorithms capable of autonomously 
analyzing data generated by networked sensors placed in beehives. The 
information derived from the resultant data sets could then be used to 
develop models capable of predicting the infiltration of pests and 
disease in hives before it actually occurs. Ultimately, the successful 
commercialization of this technology could revolutionize an entire 
agricultural sector that has suffered significantly because of honey 
bee colony collapse.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ Symes, Ellie. SBIR Phase I: Data Analytics on Honeybee Hives 
Using IoT Sensor Data. Award Number: 1746862
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), selects and 
supports science and engineering graduate students demonstrating the 
exceptional potential to succeed in science, technology, engineering, 
and mathematics (STEM) careers. For example, multiple recent Fellows 
have advanced the frontiers of knowledge about the biology of social 
insects under changing environmental conditions. GRFP-sponsored 
research investigating extreme phenotypic plasticity, wherein 
environmental rather than genetic inputs lead to differences among 
individuals, illuminated how developmental pathways may have been 
altered during the evolution of sociality to create social insect 
castes, such as queens and workers.\5\ Phenotypic plasticity is a key 
mechanism of biological adaptation, and this scientific understanding 
is vital to predicting whether insects and other life may adjust to 
environmental change. The insights and tools derived from such 
activities will better enable land managers and environmental 
regulators to protect ecosystems vulnerable to climactic shifts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/221/23/jeb153163/
20481/Genetic-accommodation-and-the-role-of-ancestral
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In addition to funding research, NSF BIO plays a critical role in 
the curation, maintenance, and enhancement of physical-biological 
collections. These collections and their associated data sets serve a 
variety of purposes, and while they are particularly important to the 
field of entomology, their value to the broader scientific enterprise 
cannot be overstated. Physical collections enable the rapid 
identification and mitigation of costly invasive pests that affect 
agriculture, forestry, and human and animal health. This is only 
achievable because such collections are continuously being updated to 
reflect environmental changes, evolutionary developments, and shifting 
migratory patterns of invasive species around the world. For example, 
the GRFP supported a project which used natural history collections to 
examine how the diversity of beneficial social insects have changed 
with urbanization intensity over the past century.\6\ Researchers then 
developed novel machine learning models to forecast how land use change 
will affect biodiversity patterns in the future. Ongoing investment in 
the training of the next generation of scientific leaders is essential 
to promoting the American workforce in STEM and advancing basic 
scientific discovery in NSF priority areas. NSF also supports workshops 
designed to provide hands-on training in collections curation and 
management, with a particular emphasis on students and early-career 
researchers.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/
showAward?AWD_ID=1906242&HistoricalAwards=false
    \7\ Song, Hojun and Shockley, Floyd. Towards a Sustainable 
Management of Insect Collections in the U.S. through the Entomological 
Collections Management Workshop. Award Number: 1640919
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While collections-focused awards like those mentioned above are 
encouraging, ESA is concerned by the inconsistent Federal support for 
biological collections. Recent advancements in imaging, digitization, 
and data collection and storage technologies have caused some to 
question the necessity of continued support for existing biological 
collections. ESA recognizes that technological development is spurring 
substantive discussion about the future of biological collections. 
However, while these new developments and advancements will hopefully 
yield new benefits for biological research, they are not a replacement 
for physical biological collections. Given their continuing relevance 
and broad application to domestic homeland security, public health, 
agriculture, food security, and environmental sustainability, ESA 
firmly supports continued Federal investment in programs supporting 
collections such as NSF's Infrastructure Capacity for Biological 
Research.

    Given NSF's critical role in supporting fundamental research and 
education across science and engineering disciplines, ESA supports an 
overall fiscal year 2022 NSF budget of $10 billion. ESA requests robust 
support for the NSF BIO Directorate, which funds important research 
studies and biological collections, enabling discoveries in the 
entomological sciences to contribute to understanding environmental and 
evolutionary biology, physiological and developmental systems, and 
molecular and cellular mechanisms.

    ESA, headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, is the largest 
organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs 
of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. As the largest 
and one of the oldest insect science organizations in the world, ESA 
has approximately 7,000 members affiliated with educational 
institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. 
Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, 
administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, 
consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists.

    Thank you for the opportunity to offer the Entomological Society of 
America's support for NSF research programs. For more information about 
the Entomological Society of America, please see http://
www.entsoc.org/.

    [This statement was submitted by Michelle S. Smith, BCE, 
President.]
                                 ______
                                 
         Prepared Statement of the Federal Managers Association
                     United States Marshals Service
                              Chapter 373
June 3, 2021

 
 
 
The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy              The Honorable Richard C.
Chairmen                                     Shelby
Committee on Appropriations                 Ranking Member
437 Russell Senate Office Building          Committee on Appropriations
Washington, D.C. 20510                      304 Russell Senate Office
                                             Building
                                            Washington, D.C. 20510
 
The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen                The Honorable Jerry Moran
Chairwoman                                  Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,          Subcommittee on Commerce,
  Science, and Related Agencies              Justice,
Committee on Appropriations                   Science, and Related
506 Hart Senate Office Building              Agencies
Washington, D.C. 20510                      Committee on Appropriations
                                            521 Dirksen Senate Office
                                             Building
                                            Washington, D.C. 20510
 

     fiscal year 2022 appropriations, u.s. marshals service (usms)
Dear Chairs Leahy and Shaheen and Ranking Members Shelby and Moran:

    The Federal Managers Association (FMA) \1\ is the oldest and 
largest organization representing the interests of the 200,000 
managers, supervisors, and executives serving in today's Federal 
Government. It aims to promote excellence in public service. Despite 
setbacks in consultation with USMS leadership in recent years,\2\ FMA 
has maintained an active and influential chapter at the Agency for 
nearly two decades.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ www.fedmanagers.org
    \2\ http://fedmanagers.org/fma/files/ccLibraryFiles/Filename/
000000001510/FMA 
%20to%20Director%20Washington%20re%20%20Consultation%20Agreement.pdf, 
September 21, 2020
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    USMS FMA has long sounded the alarm about staffing levels at 
USMS.\3\ The concerns in no way suggest that Congress has not 
appropriated an adequate number of full-time equivalencies (FTEs) to 
fulfill USMS duties.\4\ Rather, they speak to how Agency leadership has 
disproportionately allocated its workforce into what has grown into 
top-heavy headquarter divisions and staff offices, versus its 94 
district offices throughout the country where the majority of work 
assignments are carried out each day. An exhibit \5\ in a recent news 
report \6\ confirms that district offices continue to be neglected. As 
a result, we believe it is only a matter of time before the Agency is 
no longer able to safely and consistently carry out its primary mission 
of court security without risk of injury or worse to participants in 
the judicial process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/02/us-marshals-
complain-system-unfairly-denies-them-promotion/154811/, February 12, 
2019 (note sub-heading ``HQ Versus the Field'').
    \4\ https://www.usmarshals.gov/duties/factsheets/index.html, viewed 
June 3, 2021.
    \5\ https://drive.google.com/file/d/
1qFXJktXtE2eH2lba5dqhlFUnTb_1gJQH/view, May 10, 2021.
    \6\ https://dakotafreepress.com/2021/05/31/u-s-marshals-face-
contempt-for-disrupting-court-after-refusing-judges-order-to-disclose-
coronavirus-vaccination-status/, May 31, 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Agency executives routinely suggest an interest in one Marshals 
Service. Yet, we often hear from our constituents--and we agree--USMS 
has seemingly grown into two separate components operating under the 
same badge. Over the past decade the Agency has seen a significant 
increase in the splitting of its workforce between 94 district offices 
and 12 headquarter divisions and a variety of staff offices, the latter 
that report through Arlington, VA.
    Rather compelling is--for what may be the first time--a written 
admission by the Agency's Chief of Staff in the aforementioned exhibit, 
presumably representing the Director and Deputy Director,\7\ that 
staffing shortages in district offices are adversely impacting the 
ability to provide basic judicial security functions:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ Questions have been raised where the Agency's leadership is 
(i.e., why the Director and Deputy Director have delegated a response 
to an Article III Judge from the Chief of Staff with no decisional 
authority).

        ``The USMS takes seriously its court security responsibilities 
        and place the highest priority on maintaining the safety and 
        security of those involved in the judicial process. It should 
        be noted, however, the Marshals Service is currently at a 
        critical staffing level of 69 percent across the agency. The 
        District of South Dakota's DUSM staffing level is even lower at 
        only 65 percent. This severe staffing shortage contributes to 
        the limited number of trials and hearings which can be 
        supported simultaneously, as well as the staffing for any pre- 
        or post-trial appearances requiring the provision of court 
        security by DUSM personnel. Any widespread court orders or 
        other restrictions which would impose additional limitations on 
        the number of DUSMs available to provide court security and 
        other vital responsibilities further degrades our Nationwide 
        ability to support the judiciary and may negatively impact the 
        ability of courts to conduct their business when such security 
        is required.'' \8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ Id.

    Last year, the Courts called upon Congress for ``increased 
appropriations for USMS to hire an additional 1,000 Deputy U.S. 
Marshals (DUSMs) in accordance with the District Staffing Model'' to 
provide for their security.\9\ Many Agency managers, however, make the 
case that these 1,000 ``district'' operational employees have been 
reassigned over time to build larger headquarter divisions and staff 
offices at the expense of district offices, routinely creating staffing 
shortages across the country to uphold the Agency's primary mission. 
For example:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/
letter_to_congress_re_judicial_security_
funding_request.pdf, September 4, 2020, and https://www.uscourts.gov/
news/2020/09/09/
congress-urged-adopt-judicial-security-measures, September 9, 2020.

  --Today, the Agency's Investigative Operations Division employs over 
        600 FTEs and contractors throughout the country, all reporting 
        through Arlington, VA, as opposed to the district chain of 
        command (i.e., United States Marshal and Chief Deputy U.S. 
        Marshal) in cities where the two groups are mere miles apart 
        from one another.
  --During the previous Administration, the Agency dedicated nearly two 
        dozen DUSMs to its Judicial Security Division (JSD) in support 
        of protective operations for the Secretary of Education.\10\ 
        Its cost was widely criticized for years and many questions 
        were raised on how and why it became a new USMS mission.\11\ 
        The detail ended on January 8, 2021. Yet, it does not appear 
        the assigned DUSMs, most of whom were originally pulled from 
        districts years earlier, were returned to the most critically 
        understaffed offices. Instead, we are informed almost all were 
        reassigned to other headquarter programs, to include within JSD 
        to increase the size of the protection detail for the Deputy 
        Attorney General.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\ Archived organizational chart, Judicial Security Division, 
Protective Operations, Secretary of Education. [Exhibit A]
    \11\ Letter to Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker from 
Charles E. Grassley, Chairman, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 
December 7, 2018, [Exhibit B] and https://www.politico.com/news/2020/
11/03/devos-security-detail-millions-years-433977, November 3, 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  --Three dozen DUSMs and administrative employees (and one contractor) 
        are reportedly assigned to the Tactical Operations Division, 
        Strategic National Stockpile Security Operations. While 
        guarding the country's national stockpile is an important 
        responsibility, it is not one that necessarily falls within a 
        primary USMS mission.

    The Agency uses a District Staffing Model to allocate positions to 
its 94 district offices. Despite repeated requests over many years to 
develop a similar model, one does not exist for USMS headquarters, 
thereby allowing its offices to grow exponentially. Consequently, we do 
not believe transparency exists with respect to how the Agency 
strategically applies a staffing model exclusive to districts, thereby 
positioning itself when levels drop, to argue for additional funding to 
protect judges. Rather, it gives the impression Congress can only solve 
a crisis in the making with more resources.
    Before funding an additional 1,000 DUSMs, we urge the sub-committee 
to consider examining the true need of so many additional positions at 
taxpayer expense. After all, the Agency reports year after year it has 
been unable to fill a number of DUSM openings, consistently incapable 
of keeping up with attrition. A review of existing vacancies--even well 
before the pandemic--will likely validate this point.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\ We also suggest asking for the number of DUSM candidates 
recruited, cleared, and currently ready to attend basic training if 
1,000 positions were funded.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Across the country in other DOJ investigative components (i.e., 
ATF, DEA, FBI, and OIG) operational staff assigned in cities outside 
their Washington, D.C. headquarters report through a local Special 
Agent-in-Charge. Not so at USMS where hundreds of DUSMs report through 
Arlington, VA, creating unnecessary and redundant layers of mid-level 
managers in the same cities to separately supervise those assigned to 
headquarter divisions and staff offices and those assigned to 
districts.
    A co-author of this letter managed USMS, Northern District of 
Illinois, for more than 2 years from 2018-2020. His experience was 
those headquarter employees assigned in Chicago were not routinely 
available or required to support district operations, even on what were 
``beyond-capacity days'' when staffing was so critically short the 
district had difficulty safely carrying out the Agency's judicial 
security and detention operation missions (i.e., when called to assist, 
headquarter employees under separate chains of command often did not 
show up at the U.S. Courthouse--without consequence--to support 
judicial security operations). When confronted with the associated 
risk, the Agency's Director said he believes USMS is ``different'' than 
ATF, DEA, FBI, and OIG. We think not. Accordingly, we call upon 
Congress to consider urging the Government Accountability Office to 
conduct a study to examine any difference in organizational structures, 
the associated risk, and unnecessary cost with redundant mid-level 
managers between other investigative DOJ components and USMS where at 
the latter employees could instead be hired at lower grades to staff 
courtrooms and detention space in district offices.
    The Agency's Chief Financial Officer acknowledges Congress 
appropriates funds and positions to USMS as a whole unit (i.e., it does 
not mandate where to internally allocate said funds or positions).\13\ 
ATF, DEA, FBI, and OIG seemingly and effectively manage their 
organizational structures through local Special Agents-in-Charge. We 
believe USMS could equally do so through its United States Marshals and 
Chief Deputy U.S. Marshals that lead its district offices. 
Alternatively, divisions unnecessarily and exponentially grow silos, 
commonly termed throughout the Agency as ``empire-building,'' 
disproportionately leaving too many districts critically short staffed. 
The current national average of 69 percent as reported by the Chief of 
Staff is astonishing, not ignoring an acknowledgement many districts 
operate at even lower staffing percentages.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\ Email from Holley O'Brien, Chief Financial Officer, to Jason 
Wojdylo, November 13, 2018. [Exhibit C]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    We hope the new USMS Director will avoid being bamboozled by 
bureaucrats at USMS headquarters into believing congressional mandates 
require continued growth of headquarter divisions and staff offices. 
Instead, we renew our recommendation by urging him to shake-up the 
organizational structure by issuing an immediate moratorium on hiring 
all but critical vacancies exclusively in district offices and 
immediately reassign staff in cities around the country to local 
district chains of command, using the tested and successful model found 
at other DOJ components.
    The Director-nominee awaits Senate confirmation. With his swift 
confirmation there is opportunity to get back to the basics by holding 
USMS accountable to its judicial security mission. Doing so could avoid 
the confrontation recently created in South Dakota between district 
managers--under of the auspice of ``headquarters said so"--and the very 
judiciary the Agency is sworn to protect.\14\ It raises questions 
whether additional research by USMS \15\ may have advanced better 
communication with the Judiciary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\ Id.
    \15\ https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/hipaa-
vaccine-covid-privacy-violation/2021/05/22/f5f145ec-b9ad-11eb-a6b1-
81296da0339b_story.html, May 22, 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    We urge Congress to expeditiously endorse five of the six judicial 
security measures approved by the Judicial Conference of the United 
States.\16\ We ask that the staffing proposal, however, be carefully 
reviewed where immediate steps can instead be taken to reassign 
existing USMS operational employees from bloated headquarter divisions 
and staff offices back to critically understaffed districts.\17\ 
Otherwise, beyond the more important issue of safety at our U.S. 
Courthouses and of the judicial process we question whether the 
greatest opportunity for excellence in public service can truly be 
achieved at USMS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\ https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/
letters_to_congressional_leadership_re_
judicial_security_0.pdf, August 19, 2020.
    \17\ For the past 15 months hundreds of USMS employees and 
contractors assigned to headquarter divisions and staff offices have 
predominantly teleworked amid the pandemic. Conversely, their peers 
assigned to districts mostly reported to district offices to carry out 
the Agency's critical missions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Sincerely,


 
 
 
      Dave Barnes                      Jason R. Wojdylo
      President                        Vice-President for Law
                                        Enforcement Operations
 

      
                                 ______
                                 
    Prepared Statement of the Federation of American Societies for 
                          Experimental Biology
                      nsf fiscal year 2022 funding
                                summary
    Federal investments in fundamental research have led to remarkable 
progress in the biological and biomedical sciences. Basic research was 
the groundwork for the speed--months instead of years--in the 
development of COVID-19 vaccines, and pre-clinical research, such as 
animal studies, has been essential to every step of achieving medical 
progress.
    Despite Congress' bipartisan support for investing in science, 
Federal funding for research has not kept pace, posing a threat to our 
Nation's competitiveness. We face a real threat of losing our edge in 
industries such as biotechnology if we do not prioritize increasing 
investments in science and building a diverse workforce.\1\ The U.S. 
spends less on research and development (R&D) than many countries. If 
the U.S. is to be prepared to respond to future threats, our scientific 
leadership must progress. According to Science Is Us, there is the 
added benefit of jobs. STEM supports 69 percent of U.S. gross domestic 
product, touches two out of three workers, and generates $2.3 trillion 
in tax revenue.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ NSF Science Indicators 2018
    \2\ STEM and the American Workforce. You've heard it before: STEM 
jobs--... | by Science is US | Medium
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Federal Government should commit to robust, predictable, and 
sustained funding increases for science agencies.
                      national science foundation
    With a mandate to support fundamental research across all fields of 
science, engineering, and mathematics, the NSF is the cornerstone of 
our Nation's scientific and innovation enterprise.

    Among Federal science agencies, NSF has the unique capacity to:

    Support multi-disciplinary research: By leveraging its portfolio 
across the sciences, NSF funds cutting-edge research at the interface 
of the physical, biological, and social sciences to tackle challenges 
in creative ways, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and 
geohealth.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ NSF's 10 Big Ideas, National Science Foundation, Alexandria, VA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Organize and lead research partnerships at speed and scale: The NSF 
coordinates and leads interagency research endeavors, including 
partnerships with NIH and DOE SC. These collaborations advance public 
health and clean energy, the development of artificial intelligence, 
and other national priorities.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ NSF Collaborations with Federal Agencies and Others, National 
Science Foundation, Alexandria, VA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Train the next generation of scientists: NSF plays a key role in 
supporting accessibility of scientific education, training scientists 
who will work across different scientific disciplines, and broadening 
participation in science and engineering among underrepresented and 
diverse groups.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ Education and Human Resources Directorate, National Science 
Foundation, Alexandria, VA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Despite its critical role in accelerating science and innovation, 
NSF's budget has not grown in real terms in nearly 20 years. Recent 
data demonstrates that NSF was able to fund only 22 percent of the 
high-quality research proposals that were submitted, rather than the 
National Science Board recommendation of 30 percent. In fiscal year 
2019, approximately $2.8 billion was requested for about 4,262 declined 
proposals that were rated Very Good or higher in the merit review 
process.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ Report on the National Science Foundation's Merit Review 
Process, Fiscal Year 2019, National Science Foundation, Alexandria, VA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Our recommendation ($10 billion) is $1.5 billion above fiscal year 
2021 to support a five percent increase across the agency's core 
research and education programs, establish a new grant program for 
early-career fellowships as envisioned in congressional legislation, 
fund more high-quality research proposals, and increase NSF's average 
award size.\7 \\8\ NSF could also accelerate key priorities, including 
Ten Big Ideas, Convergence Accelerators, Partnerships for Innovation, 
I-Corp, and Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure.\9 \\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ American Innovation Act
    \8\ Supporting Early Career Researchers Act
    \9\ National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerators and NSF 10 
Big Ideas Funding, Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request to Congress, 
National Science Foundation, Alexandria, VA
    \10\ Partnership for Innovation

    FASEB Fiscal Year 2022 Recommendation: At least $10 billion for 
NSF.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    [This statement was submitted by Ellen Kuo, Associate Director, 
Legislative Affairs.]
                                 ______
                                 
Prepared Statement of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and 
                             Brain Sciences
  fiscal year 2022 appropriations for the national science foundation
Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
subcommittee:

    The Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences 
(FABBS) is grateful for the opportunity to submit testimony for the 
record in support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) budget for 
fiscal year 2022. FABBS represents 27 scientific societies and over 
sixty university departments whose members and faculty share a 
commitment to advancing knowledge of the mind, brain, and behavior. As 
a leading member of the Coalition for National Science Funding, FABBS 
joins the broader scientific community in urging Congress to fund NSF 
with at least $10 billion in fiscal year 2022.
    FABBS is grateful for the strong bipartisan and bicameral support 
to re-invigorate Federal research and development at a time when our 
global competitors are looking to surpass American investments. The 
bipartisan United States Innovation and Competition Act recently passed 
by the Senate would authorize more than $80 billion for the Foundation 
over 5 years. This same commitment to growing NSF is reflected by 
Members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee in the 
bipartisan NSF for the Future Act recently passed out of committee, 
which would authorize $78 billion over 5 years. Furthermore, the 
President's budget request calls for over $10 billion in fiscal year 
2022, a 20 percent increase over fiscal year 2021 appropriations.
    This demonstration of support recognizes that NSF-funded research 
pays long-term dividends in health, national security, and the 
innovation and technologies driving our economy. In addition, NSF 
research and programs provide the tools to develop a workforce equipped 
for the challenges and technologies of the future and foster the next 
generation of scientists--with a commitment to broad participation--
whose work will keep this country at the forefront of discovery. 
Furthermore, Federal support for the NSF is vital to our research 
infrastructure. NSF supports one out of every four basic research 
projects at higher learning institutions across the United States.
    Despite the critical importance of NSF, and the fact that the U.S. 
has lost standing in international competitiveness, the agency remains 
woefully underfunded. Due to budget constraints, NSF must decline 
thousands of qualified proposals, of which nearly $3 Billion dollars' 
worth are rated very good or higher. NSF Director Panchanathan has 
indicated that proposals that do receive funding could produce better 
research outcomes and provide better value by increasing the size and 
duration of grants. In fact, he has said that NSF could double their 
budget on the current research and researchers that go unfunded, and 
``a quadrupling of the funding is just barely enough to be able to take 
us to all the ideas being unleashed so that we might be far ahead of 
the competition.''
    FABBS members are grateful that NSF received $75 million in the 
CARES Act and $600 million in the American Rescue Plan. These 
appropriations have already led to important insights related to the 
COVID-19 pandemic, while helping to alleviate the research 
interruptions caused by the public health crisis and fund timely 
research critical to helping our country slow the spread of COVID-19. 
NSF has made more than 1,000 awards to address questions related to the 
pandemic and its long-term consequences.
    Behavioral, cognitive, and social scientists are producing tools 
for policymakers, educators, and the general public to cope with and 
recover from the unprecedented circumstances of the past year. They are 
developing strategies to get students back on track, delineating best 
practices for public health communication, and advancing knowledge to 
foster resilience in the face of collective trauma and sustained 
periods of stress. Robust investment in basic science in fiscal year 
2022 is vital to accelerating the pandemic recovery and maintaining 
American leadership in research and development.
    FABBS scientists have a particular interest in the Social, 
Behavioral and Economics (SBE) Sciences directorate, which provides an 
estimated 62 percent of the Federal funding for fundamental research in 
SBE sciences at academic institutions across the country.\1\ Thus, our 
fields are heavily dependent on the NSF to inform discoveries from 
expanding our understanding of the mechanisms of memory underlying 
brain activity, to contributing to the design and assessing the social 
and ethical consequences of new technologies, to better understanding 
decision making and risk assessment with broad implications for health 
and public policy. SBE is home to the National Center for Science and 
Engineering Statistics (NCSES), a Federal statistical agency that 
provides statistical information about the United States' science and 
engineering (S&E) enterprise. NCSES collects, analyzes, and 
disseminates data on research and development (R&D), the S&E workforce, 
the condition and progress of science, STEM education, and U.S. 
competitiveness in science, engineering, and technology R&D.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2021/pdf/28_fy2021.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In addition to receiving support from SBE, FABBS members appreciate 
critical funding from the Computer and Information Science and 
Engineering Directorate (CISE), which funds research on topics such as 
human-technology interaction and cyber-assisted learning; the 
Biological Sciences (BIO) Directorate, which funds research on topics 
such as sleep and circadian rhythms and sex differences in responses to 
stress; and the Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate, which 
funds research on increasing America's human capital through effective 
education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
    We recognize that Congress must balance competing budget priorities 
while working to deliver a robust recovery from the pandemic. To that 
end, increasing Federal investment in fundamental scientific research 
across all sciences is critical to successfully managing the pandemic 
recovery and ensuring the future prosperity, security, and health of 
our Nation and its people. We urge you to provide NSF with at least $10 
billion for fiscal year 2022. Along with the broader scientific 
community, we believe that increased funding for fundamental scientific 
research would set the NSF on a path to yield transformative benefits 
to the country. We thank you in advance for your commitment to robust 
funding in fiscal year 2022 and efforts to complete the budget in a 
timely manner.
    Thank you for considering this request.
                         FABBS MEMBER SOCIETIES
Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research
American Educational Research Association
American Psychological Association
American Psychosomatic Society
Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
Association for Behavior Analysis International
Behavior Genetics Association
Cognitive Neuroscience Society
Cognitive Science Society
International Congress of Infant Studies
International Society for Developmental Psychobiology
Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society
National Academy of Neuropsychology
The Psychonomic Society
Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
Society for Computation in Psychology
Society for Judgement and Decision Making
Society for Mathematical Psychology
Society for Psychophysiological Research
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
Society for Research in Child Development
Society for Research in Psychopathology
Society for the Scientific Study of Reading
Society for Text & Discourse
Society of Experimental Social Psychology
Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology
Vision Sciences Society
                            FABBS AFFILIATES
APA Division 1: The Society for General Psychology
APA Division 3: Experimental Psychology
APA Division 7: Developmental Psychology
APA Division 28: Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse
Arizona State University
Binghamton University
Boston University
California State University, Fullerton
Carnegie Mellon University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Duke University
East Tennessee State University
Florida International University
Florida State University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University--Purdue University Indianapolis
Johns Hopkins University
Kent State University
Lehigh University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michigan State University
New York University
North Carolina State University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
The Ohio State University, Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Pennsylvania State University
Princeton University
Purdue University
Rice University
Southern Methodist University
Stanford University
Syracuse University
Temple University
Texas A&M University
Tulane University
University of Arizona
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of Chicago
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Delaware
University of Houston
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Iowa
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota, Institute of Child Development
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Dallas
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest University
Washington University in St. Louis
Yale University

    [This statement was submitted by Juliane Baron, Executive 
Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
     Prepared Statement of the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical 
                               University
fiscal year 2022 programmatic allocations for education programs under 
the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa) and national 
                        science foundation (nsf)
    Chair Leahy, Chair Shaheen, Vice Chairman Shelby, Ranking Member 
Moran, and Members of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related 
Agencies subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit public 
testimony on the Fiscal Year 2022 Commerce, Justice, Science, and 
Related Agencies Appropriations bill. Specifically, FAMU supports the 
President's fiscal year 2022 budget request for the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Education Partnership Program 
with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) and the National Sea Grant 
College Program, as well as the National Science Foundation's Education 
and Human Resources education programs. These congressionally 
authorized Federal programs have a direct impact on FAMU, our students, 
our region and our Nation.
    Florida A&M University, based in the State capitol of Tallahassee, 
Florida, was founded in 1887 with only 15 students and two instructors. 
Today, FAMU has grown to nearly 10,000 students and we are the highest 
ranked among public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) 
according to the U.S. News and World Report National Public 
Universities. Our University offers 56 bachelor's degrees, 29 master's 
degrees, 12 doctoral degrees and three professional degrees. We are a 
leading land-grant research institution with an increased focus on 
science, technology, research, engineering, agriculture, and 
mathematics.
    The Federal Government is a key partner and resource for FAMU. The 
Federal science agencies, in particular, support a wide range of the 
University's education, research and training programs. In turn, we 
produce highly-skilled graduates in critical disciplines and conduct 
cutting edge research benefitting the Federal Government as well as the 
Nation. FAMU strongly supports funding for two important education 
programs under the Department of Commerce National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as well as education programs under 
the National Science Foundation Directorate for Education & Human 
Resources (EHR).
 noaa education partnership program with minority serving institutions 
                               (epp/msi)
    FAMU is one of the four lead universities for the NOAA Education 
Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) 
Cooperative Science Centers (CSCs), and as such we support the proposed 
increase for the program in the President's fiscal year 2022 budget. 
The goal of the EPP/MSI is to increase the number of students, 
particularly from underrepresented communities, who attend Minority 
Serving Institutions and graduate with degrees in science, technology, 
engineering and mathematics (STEM) relevant to NOAA's mission.
    In August 2016 under the EPP/MSI program, NOAA awarded Cooperative 
Science Centers (CSCs) to four universities under 5-year cooperative 
agreements. This was the latest round of CSC awards since the program 
was first established in 2001. FAMU is the lead university for the 
Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems, one of the four CSCs. Our 
partners include Bethune Cookman University, California State 
University Monterey Bay, Jackson State University, Texas A&M University 
(Corpus Christi), and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The 
annual appropriation supports FAMU, along with other lead Minority 
Serving Institutions, which partner with 24 additional U.S. colleges 
and universities as part of the CSC program. The faculty and students 
conduct research that further supports NOAA's mission.
    In April 2021, FAMU hosted the first phase of the Tenth Biennial 
NOAA EPP/MSI Education and Science Forum. The focus of the Forum is 
expanding academic training in NOAA-mission STEM disciplines, through 
partnership activities as well as promoting career opportunities for 
STEM graduates in the public, private, and academic sectors.
    Since 2001, NOAA EPP/MSI Cooperative Science Centers institutions 
have awarded post-secondary degrees to over 2,300 students in fields 
that support NOAA's mission. Over the same time period, these 
institutions awarded over half of the doctoral degrees that were earned 
by African Americans in both atmospheric science and marine science in 
the United States. The President's fiscal year 2022 budget for NOAA's 
Office of Education proposes a $3 million increase in funding for this 
critical program, which supports NOAA-related research, increases 
diversity of the STEM workforce and fosters American competitiveness in 
STEM fields. We urge the subcommittee to support the President's budget 
proposal and provide increased funding for the NOAA EPP/MSI program.
                noaa national sea grant college program
    FAMU also strongly supports the subcommittee allocating the 
President's fiscal year 2022 budget request of $115.7 million for 
NOAA's National Sea Grant College Program, which works to create and 
maintain a healthy coastal environment and economy. The Sea Grant 
network consists of a Federal/university partnership between NOAA and 
34 university-based programs in every coastal and Great Lakes State, 
Puerto Rico, and Guam. The network draws on the expertise of more than 
3,000 scientists, engineers, public outreach experts, educators and 
students to help citizens better understand, conserve and utilize 
America's coastal resources.
    The Florida Sea Grant program is a Statewide program headquartered 
at the University of Florida. The program supports research, education 
and extension to conserve coastal resources and enhance economic 
opportunities for the citizens of Florida. Since 1997, faculty and 
students at 13 participating institutions, including FAMU, have 
received Federal funding from the Florida Sea Grant. In 2019, the 
economic impact of the Florida Sea Grant program was $17.1 million and 
resulted in 372 jobs created or sustained. The program also supported a 
variety of research and training relevant to Florida's coastal 
communities and related industries, including developing a model to 
project future flood risks to support Florida's coastal resiliency 
plans. The program augments the State's artificial reef efforts and 
helps to protect, enhance and restore coastal habitat. Nationally, the 
Sea Grant program had an economic impact of $412.4 million in 2020, far 
exceeding the Federal investment in the program. The national program 
helped to create or sustain 10,404 jobs and 998 businesses. It also 
supported nearly 2,000 graduate and undergraduate students and fellows.
    The President's fiscal year 2022 budget proposes to substantially 
increase funding for the National Sea Grant College Program under 
NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). Continued 
funding for this program, which has been in existence for more than 50 
years, is critical to supporting Great Lakes and coastal communities, 
including those in Florida, through research, extension and education. 
FAMU, as a member of the Florida Sea Grant program, urges the 
subcommittee to support the President's budget proposal and fund the 
Sea Grant program at the requested level of $115.7 million.
          national science foundation (nsf) education programs
    The NSF Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) 
supports a wide variety of programs across all levels of education in 
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In particular, 
FAMU supports funding for the broadening participation programs aimed 
at increasing the participation of underrepresented populations in STEM 
education and, ultimately, the STEM workforce. These programs include 
the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program 
(HBCU-UP). FAMU urges the subcommittee to support the President's 
budget request of $46.5 million for HBCU-UP.
    FAMU has received significant research funding through NSF, 
including more than $4 million from NSF in fiscal year 2020. These 
grants have funded a variety of scientific research projects as well as 
programs to promote underrepresented minorities in STEM careers. FAMU 
continues to pursue NSF funding for innovative projects and encourages 
the subcommittee to provide robust funding for NSF's education 
programs.
    The President's fiscal year 2022 budget requests $1.28 billion for 
NSF's EHR programs. The budget also proposes an increase in the HBCU-UP 
program. Funding at the President's budget request for EHR and the 
HBCU-UP would allow NSF to expand its important work of supporting STEM 
education programs, particularly its broadening participation programs 
directed at underrepresented populations.
    We urge the subcommittee to support the President's proposed budget 
increases for these critical NOAA and NSF education programs. We thank 
you for your continued support of Federal postsecondary initiatives 
that not only directly benefit our University but the region and the 
Nation as well. Thank you for your consideration.

    [This statement was submitted by President Larry Robinson, Ph.D.]
                                 ______
                                 
             Prepared Statement of Futures Without Violence

June 22, 2022

 
 
 
The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen,            The Honorable Jerry Moran,
  Chairwoman                               Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,       Subcommittee on Commerce,
  Science, and Related Agencies           Justice,
Committee on Appropriations                Science, and Related Agencies
United States Senate                     Committee on Appropriations
Washington, D.C. 20510                   United States Senate
                                         Washington, D.C. 20510
 


Dear Chairwoman Shaheen and Ranking Member Moran:

    For more than 35 years, Futures Without Violence (FUTURES) has been 
providing groundbreaking programs, policies, and campaigns that empower 
individuals and organizations working to end violence against women and 
children around the world. Striving to reach new audiences and 
transform social norms, we train professionals such as doctors, nurses, 
judges, and athletic coaches on improving responses to violence and 
abuse. We also work with advocates, policymakers, and others to build 
sustainable community leadership and educate people everywhere about 
the importance of respect and healthy relationships.

        -- To create a future without violence, we support $2 million 
        for VAWA's the National Resource Center on Workplace Responses 
        (Workplaces Respond) in fiscal year 2022. This authorized 
        program is currently funded at $1 million.

    Futures Without Violence is a member of the National Campaign for 
Funding to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, an alliance of over 30 
national organizations that support full funding for gender-based 
violence programs. Workplaces Respond is also supported by this 
coalition. On behalf of FUTURES, please allow us to provide some 
background on the Workplace Resource Center and the need for an 
increase to $2 million for this national program that supports economic 
security and safety for gender-based violence survivors.
    Authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and funded 
through the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against 
Women (OVW), the National Resource Center on Workplace Responses is the 
only national program focused on fostering survivors' economic security 
by promoting their safety and well-being on the job, and helping 
employers address how gender-based violence affects the workplace 
overall.
    Economic security is a critical protective factor for survivors, so 
they have the resources necessary to seek safety, independence, and 
long-term stability for themselves and their children. The pandemic's 
disproportionate impact on women--especially women of color -has 
further eroded survivors' ability to achieve economic self-sufficiency. 
Women in the U.S. lost 5.5 million jobs in the first 10 months of the 
pandemic, nearly 1 million more job losses than men;

  --60 percent of survivors reported job loss due to impacts of abuse; 
        and
  --Survivors are 5-6 times more likely to drop out of job training 
        programs due to the impacts of abuse and lingering effects of 
        trauma.

    While we are entering the recovery stage of COVID, the fundamental 
need to support survivors, particularly women of color, remains, and 
the Workplace Resource Center has the effective results to meet this 
need. Since it was created, the Resource Center has conducted 
approximately 200 trainings and assisted nearly 20,000 people and 
countless workplaces. Workplaces Respond has helped ensure victim and 
workplace safety and productivity through:

  --online-based resources;
  --specialized education, training, and technical assistance for 
        private and public workplaces, and other workplace 
        stakeholders;
  --awareness raising and outreach; and
  --policies and practices to prevent and respond to violence impacting 
        workers and the workplace.

    In the past few years, since the start of the #MeToo movement and 
being inundated with requests, the Workplace Resource Center invested 
in creating a new online resource hub that provides guidance for 
employers, sample training curricula, and tools and strategies for 
impacted employees. This was completed as funding remained level at $1 
million.
    For fiscal year 2022, we are requesting an increase in funding this 
year to $2 million through this VAWA program to carry out expanded and 
timely areas of work:

  --Trauma-Responsiveness: In response to the devastating impact the 
        COVID-19 pandemic has had on women's employment, the Workplace 
        Resource Center seeks to engage employers through collaboration 
        and capacity building to help reconnect survivors to 
        employment. Building on strategies and tools our staff 
        developed for trafficking victim service providers and local 
        workforce development programs through a grant from DOJ's 
        Office for Victims of Crime, we propose a new, but 
        complementary initiative to ensure that survivors of domestic 
        violence, dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking are 
        better able to access job and skill-building programs, secure 
        employment, and work within safe and trauma-responsive 
        workplaces. This collaborative model was developed through 11 
        local victim service and employer collaborations across 10 
        cities and States.
  --Industry-specific Pilots: In the past, the Workplace Resource 
        Center has worked with local and regional-level hospitals, farm 
        workers, and restaurants to support industry-specific best 
        practices. We have started similar work with the fast food 
        industry this past year, and an increase in funding could 
        support a more robust demand for technical assistance and 
        training to develop replicable practices.
  --Scale and Spread Strategy: In order to replicate the model of 
        employer engagement and foster local collaborations between 
        victim services providers and employers, the Workplace Resource 
        Center is in the process of instituting a Workplaces Respond 
        Institute, which will bring representatives from 14 different 
        localities to be trained on how to create a localized 
        prevention and education model for employers, engage workplaces 
        in better responding to violence impacting workers and the 
        workplace, and support survivors in achieving economic 
        stability.
  --Federal employees: The public sector, which represents over 15 
        percent of the U.S. workforce, has always been under the 
        Workplace Resource Center's umbrella. Recently, there is 
        increasing interest from Federal agencies and OPM to re-engage 
        in this work using the existing Presidential Memorandum--
        Establishing Policies for Addressing Domestic Violence in the 
        Federal Workforce; increased appropriations would support this 
        work.

    For additional information, please contact Linda Seabrook, General 
Counsel and Director of Workplace Safety & Equity, 
[email protected],, Kiersten Stewart, Director of 
Public Policy and Advocacy, at [email protected], or 
Sally Schaeffer, consultant, at [email protected].

    [This statement was submitted by Esta Soler, President.]
                                 ______
                                 
        Prepared Statement of the Geological Society of America
    national science foundation and national aeronautics and space 
                             administration
    The Geological Society of America (GSA) supports strong and growing 
investments in geoscience research and education at the National 
Science Foundation (NSF) and National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration (NASA). We encourage Congress to appropriate $10 billion 
for NSF in fiscal year 2022 and increases to NASA's Science Mission 
Directorate and its Earth Science and Planetary Science Divisions. 
Investment in NSF and NASA is necessary to secure America's future 
economic leadership, both through the discoveries made and the talent 
developed through their programs. For the United States to remain a 
global leader, the Nation must provide greater investment in its 
people, particularly women and individuals from other groups 
traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. Earth and space science 
at these two agencies play a vital role in American prosperity and 
security by playing an integral role in understanding and documenting 
mineral and energy resources that underpin economic growth; researching 
and monitoring potential natural hazards that threaten U.S. and 
international security; and determining and assessing water quality and 
availability.

    The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a scientific society 
with members from academia, government, and industry in more than 100 
countries. Through its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA 
enhances the professional growth of its members and promotes the 
geosciences in the service of humankind. GSA encourages cooperative 
research among earth, life, planetary, and social scientists, fosters 
public dialogue on geoscience issues, and supports all levels of earth 
science education.
                      national science foundation
    The Geological Society of America (GSA) appreciates the increase to 
the National Science Foundation (NSF) budget in fiscal year 2021 and 
thanks the Committee for recognizing the important role that the agency 
plays in our country's global competitiveness. We urge Congress to 
provide NSF at least $10 billion in fiscal year 2022.
    Sustained increases beyond inflation are necessary to regain 
America's science and technology leadership and to enable the 
discoveries that lead to future innovations and industries. Data from 
the Merit Review Process Fiscal Year 2019 Digest show that NSF receives 
many more high-quality proposals than it can fund. In fiscal year 2019, 
NSF was only able to fund 27 percent of the proposals received. The 
report noted, ``Approximately $2.8 billion was requested for declined 
proposals that were rated Very Good or higher in the merit review 
process--proposals that, if funded, may have produced substantial 
research and education benefits.'' The report States that National 
Science Board members ``believe that the long-term health of the 
research community and promised benefits to the Nation demand a funding 
rate closer to the historical average of 30 percent or more.'' 
Increases in funding will allow NSF to continue to support its core 
basic research in addition to growing investments in its Ten Big Ideas 
and other transformational research. These big ideas are designed to 
position the U.S. on the cutting edge of global science and engineering 
leadership and will build upon and complement the basic research 
occurring in the directorates.
    Geoscience research is a critical component of the overall science 
and technology enterprise and a key contributor to groundbreaking 
research across disciplines at NSF. NSF's Directorate for Geosciences 
is the largest Federal supporter of basic geoscience research at 
universities. Increased investments in NSF's geoscience portfolio are 
necessary to address such issues as natural hazards, energy and 
minerals, water resources, education, and needed research funding due 
to the coronavirus pandemic.

  --There is a vital need to understand the abundance and distribution 
        of critical mineral resources, as well as the geologic 
        processes that form them, as articulated in the Energy Policy 
        Act of 2020. NSF's Division of Earth Sciences supports research 
        on the structure, composition, and evolution of the Earth and 
        the processes that govern the formation and behavior of the 
        Earth's materials. This research contributes to a better 
        understanding of the natural distribution of mineral and energy 
        resources.
  --The quality and quantity of surface water and groundwater have a 
        direct impact on the wellbeing of societies and ecosystems, as 
        evidenced by flooding and drought impacts experienced across 
        the U.S. during the past year. NSF's research addresses major 
        gaps in our understanding of water availability, quality, and 
        dynamics, including the impact of both a changing climate and 
        human activity on the water system.
  --The Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences provides critical 
        infrastructure and research funding for understanding our 
        planet, including weather and precipitation variability and 
        atmospheric and space weather hazards. NSF is a key partner in 
        obtaining data necessary to predict severe space weather 
        events, which affect the electric power grid, satellite 
        communications, and navigation systems. The Promoting Research 
        and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of 
        Tomorrow Act (PROSWIFT Act), which was signed into law in 
        October of 2020, highlights how NSF contributes to 
        understanding these research questions.
  --Understanding the oceans is key to a sustainable future. The 
        National Research Council report Sea Change: 2015-2025 Decadal 
        Survey of Ocean Sciences highlights areas of research that are 
        need to make informed decisions, including: How can risk be 
        better characterized and the ability to forecast geohazards 
        like megaearthquakes, tsunamis, undersea landslides, and 
        volcanic eruptions be improved? What are the rates, mechanisms, 
        impacts, and geographic variability of sea level change? How 
        different will marine food webs be at mid-century? In the next 
        100 years? Additional support for NSF would allow researchers 
        to find answers to these essential questions.
  --Natural hazards are a major cause of fatalities and economic 
        losses. NOAA found in 2020 alone, there were 13 severe storms, 
        seven tropical cyclones, one drought, and one wildfire that 
        resulted in a cost of $95 billion and 262 deaths. An improved 
        scientific understanding of hazards will reduce future losses 
        by informing effective planning and mitigation. We urge 
        Congress to support NSF investments in fundamental Earth 
        science research and facilities that underpin innovations in 
        natural hazards monitoring and warning systems. For example, 
        the Coastlines and People (CoPe) initiative aims to understand 
        the impacts of coastal environmental variability and natural 
        hazards on populated coastal regions.
             national aeronautics and space administration
    GSA requests increases to NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) 
and its Earth Science and Planetary Science Divisions. Increased 
funding will be critical to implement the recommendations of the recent 
National Academy of Sciences' Earth Science and Applications from Space 
(ESAS) Decadal Survey report. The report notes,
    ``Earth science and applications are a key part of the Nation's 
information infrastructure, warranting a U.S. program of Earth 
observations from space that is robust, resilient, and appropriately 
balanced.''
    The data and observations from Earth observing missions and 
research are a tremendously important resource for natural resource 
exploration and land use planning, as well as assessing water 
resources, natural disaster impacts, and global agriculture production. 
GSA supports interagency efforts to ensure the future viability of 
Landsat satellites as well as funding to increase the capabilities and 
uses of multi-spacecraft constellations of small scientific satellites.
    We appreciate congressional support in fiscal year 2021 for Earth 
Science Missions, and request that Congress continue their funding in 
fiscal year 2022. These missions will advance science frontiers and 
provide critical data for society. For example, NASA's Plankton, 
Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will help monitor the 
duration and impact of harmful algae blooms and The Climate Absolute 
Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder will enable 
industry and military decision-makers to more accurately assess natural 
hazards, such as flooding.
    By looking at our planet as an integrated system, NASA's Earth and 
climate science efforts are among the Nation's most effective tools to 
understand and tackle climate change. Planetary research is directly 
linked to Earth science research and cuts in either program will hinder 
the other. To support missions to better understand the workings of the 
entire solar system, planetary scientists engage in both terrestrial 
field studies and Earth observation to examine geologic features and 
processes that are common on other planets, such as impact structures, 
volcanic constructs, tectonic structures, and glacial and fluvial 
deposits and landforms. In addition, geochemical planetary research 
studies include investigations of extraterrestrial materials now on 
Earth, including lunar samples, meteorites, cosmic dust particles, and, 
most recently, particles returned from comets and asteroids. We 
appreciate past congressional support for this area and urge you to 
continue to increase this important area to support priority areas 
identified in the Planetary Science Decadal Survey.
              support needed to educate future innovators
    Earth scientists will be essential to meeting the environmental and 
resource challenges of the twenty-first century, but a shortage is 
expected in the future workforce. The Status of the Geoscience 
Workforce Report 2018 found an expected deficit of approximately 
118,000 geoscientists by 2026. It also highlighted the diversity of 
careers supported by geoscience research. For example, the report found 
that the majority of master's degree graduates found jobs in the oil 
and gas industry and government, while environmental services, such as 
environmental consulting and remediation of water and soil, hired the 
highest percentage of geoscience bachelor's degree graduates. Other 
industries hiring geoscientists include manufacturing, trade, 
construction, information technology services, mining, and agriculture. 
Increased NSF and NASA investments in Earth science education are 
necessary to meet these workforce needs and develop an informed, 
science-literate population.
    For the United States to remain a global leader, the Nation must 
provide greater investment in its people, including women and 
individuals from other groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM 
fields. NSF's Education and Human Resources Directorate researches and 
improves the way we teach science and provides research and fellowship 
opportunities for students to encourage them to continue in the 
sciences. Similarly, NASA's educational programs, led by NASA's Office 
of STEM Engagement and directorates, have inspired and led many into 
science careers. GSA fully supports these efforts, as well as 
additional programs to make the geoscience workforce more diverse, such 
as NSF INCLUDES--Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners 
of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science.
    Please contact GSA Director for Geoscience Policy Kasey White to 
learn more about the Geological Society of America--including GSA 
Position Statements on water resources, planetary research, energy and 
mineral resources, natural hazards, climate change, and public 
investment in Earth science research.

    [This statement was submitted by Kasey White, Director for 
Geoscience Policy.]
                                 ______
                                 
     Prepared Statement of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
      fiscal year 2022 funding for the national science foundation
    On behalf of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), we 
are pleased to provide this written testimony to House Appropriations 
subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies 
for the official record. HFES urges the subcommittee to provide at 
least $10 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the 
fiscal year 2022 appropriations process. In addition, HFES supports 
efforts by NSF to broaden participation in science for underrepresented 
groups to ensure a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce and 
research enterprise, such as the INCLUDES and ADVANCE initiatives. 
These efforts are critical to not only fixing inequities in the U.S. 
research enterprise but also to ensuring that the U.S. has the robust, 
21st Century workforce needed to maintain its competitive edge in 
technological innovation.
    HFES is a multidisciplinary professional association with over 
3,000 individual members worldwide, comprised of scientists and 
practitioners, all with a common interest in enhancing the performance, 
effectiveness, and safety of systems with which humans interact through 
the design of those systems' user interfaces to optimally fit humans' 
physical and cognitive capabilities. The Society and its members 
strongly believe that investment in scientific research serves as an 
important driver for innovation and the economy, national security, and 
maintaining American global competitiveness. Funding for fundamental 
research at NSF to address national and societal needs will be critical 
as Congress looks at legislation to ensure the U.S. remains the global 
leader in advancing science and technology. We thank the subcommittee 
for its longtime recognition of the value of scientific and engineering 
research and its contribution to innovation in the U.S.
    human factors and ergonomics at the national science foundation
    HFES and its members strongly believe that Federal investment in 
NSF will have a direct and positive impact on the U.S. economy, 
national security, and the health and well-being of Americans. It is 
for these reasons that HFES supports robust funding for the Foundation 
to encourage further advancements in the fields of technology, 
education, defense, and healthcare, among others. In the past, NSF 
funding for HF/E basic research has strengthened interdisciplinary 
partnerships allowing for a multilateral approach to technology 
research and development, including the human and user perspectives. 
The benefits of this research are not confined to one field but rather 
span across a range of disciplines to increase understanding of the way 
humans interact with technology, as well as with each other.

    In particular, NSF funds HF/E research to:

  --Better understand and improve the effectiveness of how individuals, 
        groups, organizations, and society make decisions.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Decision, Risk & Management Sciences (DRMS) Program (http://
www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_
summ.jsp?pims_id=5423)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  --Improve understanding of the relationship between science and 
        engineering, technology, and society, in order to advance the 
        adoption and use of technology.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ Science and Technology Studies (STS) Program (https://
www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_
summ.jsp?pims_id=505697)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  --Gain a better understanding of how humans and computers interact to 
        ensure the development of new devices or environments that 
        empower the user.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ Human Centered Computing (HCC) Program (https://www.nsf.gov/
funding/pgm_
summ.jsp?pims_id=504958)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  --Inform decision making in engineering design, control, and 
        optimization to improve individual engineering components and 
        entire systems.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ Operation and Design Cluster (http://www.nsf.gov/funding/
pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13473)

    HF/E research will be especially critical as Congress and the 
Federal Government work to develop, adopt, and broadly integrate 
emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). HFES 
recognizes that most systems that rely on AI will not operate 
independently but will be initially programmed and trained by humans to 
augment, collaborate, or perform specific tasks.
    The HF/E profession has conducted detailed research on impacts of 
AI on human performance, and HFES believes AI must be designed to 
successfully support human capabilities and overcome known human 
cognitive limitations, so that humans can understand the actions and 
intentions of AI. More research is needed to understand how systems can 
be designed to overcome AI biases, provide transparency and 
explainability for human use, and provide clear interfaces for human-AI 
interactions. Interdisciplinary research programs at NSF to address 
these challenges, such as its Fairness in Artificial Intelligence 
program \5\ and the AI Research Institutes,\6\ will be critical to 
ensuring the U.S. achieves the promised benefits AI can bring to 
society.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ NSF Program on Fairness in Artificial Intelligence in 
Collaboration with Amazon (FAI) (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/
pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505651)
    \6\ Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes (https://
www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?
pims_id=505686)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
           the value of human factors and ergonomics science
    For over 50 years, the U.S. Federal Government has funded 
scientists and engineers to explore and better understand the 
relationship between humans, technology, and the environment. 
Originally stemming from urgent needs to improve the performance of 
humans using complex systems such as aircraft during World War II, the 
field of human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) works to develop safe, 
effective, and practical human use of technology. HF/E does this by 
developing scientific approaches for understanding this complex 
interface, also known as ``human-systems integration.'' Today, HF/E is 
applied to fields as diverse as transportation, architecture, 
environmental design, consumer products, electronics and computers, 
energy systems, medical devices, manufacturing, office automation, 
organizational design and management, aging, farming, health, sports 
and recreation, oil field operations, mining, forensics, and education.
    With increasing reliance by Federal agencies and the private sector 
on technology-aided decision-making, HF/E is vital to effectively 
achieving our National objectives. While a large proportion of HF/E 
research exists at the intersection of science and practice--that is, 
HF/E is often viewed more at the ``applied'' end of the science 
continuum--the field also contributes to advancing ``fundamental'' 
scientific understanding of the interface between human decision-
making, engineering, design, technology, and the world around us 
through research funded by NSF. The reach of HF/E is profound, touching 
nearly all aspects of human life from the health care sector to the 
ways we travel, to the hand-held devices we use every day.
                               conclusion
    Given NSF's critical role in supporting fundamental research and 
education across science and engineering disciplines, HFES supports an 
overall fiscal year 2022 NSF budget of at least $10 billion. This 
investment funds important research studies, enabling an evidence-base, 
methodology, and measurements for improving organizational function, 
performance, and design across sectors and disciplines.
    On behalf of HFES, we would like to thank you for the opportunity 
to provide this testimony. Please do not hesitate to contact us should 
you have any questions about HFES or HF/E research. HFES truly 
appreciates the subcommittee's long history of support for scientific 
research and innovation.

    [This statement was submitted by Peter Hancock, DSc, PhD, 
President, and Steven C. Kemp, CAE, Executive Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
          Prepared Statement of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe
                  departments of justice and commerce
    On behalf of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, I am pleased to submit 
this written testimony on our funding priorities and requests for the 
Fiscal Year 2022 for the Department of Commerce and the Department of 
Justice budgets. Our budget request endorses the requests and 
recommendations of our international, regional, and national partners, 
the Pacific Salmon Commission, the Northwest Indian Fisheries 
Commission, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and the National 
Congress of American Indians.
    The moral compass of our Nation is expressed annually when Congress 
exercises its authority to appropriate funding to support certain 
programs and services. The Constitution, Treaties, Executive Orders, 
and numerous court decisions established the legal and moral foundation 
for prioritizing funding for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/
AN). Yet, as documented by two Reports that were issued by the U.S. 
Civil Rights Commission, a quiet crisis of unfulfilled Federal 
obligations has persisted for decades across Indian Country and has 
left our Tribal citizens and communities vulnerable to the current 
public health crisis and economic devastation. The COVID-19 pandemic's 
disproportionate impact on AI/AN resulted in the highest rates of 
infection, hospitalizations, and deaths compared to any other racial 
and ethnic group in the U.S. And these harrowing statistics are likely 
much worse given the lack of accurate, reliable, quality data on AI/AN.
    The Biden Administration has committed to respect Tribal 
sovereignty, as well as, uphold the trust responsibility, strengthen 
the Nation-to-Nation relationship, and empower Tribal communities 
through Self-Governance and Self-Determination to make their own 
decisions and govern their own communities. We urge Congress to follow 
suit and pass a Federal budget for AI/AN that is reflective of the 
solemn promises made by the U.S. We have proven time and again that 
when you invest in Jamestown and empower our Tribe to exercise our 
inherent right of Self-Governance we become strong economic development 
drivers for our community and the surrounding region by growing our 
resource base and creating jobs. Tribes are a critical governmental 
partner in our Nation's quest to ``Build Back Better''.
UPHOLD TRUST AND TREATY OBLIGATIONS
    1.  Provide Recurring Base Funding for Tribal Programs
    2.  Require All Agencies to Provide an Annual Estimate of the Costs 
to Fully Fund Tribal Programs & Improve Data Collection to Support 
Tribal Funding Requests
    3.  Provide Mandatory Funding for Tribal Programs and Services
TRIBAL REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS--DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (Support 
        the fiscal year 2022 request of the Pacific Salmon Commission)
    1.  Provide $110 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery 
Fund (NOAA/NMFS)
    2.  Provide $18.3 million for the Pacific Salmon Treaty, including 
the additional $5.5 million for the 2008 Chinook Salmon Agreement 
(NOAA/NMFS)
    3.  Provide $25.9 million for the Mitchell Act Hatchery Program 
(NOAA/NMFS)
NATIONAL REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS--DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
    1.  Fully Fund the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA)
    2.  Fully Fund Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
    3.  Office of Justice Programs (OJP)--Create a Ten Percent (10 
percent) Tribal Set-Aside for Tribes
    4.  Victims of Crime Act Funding--Provide a five percent (5 
percent) set aside
    5.  Fund COPS Program--$52 million
UPHOLD TRUST & TREATY OBLIGATIONS
            1. Provide Recurring Base Funding for Tribal Programs
    Stable base funding at sufficient levels is essential for viable 
and effective Tribal programs and services. Grant funding is highly 
competitive, short-term, the application process is complex, the 
administrative burden on Tribes is excessive and there are numerous 
restrictions imposed on how Tribes may use the funds. Simply put, 
competitive grants create barriers to effectively and efficiently 
provide programs and services in Tribal communities. Reducing 
Administrative inefficiencies would improve program effectiveness and 
increase the ability of Tribes to leverage the Federal dollar. Base 
funding coupled with more flexibility allows for more effective and 
efficient use of the Federal dollar and stronger Tribal governmental 
systems resulting in resilient and self-reliant Tribal citizens and 
communities.
            2. Require All Agencies to Provide an Annual Estimate of 
                    the Costs to Fully Fund Tribal Programs & Improve 
                    Data Collection to Support Tribal Funding Requests
    It is incumbent upon the agencies, as trustees, to work 
collectively with the Tribes to quantify the true unmet need/
unfulfilled Federal obligation with credible metrics that will 
demonstrate an accurate community profile for each Tribe. We need 
economic statistics and data that establish and drive policy goals, 
ensure effective implementation of programs and services, measure 
funding impacts, prove effective and efficient use of funding, and to 
demonstrate program success. These data metrics, however, are not a 
``justification'' of whether Tribes deserve funding. The Federal 
obligation does not dissipate if a Tribe performs poorly in any area. 
Rather, a heightened response by the government is required to identify 
the challenges that impede a Tribe's success and to build greater 
capacity at the local level, if necessary. At this point in time, there 
is not a system in place that captures the data needed. There is an 
absence of good data agency-wide with some agencies under the prior 
Administration having imposed a moratorium on the collection of needs-
based data for Tribes. The Federal Government needs to be held 
accountable and directed to work in partnership with Tribes to collect 
data that quantifies the true unmet needs/unfulfilled Federal 
obligations in Indian country.
            3. Provide Mandatory Funding for Tribal Programs and 
                    Services
    Trust and Treaty obligations are not discretionary; these are 
mandatory responsibilities and obligations. On an annual basis Tribes 
are required to ``justify'' their budgetary needs and prove to the 
Federal Government that the Federal investment in Tribal communities is 
a good investment. We have shown time and again that the Federal 
investment in Jamestown is a good investment but the narrative about 
funding needs to be re-written because it is mischaracterizing the 
Federal trust obligation. Tribes relinquished their lands and resources 
in exchange for funding and services from the Federal Government in 
perpetuity and that obligation has not changed with time. It is 
solidified in our Constitution, Treaties, Executive Orders, and 
countless legal opinions.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TRIBAL REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
            1. $110 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery 
                    Fund (NOAA/NMFS)
    The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery fund was established to reverse 
the decline of salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest. Jamestown 
uses the funds to restore wild salmon populations and to protect and 
restore important habitat in the Puget Sound coastal plains. These 
funds also support our policy development and help to build the 
technical capacity of our Natural Resources staff charged with 
planning, implementation, and monitoring recovery activities.
            2. $43.5 million for the Pacific Salmon Treaty--The U.S. 
                    Section estimates that this funding is needed to 
                    implement national commitments created by the 
                    Treaty (NOAA/NMFS)
    Since 1985, the Pacific Salmon Treaty, between Canada and the 
United States, has provided the framework for international 
collaboration and cooperation to conserve and manage Pacific Salmon. 
The Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC), Parties to the Treaty, works to 
establish fishery regimes, develop management recommendations, assess 
each country's performance and compliance with the Treaty, and is the 
forum for all entities to work towards reaching an agreement on mutual 
fisheries issues. In 2019, the Parties implemented a new 10-year 
agreement for these fisheries through 2028 and it is essential for the 
U.S. to uphold its commitment each year.
            3. $25.9 million for the Mitchell Act Hatchery Program 
                    (NOAA/NMFS)
    Jamestown hatchery operations have elevated our success and 
generated a substantial return on our investment in our aquaculture 
business. The Tribe operates three hatcheries, two in Washington State 
and one in Hawaii that produce shellfish and sablefish seeds. The 
seedlings help to replenish fish and shellfish stocks that have been 
depleted due to loss of ecosystems and natural habitats. Tribes depend 
on hatcheries to support Treaty fishing rights, protect our culture and 
traditional ways of life, and to bolster our commercial fishery 
operations at home and trade abroad.
NATIONAL REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
            1. Fully Fund the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA)
    The Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) was an important step in 
empowering Tribes to better address the unique public safety challenges 
and reduce the prevalence of violent crime in Indian country. However, 
effective implementation of TLOA is contingent upon adequate Federal 
funding for law enforcement, courts, detention facilities and the 
provision of rehabilitative and preventative services. Full funding is 
needed to effectively and efficiently implement the comprehensive and 
improved measures that were enacted to address the public safety crisis 
in Tribal communities.
            2. Fully Fund Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Including 
                    $5 million for VAWA Special Domestic Violence 
                    Criminal Jurisdiction
    The Office on Violence Against Women provides funding for Tribes to 
address violence against women in their communities. The incidence of 
domestic violence in Tribal communities is staggering and it is 
estimated that over 85 percent of AI/AN will be victims of intimate 
partner violence, stalking and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. 
Over 90 percent of these crimes are committed by non-Natives who were 
outside of the jurisdictional authority of the Tribes. In 2013, 
Congress afforded AI/AN judicial recourse by reaffirming the inherent 
sovereign authority of Tribes to exercise Special Domestic Violence 
Criminal Jurisdiction over Indians and Non-Indians who commit certain 
crimes in Indian country. Although Congress authorized $5 million for 
Tribes to exercise this new jurisdictional authority, in fiscal year 
2021 only $4.3 million was appropriated. Tribal justice systems need 
additional resources to fully implement this authority and we therefore 
urge Congress to appropriate $5 million.
            3. Office of Justice Programs (OJP)--Create a 10 percent 
                    Tribal Set-Aside for all (OJP) Programs and Allow 
                    for Greater Flexibility
    Jamestown is advocating for a 10 percent Tribal set-aside from all 
OJP discretionary programs to provide Tribes base funding and maximum 
flexibility including the ability to combine DOJ funding with other 
sources of funding and allow Tribes to develop comprehensive holistic 
strategies to address public safety and justice in their communities. 
Stable funding for Tribal public safety and justice is a prerequisite 
to ensure a safe, healthy, and thriving Tribal community.
            4. Provide a Five Percent (5 percent) Tribal Set-Aside for 
                    Victims of Crime Act Funding
    The Victims of Crime Act funding is financed by fines and penalties 
imposed on convicted Federal offenders and is the largest source of 
Federal funding for crime victims. As of 2020, the fund balance was 
over $6 billion. Although the fund was established in 1984 and despite 
the staggering rates of violent crimes in Indian country, Tribes were 
not authorized as direct recipients of funding until recently. For the 
past 5 years, Congress has authorized and appropriated a portion of the 
fund directly to Tribal Nations. We urge Congress to continue to 
provide a 5 percent Tribal Set Aside on a recurring annual basis.
            5. Fund the COPS Program--$52 million
    The COPS Office provides funding to Tribes for law enforcement 
officers. Since the creation of the COPS program Tribes have hired more 
than 1700 law enforcement officers. COPS funding is also used for 
police training, equipment, vehicles, and technology. Although there is 
a great need for additional law enforcement officers throughout Indian 
Country, limited resources have hindered Tribe's ability to hire, 
retain, and train law enforcement officers. It is imperative for the 
safety of Tribal citizens, Indian communities, and surrounding 
neighboring communities that a significant increase in funding is 
allocated for Tribal law enforcement officers and programs.
    We thank you for the opportunity to provide this written testimony.

    [This statement was submitted by W. Ron Allen, Tribal Chairman/
CEO.]
                                 ______
                                 
Prepared Statement of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative to the U.S. 
Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, 
                     Science, and Related Agencies
                noaa, nsf, and nasa for fiscal year 2022
    Chairman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and other distinguished 
Members of the subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related 
Agencies, we thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony 
regarding the Fiscal Year 2022 CJS appropriations bill.
    The agencies under your charge must respond to the domestic and 
global crisis in our oceans. We urge you to ensure that all have 
sufficient resources to take necessary action. You have an opportunity 
to reassert global leadership that will steer the planet, including the 
stewardship of our oceans, back to a just, sustainable, and more secure 
future. We greatly appreciate your continued investment in our oceans 
commensurate with the immense value they provide our maritime Nation.
    We are highly supportive of the Administration proposal for nearly 
$7 billion for NOAA, as well as significantly increased support for the 
National Science Foundation and NASA's Earth Science Division. These 
represent significant steps to restoring U.S. technical capabilities 
and science as preeminent in the world. In certain critical accounts we 
ask you to consider modest additions above the president's request to 
address potentially catastrophic ocean conditions such as acidification 
and ensure that ocean observations are adequate to respond to 
accelerating climate impacts.
    The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative (Joint Initiative) is a 
collaborative, bipartisan effort to catalyze action on meaningful ocean 
policy reform. We believe that protecting base funding and core 
programs at NOAA, NSF, and NASA is an investment that will save lives, 
protect national security, grow our economy, increase justice and 
equity, mitigate climate change, and preserve the health of our oceans, 
coasts, and communities. Ocean and coastal resources provide 
fundamental goods and services, including food, minerals, 
transportation, medicines, tourism, and recreational opportunities. 
They also provide livelihoods for millions of Americans, including 
historically underserved populations and those who are being most 
impacted by climate change. These coastal communities and economies 
have already been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and need 
significant support to increase their resilience against future 
disasters.
    Ocean and coastal environments are often the first line of defense 
in promoting resilience and protecting American communities from severe 
weather events. The oceans are disproportionately impacted by 
increasing emissions from human activities, but also have immense 
potential to mitigate the climate crisis, for example, by taking action 
to advance offshore renewable energy and reduce maritime emissions. 
With a clear nexus of climate and oceans, a failure to take decisive 
action would severely impact the health and livelihoods of millions of 
Americans, with the largest impact on historically underserved 
communities. The U.S. needs to lead when it comes to supporting climate 
research, education, and adaptation, as well as in centering justice 
and equity principles. Robust support for key accounts at NOAA, NSF, 
and NASA is essential to reestablish U.S. leadership.
    The U.S. blue economy is paramount to ensuring an environmentally 
and economically sustainable future for our country. Contributing $373 
billion annually to the Nation's GDP and supporting 2.3 million jobs, 
the blue economy creates significant economic impact. As sea levels 
rise and marine species leave their historic grounds, we risk losing 
these integral drivers of our coastal economy. The oceans are vital to 
green economic recovery from COVID-19 as well as protection of 
marginalized coastal communities who are disproportionately affected by 
climate change.
    The Biden Administration's proposed topline budget makes 
significant strides toward re-establishing NOAA, NSF, and NASA Earth 
Sciences as premier science agencies that provide the underpinning to 
address the global climate crisis, while restoring and protecting the 
Nation's oceans. Based on the need for significant, sustained 
investment to invigorate public-private partnerships, address the 
significant ocean-climate nexus, and energize national, regional, 
State, and local initiatives, we strongly support increasing NOAA's 
overall budget to at least $6.9 billion as requested in the President's 
budget. We also urge the Committee to consider strategic investments 
above this level in critical accounts such as ocean acidification, 
managing fish stocks, and empowering oceans and coasts to mitigate 
climate impacts. Likewise, we support increasing NSF's overall budget 
to a minimum of $10.2 billion, and NASA Earth Science's budget to a 
minimum of $2.3 billion. We believe the recommendations in this 
testimony represent a modest investment relative to the threats and 
opportunities facing oceans and coastal communities, as the benefits 
they confer significantly outweigh the costs.
                 research, exploration, and observation
    A critical component of America's economic, military, and 
diplomatic power lies in its ocean research, education, exploration, 
and observation enterprises. Especially given the pace of observed 
changes in climate and ocean chemistry, we strongly urge the 
subcommittee to protect vital ocean science and research capabilities. 
To make the best, proactive management decisions possible, it is 
necessary that we first explore, map, observe, and understand our 
ocean.
    Observation and monitoring programs are integral to NOAA's ability 
to accurately forecast weather, for NOAA's protection and management of 
America's ocean resources, and for the U.S. military's navigation and 
extreme weather preparedness. We ask that your committee continue to 
support enhanced capabilities for observation and monitoring by 
allocating $762 million to NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Research (OAR) and $66.7 million to NOAA's Sustained Ocean Observations 
and Monitoring Program. We also suggest the committee allocate $60 
million for the Ocean Exploration program to maintain the pace, scope, 
and efficiency of exploration.
    It is also critical to fund climate research at OAR at no less than 
$293.7 million to promote high-priority climate science that advances 
our understanding of Earth's climate system. The oceans are vital to 
mitigating against and adapting to climate change; through this 
research we can understand and implement ocean-based risk management 
and adaptation opportunities.
    In addition, we recommend allocating $10.2 billion for the NSF. 
NSF's investment in the geosciences--which includes ocean sciences--has 
spurred innovations, addressed salient national and global challenges, 
galvanized new economic sectors, generated countless jobs, and led to 
the development and implementation of advanced technologies. Finally, 
we recommend funding NASA's Earth Science Division at $2.3 billion, 
consistent with the President's request, to improve national 
capabilities to predict climate, weather, and natural hazards, and 
better manage resources.
                        education and extension
    The National Sea Grant College Program works to better research, 
understand, conserve, and utilize America's coastal resources, making 
it critical to coastal States, communities, and economies. For example, 
Sea Grant programs support fisheries and aquaculture business 
development and help Americans plan for and respond to extreme weather 
events. Sea Grant programs engage the ocean workforce of the future and 
further equity through increasing access to ocean programs for 
underserved communities. Given Sea Grant's critical importance, we urge 
this committee to allocate $115.6 million to Sea Grant in fiscal year 
2022, including $15 million for Sea Grant Marine Aquaculture.
    NOAA's environmental education and ocean stewardship programs 
increase essential access to STEM education and cultivate environmental 
stewardship. We request that the committee provide $16.5 million for 
Bay-Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) programs and $8.8 million 
for Environmental Literacy Programs (ELP). These vital programs in 
increase equity through inspiring and educating future ocean leaders 
who represent all Americans.
                        resilience and security
    Sufficient funding must be dedicated to strengthening the 
resiliency of coastal communities and ocean ecosystems to combat 
dramatic, climate driven changes in our oceans. We ask this 
subcommittee to continue leading on ocean and coastal security by 
allocating $113 million for the National Ocean and Coastal Security 
Fund (NOCSF) in fiscal year 2022. We further recommend that at least 
$4.5 million be allocated for regional data portals used to support 
critical ocean partnerships that encourage collaboration and data 
sharing on the regional scale. In addition, we recommend a total 
allocation of $108.5 million to Coastal Management Grants and a minimum 
allocation of $42.5 million for the National Estuarine Research Reserve 
System in fiscal year 2022. These programs support vital Federal/State 
partnerships to help protect our coasts and preserve millions of acres 
of coastal habitat, buffering against rising seas and storm events.
    NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) is also critical for sustained 
resilience and security. We strongly recommend that NOS receive an 
allocation of $884 million. NOS funding supports programs that ensure 
safe and efficient transportation and commerce; preparedness and risk 
reduction; and stewardship, recreation, and tourism. These programs 
protect our communities and safeguard our economic livelihoods. For 
example, NOAA's Office for Coastal Management delivers technical 
assistance communities need to address storm preparedness, erosion, 
development, habitat loss, sea level rise, and threats to water 
quality. These programs further equity by protecting the historically 
undeserved communities who are the most affected by these coastal 
changes. Moreover, the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science 
provides coastal managers with scientific information to protect public 
health, preserve valued habitats, and foster sustainable community 
interaction with coastal ecosystems. The value of public health has 
never been clearer than in the last year; we must increase our 
protection of community health through these programs. NOS also 
supports the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), which collects 
and distributes data that is used at the National, regional, State, and 
local levels. We recommend IOOS be supported at a recommended $69.5 
million to meet the safety, economic and stewardship needs of the 
Nation.
    The NOS also administers the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries 
and key restoration projects that dramatically enhance the resilience 
of coastal communities and ocean environments. National Marine 
Sanctuaries require $84.5 million to protect and steward special marine 
spaces, especially in the face of climate change, and develop the next 
generation of ocean stewards. These investments pay serious economic 
dividends: Sanctuaries generate approximately $8 billion annually for 
local economies and NOAA's restoration projects create an average of 17 
jobs for every $1 million invested. Moreover, for each million invested 
in strengthening coastal communities against storm surge, these 
programs can mitigate six million dollars in losses while also 
protecting the livelihoods and wellbeing of coastal Americans. We ask 
the subcommittee to support the NOCSF and the NOS to bolster the 
Nation's economic and environmental resilience and security.
                          ocean acidification
    Ocean acidification is evident along every shoreline and is majorly 
impacting economies worldwide. By changing the chemistry of seawater, 
ocean acidification endangers shellfish, corals, and other marine life 
and disrupts marine food webs. Ocean acidification poses a fundamental 
risk to fisheries and aquaculture industries and to human health, as 
well as a potentially catastrophic risk to our economy. We strongly 
urge you to allocate a minimum of $57.2 million for NOAA's Integrated 
Ocean Acidification program to support critical research, monitoring, 
education, and outreach. It will help develop a better understanding of 
the causes, impacts, and scale of ocean acidification and identify 
interventions to help protect fisheries and aquaculture.
                  sustainable fisheries & aquaculture
    Fishing is a cornerstone of the ocean economy and an important 
aspect of American history and culture. Since 1976, we have seen 
tremendous progress toward creating and maintaining sustainable 
fisheries domestically and internationally, in part due to your 
subcommittee's commitment to scientifically-sound fishery management. 
Aquaculture is also a growing aspect of America's seafood Economy, 
which NOAA is increasingly investing in.
    However, America's seafood industry is currently being challenged 
by changing ocean conditions, shifts in historic stock distributions, 
increasingly complex data requirements, and market disruption from the 
COVID-19 pandemic. NOAA Fisheries requires elevated funding to address 
these challenges and ensure fisheries can recover from the pandemic's 
impacts and aquaculture can advance sustainably. Better science and 
real-time data inform management decisions and provide regional 
management councils with tools to assess the status of fish stocks. To 
protect America's fisheries and the jobs that rely on them, we support 
allocating $1.1 billion to the National Marine Fisheries Service to 
fully implement the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act. In addition, we urge you to provide $206 million for 
fisheries data collections, with $6.8 million for surveys and stock 
assessments. We also urge you to support full implementation of the 
U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program to address IUU fishing and other 
initiatives to spread sustainable fisheries management globally. 
Further, we recommend funding the research and expansion of aquaculture 
to increase sustainable American seafood. These initiatives will not 
only increase sustainability but also create quality jobs for coastal 
Americans.
                           concluding remarks
    The Joint Initiative greatly appreciates your commitment to 
addressing the challenges of our maritime nation, and to the ocean-
climate nexus, so critical to the future of our blue planet. We 
appreciate your consideration of our fiscal year 2022 request. We will 
continue to track progress on key ocean and coastal programs and 
accounts in fiscal year 2022 and beyond, and we stand ready to assist 
you in advancing positive and lasting changes in the way we manage our 
Nation's oceans and coasts.
       Joint Initiative Co-Chairs and Leadership Council Members
   The Honorable Christine Todd Whitman | The Honorable Norman Mineta
  Frances Beinecke | Don Boesch | The Honorable Norm Dicks | Quenton 
                                 Dokken
             Robert Gagosian | Sherri Goodman | Scott Gudes
  The Honorable Conrad Lautenbacher | Margaret Leinen | Julie Packard
  The Honorable Leon Panetta | John Pappalardo | The Honorable Pietro 
                               Parravano
    Randy Repass | Larry Robinson | Andrew Rosenberg | Paul Sandifer
                                 ______
                                 
 Prepared Statement of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California
    The Monterey Bay Aquarium is pleased to submit this statement in 
support of President Biden's $6.9 billion dollar budget for the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the 
Fiscal Year 2022 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Act. The 
following testimony outlines several specific requests within NOAA for 
priority research, education and grant programs that are needed in 
California, the West Coast and nationwide, particularly as the Nation 
looks to recover from the devastation of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
    In a typical year, the Monterey Bay Aquarium welcomes over two 
million visitors, provides more than 91,000 students and 5,000 teachers 
with award-winning education programs at no cost, and provides valuable 
data, tools and approaches for conservation and science at local to 
global scales.
    The COVID-19 global pandemic dramatically impacted our institution, 
which has suffered the loss of approximately $70 million in revenue and 
40 percent of our staff over the 14 months during which we were fully 
closed to the public. Despite earning zero gate revenue, we continued 
to spend over $1 million every month on animal care and life-supporting 
core operations--including for endangered, threatened, and protected 
species care and stranding response and rehabilitation. In addition, we 
provided enhanced and free digital and livestreamed educational content 
for schools and the wider public. The Aquarium has taken extraordinary 
measures to ensure the health and safety of our animals, staff and the 
public during this challenging time, and we are hopeful that emergency 
grant funds appropriated in the past two COVID-19 bills will provide 
some economic relief. We are grateful to Congress and to the Committee 
for its role in COVID-19 relief and recovery.
    Monterey County has only recently achieved the public health 
metrics that allow us to reopen. We reopened May 15 to the public at 25 
percent capacity and are gradually increasing our guest capacity so 
that we may more fully return to our mission-to inspire conservation of 
the ocean.
    NOAA, the Nation's lead science agency for oceanic and atmospheric 
matters, provides important tools and services that are critical to 
support economic recovery during these challenging times. NOAA's 
research, environmental observations and predictions, marine 
conservation and management, as well as its education programs and 
services shape the way we live today and guide decision-making about 
the health of the coupled ocean and climate systems.
    The Aquarium strongly supports the President's budget request of 
$6.9 billion dollars for fiscal year 2022 and encourages the Committee 
to continue its balanced and strategic funding strategy for NOAA. These 
investments are needed to support American businesses and citizens as 
we recover from the COVID-19 crisis and build capacity for future 
resilience in the face of climate change. We urge you to support the 
following requests for fisheries, research, and education in fiscal 
year 2022 that are particularly important for California and West Coast 
communities.
    Pacific Bluefin Tuna.--Pacific bluefin tuna are a highly migratory 
species that are critical to California's economy and a key top 
predator in the ocean. Among the world's largest fish, these tunas are 
highly prized on the international seafood market. In 2014, researchers 
discovered that the population was depleted to 3.3 percent of its 
historic size. No other commercially harvested tuna in the world is so 
depleted. Annual fluctuations in availability of Pacific bluefin tuna 
impacts the ecosystem and stakeholders, including California's $2.8 
billion marine sportfishing industry and research institutions that 
have invested millions of dollars in recent decades to develop 
conservation strategies for this critical species.
    In the last few decades, Pacific bluefin tuna have been heavily 
impacted from fishing by nations in the Western Pacific Ocean, limiting 
the availability of fish that can migrate to the coast of California 
and Mexico. Pacific bluefin tuna are managed by two Regional Fisheries 
Management Organizations (RFMOs) that have allowed the population to 
decline to historically low levels. In 2017, the United States secured 
a historic international agreement to recover the population to 
sustainable levels by 2034--a major achievement. However, this hard-won 
recovery plan is at risk as other countries continue to propose 
policies that would slow population recovery and disadvantage U.S. 
stakeholders. A more precautionary approach is needed in the 
international negotiations to recover the species, including more 
stringent harvest control rules that ensure measurable interim progress 
in rebuilding to hold other countries accountable.
    In recent years, the RFMOs adopted Management Strategy Evaluation 
(MSE) as a tool to optimize science-based decisions, provide 
transparency and ensure stakeholder engagement in international 
fisheries management. In the fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2020 CJS 
appropriations reports, Congress urged NOAA to support Management 
Strategy Evaluation (MSE) for Pacific bluefin tuna but there has been 
little progress.
    It is critical for Congress to provide clear direction to NOAA 
given the precarious status of Pacific bluefin tuna and risks related 
to the upcoming international negotiations. Current international 
science and management processes do not follow standards set for U.S. 
stocks within our exclusive economic zone, particularly on 
sustainability, transparency and independent science. That must change. 
Congress must urge NOAA leadership to ensure NOAA Fisheries takes a 
strong position on the need for scientific integrity, independent 
science and management accountability in international fisheries. NOAA 
Fisheries must provide MSE capacity or similar science-based decision 
processes that can ensure accountability by all countries as well as 
meaningful stakeholder engagement. Importantly, NOAA Fisheries must 
adopt a strong negotiating position that includes more precautionary 
harvest control rules that will ensure measurable interim progress to 
recover the population. These steps are needed to enable robust 
science, transparency and accountability at the RFMOs that are strongly 
influenced by the interests of stakeholders in Japan and other 
countries.

    Corresponding Report Language Request:

          Pacific Bluefin Tuna.--The Committee is very concerned with 
        the status of the iconic Pacific bluefin tuna, the world's most 
        depleted species of commercially-caught tuna. The Committee 
        directs NOAA leadership to work with the Office of Science and 
        Technology Policy and other experts in the Administration, to 
        ensure NOAA Fisheries takes a strong position on the need for 
        scientific integrity, independent science and management 
        accountability for internationally managed species. The 
        Committee directs NOAA Fisheries to adopt a precautionary 
        negotiating position with strict harvest control rules that 
        ensure measurable interim progress in rebuilding Pacific 
        bluefin tuna and holds all countries accountable to recover the 
        population to sustainable levels no later than 2034. The 
        Committee also requests that NOAA Fisheries provide capacity 
        for Management Strategy Evaluation or similar processes to 
        optimize science-based decisions, provide transparency and 
        ensure an equitable balance of responsibility and benefits as 
        the stock recovers. Further, the Committee directs NOAA 
        Fisheries to provide resources to support engagement of the 
        Pacific Fishery Management Council and U.S. stakeholders in the 
        formulation of strong U.S. positions throughout the 
        international negotiations.

    Pacific Ocean Pelagic & Highly Migratory Fisheries Research.--
Pelagic and highly migratory species (HMS) in the Pacific Ocean support 
thousands of jobs and generate hundreds of millions in revenue related 
to commercial and recreational fishing, as well as related seafood 
industries. These species include valuable tunas (albacore, skipjack, 
bigeye, bluefin), swordfish, marlin, and pelagic sharks that drive 
significant economic activity along the West Coast, Hawaii and the U.S. 
territories. However, Federal funding opportunities for non-Federal 
scientists in pelagic and HMS research programs in the Pacific have 
declined considerably since the Pacific Fisheries Research Program 
(PFRP) ended in 2013. This has resulted in significantly fewer public-
private research collaborations with NOAA and a lack of independent 
science to address priority management questions that directly impact 
U.S. stakeholders and the health of the Pacific Ocean ecosystem. 
Atlantic pelagic and HMS fisheries research has dedicated Federal 
programs for individual species, notably the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Research Program, as well as a new HMS Research Program through Sea 
Grant. We urge the subcommittee to provide additional funding and 
report language to request that NOAA Fisheries establish a comparable 
multi-year research grant program for the Pacific regions. This new HMS 
research program will focus on priority projects to address key science 
gaps and management challenges through collaboration between NOAA, 
academia, independent scientists and other relevant institutions.

    Corresponding Report Language Request:

          Pacific Highly Migratory Species Research.--The Committee 
        notes the ecological and economic importance of Pacific highly 
        migratory species such as tunas, swordfish, marlin, and pelagic 
        sharks. The Committee is concerned by the lack of parity 
        between Atlantic and Pacific regions for independent research 
        on highly migratory species that limits science-based 
        management and impacts U.S. stakeholders. The Committee 
        provides an additional $2.6 million dollars per year and 
        directs NOAA Fisheries to establish a multi-year highly 
        migratory species research grant program for the Pacific 
        regions to address critical science gaps and management 
        challenges in collaboration with academia, independent 
        scientists and other relevant institutions.

    Ocean Science and Technology.--The Aquarium collaborates with the 
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) on science and 
conservation issues of mutual interest. The success of our efforts to 
harness cutting edge research to address challenging ocean-related 
issues is dependent on a vibrant ocean science and technology 
enterprise. To continue to generate science-based solutions to restore 
our ocean, and support a robust U.S. role in global efforts, we urge 
the subcommittee to bolster funding for essential new science and 
technology. Through NOAA and the other relevant agencies, including NSF 
and NASA, we recommend the subcommittee provide support for research 
and technology development and ocean science. Specifically, we request 
funding to ensure we meet the goals set forth by the 2020 NOAA Research 
Council's science and technology focus area strategies and the National 
Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the U.S. EEZ, 
particularly the need to use cutting edge technologies, such as 
robotics and environmental DNA, to map and characterize biodiversity, 
habitats like seamounts and deep corals, and sea floor hazards.
    Bycatch Reduction.--We recommend that the subcommittee include an 
increase of $2 million over fiscal year 2021 funding for bycatch 
reduction competitive grants to non-Federal researchers for the 
development and implementation of practical bycatch solutions that 
support sustainable U.S. fisheries. The program has not received an 
increase in funding over the past 3 years. We request that the 
subcommittee increase funding for NOAA's bycatch reporting and 
reduction programs to accelerate technology improvements and help U.S. 
fishermen achieve greater environmental sustainability while protecting 
living marine resources, particularly endangered, protected and 
threatened species.
    NOAA Education.--The Aquarium is committed to ensuring diversity 
among our staff and within the professional spheres of our field. 
NOAA's Jose E. Serrano Educational Partnership Program (EPP) with 
Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) provides STEM education and future 
workforce training, benefiting both the agency and other organizations 
by creating a pool of diverse candidates for the future workforce. Its 
over 20-year history has shown its effectiveness, but at this moment in 
time, the need is greater than ever. We are proud to work with the EPP 
centers and urge the subcommittee to provide additional funds for the 
EPP-MSI program to support expansion of the EPP network, particularly 
to build professional opportunities on the West Coast and build 
technical capacity within the next generation to address emerging 
challenges.
    John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program.--We 
urge the subcommittee to increase funding by providing $4 million over 
fiscal year 2021 levels for this important stranding and rescue 
program.

    Thank you for your consideration of these requests.

    [This statement was submitted by Ms. Margaret Spring, Chief 
Conservation & Science Officer.]
                                 ______
                                 
    Prepared Statement of the National American Indian Court Judges 
                              Association
                         department of justice
    On behalf of the National American Indian Court Judges Association 
(NAICJA), this testimony addresses important programs in the Department 
of Justice (DOJ). First, NAICJA joins the American Bar Association (see 
attached letter) in requesting substantially increased funding for 
Tribal courts in response to the $1.2 billion annual shortfall for 
Tribal courts as identified in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 2020 
report to Congress, Report to the Congress on Spending, Staffing, and 
Estimated Funding Costs for Public Safety and Justice Programs in 
Indian Country, 2018.
    Secondly, NAICJA joins the National Congress of American Indians 
(NCAI) in requesting:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Program                   NCAI Fiscal Year 2022 Request
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Tribal Grants: Eliminate            Use DOJ appropriations as base
 competitive grant funding process and    funding.
 utilize Justice Department
 appropriations as base funding so that
 Tribal nations determine their own
 priorities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Tribal Set-Aside from Office of     Create a 10 percent Tribal set-
 Justice Programs (OJP).                  aside for all discretionary
                                          OJP programs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Tribal Set-Aside from Crime         Create a 5 percent set-aside
 Victims Fund.                            for Tribal governments.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Tribal Youth Program under the      $25,000,000
 Juvenile Accountability Block Grants
 program.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal     $3,000,000
 Assistance (TCCLA) Grant.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Community Oriented Policing         $52,000,000
 Services (COPS) Tribal Law Enforcement.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: OVW Tribal programs under the       Fully fund all VAWA-authorized
 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).       programs including the Sexual
                                          Assault Clearinghouse and
                                          $5,000,000 for Tribal
                                          implementation of VAWA special
                                          domestic violence criminal
                                          jurisdiction.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NAICJA is a non-profit organization devoted to the support of 
American Indian and Alaska Native justice systems through education, 
information sharing, and advocacy. Its membership is primarily judges, 
justices, and peacemakers serving in Tribal justice systems. As a 
national representative organization, NAICJA's mission is to strengthen 
and enhance Tribal justice systems, including juvenile justice systems.
    The Federal Government's trust responsibility to Tribal nations is 
at the heart of NAICJA's recommendation to follow NCAI's fiscal year 
2022 Indian country budget request. Like all other governments, Tribal 
nations are responsible for the protection and care of their citizens, 
residents, and visitors on Tribal lands. Through treaties and other 
agreements, Tribal lands were ceded in exchange for the promise of 
protected self-governance and adequate resources from the United 
States. Those promises are the foundation of the government-to-
government relationship that exists today.
    Part of the Federal trust responsibility to Indian Tribes includes 
basic governmental services in Indian Country, funding for which is 
appropriated in the discretionary portion of the Federal budget. Tribal 
governments protect and preserve their unique cultures, identities, and 
natural environments for future generations. As governments, Tribes 
must deliver a wide range of critical services, such as education, 
workforce development, youth programs, and first-responder and public 
safety services, to their citizens. The Federal budget for Tribal 
governmental services reflects the extent to which the United States 
honors its promises to Indian people--and to date, those promises have 
not been truly honored.
    Tribal justice systems historically have been under-funded and 
continue to be under-funded in most Tribal communities. In 1991, the 
United States Civil Rights Commission found that ``the failure of the 
United States Government to provide proper funding for the operation of 
Tribal judicial systems . . . has continued for more than 20 years.'' 
\1\ In 2014, the Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American 
Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence noted that 
Department of Justice (DOJ) funding for Tribal justice systems has been 
consistently decreasing in recent years.\2\ The Indian Law and Order 
Commission (ILOC) noted that in addition to funding shortfalls, DOJ's 
short-term, competitive funding approach is deficient because it 
reflects Federal priorities rather than Tribal ones, favors hired 
grant-writers, requires Tribes to compete against each other, and 
offers only 3-year programs that often leave Tribes with staff turnover 
and short-term programs.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ United States Commission on Civil Rights, The Indian Civil 
Rights Act: A Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights 71 
(June 1991).
    \2\ Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American Indian and 
Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence, U.S. Dep't of Justice, 
Report of the Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Native 
Children Exposed to Violence: Ending Violence So Children Can Thrive 53 
(November 2014).
    \3\ Indian Law and Order Commission, A Roadmap for Making Native 
America Safer: Report to the President & Congress of the United States 
83 (2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Further, the Civil Rights Commission continued reporting on this 
topic with A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian 
Country in 2003 and Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding 
Shortfall for Native Americans in 2018. Broken Promises found that 
``Federal funding for Native American programs across the government 
remains grossly inadequate to meet the most basic needs the Federal 
Government is obligated to provide . . . Since 2003, funding for Native 
American programs has mostly remained flat, and in the few cases where 
there have been increases, they have barely kept up with inflation or 
have actually resulted in decreased spending power.'' \4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ United States Commission on Civil Rights, Broken Promises: 
Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, 4 (December 
2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, in 2020, the BIA submitted a report to Congress, Report to 
the Congress on Spending, Staffing, and Estimated Funding Costs for 
Public Safety and Justice Programs in Indian Country, 2018. The total 
annual estimated need for Tribal public safety and justice programs 
included $1.3 billion for Tribal law enforcement and $1.2 billion for 
Tribal courts. According to the same report, BIA funding only meets 
14.7 percent of estimated need. Leaving Tribes to fight for short-term 
funds via competitive grant processes, many administered by the DOJ.
    DOJ funding across programs affecting Indian country should be 
dramatically increased and the distribution mechanism modified. As 
nations, Tribes should not have to compete for short-term grants that 
reflect Federal priorities. Rather, funds should be allocated as 
flexible base funding.
    Create a 10 percent Tribal allocation across all Office of Justice 
Programs (OJP) programs.--A 10 percent OJP Tribal set-aside would 
simplify the Federal funding process by which Tribal nations receive 
resources to establish Tribal courts; assist in developing detention 
facilities; provide legal assistance; develop and maintain juvenile 
delinquency prevention programs; and provide substance abuse prevention 
programs. Further, the Tribal set-aside provides Tribes the flexibility 
to develop a comprehensive strategy on public safety and justice needs. 
It also would create new opportunities for coordinating BIA and DOJ 
funding to reduce inefficiencies and unnecessary administrative costs.
    Include Tribal governments in disbursements from the Crime Victims 
Fund.--The Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is the Federal Government's primary 
funding source for providing services to victims of crime. Unlike State 
and territorial governments, which receive an annual formula 
distribution from the CVF, Indian Tribes were only able to access CVF 
funds via pass-through grants at the discretion of the States or by 
competing for very limited resources administered by the DOJ. This 
system left a significant unmet need in most Tribal communities--
communities where crime victimization rates far exceed the National 
average.
    For the past 4 years, Congress has directed a portion of the 
overall disbursements from the CVF to Tribal nations. The 5 percent 
Tribal set-aside included in the fiscal year 2021 appropriations bill 
will direct $100.75 million to support and improve crime victim 
services on Tribal lands. This funding greatly impacts crime victims' 
services infrastructure on Tribal lands, and it is imperative that it 
be appropriated on an annual basis to sustain the programs and services 
that will be developed. NAICJA urges the committee to keep 
disbursements from the CVF at the increased level and to direct an 
amount equal to 5 percent of overall CVF disbursements to Tribal 
governments on a non-competitive basis.
    If Congress declines to adopt the flexible 10 percent set-aside 
across OJP programs, restore fiscal year 2010 levels of $25 million in 
funding for the Tribal Youth Program (TYP) under the Juvenile 
Accountability Block Grants Program.--Native youth living in Indian 
country face numerous overlapping barriers to safety, wellness, 
academic achievement, and positive youth development. Barriers occur at 
the individual, family, community, and regional levels, resulting in 
disproportionate involvement with juvenile justice, child welfare, and 
other youth-serving systems. Today's Native youth continue to face the 
effects of collective intergenerational and historical traumas.
    TYP is the first OJJDP program dedicated to prevention, 
intervention, and juvenile justice system improvement in Native 
communities. The need for the program can be demonstrated by the 
application rates within the last 5 years. For the majority of those 
years, the DOJ Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitations, Purpose 
Area 9 (TYP) received some of the highest number of grant applicants 
and categorically received the least amount of funding. Further 
exacerbating the issue, TYP is currently funded at some of its lowest 
levels since its establishment in the 1990s. This is despite an 
increase in funding in fiscal year 2021, the first increase in 3 years. 
Due to this decreased funding, hundreds of Tribes across the United 
States are left grappling with how to ensure that their most cherished 
resource is provided equal opportunity as other youth in this country 
to heal, thrive, and realize their life potential. Funding for the TYP 
should, at minimum, be restored to its fiscal year 2010 level of $25 
million.
    Fund the Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance, Training and 
Technical Assistance (TCCLA) grant program at a level of $3 million.--
The Indian Tribal Justice Technical and Legal Assistance Act of 2000 
(Public Law 106-559) authorized DOJ to award grants to non-profit 
entities, such as the 25 Indian Legal Services programs connected with 
the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), to provide civil and criminal 
legal assistance to both Tribal governments and their justice systems 
and to individual indigent Tribal citizens. Services impacted by this 
funding include domestic violence, pro se assistance, re-entry and 
expungements, child welfare, free legal clinics and toll-free hotlines, 
and much more.
    Increase funding of Tribal law enforcement programs under DOJ's 
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Grants to $52 million.--
Since its inception, the COPS Office has awarded more than 2,000 grants 
totaling over $400 million to Tribes to hire more than 1,700 new or 
redeployed law enforcement officers. It has helped Tribes obtain 
necessary law enforcement training, equipment, vehicles, and 
technology. The COPS Office has also become one of the primary 
resources available to Tribal law enforcement agencies attempting to 
develop and maintain policing infrastructure and upgrade outdated 
equipment. Yet, there is still substantial unmet need within Tribal 
justice systems for more COPS funding.
    Fully fund the programs authorized in the Violence Against Women 
Act (VAWA), including the funds authorized for the Sexual Assault 
Clearinghouse and Tribal implementation of VAWA special domestic 
violence criminal jurisdiction.--It is estimated over 85 percent of 
American Indian and Alaska Native women will experience violent 
victimization in their lifetimes.\5\ OVW provides funding to Tribal 
governments to address violence against women in their communities. 
OVW's largest source of funding for Tribal governments is the Grants to 
Tribal Governments Program, which is funded via statutory allocations 
from other OVW programs. Fully-funding these OVW programs results in 
full funding for the Grants to Tribal Governments Program and for the 
implementation of Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ U.S. Department of Justice, Violence Against American Indian 
and Alaska Native Women and Men: 2010 Findings from the National 
Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey 2 (2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               conclusion
    Thank you for your consideration of this testimony. For more 
information, please contact A. Nikki Borchardt Campbell at 
[email protected].

    [This statement was submitted by A. Nikki Borchardt Campbell, 
Executive Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of the National Association of Assistant United 
                            States Attorneys
June 23, 2021

 
 
 
Chair Jeanne Shaheen                  Ranking Member Jerry Moran
Senate Subcommittee on CJS            Senate Subcommittee on CJS
Senate Appropriations Committee       Senate Appropriations Committee
Washington, DC 2051                   Washington, DC 2051
 


    RE: National Association of U.S. Attorneys Written Testimony on 
fiscal year 2022 Appropriations for the Department of Justice

    Dear Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and subcommittee Members:

    On behalf of the National Association of Assistant United States 
Attorneys (NAAUSA), representing the interests of over 6,000 Assistant 
U.S. Attorneys working in the 94 U.S. Attorney Offices, I write you 
concerning the issue of pay equity and disparity at DOJ and offer 
comments for the record to the subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, 
Science and Related Agencies Appropriations relating to fiscal year 
2022 appropriations for the Department of Justice.
    For over 30 years, AUSAs have asked their employer--the Department 
of Justice--for one thing: be paid the same as other lawyers within DOJ 
who have the same experience, years out of law school, and years of 
service. AUSAs are paid significantly less than other DOJ attorneys 
with the same experience and responsibilities, often as much as $40,000 
per year. This pay gap is profoundly unfair, widely known, and deeply 
destructive to morale. AUSAs are some of the Nation's most selfless and 
dedicated public servants, many of whom forego much higher-paying jobs 
in the private sector in order to serve the public interest. That AUSAs 
around the country are systematically paid far less than their 
colleagues--many of whom work shoulder-to-shoulder on the same cases, 
and sometimes in the same cities and even same offices--is 
indefensible. NAAUSA calls upon Congress to investigate and help 
rectify this inequity.
    The pay disparity has existed since the 1980s, and occurs in part 
because AUSAs are paid on a different pay scale than other DOJ 
attorneys, and most other Federal Government employees. AUSAs are paid 
on the Administratively Determined (AD) pay scale, which has 
historically resulted in less pay under the pay scale for nearly all 
other DOJ attorneys and employees who are paid under the General 
Schedule (GS) or are members of the Senior Executive Service (SES). 
This split pay system has allowed significant pay disparities to 
develop between attorneys who have the same experience and in turn 
drives chronic, costly, and disruptive retention problems in U.S. 
Attorney Offices across the country. More than that, though, it is just 
unfair.
    In the Partnership for Public Service's Best Places to Work in the 
Federal Government, while U.S. Attorney's Office reported above median 
and upper quartile scores in nearly every category since 2007, pay 
satisfaction has seen lower quartile scores in 11 of the last 12 survey 
years. In 2019, U.S. Attorneys' Offices ranked 350 of 415 in agency 
subcomponents regarding attitudes toward pay.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://bestplacestowork.org/rankings/detail/DJ09
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While some AUSAs do join Main Justice or other parts of the civil 
service seeking improved compensation, often AUSAs are lured to the 
private defense bar and are immediately litigating against the 
government, after taxpayers have invested in their training.
    NAAUSA calls on the Congress to end this cycle by investing in our 
Nation's career Federal prosecutors and ensuring pay equity between 
AUSAs and DOJ attorneys. Fairly compensating Federal prosecutors so 
that they are paid the same as their trial attorney colleagues and all 
other DOJ component attorneys who work for the FBI, DEA, ATF, BOP and 
others, all of whom do the same or similar work on behalf of our 
citizens would strengthen the rule of law, support national security, 
and it is the right thing to do.
    Congress has consistently allocated additional funds toward U.S. 
Attorney Offices to cover the salary and expenses of Assistant U.S. 
Attorneys (AUSAs). However, this money has overwhelmingly been spent on 
hiring and onboarding additional AUSAs rather than toward appropriately 
compensating the current cadre of AUSAs. As a result, there is a 
significant and damaging pay inequity between AUSAs and other 
Department of Justice attorneys.

    NAAUSA encourages Congress to:

    1.  Engage the Department and EOUSA regarding pay disparity. The 
Department should be able to produce evidence and data supporting its 
positions and should answer why AUSA pay inequity is fair.
    2.  Request the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study pay 
equity at the Department of Justice, including between the AD and GS 
pay systems.
    3.  Authorize additional appropriations for EOUSA specifically to 
close the attorney pay gap.

    As our Nation faces more evolved forms of Federal criminal 
activity, such as domestic terrorism, cybercrime and drug smuggling 
networks, it is imperative we have a knowledgeable, experienced class 
of litigators able to prosecute these criminals working in U.S. 
Attorney Offices as AUSAs. The current system invests in hiring and 
training new AUSAs, but fails to incentivize these individuals to 
remain as Federal prosecutors. This leaves the government, after having 
invested time and training into new employees, without some of the most 
skilled litigators for the job. The Department of Justice should want 
to retain experienced, skilled litigators to defend our Nation against 
criminal activity, and that requires proper compensation for duties 
equivalent to many other DOJ attorneys.
    NAAUSA has engaged the Attorney General's Advisory Committee (AGAC) 
on this topic over the years. While we were heartened by some steps in 
recent years by the AGAC and the Department to address this issue, 
including in 2016 administratively elevating the minimum entry-level 
AUSA pay to compare to a GS-11, more is needed to assure pay equity for 
DOJ attorneys, including the Department sharing all of the data and 
evidence upon which it is comparing attorney compensation under the GS 
and AD systems. The Department has recently admitted to NAAUSA that the 
compensation disparity between AUSAs and Justice lawyers is real and 
could be closed with an investment of a mere $42 million per year.
    Workforce churn, staff attrition with loss of expertise, and 
decreased morale have real costs for taxpayers in terms of lost 
productivity, and potentially undermine the capacity of U.S. Attorney 
Offices to accomplish their missions. It is for these reasons we bring 
this issue to the attention of Congress. Even amidst the COVID-19 
pandemic, Assistant U.S. Attorneys are considered essential employees 
and are contributing to upholding and enforcing the rule of law in our 
country. We must ensure the Department of Justice properly manages and 
compensates these important members of the Federal law enforcement 
community.
    Thank you for considering the perspective of NAAUSA. Please do not 
hesitate to reach out to our Washington representative Jason Briefel 
([email protected]) regarding this matter.

            Respectfully,

            Lawrence. J. Leiser
              President
     the impact of pay inequities on the administration of justice
    The Administratively Determined (AD) pay plan, which Assistant U.S. 
Attorneys (AUSAs) are subject to, creates a significant pay disparity 
between AUSAs and all other DOJ attorneys. Aside from clear equity 
issues, the disparity negatively impacts recruitment and retention of 
the more than 6,000 criminal prosecutors and civil attorneys most 
directly tasked with administering justice across our Nation's 94 
Federal judicial districts. The current pay system over relies on the 
goodwill on AUSAs who are willing to take a pay cut to serve their 
country. This is unsustainable and places our U.S. Attorney Offices at 
a disadvantage in the recruitment and retention of qualified personnel. 
Without top talent our criminal justice system cannot adequately serve 
and protect the American people.
  --The DOJ attorney pay policy authorizes higher salaries for 
        attorneys in main Department of Justice (DOJ) components than 
        AUSAs. The discrepancy reaches over $40,000, as noted in the 
        chart below which compares GS attorney base pay and AD AUSA 
        base pay in 2021.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ Does not include locality pay.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Years of Experience        GS Grade            AD Grade        GS Min Pay   AD Min Pay     Percent Difference
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0-2 years...........  GS 11-13...........  AD-21.............      $55,756      $55,756              N/A
3-4 years...........  GS 14-15...........  AD-23.............      $93,907      $59,906     $34,001 (44 percent)
5 years.............  GS 15..............  AD-25.............     $110,460      $64,367     $46,093 (52 percent)
6 years.............  GS 15..............  AD-26.............     $110,460      $69,159     $41,301 (46 percent)
7 years.............  GS 15..............  AD-27.............     $110,460      $74,309     $36,151 (39 percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  --AUSAs have for over 30 years identified pay parity issues as a 
        detriment to their workplace wellbeing. For example, in the 
        Partnership for Public Service's Best Places to Work in the 
        Federal Government Survey, while U.S. Attorney's Office 
        reported above median and upper quartile scores in nearly every 
        category since 2007, the pay satisfaction category has reported 
        lower quartile scores in 11 of the last 12 survey years. In 
        2019, U.S. Attorneys' Offices ranked 350 of 415 in agency 
        subcomponents regarding attitudes toward pay.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ https://bestplacestowork.org/rankings/detail/DJ09

      -- Based on advocacy efforts by NAAUSA, the DOJ made minor 
            adjustments in the AD pay scale in 2016. While these 
            adjustments did not come close to bridging the gap between 
            pay scales, they did result is a slight increase in survey 
            scores. The immediate positive impacts on FEVS scores by 
            AUSAs demonstrates the importance of this issue and 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            willingness to work toward pay parity.

  --In testimonials anonymously collected by NAAUSA, AUSAs consistently 
        report taking pay cuts to serve as AUSAs due to a genuine 
        desire to serve the public as our Nation's premier criminal 
        prosecutors or civil attorneys. However, as the pay disparity 
        worsens with advancement, many are forced to leave their 
        positions in favor of positions at Main Justice or within the 
        private sector. The pay disparity forces dedicated AUSAs out of 
        their position or, worse, turns our U.S. Attorneys' Offices 
        into taxpayer-funded training centers for private defense 
        attorneys.

    NAAUSA advocates for the Department to adjust the AUSA salary 
framework assure that AUSAs are paid the same as Department of Justice 
trial attorneys through movement of AUSAs onto the General Schedule.
                                 ______
                                 
     Prepared Statement of the National Fire Protection Association

May 14, 2021

 
 
 
The Honorable Patrick Leahy                 The Honorable Richard Shelby
Chairman                                    Vice Chairman
Committee on Appropriations                 Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate                        United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510                      Washington, D.C. 20510
 


Dear Chairman Leahy and Vice Chairman Shelby:

    The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a self-funded, 
global non-profit organization founded in 1896 dedicated to ending 
losses from fire, electrical, and related life safety hazards. With the 
unabating wildfire crisis in the U.S., NFPA recently launched Outthink 
Wildfire\TM\, an initiative to advocate for policy change in five key 
areas that will stop the destruction of communities by this hazard. We 
write to ask for your support for key Federal programs.
    The five tenets are: (1) all homes and business in areas of 
wildfire risk must be retrofitted to resist ignition; (2) current 
codes, standards, and sound land use planning practices must be used 
and enforced; (3) local fire departments must have adequate resources 
to protect their communities; (4) fuel management on Federal and non-
Federal lands must be a priority; and (5) the public must be well-
informed and motivated to embrace their role in reducing wildfire risk. 
While action on these fronts is urgently needed at all levels of 
government, Federal programs need to play a key role in ending the 
devastating wildfire losses communities are now experiencing as 
discussed in this letter.
Mitigating Wildfire Severity
    NFPA supports the Administration's fiscal year 2022 proposal to 
provide $1.7 billion in funding for high-priority hazardous fuels and 
forest-resilience projects to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), in 
addition to the proposed $340 million to the Department of the Interior 
(DOI) for hazardous fuel treatments on its lands. As identified in the 
National Cohesive Wildfire Management Strategy, denser, more continuous 
fuel on landscapes now outside of their natural ecological fire regimes 
is a major contributor to the severe wildfires that threaten 
communities and drain Federal fire suppression resources. The U.S. must 
increase the rate of fuel treatments, including prescribed burning, to 
address the millions of acres now at high or very high risk of 
wildfire.
    In addition to increased resources for hazardous fuel treatment 
projects, NFPA supports programs that enable collaboration between the 
USFS and its partners, assist State and private land managers in 
restoring forest health, and encourage landscape-scale restoration 
projects. For example, the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration 
program has been successful in reducing fire risk and achieving other 
management objectives through a stakeholder-driven process aimed at 
minimizing conflict.\1\ Given the National Cohesive Strategy's call for 
increased landscape-scale fuel treatment and forest health projects, 
funding this program at its authorized level of $80 million can help 
continue and expand on its success. Similarly, the Landscape Scale 
Restoration Program should receive $20 million.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ See e.g., Schultz, Courtney, et al. (2017) Strategies for 
Success Under Forest Service Restoration Initiatives, Ecosystem 
Workforce Working Paper, Number 81 (https://tinyurl.com/38b3cpz4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, NFPA supports a robust budget for forestry research, 
including programs to better understand wildfire behavior and landscape 
treatment strategies, as well as programs to develop new wood products 
and markets to create more financial incentives for hazardous fuel 
treatment. As part of that funding, the Joint Fire Sciences Research 
program should receive $8 million each for the USFS and DOI. NFPA also 
believes research funding for the built environment aspect of wildfire 
resilience should be increased and thus supports the Administration's 
proposal to increase funding for the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology (NIST), particularly for efforts to improve resiliency 
through building codes.
Assisting State & Local Fire Departments
    State and local fire response resources play a major role in 
preparing for and responding to wildfires on both public and private 
lands, making the USFS funds provided by the State Fire Assistance 
(SFA) and Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) programs critical to public 
safety. According to the National Association of State Foresters, 
members of State and local fire departments are the first to respond to 
80 percent of wildfires. Findings from NFPA's 2016 Fourth Needs 
Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service \2\ that the majority of fire 
departments with wildfire response responsibilities lack sufficient 
training and personal protective equipment reveal a significant gap in 
safety, for both the responders and the lives and properties of the 
communities they protect.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ National Fire Protection Association (2016) Fourth National 
Needs Assessment, https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-
and-tools/Emergency-Responders/Needs-assessment, (Eighty-eight percent 
of U.S. fire departments--some 23,000 departments--provide wildland 
and/or WUI firefighting services, but 63 percent of those have not 
formally trained all of their personnel involved in wildland 
firefighting on these skills. Only 32 percent have all of their 
responders equipped with appropriate personal protection equipment 
(PPE), and 26 percent do not have any of the necessary PPE at all. Only 
27 percent of departments have a health and fitness program).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    SFA and VFA are critical safety programs for supporting wildland 
urban interface (WUI) communities, funding hazardous fuels treatment in 
the WUI, supporting fire planning projects, and helping to train and 
equip State and local responders. SFA also supports public education 
and community capacity development programs like Firewise USA and the 
Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network. These programs teach WUI 
residents how to lower wildfire risk to their homes and support 
community mitigation activities. Therefore, NFPA supports funding the 
State Fire Assistance program at $88.5 million and the Volunteer Fire 
Assistance program at $20 million.
Mitigation for Communities
    The National Cohesive Strategy also identifies the need for fire 
adapted communities--communities where homes and businesses are 
retrofitted to resist ignition and wildfire safety codes, standards, 
and land use planning practices are applied. According to the U.S. Fire 
Administration, the Nation has over 70,000 thousand communities in 
areas at risk from wildfires, home to 46 million housing units. 
Preparing for wildfire through creating defensible space and home 
retrofits can greatly reduce the risk of loss. NFPA supports the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Building Resilient 
Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and the Administration's 
proposal to add $540 million in new resources to programs tasked with 
helping communities undertake pre-disaster planning and make 
investments in resiliency. The USFS' Wildfire Hazard Severity Mapping 
for Communities program also supports community risk assessment and 
hazard mitigation planning and should continue. In addition, NFPA is 
also highly supportive of proposed efforts to improve resiliency and 
safety in HUD-assisted housing with an additional $800 million in new 
investments.
    Thank you for the opportunity to share our views on Federal support 
for reducing wildfire risk to communities. NFPA strongly urges the 
Committee to support a robust budget for wildfire mitigation and we 
stand ready to provide any addition information that would be useful.

    [This statement was submitted by L. Seth Statler, Director of 
Government Affairs.]
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association
    This testimony is submitted on behalf of the National Legal Aid & 
Defender Association (NLADA), America's oldest and largest national 
organization whose resources are exclusively dedicated to excellence in 
the delivery of legal services and to promoting access to justice for 
all. We are grateful for the opportunity to provide comments to the 
committee regarding the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and U.S. 
Department of Justice (DOJ) programs.
                       legal services corporation
    NLADA urges Congress to address the ongoing failure of our country 
to meet its foundational promise of equal justice. Even prior to the 
COVID-19 pandemic, LSC grantee organizations did not have sufficient 
resources to meet the legal needs of low-income Americans. This serious 
threat to our democracy has been greatly exacerbated by the events of 
the past year. NLADA therefore recommends an appropriation of $1.36 
billion for LSC for fiscal year 2022. Civil legal aid ensures that 
regardless of how much money a person has, they have the same level of 
access to a fair adjudication of their civil legal problems as anyone 
else. Legal aid organizations provide assistance that enables low-
income people to protect their livelihoods, health, housing, family, 
and other basic human needs. LSC is not only the single largest funder 
of civil legal aid, but also the foundational infrastructure of civil 
justice in the United States, making sure help is available to people 
in every ZIP code.
    However, many eligible clients receive only minimal service, or no 
help at all, due to insufficient resources. In 2017, LSC conducted a 
comprehensive study of its grantee organizations and found that roughly 
40 percent of eligible people seeking help from an LSC grantee were 
turned away and, of those who did receive services, only a little over 
half were able to have their problem fully addressed.\1\ At the time, 
LSC's budget was $385 million. While we are sincerely appreciative for 
this committee's decision to provide incremental funding increases in 
the following years, LSC's budget remains far smaller than it would be 
had it simply kept pace with Federal discretionary spending, which 
since 1995 has in percentage terms has increased more than 12 times as 
much as LSC's budget has grown, or with inflation: LSC's peak funding 
level in fiscal year 1980 would be around $1 billion today.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Legal Services Corporation. (2017). The Justice Gap: Measuring 
the Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-income Americans. https://
www.lsc.gov/sites/default/files/images/TheJusticeGap-FullReport.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    It is clear that the pandemic has greatly deepened the need for 
additional resources, by creating a larger population of eligible 
clients as a result of increases in poverty and unemployment. In order 
to qualify for services from an LSC grantee organization, a person's 
household income must generally be lower than 125 percent, but can be 
considered up to 200 percent percent of the Federal poverty level. At 
around 6 percent, the unemployment rate remains almost twice as high as 
it was in February 2020.\2\ For Black Americans it is nearly 10 
percent. In February, the Urban Institute estimated that this year the 
National poverty rate would be around 13.7 percent,\3\ compared to 10.5 
percent before the pandemic.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021). Civilian Unemployment 
Rate. Retrieved at: https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/
civilian-unemployment-rate.htm
    \3\ Urban Institute. (2021, February). 2021 Poverty Projections. 
https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/103656/2021-
poverty-projections.pdf
    \4\ United States Census Bureau. (2020, September). Income and 
Poverty in the United States: 2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At the same time, the pandemic has also greatly increased the 
prevalence of civil legal problems. In July 2020, LSC reported that 
more than 85 percent of LSC grantees reported an increase in requests 
for assistance in each of the areas of housing, income, and domestic 
violence, and through December, LSC grantees have closed 72,115 cases 
linked to the pandemic.\5\ This data accounts for legal problems for 
which a person seeks help, but an estimated 86 percent of legal 
problems experienced by low-income people are not even brought to a 
legal aid provider.\6\ It is therefore certain that the actual increase 
in need is far higher still, and in some cases this is further 
exacerbated by the nature of the problem. For example, there is 
consensus among experts that the social isolation and economic 
instability caused by the pandemic have significantly increased the 
prevalence of domestic violence and child abuse,\7\ while also making 
such violence and abuse more difficult to report.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ Legal Services Corporation. (2021) Data on CARES Act Funding & 
Services. Retrieved at: https://www.lsc.gov/about-lsc/lsc-and-covid-19/
data-cares-act-funding-services.
    \6\ Legal Services Corporation. (2017). The Justice Gap: Measuring 
the Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-income Americans. https://
www.lsc.gov/sites/default/files/images/TheJusticeGap-FullReport.pdf
    \7\ Bright, C., Burton, C., and Kosky, M. (2020, October). 
Considerations of the impacts of COVID-19 on domestic violence in the 
United States. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7539928/
pdf/main.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Last year, NLADA used projected increases in long-term unemployment 
to approximate the need for civil legal aid in 2022. We estimated that 
when combined with resource needs that existed prior to the pandemic, 
$1.36 billion would be required for LSC. While it is not possible to 
know exactly how economic recovery for low-income Americans will 
develop, data continues to demonstrate widespread hardship that will 
persist beyond the resolution of the health crisis. For example, if 
eviction moratoria are allowed to expire, a swathe of low-income 
families will face homelessness. Emergency rental assistance programs 
will blunt this problem considerably but porously; not only are funds 
limited but reports of landlords refusing to accept funds that have 
been secured are growing.\8\ The data is clear that access to a lawyer 
will make a difference, as numerous studies have demonstrated that 
representation can reduce the likelihood of eviction by up to around 80 
percent.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ Will Parker. (March 19, 2021). Why Some Landlords Don't Want 
Any of the $50 Billion in Rent Assistance. Wall Street Journal
    \9\ Heidi Schultheis and Caitlin Rooney. (October 2, 2019). A Right 
to Counsel Is a Right to a Fighting Chance: The Importance of Legal 
Representation in Eviction Proceedings. Center for American Progress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The need for a substantial increase in resources is further 
compounded by cuts to non-LSC sources of public and private funding for 
legal aid, such as Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) 
programs.\10\ As our country begins to look towards recovery from the 
COVID-19 pandemic, Congress can help ensure that low-income Americans 
are not left behind by providing an appropriation for LSC that is 
commensurate with the level of need.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\ National Association of IOLTA Programs. (2020, May 29). $157.4 
Million Projected Loss in Critical Sources of State Funding for Civil 
Legal Aid [Press release]. https://www.iolta.org/images/NAIP-Press-
Release-5-29-20.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  u.s. department of justice programs
Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance, Training and Technical 
        Assistance
    We also urge this subcommittee to continue funding in fiscal year 
2022 to support the work done on behalf of Native Americans by Indian 
Legal Services programs that are connected with the Legal Services 
Corporation. We request that funding be maintained within the 
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, under the State and 
Local Law Enforcement Assistance appropriations account, at a level 
similar to that provided in recent years, which is approximately $1 to 
2 million, for the Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance, Training 
and Technical Assistance grant program (TCCLA). This could be either 
within a specified line item for ``assistance to Indian Tribes,'' such 
as the $50 million the Administration has requested for fiscal year 
2022 and the $46 million Congress appropriated in the fiscal year 2021 
Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 116-260), or within a 
Tribal set-aside percentage of Office of Justice Programs accounts.
    The consortium of 24 Indian Legal Services programs operating in 23 
States provides legal representation to thousands of American Indian 
and Alaska Native individuals in Tribal and State courts, and assists 
more than 160 Tribal governments and/or Tribal judicial systems to 
enhance or develop their justice systems. In at least 46 Tribal courts, 
these programs provide the only public defender service available. Many 
of these Indian Legal Services programs have been awarded funding under 
the TCCLA grants program. They have recently responded to the program's 
solicitations for fiscal year 2021 funding for both Tribal civil and 
criminal legal assistance.
    Examples of the Indian Legal Services programs' civil legal 
assistance work done under TCCLA awards generally include initial 
drafting of Tribal laws as well as revisions to civil codes, policies 
and procedures; developing alternative resolution systems, based on 
Tribal customs and traditions; and developing and conducting Tribal 
court advocate training programs. Civil and criminal representation of 
individuals in Tribal and State courts ranges from counseling and 
advice to full representation in trials and appeals. Individual Indian 
Legal Services programs have created a comprehensive set of self-help 
forms for family law cases; assisted with birth certificate changes for 
Tribal enrollment purposes; assisted with enforcement of domestic 
violence protections under Tribal laws; represented families in Indian 
Child Welfare Act cases in State court; and provided a toll-free legal 
advice hotline.
    Examples of the Indian Legal Services programs' criminal legal 
assistance work under TCCLA include assisting Tribes with drafting, 
revising and updating their civil and criminal codes (including 
children's codes), policies and procedures; Tribal court development, 
restructuring and improvement; training of judicial, law enforcement 
and justice systems personnel, and Tribal court lay advocates and 
guardians ad litem; and negotiation or litigation to address 
jurisdictional issues with State court systems. The programs are 
engaged in helping 18 of the 160 Tribes they serve to implement the 
Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TLOA) and the Violence Against Women 
Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA). Specific Indian Legal Services 
programs are working to enforce existing and to develop new 
``diversion'' agreements with the State government to address criminal 
justice matters (and potentially-related civil matters, such as child 
protection) within civil Tribal proceedings--such as in Healing-to-
Wellness courts; to conduct outreach to and represent individual 
clients in an expungement program, with the goal of alleviating 
barriers to employment and safe housing and restoring treaty-based 
hunting rights for those individuals who lost the right to possess 
firearms because of non-violent felony convictions; and to update 
Tribal codes for truancy and domestic violence while ensuring that the 
codes reflect Tribal customs and traditions.
    In fiscal year 2022, whether the subcommittee recommends funding to 
DOJ for assistance to Indian Country Tribal justice programs at a 
specific amount, as enacted in fiscal year 2021, or as a Tribal set-
aside percentage of overall DOJ funding, as has been proposed in prior 
fiscal years, we request that both bill and report language direct that 
some DOJ funding be allocated for the purpose of the provision of both 
Tribal civil and criminal legal assistance to individual Tribal 
citizens and to Tribal judicial systems pursuant to the Indian Tribal 
Justice Technical and Legal Assistance Act (Public Law 106-559).
John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program
    A law degree is a requirement of all public defenders and 
prosecutors, but obtaining such a degree routinely leaves graduates 
with a six-figure student loan debt. This debt can make it financially 
impossible to enter low-paying jobs at public defender organizations, 
or to remain in those jobs for long enough to gain the experience 
needed to become a highly effective advocate for their clients. When 
this happens, it slows the functioning of the entire court system as 
less experienced defense attorneys and prosecutors require more time to 
process the same caseload.
    The John R. Justice program provides relief from student loan debt 
by contributing to an individual's monthly student loan payments, which 
helps alleviate some of the problems that lead to recruitment 
difficulties and higher rates of turnover in public defender and 
prosecutor offices. However, the fiscal year 2021 appropriation for 
John R. Justice was just $2 million. This level of funding severely 
limits the scope and effectiveness of the program. This committee 
should fully fund the John R. Justice program at the authorized amount 
of $25 million for fiscal year 2021.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Programs
    As described earlier in this testimony, the COVID-19 pandemic has 
fueled concerns of rise in the prevalence of domestic violence and 
abuse. Even prior to that, more than 1 in 3 women and more than 1 in 4 
men in the United States had experienced rape, physical violence, and/
or stalking by an intimate partner. We urge the committee to provide an 
appropriation that builds on the prior success of VAWA programs, but 
also reflects the urgency of the need to broaden their reach. In 
particular, we request the $77 million for grants for civil legal 
assistance for victims recommended by the President's budget for fiscal 
year 2022. Civil legal aid helps survivors secure their physical 
safety, break legal links with their abuser, and rebuild their lives 
over the long term.
    None of this appropriation should be drawn from the Crime Victims 
Fund administered by the Department of Justice Office for Victims of 
Crime, because this reduces the total amount available to serve victims 
of crime and jeopardizes the sustainability of Crime Victims Fund over 
the long-term. The sustainability of the Crime Victims Fund is a 
bipartisan concern, as demonstrated by passage of H.R. 1652, the VOCA 
Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act.

    [This statement was submitted by Don Saunders, Senior Vice 
President for Policy.]
                                 ______
                                 
     Prepared Statement of the Natural Science Collections Alliance
              funding for the national science foundation
    The Natural Science Collections Alliance appreciates the 
opportunity to provide testimony in support of fiscal year 2022 
appropriations for the National Science Foundation (NSF). We encourage 
Congress to provide the NSF with at least $10.2 billion in fiscal year 
2022.

    The Natural Science Collections Alliance is a non-profit 
association that supports natural science collections, their human 
resources, the institutions that house them, and their research 
activities for the benefit of science and society. Our membership 
consists of institutions that are part of an international network of 
museums, botanical gardens, herbaria, universities, and other 
institutions that contain natural science collections and use them in 
research, exhibitions, academic and informal science education, and 
outreach activities.

    Scientific collections, and the collections professionals and 
scientists who make, care for, and study these resources, are a vital 
component of our Nation's research infrastructure. These collections 
and their associated experts contribute to the expansion of our 
bioeconomy. Whether held at a museum, government managed laboratory or 
archive, or in a university science department, these scientific 
resources form a coordinated network of specimens, samples, and data 
(for example, genetic, tissue, organism, and environmental) that are a 
unique and irreplaceable foundation from which scientists are studying 
and explaining past and present life on earth.
    Natural science collections advance scientific research and 
education, and that informs actions to improve public health, 
agricultural productivity, natural resource management, biodiversity 
conservation, and American economic innovation. Current research 
involving natural science collections also contributes to the 
development of new cyberinfrastructure, data visualization tools, and 
improved data management practices. A few examples of how scientific 
collections have saved lives, enhanced food production, and advanced 
scientific discovery include:

  --Scientists used museum specimens in U.S. collections to gather data 
        on the distribution of the mosquito Culex quadrofaciatus, which 
        is known to carry West Nile Virus and other pathogens. They 
        then modeled the distribution under different scenarios of 
        changing climates to predict regions where the species may 
        expand in the future. Predicting the spread of disease vectors 
        such as these mosquitoes helps the health care community 
        prepare for disease outbreaks and where they will happen.
  --Researchers from Boston University documented Tau proteins in the 
        brains of fluid preserved museum specimens of Downy Woodpecker 
        (Dendrocopus pubescens). These proteins are also found in 
        traumatic brain injuries in humans. Because of the life history 
        traits of woodpeckers, the researchers argue these birds may 
        have evolved a level of resistance to traumatic head injuries 
        that could have implications for treatments for humans.
  --In 1993, a deadly new disease appeared in the southwestern United 
        States. Using NSF-supported biological collections at Texas 
        Tech University and University of New Mexico, the agent was 
        determined to be Hantavirus carried by a few species of 
        rodents. When rodent populations increased following an El Nino 
        weather event, the animals spread into human environments and 
        increased the transmission of Hantavirus. With the vector 
        known, it was possible to lessen the risk to humans by reducing 
        opportunities for disease transmission. Using other specimens, 
        scientists have now identified more than 40 other strains of 
        Hantavirus worldwide that are carried by bats, moles, and 
        shrews. Similar work is underway to identify the carrier of 
        Ebola in Africa.
  --Citrus bacterial canker disease wreaks havoc on fruit crops in 
        Florida. Using plant specimens collected a century ago, 
        scientists have analyzed the bacterium and traced its source. 
        Knowledge of how the bacteria spreads allows scientists to 
        develop effective control methods and to protect the U.S. 
        citrus industry.

    Scientific collections enable us to tell the story of life on 
Earth. There are more than 1,600 biological collections in the United 
States. These resources are the result of more than 200 years of 
scientific investigation, discovery, and inventory of living and fossil 
species. Scientists have collected and curated more than one billion 
specimens within those collections. This work is on-going as new 
questions continue to be asked and answered.
    The institutions that care for scientific collections are important 
research infrastructure that enable other scientists to study the basic 
data of life; conduct biological, geological, anthropological, and 
environmental research; and integrate research findings from across 
these diverse disciplines. Their professional staff members train 
future generations with the tools and expertise required to move 
science forward. In-house institutional staff expertise is vital to the 
development and deployment of this critical research infrastructure.
    Recent reports highlight the value of mobilizing biodiversity 
specimens and data in spurring new scientific discoveries that grow our 
economy, improve our public health and wellbeing, and increase our 
National security. In 2019, the Biodiversity Collections Network issued 
a community-informed call for the development of an Extended Specimen 
Network. The report, Extending U.S. Biodiversity Collections to Promote 
Research and Education, outlines a national agenda that leverages 
digital data in biodiversity collections for new uses and calls for 
building an Extended Specimen Network. This endeavor requires robust 
investments in our Nation's scientific collections, whether they are 
owned by a Federal or State agency or are part of an educational 
institution or free-standing natural history museum or another research 
center.
    A 2020 report by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and 
Medicine (NASEM), Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research 
and Education for the 21st Century, provides guidance to the NSF 
regarding the sustainability of living stock and natural history 
collections. The report argues that collections are a critical part of 
our Nation's science and innovation infrastructure and a fundamental 
resource for understanding the natural world.
    According to the U.S. Interagency Working Group on Scientific 
Collections (IWGSC), ``scientific collections are essential to 
supporting agency missions and are thus vital to supporting the global 
research enterprise.'' A 2020 report by the IWGSC presents a framework 
for estimating and documenting the long-term benefits, both monetary 
and non-monetary, generated by Federal institutional collections.
    The NASEM, BCoN, and IWGSC reports, articulate a common vision of 
the future of biological collections and define a need to broaden and 
deepen the collections and associated data to realize the potential for 
biodiversity collections to inform 21st century science. Because the 
NSF is the only agency that supports research in all fields of science, 
it is ideally suited lead a national effort to build the Extended 
Specimen Network, which will require the engagement of computer and 
information scientists, geoscientists, life and environmental 
scientists, and anthropologists.
    Collections are a critical resource for advancing the knowledge 
needed to address current global challenges such as climate change, 
biodiversity loss, and pandemics. The COVID-19 crisis has illustrated 
how inextricably linked humans are to the natural world. Biological 
collections, their extended data, and the experts that build and study 
them are globally important for understanding where viruses such as 
SARS-CoV-2 exist in nature or when they cross from their current hosts 
to humans.
    In 2019, the United Nation's (UN) Intergovernmental Science-Policy 
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) issued a 
warning that about a million species of plants and animals worldwide 
face extinction within the next few decades. This would not only be an 
unprecedented loss of global biodiversity but also a loss of valuable 
genetic diversity that has implications for human health and well-
being. Robust investments must be made to support efforts to grow and 
digitize natural history collections and conduct critical collections-
based science that can help prevent these losses.
    The NSF plays a unique role in protecting and expanding access to 
our Nation's scientific collections. It supports research that uses 
existing collections as well as studies that gather new natural history 
specimens. NSF's Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO), 
Geosciences (GEO), and Social and Behavioral and Economic sciences 
support research and student training opportunities in natural history 
collections. The NSF is also an important supporter of national 
biological research infrastructure that houses natural history 
collections, such as living stock collections and field stations.
    The NSF funds evolving work to digitize high priority specimen 
collections. The result of this effort is that irreplaceable biological 
specimens and their associated data are now accessible through the 
Internet to researchers, educators, and the public. More than 125 
million specimens are now online, with millions more awaiting 
digitization. This project involves biologists, computer scientists, 
and engineers in multi-disciplinary teams who develop innovative 
imaging, robotics, and data storage and retrieval methods. Resulting 
new tools and approaches expedite the digitization process and 
contribute to the development of new products and services of value to 
other industries. Museum specimens and associated data represent an 
extraordinary resource for teaching core concepts in science.
    In addition to supporting research, NSF's science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs enhance the 
ability of museums, botanic gardens, zoos, and other research 
institutions to provide science learning opportunities for students. 
NSF's Advancing Informal STEM Learning program furthers our 
understanding of informal science education outside of traditional 
classrooms. The program makes important contributions to efforts to 
make STEM more inclusive of historically underrepresented groups.
                               conclusion
    Investments in the NSF have always been in the National interest 
and their value continues to grow. Scientific collections contribute to 
improved public well-being and national economic security. It is not 
possible to replace this important documentation of our Nation's 
heritage. Specimens collected decades or centuries ago are increasingly 
used to develop and validate models that explain how species, including 
viruses, parasites, and pathogens have dispersed around the world, as 
well as how and when they might infect humans now and in the future. 
The NSF is the primary funding source that provides support to 
institutions that preserve at-risk scientific collections. These small 
grants help ensure these collections are not destroyed and their data 
lost.
    Investments in NSF programs that support natural science 
collections research and education are essential if we are to maintain 
our global leadership in innovation and biodiversity research. We also 
see these investments as critical for our efforts to grow diversity and 
inclusion in the scientific workforce. Please support funding of at 
least $10.2 billion for NSF in fiscal year 2022. We also request that 
Congress provide additional economic relief, such as the provisions 
outlined in the RISE Act (HR. 869, S. 289), to the U.S. research 
community, including natural history museums, botanical gardens, and 
other science centers, that have suffered significant budget 
disruptions resulting from reduced public attendance or closures 
associated with responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many natural 
history organizations are non-profits that operate on tight budgets 
with limited capacity to absorb abrupt and significant losses of 
revenue, such as that generated from public visitation and engagement 
programs.
    In addition to appropriations, Congress is currently considering 
reauthorization legislation to significantly expand NSF's mission and 
budget. The proposed investments in technological research will enable 
the biodiversity collections community to build the cyberinfrastructure 
and databases necessary to mobilize biodiversity data in ways that 
bolster 21st century science and drive innovation. We applaud these 
efforts to invest in our Nation's scientific and technological 
enterprise and urge that robust investments also be made in basic and 
foundational research.
    Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this request and for 
your prior support of the National Science Foundation.

    [This statement was submitted by John Bates, Ph.D., President.]
                                 ______
                                 
              Prepared Statement of The Nature Conservancy
programs under the national oceanic and atmospheric administration for 
                            fiscal year 2022
    Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran and Members of the 
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to comment on the fiscal 
year 2022 appropriations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA). The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a nonprofit 
working across the States and territories and in 72 countries to 
conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.
    We thank the subcommittee for its efforts to help address not only 
the Nation's ongoing vital ocean, coastal and Great Lakes issues but 
also the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Investment in 
ocean, coastal and Great Lakes restoration and management can be part 
of the country's economic recovery. According to NOAA data, each year 
the U.S. ocean and coastal economy contributes $304 billion to the 
Nation's GDP and 3.3 million jobs. NOAA's funding keeps this growing 
ocean, coastal and Great Lakes economic engine running. It not only 
helps NOAA catalyze local and regional action but also reduces risk and 
saves money based on the tangible economic and societal benefits that 
natural resources provide.
    We appreciate that in fiscal year 2021, the subcommittee was able 
to provide some moderate but necessary program increases in a 
constrained budget environment. Recognizing the significant benefit 
NOAA's programs provide to the Nation, the Biden administration has 
proposed a significant increase to the agency's fiscal year 2022 
budget. Many of these increases are targeted to improve research, 
resource management and public engagement to address the considerable 
climate and biodiversity needs of the Nation. The demand for NOAA's 
products and technical and financial assistance exceeds available 
funding. TNC supports the administration's thoughtful approach to 
increases across NOAA programs. The NOAA budget levels detailed below 
represent a prudent investment in the United States' future, and your 
support is requested.
                         national ocean service
    Title IX Fund--National Coastal Resilience Fund Grants: The 
Conservancy supports the requested level of $68 million requests at 
least $5 million be set aside for planning, technical assistance, and 
assessment activities. The National Coastal Resilience Fund provides 
the resources and tools to build coastal resilience to avoid costly 
Federal disaster assistance and sustain healthy fisheries, maintain 
robust tourism opportunities, provide for increased shipping demands 
and support other coastal industries. Coastal communities have clearly 
shown an ability to match and leverage this funding to take proactive 
measures to protect their ways of life. TNC appreciates Congress's 
support for funding for planning and assessment activities in fiscal 
Year 2021.
    Coastal Zone Management and Services: The Conservancy supports the 
requested level of $64.789 million. This level of funding will provide 
for increased capacity to provide coastal resilience technical 
assistance to communities across the country, including additional 
emphasis on under-resourced and underserved communities. Fully funding 
the Digital Coast Partnership following passage by Congress of the 
Digital Coast Act in 2020 will support new and improved products, 
services and technical assistance to communities through this public-
private partnership. Funding would also support communities through the 
development of the next generation of coastal managers via the Coastal 
Management and Digital Coast Fellows programs. Providing competitive 
salaries and expanded recruitment efforts will enhance the ability to 
reach underrepresented communities. This increase will support the 
designation process for three new National Estuarine Research Reserves 
in Louisiana, Connecticut and Wisconsin to provide better 
representation and connectivity of habitats across the system.
    Coastal Management Grants: The Conservancy supports the requested 
level of $108.5 million for coastal zone management grants. TNC 
collaborates with State and territorial coastal programs around the 
country to meet multiple goals for coastal communities, including 
economic development, enhancement of public access and recreation, 
coastal resilience, and conservation of coastal resources. After years 
of essentially flat funding, the additional funding would support State 
and territorial coastal zone management programs expanding coastal 
resilience efforts through vulnerability assessments, planning and 
design of resilience projects, monitoring and evaluation, technical 
assistance and training to local governments.
    Coral Reef Conservation Program: The Conservancy supports the 
requested level of $43.194 million. The increase will help NOAA, 
States, territories and community, research, and non-governmental 
partners address the continued decline of coral reefs. This decline has 
had significant social, economic and ecological impacts on people and 
communities in the United States and around the world. TNC works with 
NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program under a competitively awarded, 
multiyear cooperative agreement to address the top threats to coral 
reef ecosystems: changing ocean conditions, overfishing and land-based 
sources of pollution. Together, TNC and NOAA develop place-based 
strategies, measure the effectiveness of management efforts and build 
capacity among reef managers.
    National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS): The Conservancy 
supports the requested level of $42.5 million. NERRS partners with 
States and territories to ensure long-term education, stewardship and 
research on estuarine habitats. The reserves advance knowledge and 
estuary stewardship and serve as a scientific foundation for coastal 
management decisions. By using local management needs to help shape 
research, NERRS aims to fill critical gaps. This funding would expand 
the capacity of NERRS to conduct climate research and monitoring, 
incorporate this research into training and technical assistance to 
local communities and enhance public engagement.
    Sanctuaries and Marine Protected Areas: The Conservancy supports 
the requested level of $84.503 million. National marine sanctuaries 
support economic growth and hundreds of coastal businesses in sanctuary 
communities, preserve vibrant underwater and maritime treasures for 
Americans to enjoy and provide critical public access for more than 42 
million visitors each year. Through a transparent, inclusive approach, 
the marine sanctuaries provide for the conservation of U.S. marine 
resources while balancing multiple uses and diverse stakeholder needs. 
The increased funding would enable the program to expand engagement of 
partners, underrepresented communities, Tribes and Indigenous 
communities; increase capacity for protection, conservation and 
stewardship; and support the designation process for five community-
nominated candidate sites and Papahanaumokuakea Marine National 
Monument to become sanctuaries.
                national marine fisheries service (nmfs)
    Fisheries and Ecosystem Science Programs and Services: The 
Conservancy supports the requested level of $170.603 million. Science 
is the foundation of successful fisheries management. While many gains 
have been achieved, there remain unfunded opportunities in each NMFS 
region, especially related to electronic monitoring and reporting (EM/
ER). NMFS has also begun a fisheries information management 
modernization effort that would enhance capacity to take in, integrate 
and make accessible data from a variety of sources to improve 
management. Modernizing data management would support implementation of 
the proposed Climate-Ready Fisheries Initiative and enhance the 
government's ability to conduct offshore wind consultations. The 
enhanced research capacity would help fill gaps in stock productivity, 
fisheries adaptations, improve future projections and risk assessments 
and translate these efforts into management strategies to support 
decision-makers.
    Habitat Conservation and Restoration: The Conservancy supports the 
requested level of $99.704 million. NOAA funding for coastal habitat 
restoration supports, on average, 15 jobs per $1 million invested and 
up to 30 jobs per $1 million spent on labor-intensive restoration 
projects. Project funds are awarded on a competitive basis and 
typically leverage the resources and capacity of multiple partners. 
This funding also provides for NOAA's consultations on and 
implementation of Essential Fish Habitat. The Regional Fishery 
Management Councils address fishing impacts on these areas, and NOAA 
must have sufficient capacity to provide technical assistance to the 
councils and to work with Federal agencies to avoid, minimize and 
mitigate impacts on these important fishery habitats. The proposed 
increase would support large-scale habitat restoration to build climate 
resilience as well as competitive grants for multi-year awards to 
develop restoration planning, project design and permitting and project 
implementation. TNC supports not only this project but the thoughtful 
approach to assess the problem, identify goals and articulate a 
schedule and cost for the project.
    Fisheries Data Collections, Surveys and Assessments: The 
Conservancy supports the requested level of $197.645 million. Limited 
or poor-quality information on the status of fishery stocks undermines 
the effectiveness of fisheries management and can erode community 
support for conservation measures. Accurate and timely stock 
assessments are essential for the sound management of fisheries and the 
sustainability of fishing resources. The proposed increase would 
provide long-needed funding to expand surveys, sampling and analysis 
capabilities to better track shifting species. The funding would 
increase the use of technology to conduct surveys, a capacity that 
became increasingly important when the pandemic disrupted data 
collection. The increase would also begin implementation of a Federal 
survey mitigation program to cover the operational lifespan of offshore 
wind developments.
    Fisheries Management Programs and Services: The Conservancy 
supports the requested level of $136.782 million. With a $214 billion 
fisheries and seafood sector, U.S. fishing communities rely on 
management services and information from NOAA to make the most informed 
decisions on where, how and when to fish. NOAA Fisheries has made 
important strides in addressing these challenges and strengthening 
fisheries management. Support for these efforts is necessary to recover 
fish stocks so they can provide food and jobs now and in the future. 
Increased funding will enable NOAA to take the next steps to better 
incorporate ecosystem and changing climate considerations into 
management activities. It will also allow for workforce training and 
development in environmental justice and equity as well as improved 
engagement and outreach for diverse participation in regulatory and 
science processes. Funding would increase consultation capacity to 
assess effects of planned offshore energy activities and to establish a 
national Wind Center of Excellence to coordinate review of wind 
projects nationwide.
    Observers and Training: The Conservancy supports at least $55.468 
million, including $10.3 million for at-sea monitoring in the New 
England multispecies fishery, consistent with fiscal year 2021 funding. 
After several years of collaborative work with fishery participants, 
scientists and other stakeholders, the New England Fishery Management 
Council voted to increase monitoring on groundfish vessels to 100 
percent for a period of at least 4 years if, and only if, funding is 
available to support it. Because of ongoing support from Congress to 
develop electronic monitoring systems, fishermen can now meet the at-
sea monitoring requirement with these systems or observers. Continued 
funding along with leveraged private funding should provide sufficient 
resources to aid in the near-term transition to increased monitoring 
and expand the use of electronic monitoring.
    Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF): The Conservancy 
supports at least $70 million, an increase of $5 million above fiscal 
year 2021 funding. PCSRF has funded hundreds of successful on-the-
ground salmon conservation efforts, but habitat project needs exceed 
available funding. It invests in cooperative efforts and projects are 
matched at a 3:1 ratio (Federal: non-Federal). PCSRF has catalyzed 
thousands of partnerships among Federal, State, local and Tribal 
governments and conservation, business and community organizations.
    Protected Resources Science and Management: The Conservancy 
supports the requested level of $237.127 million. Increasing funding 
for the competitive Species Recovery Grants would allow the agency to 
strengthen and expand State and territorial partnerships to address the 
growing number of listed species and allow for larger-scale, ecosystem-
level recovery efforts. It will enhance capacity to integrate climate 
science into protected species management and assessments, including 
scenario planning, recovery planning, implementing recovery actions, 
threat projections and long-term monitoring and research. Additional 
listed species and emerging offshore wind activities have increased the 
number and complexity of NOAA's consultation and permitting 
requirements. Funding is needed to aid NOAA's ability to complete these 
requirements in a timely and predictable manner.
    Thank you for this opportunity to share TNC's priorities. Please 
contact me if you have questions or would like additional information.

    [This statement was submitted by Stephanie Bailenson, Senior Policy 
Advisor for Ocean and Coasts.]
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of the New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate
 submitted on behalf of a coalition led by youth first initiative and 
    columbia justice lab's youth correctional leaders for justice--
 regarding a new juvenile justice initiative at the office of juvenile 
    justice and delinquency prevention in the department of justice
    Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
subcommittee, my name is Moira O'Neill. I serve as the Child Advocate 
for the State of New Hampshire. The Office of the Child Advocate 
provides independent oversight of all State supervised services for 
children with a special focus on child protection and juvenile justice 
services. In addition to investigating complaints and examining State 
systems, our statutory mandate includes promoting children's best 
interests and strengthening State services by working with agencies and 
providing advice to policy makers. The foundation of all our efforts is 
the science of child development. This approach is essential to 
juvenile justice, a separate system that should accommodate children's 
developing brains and capacity for executive decision making, impulse 
control, and emotional regulation. I am pleased to submit testimony on 
behalf of a coalition of organizations, co-led by the Youth First 
Initiative and Columbia Justice Lab's Youth Correctional Leaders for 
Justice. These organizations assist States in building on the past 15 
years of successful youth crime reduction and decarceration to 
strengthen and expand access to more effective community-based 
alternatives for youth. To accomplish this goal, we seek $100 million 
for a new initiative at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention (OJJDP) in the Department of Justice that would support 
State efforts to:

  --Engage in a planning and stakeholder consultation process to close 
        youth prisons, repurpose closed youth prisons, and reinvest 
        State resources from those facilities to support more effective 
        and cost-efficient community-based alternatives; and
  --Provide support for workforce development services for correctional 
        staff who will need new employment upon facility closures.

    I want to thank the subcommittee for its past funding of Federal 
juvenile justice programs and urge it to support this new initiative at 
OJJDP to support States in moving from costly and ineffective 
incarceration to more effective community-based alternatives that 
produce dramatically better outcomes for youth, their families, and 
their communities.
    The time for transforming juvenile justice is now and New Hampshire 
is ready. We are a small State with under 2,000 \1\ children--less than 
1 percent of an estimated 260,000 population under 18 \2\--who are 
adjudicated delinquent at any given time of the year. Despite the small 
size of the population, there are disparities and children at risk. 
Children of color are just 16 percent of the State population but 
account for 37 percent of detention admissions, 22 percent of new 
probation cases, and at least 22 percent of out of home placements.\3\ 
Children with disabilities also are disproportionately represented with 
an estimated 65-70 percent having a diagnosed disability and 75 percent 
having experienced some form of trauma, which impacts healthy 
development.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcyf/documents/dcyf-data-book-2020.pdf
    \2\ https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/NH
    \3\ Division for Children, Youth and Families Probation 
Transformation Team, State of New Hampshire Department of Health and 
Human Services. 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    With these outcomes in mind and armed with the latest science for 
practice improvement, New Hampshire is experiencing extraordinary 
progress in transforming juvenile justice services under a broad, 
bipartisan group of champions. We are in the midst of implementing 
significant investments in a responsive and trauma-informed mental 
health system for children. We are transforming juvenile probation from 
a punitive and ineffective system to a child development-informed 
system that will emphasize positive youth development and incentivize 
pro-social behavior. Moreover, the Granite State has succeeded in 
minimizing the number of detained or committed children through 
legislative actions increasingly limiting criteria for incarceration. 
The General Assembly has just passed a 2022-23 biennium budget that 
provides for the closure of our 144-bed children's prison, currently 
housing 10-15 children, by March 2023. This is promising progress in 
children's best interest. New Hampshire has momentum. However, overall 
success will depend upon careful planning and assessment for community-
based alternatives to intervene, rehabilitate, and prevent children 
from engaging in anti-social behavior. A promise to support staff in 
prison transition, not currently in the budget, would go far to keeping 
children safe until closure. The requested $100 million for a new 
Federal initiative at OJJDP would galvanize and support New Hampshire's 
efforts to ensure a truly successful and just system.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Nationwide, from 2000 to 2018, the number of incarcerated youth 
fell by 65 percent, and juvenile justice facilities decreased by 50 
percent. During this time youth crime also dropped. From 2006 to 2019, 
juvenile arrests for violent crimes fell by 50 percent, and from 2008 
to 2019, juvenile arrests for property crimes fell by 73 percent.
    Racial and ethnic disparities and incidents of abuse continue to 
plague these extremely expensive and ineffective prison environments. 
Racial inequities in incarceration are pervasive--Black youth are 5 
times more likely and Latinx youth 3 times more likely than their white 
peers to be incarcerated for similar offenses. Excluding Indian 
Country, American Indians make up 3 percent of girls and 1.5 percent of 
boys in juvenile facilities but less than 1 percent of youth 
nationally.
    Long term outcomes for incarcerated youth are poor and include 
lower educational attainment and employment; high rates of 
homelessness; behavioral and emotional problems; poor physical health; 
and problems in forming stable family relationships. Physical and 
sexual assault and extended solitary confinement also are common. 
Incarceration also increases recidivism by disconnecting youth from 
their families, religious and spiritual connections, schools, and other 
pro-social experiences. As a result, incarcerated youth are more likely 
to have entered adult prison by age 25. Given these limitations, many 
prosecutors, youth correctional administrators and youth advocates now 
recommend the closure of youth prisons in favor of more effective 
community-based alternatives. However, there are many youth prisons 
still operating and taking up precious State resources, especially 
during this time of strapped State budgets. Federal funds would assist 
States in closing youth prisons and directing State and local resources 
to support more effective community-based alternatives.
    Research shows that community-based alternatives perform far better 
than the youth prison model. The youth incarceration environment is 
incongruous with child development and trauma-informed care that relies 
upon stimulating, engaging, encouraging, and safe space for children's 
intellectual capacity and resilience to develop. I will never forget 
the boy at the Sununu Youth Services Center who told me, ``I feel my 
brain rotting in here.'' He was right.
    There are effective alternatives to youth incarceration. Community 
mentoring programs that link young people to trusted adults show strong 
results. In Pennsylvania, Youth Advocates Program found that 97 percent 
of program participants were not convicted or adjudicated of a new 
offense while in the program, 85 percent were living safely in the 
community at discharge, and 76 percent were regularly attending school, 
had graduated, or attained their GED at discharge. The NYC Mayor's 
Office and Urban Institute found that Credible Messengers' mentoring 
programs for youth on probation significantly reduced recidivism for 
young adults on probation by 69 percent after 12 months. At the 24-
month mark, it was still 57 percent lower. These results show that 
evidence-based alternatives delivered in the community can reduce 
recidivism.
    During the COVID-19 pandemic, incarceration has put youth at 
serious risk for illness, including long-term health impacts, and 
sometimes death. While not specific to youth prisons, as of December 
2020, the rate of people incarcerated in prisons who tested positive 
for COVID-19 was more than 4 times as high as the general population 
and in some States up to 8 times as high. It is likely that youth 
prisons have similarly high rates of COVID-19 infection, putting in 
jeopardy the health of young people and staff in those settings, as 
well as the health of their families and communities to which they 
return.
    Closing youth prisons both saves money and increases public safety. 
The cost of youth incarceration is astronomically high, especially 
considering these poor outcomes. According to one recent study, the 
average cost of the most expensive confinement option for a young 
person in 48 States was $588 per day, or $214,620 per year. In New 
Hampshire, the Sununu Youth Services Center costs taxpayers $12 million 
to $15 million per year to accommodate 10-15 children on any given day. 
A Washington State Study showed that youth detention produced fewer 
benefits in reduced crime and other outcomes than many less costly 
programs. For example, spending $1 for diversion and mentoring programs 
resulted in $3.36 in benefits of reduced crime, while multisystemic 
therapy, a more service intensive alternative, produced $13.36 in 
benefits.
    In 2016, Kansas decided to shift resources from youth prisons to 
community-based interventions, and this shift is expected to save $72 
million by 2022. The State has invested savings in community-based 
programs. Georgia also instituted a similar plan in 2012 and estimated 
its savings over 5 years at $85 million. It also avoided the 
significant cost of building two new juvenile facilities.
    Such community-based alternatives, including mentoring programs, 
evidence-based therapies, and small, rehabilitative and home-like 
facilities for the very few young people who commit serious crimes cost 
much less than prison and are safer for youth and staff. New York 
City's investment in small, homelike facilities resulted in a 53 
percent drop in youth arrests and a 68 percent reduction in youth 
placement. Using similar reforms, Texas decreased youth incarceration 
by 38 percent and further decreased youth arrests by 49 percent. After 
California's closure of youth prisons in 2016, youth arrests for 
violent crimes in the State fell to less than half what they were in 
1990. These States have demonstrated that closing youth prisons both 
saves money and increases public safety.
    Americans nationwide support Federal funding to incentivize States 
to close youth prisons to capture resources to reinvest in more 
effective and cost-efficient community-based alternatives. In a recent 
Youth First Initiative poll, 78 percent of adults endorsed the proposal 
to provide Federal funds for State planning and consultation with 
stakeholders to close youth prisons and invest savings to expand access 
to community-based alternatives and provide workforce development 
services to workers from closed facilities. At least 7 in 10 Democrats, 
Independents, and Republicans, and at least 7 in 10 Black, white, 
Hispanic, and Asian Americans endorsed these policies, demonstrating 
support across political affiliation as well as racial and ethnic 
groups.
    Youth First Initiative polled residents in Maine and found that 85 
percent of residents overwhelming favor a youth justice system focused 
on prevention and rehabilitation over punishment and incarceration. 
Additionally, 87 percent of Mainers support providing financial 
incentives for States to invest in alternatives to youth incarceration. 
Just recently, the Maine House and Senate passed legislation to close 
its only youth prison, Long Creek Youth Development Center. The 
legislation also requires that savings captured from the closure be 
used to create and support community-based programs in Maine.
    At a time when our Nation is debating how to reduce the negative 
impacts of the justice system while still maintaining public safety, I 
urge you to support this proposal since it provides a winning strategy 
that would accomplish all of the key goals: reducing incarceration and 
its negative impacts on youth; reducing racial disparities; achieving 
cost efficiencies that produce more effective outcomes; and improving 
public safety.
    Thank you so much for your time and consideration of these critical 
issues. Please do not hesitate to contact me or Jenny Collier at 
[email protected] if you have any questions or need 
additional information.

    [This statement was submitted by Testimony by Moira O'Neill, PhD, 
The Child Advocate.]
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of Nonprofit Civil and Human Rights Advocacy and 
                        Religious Organizations
 funding to the department of justice for efforts to prevent, measure, 
               and mitigate the harm done by hate crimes
June 22, 2021

 
 
 
The Hon. Jeanne Shaheen, Chair              The Hon. Jerry Moran,
Commerce, Justice, Science                   Ranking Member
  Subcommittee                              Commerce, Justice, Science
Senate Appropriations Committee               Subcommittee
125 Hart Senate Office Building             Senate Appropriations
Washington, DC 20510                         Committee
                                            142 Dirksen Senate Office
                                             Building
                                            Washington, DC 20510
 


Dear Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
Subcommittee:

    As organizations that represent communities targeted by hate 
incidents ranging from vandalism and verbal harassment to life-
threatening attacks, we write to urge you to increase funding in the 
fiscal year 2022 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill for 
community-based non-profits that provide holistic education and support 
services to mitigate the harm hate causes; for grants that improve data 
about and understanding of hate; and for restorative justice research 
and Community Relations Service interventions that address the roots of 
hate-motivated violence.
    Our recommendations are grounded in our alarm at increases in 
reports of hate crime, and in our conviction that to further racial 
justice we must ensure that government agencies and nongovernmental 
organizations work together to support, validate, and vindicate each 
person and community at risk of being targeted because of race, 
national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, 
or disability. As you know, in spite of declining law enforcement 
agency participation, the FBI's Hate Crime Statistics Act reports have 
documented year-to-year growth in the number of recorded hate crimes in 
recent years, culminating in the most deadly year on record in 2019, in 
which at least 51 people lost their lives in bias-motivated attacks. 
Anecdotal data captured by community-based organizations and surveys 
that ask Americans about their subjective experiences indicate that 
hate crime is a far more widespread and devastating phenomenon than 
even the FBI's report demonstrates. Behind each victim is an entire 
community of people who share the characteristics for which the person 
was attacked, and who experience the fear and instability that these 
acts cause.
    Mitigating and preventing the enormous harm that bias-motivated 
violence does is necessary if we are to dismantle deep systemic 
inequities that have impeded our growth and achievement throughout 
American history. Moreover, at a time when our differences and 
conflicts threaten our ability to collaborate with one another to 
sustain democratic governance and protect public health, it is as 
important as ever that we stand up to hate and create an environment in 
which all of us are equally safe and empowered to thrive. We urge you 
to further these crucial efforts by adopting the following 
appropriations provisions and report language.
Increase Funding for Community-Based Anti-Hate Work
    When hate incidents occur, the people, institutions, and 
communities that are affected often turn first for assistance and 
support to familiar and trusted organizations that work outside the 
criminal justice system to provide legal advice and defense, 
culturally-appropriate medical and mental health care, and other 
complementary services such as anti-bias education and help with basic 
needs. Strong indicators of the important role that community-based 
nonprofits play in documenting, countering and mitigating hate include 
the significant volume of hate incidents reported directly to 
organizations and associations such as Stop AAPI Hate, the Southern 
Poverty Law Center, and the Anti-Defamation League, and the 
proliferation in recent years of programs and partnerships that aim to 
call out, and accelerate the fight against, hate, such as the Lawyers 
Committee for Civil Rights Under Law's James Byrd Jr. Center to Stop 
Hate. The Federal Government's investments in preventing and supporting 
healing from hate crimes must reflect the unique and indispensable role 
of non-government actors through a movement toward greater parity in 
distribution of funding to both community-based and government-run 
institutions. Therefore, we urge you to adopt the following report 
language:

    ``Department of Justice--Office of Justice Programs--`Community 
Support for Victims of Hate Crime.--The Committee recognizes that 
individuals and communities that perpetrators of hate crimes target are 
frequently the same individuals and communities that have been 
historically discriminated against and overrepresented among those 
investigated, arrested, convicted and incarcerated by law enforcement 
officials. Hate crime victims include noncitizens and people with 
immigrant family members who may fear immigration enforcement-related 
consequences of contact with law enforcement. For these and other 
reasons, communities affected by hate crime have called for increased 
investment in community-based social support and advocacy for victims 
as a necessary complement to law enforcement involvement in preventing 
and responding to hate crime. Accordingly, the Committee directs the 
agency to prioritize grants from programs for which institutions of 
higher education, museums, and nongovernmental nonprofit organizations 
are eligible to those applicants that are institutions of higher 
education, museums, and nonprofit organizations that propose to use 
funding to provide services that reduce the risk of hate crime or to 
provide legal, material, social, and other support to people and 
institutions affected by hate crimes. The agency should consider grant 
programs including but not limited to the Antiterrorism and Emergency 
Assistance Program, the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program, 
Research and Evaluation on Domestic Terrorism Prevention, and Research 
and Evaluation of Services for Victims of Crime.' ''
Fund Improvements in Hate Crime Statistics
    A more complete understanding of where, when, and against whom hate 
crimes occur is a necessary component of an effective and coordinated 
campaign to eradicate this scourge. In the nearly 30 years during which 
the FBI has compiled data pursuant to the Hate Crime Statistics Act, 
however, DOJ has yet to produce information that paints an accurate and 
comprehensive picture of hate crime. Multiple factors contribute to 
deficits in our knowledge about this phenomenon, including victimized 
communities' distrust and avoidance of law enforcement agencies; lack 
of training for officers in recognizing and investigating bias 
motivations; and frontline agencies' limited capacity to maintain and 
share records with DOJ combined with the lack of a reporting mandate. 
Congress can and must support stakeholders in overcoming these 
challenges by providing funding for data improvement programs 
authorized by the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act. To implement this priority 
legislation, we urge you to provide total funding of at least $15 
million in the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill for grant 
programs to State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to 
implement the National Incident-Based Reporting System, to create 
State-run hate crime reporting hotlines, and to conduct training and 
develop protocols for identifying, analyzing, investigating and 
reporting hate crimes. In addition, we urge you to adopt the following 
corresponding report language:

    ``DOJ--State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance: `Hate Crime 
Statistics Reporting Improvement.--The Committee is concerned that more 
than two thousand law enforcement agencies did not participate in the 
FBI's most recent compilation of statistics about hate crimes, 
including 10 agencies serving cities with populations greater than 
100,000. In addition, underreporting of hate crime by participating 
agencies leads to an exponential gap between the number of hate crimes 
victims report experiencing in the National Crime Victimization Survey, 
and the number of hate crimes recognized and reported by law 
enforcement. Missing reports impair the ability of public safety 
officers and civil society to prevent and respond to hate crime. The 
Committee looks forward to receiving the report required in Sec. 5(g) 
of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, Public Law 117-13, and to obtaining a 
better understanding of ways that DOJ can support law enforcement 
agencies in strengthening hate crime data collection and reporting, and 
more effectively meeting the needs of communities affected by hate 
crime.' ''
Increase Support for Eliminating Hate by Ramping Up Peacebuilding and 
        Advancing Restorative Justice
    To secure a nation free from the fear and division that hate 
incidents cause, DOJ and other stakeholders must further develop 
ability and capacity to challenge the prejudices that lead to attacks. 
Within the agency, this work should start with and be led by an 
empowered and better-resourced Community Relations Service. This body's 
efforts are symbolically important and practically effective. As Liz 
Hume and Theo Sitther of the Alliance for Peacebuilding wrote in The 
Hill on March 17, 2021, ``CRS has brokered agreements that have 
resolved underlying systems of injustice and division in communities 
experiencing high levels of conflict.'' Recognizing that CRS's 
interventions save lives and preserve community cohesion, we urge you 
to take its work to scale and increase CRS's annual funding to $40 
million to meet expanding demand resulting in part from COVID-19-
related hate crimes targeting AAPI individuals and institutions, and 
from accelerating hate incidents inspired by international affairs that 
have targeted Jews, Muslims, and members of other faith-based and 
immigrant communities. We recommend adoption of the following report 
language in support of CRS's work:

    ``DOJ--Salaries and Expenses, Community Relations Service: 
`Community Relations Service.--The Committee recommends $40,000,000 for 
the Community Relations Service (CRS). CRS has a unique and important 
role to play in complementing the Justice Department's law enforcement 
activities, particularly when those activities involve members of 
vulnerable and marginalized communities. CRS is charged with pursuing 
justice and reconciliation throughout all of the States and 
territories, by engaging crime victims, government agencies, civil 
rights groups, and community leaders in healing and conflict 
resolution. CRS concentrates on developing mutual understanding in 
communities most challenged by tension and helps them develop local 
capacity and tools to prevent hate crimes from reoccurring. The 
Committee expects these efforts to expand, and CRS's services to be 
offered in more communities, in Fiscal Year 2022.' ''

    Moreover, we implore you to acknowledge that members of communities 
targeted by perpetrators of hate crimes have themselves suffered from 
disproportionate surveillance and criminalization by the criminal 
justice infrastructure. As a result, many fear that punitive anti-hate 
crime policies are likely to be misused against marginalized 
communities, and question whether traditional punishment is the best 
possible means of redressing hate crime in a way that challenges 
offenders' beliefs and gives pause to others who may express or act on 
hate. Instead, alternatives to carceral sentencing, which might include 
educational and community service requirements or moderated 
conciliation and dispute resolution sessions, hold promise as a means 
of advancing stakeholders' interests and helping victims heal and 
regain confidence. Further study is needed to determine which 
interventions have a successful track record or have shown promise in 
experimentation, so we hope that you will reserve at least $5 million 
of the funding provided to the Office of Justice Programs for Research, 
Evaluation, and Statistics for evaluation and development of 
restorative justice programming, and adopt the following report 
language:

    ``Research, Evaluation and Statistics: `Restorative Justice 
Research.--The Committee recognizes that many members of communities 
targeted by hate crimes have also been disproportionately negatively 
affected by a criminal justice system suffused with institutional 
racism and prejudice against other minority communities. As a result, a 
number of victims of hate crimes advocate responses to bias-motivated 
attacks that do not involve only or primarily carceral or punitive 
measures. The Committee notes the dearth of studies that evaluate the 
effectiveness of restorative justice alternatives to criminal 
punishment for commission of a hate crime, and directs the Department 
to fund and conduct research that can inform the adoption of sentencing 
alternatives that best serve hate crime victims' needs. The Department 
is encouraged to partner with academic institutions to evaluate the 
effectiveness of existing programs that employ conciliation, education, 
and other interventions to disrupt the malign beliefs of people 
convicted of hate crimes' ''
    We appreciate your consideration of these requests and look forward 
to working with you to ensure that fiscal year 2022 appropriations 
advance the fight against hate in ways that best serve the needs of 
communities that are targeted because of members' race, ethnicity, 
national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, 
and disability. If you have questions about these recommendations or 
seek additional information, please contact Erin Hustings at 
[email protected] and 202-316-3086.

            Sincerely,

ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services)
Act To Change
American Jewish Congress
Anti-Defamation League
B'nai B'rith International
Interfaith Alliance
Japanese American Citizens League
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Matthew Shepard Foundation
National Council of Jewish Women
Not In Our Town
Rabbinical Assembly
Sikh Coalition
UnidosUS
Union for Reform Judaism
UNITED SIKHS
      
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of Nonprofit Voter Assistance, Civil Rights, and 
                        Religious Organizations
June 18, 2021

 
 
 
The Hon. Jeanne Shaheen, Chair              The Hon. Jerry Moran,
Commerce, Justice, Science                   Ranking Member
  Subcommittee                              Commerce, Justice, Science
Senate Appropriations Committee               Subcommittee
125 Hart Senate Office Building             Senate Appropriations
Washington, DC 20510                         Committee
                                            142 Dirksen Senate Office
                                             Building
                                            Washington, DC 20510
 

                 department of justice's voting section
Dear Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
Subcommittee:

    The undersigned organizations write to strongly urge you to 
designate increased funding for DOJ's Civil Rights Division for the 
addition of positions in the Voting Section to enforce the Voting 
Rights Act's protections against discrimination in elections. As 
advocates for full and equal participation in American democracy, we 
are alarmed by the accelerating adoption of State and local policies 
that make voting disproportionately more difficult for members of 
communities that have historically been the subject of blatant and 
targeted disenfranchisement efforts. There is no other entity that can 
as ably represent the interests of voters of color and voters from 
language minority communities with the authority, expertise, and deep 
resources available to DOJ, and so we call on Members of Congress to 
ensure that the agency has what it needs to rise to the present 
challenge and preserve the broad access to the ballot that our 
foundational civil rights laws promise.
    Before, during, and after the 2020 Presidential Election, 
disinformation about threats to election security and integrity spread 
widely, and in significant part due to some public figures' repeated 
critiques of procedures that are normal and familiar, such as mail 
voting, and of extraordinary measures undertaken to avoid COVID-19-
related perils, including proactive mailing of mail ballot applications 
and expansion of early voting hours and periods. Election 
administrators, Federal and international experts at agencies like the 
Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 
Security Agency, and independent audits of paper records of votes cast 
have all affirmed that election results were valid and no significant 
or widespread fraud or irregularities occurred. Nonetheless, according 
to the Brennan Center for Justice, as of April 1, 2021, State lawmakers 
had introduced 361 bills that would restrict access to the ballot in 47 
States' 2021 legislative sessions.
    These measures take direct aim at aspects of the voting process 
that disproportionately affect voters of color and language minority 
voters, and preserving equal access to elections in 2021 and beyond 
will depend upon the strength and readiness of the most capable and 
expert voting rights prosecutor in the Nation, the Civil Rights 
Division's Voting Section. For example, Georgia recently signed into 
law a bill that expands voter identification requirements, which Black, 
Latino, Native American, and other voters of color are 
disproportionately likely to be unable to meet and to perceive as a 
barrier to voting; the bill also makes it a crime to approach voters 
waiting in line to give them food or water, and restricts the use of 
ballot drop boxes for mail voters. Iowa enacted a bill that shortens 
the State's early voting period and polling place hours, and restricts 
the use of satellite voting sites, all flexibilities that have proven 
particularly important to the State's growing population of young 
Latino voters, according to LULAC Iowa Political Director Joe Henry. 
Utah adopted a change that streamlines the process for cancelling voter 
registration records based on a voter's apparent death, opening the 
door to striking living people who share names with deceased 
individuals from voter rolls without notice. Such a policy is very 
likely to harm historically marginalized voters, who are statistically 
more likely to share the same surnames, and to be mistakenly removed 
from registration lists, than are white voters.
    DOJ's Voting Section requires expanded capacity to respond to the 
States and localities that already have and are poised to follow suit, 
as well as to monitor, evaluate, and enforce anti-discrimination 
standards in the post-2020 Census redistricting process that will soon 
begin in virtually every State and municipality in the Nation. As you 
know, the redistricting cycle that approaches will be the first to 
occur in the absence of the protective mechanisms of the Voting Rights 
Act's fully-functional preclearance process. As a result, the Voting 
Section will not receive explanation and analysis of new district maps 
from jurisdictions with long histories of acting deliberately to limit 
marginalized voters' opportunity to elect representatives of their 
choice, and will instead have to exponentially increase its own 
original review of as many as hundreds, or thousands, of new plans. It 
cannot afford to reduce its efforts to identify and challenge 
discriminatory redistricting, knowing that the process of redrawing 
districts has uniformly been infected with intentional bias and 
produced inequitable results when left to its own devices. In the last 
two cycles of redistricting during which the Voting Rights Act was in 
full effect alone, DOJ objected at least 42 times to implementation of 
redistricting plans that would have disproportionately diminished the 
influence of voters of color and language minority voters.
    As we consider the work before the Voting Section, we are also 
mindful of the need for more capacity to ensure the effective 
implementation of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act after new 
coverage determinations are published in calendar year 2021. In light 
of the continued growth of language minority communities, we anticipate 
the extension of obligations to conduct elections in multiple languages 
to additional jurisdictions, and along with it, an increase in demand 
for DOJ's technical assistance and oversight. In our experience, newly-
covered municipalities in particular often struggle to understand and 
comply with requirements such as recruitment and training of 
multilingual pollworkers, education of monolingual pollworkers about 
the rights of voters who are not fully fluent in English, and 
customized translation of not only ballots and instructions but also 
key assets such as websites and polling place signage. The volume of 
the Voting Section's historical language assistance enforcement actions 
also attests to the frequency with which election administrators and 
elected officials experience challenges and require added assistance or 
pressure, or both, to provide the materials and interpretation that the 
law requires.
    Taking into consideration these acute needs, we urge you to provide 
at least $5 million in additional funding for General Legal Activities 
at DOJ, and to designate the increase for the purpose of adding 
positions in the Voting Section dedicated to Voting Rights Act 
enforcement. We also ask that you adopt the following explanatory 
report language:

    DOJ--Salaries and Expenses, General Legal Activities: ``Voting 
Rights Act Enforcement.--The Committee is concerned that multiple 
factors including the effects of the Supreme Court's decision in Shelby 
County v. Holder; the increasing proposal and adoption of 
discriminatory restrictive State and local voting policies following 
the 2020 Presidential Election; and ongoing need for negotiation of 
agreements that ensure compliance with Section 203 of the Voting Rights 
Act (VRA) will require the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division 
to undertake an increased caseload of resource-intensive litigation to 
meet its responsibility under the Voting Rights Act to ensure equal 
access to elections regardless of race, ethnicity, and linguistic 
ability. The Committee recommends an increase of not less than 
$5,000,000 for additional expenses relating to the enforcement of 
Sections 2, 4(e), 5, 10, 11, 203, and 208 of the VRA (52 U.S.C. 
Sec. Sec. 10301-10311; 10503-10505; 10508).''

    We appreciate your consideration of these recommendations, and 
encourage you to contact Erin Hustings at [email protected] and 202-
316-3086 if we may provide any additional information.

            Sincerely,

American Association of People with Disabilities
Anti-Defamation League
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Center for Common Ground
Coalition on Human Needs
Common Cause
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. 
Provinces
Democracy North Carolina
Demos
End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund
Fair Elections Center
Faith in Public Life
Faith in Public Life Action Fund
Franciscan Action Network
Government Accountability Project
Human Rights Campaign
Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG)
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
League of Women Voters of the United States
Missouri Voter Protection Coalition
National Action Network (NAN)
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
NALEO Educational Fund
National Coalition on Accessible Voting
The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council on Independent Living
National Urban League
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Ohio Voter Rights Coalition
People for the American Way
Rock the Vote
SPLC Action Fund
State Voices
Texas Progressive Action Network
UFCW International Union
UnidosUS
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
      
                                 ______
                                 
    Prepared Statement of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
             national oceanic & atmospheric administration
    Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran and Honorable Members of the 
subcommittee, my name is Lorraine Loomis and I am the Chair of the 
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC). The NWIFC is composed of 
the 20 Tribes that are party to United States v. Washington, which 
upheld the Tribes' treaty-reserved right to harvest and manage various 
natural resources on and off-reservation, including salmon and 
shellfish. On behalf of the NWIFC, I'm providing testimony for the 
record on the natural resources and fishery management program funding 
requests for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Fiscal Year 2022 
appropriations. These programs support the management of salmon 
fisheries, which contribute to a robust natural resource-based economy 
and the continued exercise of Tribal treaty rights to fish. In light of 
the past year's extreme difficulties, it is now more important than 
ever that the Federal trustee support management, supplementation, and 
restoration of fisheries--paramount to the Tribes physical, cultural 
and economic wellbeing, as well as an important link in our Nation's 
food supply chain.

SUMMARY OF FISCAL YEAR 2022 APPROPRIATIONS REQUESTS

  --$70.0 million plus for NOAA Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund
  --$7.0 million for NOAA Hatchery Genetic Management Plans
  --$43.5 million for NOAA Pacific Salmon Treaty
  --$26.5 million for NOAA Mitchell Act Hatchery Programs
  --Continued Support for NOAA Fisheries Disaster Assistance Program

    The member Tribes of the NWIFC ceded much of the land that is now 
western Washington in exchange for reserving the continued right to 
harvest and manage various natural resources including salmon and 
shellfish. Salmon are the foundation of Tribal cultures, traditions and 
economies in western Washington. To ensure that Tribal treaty rights 
and lifeways are protected, it is essential that the Federal Government 
provide support to all aspects of salmon management including harvest 
planning and implementation (e.g. Pacific Salmon Treaty), hatchery 
production, (e.g. Mitchell Act Hatchery Programs and Hatchery Genetic 
Management Plans) and habitat protection and restoration (e.g. Pacific 
Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund).

JUSTIFICATION OF REQUESTS

-- Provide, at a minimum, $70.0 million for NOAA Pacific Coastal Salmon 
        Recovery Fund (PCSRF) and preferably restore funding to fiscal 
        year 2002 levels ($110.0 million)

    We respectfully request, at a minimum, $70.0 million for PCSRF, an 
increase of $5.0 million over the fiscal year 2021 enacted level. It is 
worth noting that this request is a significant departure from the 
PCSRF peak level of $110.0 million in fiscal year 2002 or subsequent 
years in which budget authority was maintained upwards of $80.0 million 
through fiscal year 2011. We ultimately would like to see PCSRF funding 
fully restored to fiscal year 2002 levels. This level of funding would 
help carry out the original congressional intent of these funds to 
support the Federal Government's obligations to salmon recovery and the 
treaty fishing rights of the Tribes.
    The PCSRF is a multi-State, multi-Tribe program established by 
Congress in fiscal year 2000 with a primary goal to help recover 
dwindling salmon populations throughout the Pacific coast region. 
Through PCSRF, Tribes work collaboratively to help protect and restore 
salmon habitat in an effort to increase natural salmon productivity. To 
accomplish this, Tribes implement scientifically based salmon recovery 
plans developed for each watershed in concert with Federal, State, and 
local partners. Tribes also participate in sustainable harvest 
management activities such as monitoring of fish abundance, which is 
then used to forecast adult returns and subsequently develop annual 
harvest rates that achieve conservation objectives and provide for 
Tribal and non-Tribal harvest opportunities. Since its inception, PCSRF 
has been the primary salmon recovery response. This has resulted in the 
restoration and protection of over 1.1 million acres of spawning and 
rearing habitat and re-established salmon access to more than 11,980 
miles of previously inaccessible streams in our region.

-- Provide $7.0 million for NOAA Hatchery Genetic Management Plans 
        (within Pacific Salmon), including $2.0 million for 
        implementation

    We respectfully request $7.0 million to expedite NMFS's review and 
approval of the backlog of western Washington Hatchery Genetic 
Management Plans (HGMPs) and, at a minimum, $2.0 million of that 
funding directed toward implementation of those plans that are now 
approved. We recommend that the Pacific Salmon line be funded at no 
less than $69.0 million, which is $2.0 million above fiscal year 2021 
enacted level of $67.0 million to accommodate these requests, while 
ensuring maintenance of existing programs under this line. We also 
request an explanatory statement clarifying that program funding may be 
used to pass-through to, or contract with Tribes to implement those 
plans that are already approved. Review and approval of HGMPs is 
necessary to provide hatcheries with ESA coverage and implementation of 
the plans is necessary to accomplish their conservation goals.
    NMFS uses the information provided by HGMPs to evaluate the impacts 
of State and tribally operated hatcheries on salmon and steelhead 
listed under the ESA and recommends improvements to operations to meet 
conservation objectives. With the lack of improvement in salmon stocks, 
hatchery operations have become even more important to achieving 
recovery goals and maintenance of salmon fisheries. However, the lack 
of improvement in natural origin salmon has also resulted in 
scrutinizing hatcheries for their potential genetic impacts on natural 
spawning populations. This has resulted in increasingly specific 
performance standards and management expectations included in Tribes' 
HGMPs. Tribes need help addressing the escalating costs of hatchery 
management associated with the monitoring and adaptive management 
practices called for by HGMPs. For example, requirements to closely 
monitor natural and hatchery produced salmon interactions on the 
spawning ground are costly and time-intensive. Therefore, it is 
essential that HGMP funding is increased to address these rising costs 
and that flexibility is provided to ensure that funding can be used to 
implement the plans' recommendations, which both the Federal Government 
and Tribes have extensively invested in.

-- Provide $43.5 million to implement the National commitments in the 
        renegotiated Pacific Salmon Treaty agreements (within NOAA 
        Salmon Management Activities)

    We support the Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) U.S. Section's 
fiscal year 2022 request of $43.5 million within Salmon Management 
Activities, an increase of $4.0 million over the fiscal year 2021 
enacted level of $39.5 million. This line item includes annual 
operational costs of $5,850,000 for Sound Science, $13,460,000 for 
hatchery conservation programs and habitat restoration for Puget Sound 
critical stocks and $5,540,000 to increase prey availability for 
southern resident killer whales.
    The fiscal year 2022 request would support implementation of the 
National commitments in the recently renegotiated Pacific Salmon Treaty 
(PST) Annex Chapters. The recommended funding also helps meet the 
requirements of the biological opinion for listed species and supports 
effective, science-based implementation of negotiated salmon fishing 
arrangements and abundance-based management approaches for Chinook, 
southern Coho, and Northern Boundary and Transboundary River salmon 
fisheries.
    Adult salmon returning to most western Washington streams migrate 
through U.S. and Canadian waters and are harvested by fishers from both 
countries. For years, there were no restrictions on the interception of 
returning salmon by fishers of neighboring countries. Eventually, the 
U.S. and Canada agreed to cooperate on the management of salmon by 
developing and ratifying the PST in 1985. The PSC was created to 
implement the PST and is responsible for developing management 
recommendations and assessing compliance with the treaty. Negotiations 
to revise the provisions of the Annex Chapters were successfully 
completed in 2018 and 2019. These chapters contain the specifics for 
implementing the treaty for each species in each geographic area. These 
revised chapters represent the combined efforts of the participants to 
ensure healthy salmon populations for the next 10 years, and as such 
include commitments from the U.S. to improve current management 
strategies.

-- Provide $26.5 million for NOAA Mitchell Act Hatchery Programs 
        (within Salmon Management Activities)

    We respectfully request $26.5 million for the Mitchell Act Hatchery 
Programs, an increase of $4.5 million over the fiscal year 2021 enacted 
level of $22.0 million. The request for this additional increase in 
Mitchell Act funds is to ensure that mitigation hatcheries operate at 
full production level to meet Federal obligations. This program is 
funded through the Salmon Management Activities subactivity.
    Mitchell Act hatchery production is intended to mitigate for fish 
and habitat loss caused by the Federal hydropower dam system on the 
Columbia River. Funding for these programs supports the operation and 
maintenance of hatcheries that release around 40 million juvenile 
salmon and steelhead in Oregon and Washington. Adequate funding for 
Mitchell Act hatcheries is of particular importance to us because it 
supports salmon production for Tribal treaty harvest along the 
Washington coast. Additionally, adequate funding to ensure full 
production from the Mitchell Act hatcheries dampens the impact of 
Canadian and Alaskan ocean fisheries on Washington and Tribal fisheries 
under the terms of the PST.

-- Continue to support the NOAA Fisheries Disaster Assistance Program 
        with Annual Funding

    We respectfully request Congress's continued support of the 
Fisheries Disaster Assistance Program. This program was not funded in 
fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021 annual appropriations. However, 
the program received $15.0 million in fiscal year 2019 and $20.0 
million in fiscal year 2018. This funding is necessary to implement the 
Department of Commerce's declarations of Tribal fisheries disasters. 
Unfortunately, these disasters are becoming more frequent in light of a 
variety of natural and manmade circumstances beyond the control of 
Tribal fishery managers, which have led to severely depressed stocks 
and/or limited access to fisheries. Our member Tribes are currently 
waiting on requested determinations from the Secretary of Commerce as a 
result of numerous disasters in 2019 and earlier.
    Lack of access to fisheries in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic 
has only exacerbated the economic threats to Tribal fishing fleets. 
CARES Act and other COVID relief funding for fishery participant 
assistance has only covered a fraction of the Tribes' economic impacts 
and is not sufficient to maintain Tribal fishing fleets and food 
security during these difficult times. Forthcoming disasters could 
prove to be the tipping point if assistance is not readily on hand to 
support fisheries. Because of the seasonal nature of fishing, a single 
disaster can have significant impacts on annual revenues forcing 
fishers to drop out of the sector, and therefore sometimes lead to 
diminished fishing fleets. Under the current circumstances, Tribes are 
facing repeated disasters that are devastating to Tribal economies and 
cultures. Therefore, an ongoing, annually funded Fisheries Disaster 
Assistance Program is a much-needed stop gap measure to prevent the 
collapse of this important economic sector during difficult times. 
Providing timely fishery assistance shouldn't be solely based upon the 
passage of disaster relief legislation, but rather it should be 
programmatically funded and on hand to allow NOAA to rapidly respond.
                               conclusion
    The treaties between the Federal Government and Indian Tribes, as 
well as the treaty-reserved rights to harvest, manage and consume fish 
and shellfish, are the ``supreme law of the land'' under the U.S. 
Constitution (Article VI). It is therefore, critically important for 
Congress and the Federal Government to provide continued support in 
upholding the treaty obligations and carrying out its trust 
responsibilities. An important component of these obligations is to 
fully fund the aforementioned sustainable salmon fisheries management 
programs that provide for improved harvest planning, hatchery 
production and habitat management. We respectfully urge you to continue 
to support our efforts to protect and restore our treaty-reserved 
rights and natural resources that in turn will provide for thriving 
economies for both Indian and non-Indian communities alike. Thank you.

    [This statement was submitted by Lorraine Loomis, Chairperson.]
                                 ______
                                 
              Prepared Statement of the Ocean Conservancy
     fiscal year 2022 appropriations for the national oceanic and 
                       atmospheric administration
    Thank you for this opportunity to provide Ocean Conservancy's 
Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 2022) funding recommendations for the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Ocean Conservancy has 
worked for 50 years to address threats to the ocean through science-
based, practical policies that protect our ocean and improve our lives.
    We greatly appreciate the subcommittee's efforts to ensure a 
positive outcome for NOAA in the fiscal year 2021 omnibus, which made 
important investments in NOAA programs, including the National Marine 
Fisheries Service, the Marine Debris Program, and the Regional Ocean 
Data Portals.
    The Biden administration's proposed budget makes historic 
investments in NOAA, providing a $1.4 billion increase in agency 
funding, including an additional $800 million to expand climate-related 
services and a $500 million increase for satellites and forecasting 
technologies. We support President Biden's request for NOAA and urge 
Congress to appropriate at least this level of funding for the agency.
    NOAA's mission to understand, protect, restore, and manage our 
ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes is vitally important as we mitigate and 
adapt to the impacts of climate change and responsibly build our blue 
economy. Our ocean and coastal communities are at the frontlines of 
climate change. Many of these communities--particularly those whose 
residents are black, indigenous, and people of color--have 
disproportionately experienced these impacts over the course of 
history. Sea level rise, coastal flooding, ocean acidification, and 
increased ocean temperatures are all impacting our coastal residents 
and their ability to safely work and enjoy our ocean and coasts. These 
impacts are also affecting our marine species, from fish to whales and 
sea turtles, as well as the habitat they rely upon. Robust funding is 
needed to continue to understand the impacts of climate change and 
provide resources for local communities to better adapt and mitigate 
changes in our ocean and coast.
    The U.S. blue economy contributes $373 billion annually to the 
Nation's GDP and supports 2.3 million jobs, with nearly half of that 
impact coming from tourism, recreation and fisheries. A healthy and 
resilient ocean is vital to maintain and grow our coastal economies and 
communities. As climate change, however, causes sea levels to rise, 
altering our coasts and significantly damaging our infrastructure, and 
as marine species leave their historic grounds, we risk losing these 
substantial drivers of our coastal economy.
    Some of NOAA's most successful programs work to provide resources 
and decision-making authority to regions, States, and local communities 
to ensure a bottom up approach to solving the issues these communities 
face today. NOAA is providing leverage for hardworking people on the 
coast and on the water who are building resilience to climate change 
and fighting for a stronger blue economy through region-by-region 
fishery management, region-specific programs, extramural funding that 
supports State agencies and universities, place-based conservation in 
our estuaries and oceans, and more.
    As you craft the fiscal year 2022 spending bills, we ask that you 
consider the balance between NOAA's oceanic and atmospheric missions 
and the nexus between the two. Americans should not have to choose 
between weather forecasts and ocean and coastal resources like 
fisheries, coral reefs and marine mammals. Frequently, these aspects of 
NOAA's mission interact with each other, as well as other agencies, to 
enhance the outcome of their mission. For example, ocean observations 
and monitoring provide critical information for climate monitoring, 
severe storm tracking and weather forecasting. Ocean programs also 
facilitate homeland security and national defense functions, including 
U.S. Navy operations and U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue missions.
    We offer the following recommended funding levels and 
justifications for certain critical NOAA programs and activities.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Fiscal Year 2021    Fiscal Year 2022
  Account, Program or Activity          Enacted         Recommendation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      ..................
     Operations Research and
 
National Ocean Service:
 
    Coastal Science, Assessment,  $9 m..............  $18 m
     Response and Restoration:
     Marine Debris.
    Coastal Zone Management and   $2.5 m............  $10 m
     Services: Regional Ocean
     Data Portals.
    National Marine Sanctuaries.  $56.5 m...........  $84.5 m
    National Estuarine Research   $28.5 m...........  $42.5 m
     Reserves.
    IOOS Regional Observations..  $40.5 m...........  $69.5 m
 
National Marine Fisheries         $964.862 m........  $1,197 m
 Service.
 
    Fisheries Science and         $175.927 m........  $206 m
     Management: Fisheries Data
     Collections, Surveys and
     Assessments.
    Fisheries Science and         $146.927 m........  $170.6 m
     Management: Fisheries and
     Ecosystem Science Programs
     and Services.
    Regional Councils and         $41.500 m.........  $45.650 m
     Fisheries Commissions.
 
Office of Oceanic and
 Atmospheric Research
 
    Integrated Ocean              $15.5 m...........  $22 m
     Acidification.
    National Sea Grant College    $75 m for Sea       $130.6 m total,
     Program.                      Grant and $13 m     with $115.6 m for
                                   for aquaculture.    the National Sea
                                                       Grant College
                                                       Program and $15 m
                                                       for Sea Grant
                                                       Aquaculture.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marine Debris--$18 million
    Marine debris, particularly plastic waste pollution, is one of the 
biggest pollution problems threatening the world's oceans and 
waterways. An estimated 150 million metric tons of plastic waste are in 
the ocean today, and every year an estimated 8 million metric tons more 
are being added. Without immediate intervention, 250 million metric 
tons of plastic waste could be in the ocean in fewer than 10 years. 
Marine debris has serious effects on the marine environment and the 
economy. It impacts wildlife through entanglement, ingestion and ghost 
fishing and also impacts marine transportation, causing navigational 
hazards and vessel damage. In 2018, Congress reauthorized NOAA's Marine 
Debris Program via the Save Our Seas Act, which enjoyed broad 
bipartisan support in both chambers. In 2020, Congress again 
reauthorized NOAA's Marine Debris Program through the bipartisan Save 
Our Seas Act 2.0, which increased the responsibilities of the Marine 
Debris Program. We request $18 million for the program, consistent with 
the President's budget, to allow the agency to meet the current 
challenge of marine debris.
Regional Ocean Data Portals--$10 Million
    Regional Ocean Data Portals are publicly available online tools 
that disseminate maps, data, and information to inform decisions and 
enhance entrepreneurial opportunities. They are managed by Regional 
Ocean Partnerships, which provide interagency engagement with States, 
Tribes, localities, and Federal agencies to collaborate on cross-
jurisdictional ocean and coastal matters. These partnerships also 
coordinate and engage ocean and coastal stakeholders, including 
academia, non-governmental organizations, and industry. Regions are 
sufficiently underfunded to address the most pressing management and 
data integration challenges, and Federal funding is currently split 
among the four Regional Ocean Partnerships and their nine functional 
equivalents, which totals nine regions. Appropriating $10 million would 
provide a necessary boost that will allow regions to better address 
ocean and coastal management needs.
National Marine Fisheries Service--$1.197 Billion
    Fisheries are an important part of our Nation: fishing feeds us, 
supports coastal communities, connects us to the ocean and sustains 
vibrant cultures. Fish and the fisheries they support, however, are 
experiencing the impacts of climate change. Rapidly changing ocean 
conditions are disrupting where fish are found, what they can eat, 
where they can live, and how many fish there are. There is an urgent 
need to move towards climate-ready fisheries--fisheries that prioritize 
sustainability, resilience and equity in the context of rapid changes 
and increased uncertainty associated with climate change. There is a 
clear path forward: the agency must work to accelerate research on 
climate change impacts to fisheries, increase the adoption of proven 
tools and approaches for managing with change, and take steps to 
provide information and analysis that can help managers incorporate 
this understanding into decision-making. This requires investments to 
be made across programs at NMFS to ready our fisheries for climate 
change. Programs such as the Integrated Ecosystem Assessment and others 
work to better understand how changes are affecting marine resources 
and develop products to enhance the scientific advice provided to 
managers. Additional funding could enable more engagement by NMFS with 
the Fishery Management Councils and greater ability to enact climate-
ready management. To manage for the impacts of climate change on our 
fisheries, we request $1.197 billion for NMFS, consistent with the 
President's budget.
Integrated Ocean Acidification--$22 million
    The Integrated Ocean Acidification line item funds NOAA's ocean 
acidification program (OAP), which was established and mandated by the 
Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring (FOARAM) Act of 
2009. Ocean acidification (OA) is the rise in acidity of the earth's 
ocean caused by uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This 
rising acidity makes it harder for shell-forming species such as 
oysters and crabs to grow, and fundamentally alters many other 
processes (e.g., reproduction, risk avoidance) necessary for healthy 
ecosystems and the coastal industries that depend on them. Prior 
Federal investments in OAP have greatly expanded our knowledge of ocean 
acidification and its risks to coastal communities and industries, but 
current funding levels are not at the scale needed to understand this 
global problem and its impacts. We request $22 million for this 
program.
Marine Operations and Maintenance
    Marine operations and maintenance should be funded at $193.9 
million, consistent with the President's budget. Days at sea funded by 
this line are functionally tied to fishery stock assessments, and the 
two programs must be viewed together.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to provide this testimony in 
support of robust funding for NOAA.

    [This statement was submitted by Reggie Paros, Director, Government 
Relations.]
                                 ______
                                 
                   Prepared Statement of OpenSecrets
    Dear Chairman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and distinguished 
Members of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice 
and Science, and Related Agencies.
    Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony before 
the Committee to discuss fiscal year 2022 budget priorities regarding 
the modernization of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a 
statute intended to inform the American public of foreign influence and 
lobbying operations attempting to impact U.S. policy or public opinion.
    This written testimony is respectfully offered on behalf of 
OpenSecrets to the Committee for use during its consideration of 
Department of Justice funding and for inclusion in the official 
committee record.
    OpenSecrets is a nonpartisan nonprofit research organization 
tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public 
policy. Our vision is for Americans across the ideological spectrum to 
be empowered by access to clear and unbiased information about money's 
role in the U.S. political system and to use that knowledge to 
strengthen our democracy.
    Activities of foreign agents and lobbyists divulged under FARA are 
a subject of sustained public interest. In this testimony, we 
respectfully request that the Committee include report language 
directing a review of the U.S. Department of Justice's implementation 
of FARA and a comprehensive audit of the use of the Lobbying Disclosure 
Act (LDA) exemption that will both be publicly accessible.
    A publicly-accessible report to Congress is necessary to evaluate 
the feasibility and steps needed to require all filings by foreign 
agents to be made in an electronic, machine-processable electronic 
format yielding structured data. This would allow users to search and 
sort or download FARA data, ensuring the same level of accountability 
from lobbyists representing foreign interests as domestic ones.
    Despite recommendations from the Department's Inspector General and 
outside experts, the Justice Department has been slow to implement 
changes to improve the public's access to information about foreign 
influence and lobbying intended to impact U.S. policy or public 
opinion.
    In September 2019, the Department of Justice launched new features 
enabling registrants to submit data through a web-form yielding some 
standardized data. While we believe this is a step in the right 
direction, only initial registrations are required to be submitted this 
way, so information reported in some of the most important records such 
as semi-annual supplemental statements may remain trapped in less 
accessible formats.
    Continuing implementation of a modernized FARA reporting system 
that collects detailed structured data would provide the tools 
necessary for better oversight and ensure information about foreign 
influence is provided in an accurate, complete, and timely manner.
    Using web-forms or submitting data in other structured formats 
across the board would allow the government to provide this information 
in an accessible form with little or no additional burden. FARA 
reporting is already conducted through an e-filing system that requires 
a web browser unless a registrant demonstrates limited access to the 
internet. Modernizing FARA's e-filing system can ultimately help ease 
the administrative burden associated with FARA registration.
    The current system requires FARA filers to electronically submit 
information in most forms, including semi-annual supplemental 
statements that contain activities and receipts, using images or PDFs 
even though many of the records are originally produced in electronic 
formats such as CSV files. Image and PDF formatted files destroy 
critical aspects of the data included in the original formats and 
cannot be marked for sensitive information or used for automated 
calculations. Essential information about foreign lobbying activities 
remains locked away in hard-to-digest image files that complicate the 
process of publishing FARA information in a machine-readable format. 
Even the basic disclosure of how much money foreign actors spend to 
influence U.S. policy and public opinion is obscured, leaving the 
American public in the dark about how our laws are shaped and 
influenced.
    FARA also has a number of exemptions that can be misunderstood or 
exploited.
    One commonly used exemption enables some foreign agents to claim an 
exemption from FARA registration and disclosure rules if they register 
as lobbyists under the LDA, a disclosure statute designed to regulate 
the activities of domestic lobbyists.
    Any individuals lobbying on behalf of a foreign commercial 
interest, rather than a foreign government or political party, may 
evade FARA disclosure requirements by merely registering under the LDA.
    Domestic lobbying records are already required to be filed to 
Congress electronically and are immediately converted to structured 
data that are available to the public over the Internet. More parity 
between disclosure requirements under the LDA and FARA is necessary to 
ensure at least the same level of transparency from lobbyists 
representing foreign interests as domestic ones.
    We respectfully urge the Committee to direct the Comptroller 
General of the United States, in consultation with the Inspector 
General of the Department of Justice, to conduct a comprehensive audit 
of the use of the LDA exemption examining (1) whether the LDA exemption 
has contributed to a decline in the number of registrations under FARA; 
(2) whether the LDA exemption has contributed to a lack of public 
awareness of lobbying activities on behalf of foreign entities; (3) the 
impact and feasibility of phasing out the LDA exemption; and (4) how to 
develop policy recommendations for increasing compliance with Federal 
lobbying registration and disclosure requirements.
    We are confident that the report will provide valuable insight to 
the American people and pave the way to increased transparency of the 
activities disclosed by those foreign agents. We urge you to 
appropriate the funding necessary to evaluate modernizing this 
invaluable resource.
    Our recommendations are based on our experiences using FARA, 
including efforts to republish FARA data online in ways that support 
greater access and meaningful analysis. OpenSecrets built the Foreign 
Lobby Watch database containing foreign lobbying documents and data. 
Our reviews of the DOJ's available foreign lobbying records found 
significant problems with how the data is currently structured.
    We've designed our databases to make up for some of the shortfalls 
in how foreign lobbying information is currently made available to the 
public. Structured data directly from the government could streamline 
this process, improving the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information collected by the FARA Unit.
    Thank you for your attention to our concerns on this critical 
issue. We would welcome the opportunity to work with you further on 
this issue and make any additional recommendations about this or other 
important issues before the Committee.

    [This statement was submitted by Anna Massoglia.]
                                 ______
                                 
            Prepared Statement of the Pew Charitable Trusts
Chair Jeanne Shaheen
Ranking Member Jerry Moran
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Senate Committee on Appropriations

    Chairwoman Shaheen and Ranking Member Moran, we appreciate the 
opportunity to provide public comments on fiscal year 2022 
appropriations. Over the past year, agencies and departments across the 
Federal Government implemented proactive policies and programs in 
response to the pandemic. As the committee begins the process of 
determining next fiscal year's funding levels, it is important that the 
agencies and departments levels include funding for the collection, 
evaluation, and analysis of data and programs.
    The Pew Charitable Trusts Civil Legal System Modernization project 
works to support efforts to deliver a more accessible and effective 
civil legal system. We'd like to take this opportunity to highlight the 
importance of collecting and reporting State civil legal system data to 
inform Federal policy.
    As the country continues to respond to and recover from the 
pandemic, our Nation's civil legal system will continue to face 
strains, both in adapting to changing environments and increasing 
caseloads. With the growing number of evictions and foreclosures 
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the CDC's current moratorium 
on evictions, as well as rising debt in collections, State civil courts 
have developed a variety of approaches to manage what will likely 
become a tsunami of court cases that will have long-lasting financial 
consequences for millions of Americans.
    By passing the Foundations for Evidence-based Policymaking Act, 
Congress not only showed the importance of data collection, but also 
how it can play a critical role in developing Federal policies. For 
example, identifying the rate of eviction case filings could inform CDC 
decisions related to the cessation or extension of the Federal eviction 
moratorium. Likewise, a better understanding of the scope of debt 
collection lawsuits could facilitate rule-making at the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau. More immediately, State court data could 
help the CFPB evaluate the efficacy of its new rule requiring debt 
collectors in eviction cases to inform tenants of their rights under 
the CDC moratorium.
    Prior to the pandemic, there was already a lack of data and 
transparency surrounding our civil court system. A Pew report found 
that 38 States do not report on the number of debt cases in their civil 
legal systems and only two provide data on the number of default 
judgments. Though there is no comprehensive analysis of State court 
data on housing cases, we anticipate a similar lack of data. While it 
has a mandate to collect and analyze civil justice data, the last 
national study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics was done 
in 2005. This subcommittee can play an important role in better 
understanding the impact of the civil justice system on Americans as 
evictions and debt lawsuits loom.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to comment.

    [This statement was submitted by Erika Rickard, Project Director, 
Civil Legal System Modernization.]
                                 ______
                                 
Prepared Statement of the Population Association of America/Association 
                         of Population Centers
  fiscal year 2022 appropriations for the census bureau and national 
                           science foundation
The Honorable Jean Shaheen, Chair and The Honorable Jerry Moran, 
Ranking Member:

    Thank you, Chair Shaheen and Ranking Member Moran, and other 
distinguished members of the subcommittee, for this opportunity to 
express support for the Census Bureau and the National Science 
Foundation (NSF). These agencies are important to the Population 
Association of America (PAA) (www.populationassociation.
org) and Association of Population Centers (APC), because they provide 
direct and indirect support to population scientists and the field of 
population, or demographic, research overall. In fiscal year 2022, we 
urge the subcommittee to provide the Census Bureau with $2 billion, 
which is approximately $600 million above the Administration's request. 
In addition, PAA and APC support $10 billion for the National Science 
Foundation (NSF), consistent with the recommendation of the Coalition 
for National Science Funding, which largely reflects the 
Administration's fiscal year 2022 request.
    The PAA and APC are two affiliated organizations that together 
represent over 3,000 social and behavioral scientists and the nearly 40 
population research centers that receive Federal funding and conduct 
research on the implications of population change. Its members, which 
include demographers, economists, sociologists, and statisticians, 
conduct scientific and applied research, analyze changing demographic 
and socio-economic trends, develop policy and planning recommendations, 
and train undergraduate and graduate students. Their research expertise 
covers a wide range of issues, including adolescent health and 
development, aging, health disparities, immigration and migration, 
marriage and divorce, education, social networks, housing, retirement, 
and labor. Population scientists compete for funding from the NSF and 
rely on data produced by the Nation's statistical agencies, including 
the Census Bureau, to conduct research and research training 
activities.
                           the census bureau
    The Census Bureau is the premier source of data regarding U.S. 
demographic, socio-economic, and housing characteristics. While PAA/APC 
members have diverse research expertise, they share a common need for 
access to accurate, timely data about the Nation's changing socio-
economic and demographic characteristics that only the U.S. Census 
Bureau can provide through its conduct of the decennial census, 
American Community Survey (ACS), and a variety of other surveys and 
programs.
    PAA and APC understand that the Census Bureau's funding level 
declines dramatically in the initial years of the decennial planning 
cycle, and the Administration's request reflects, appropriately, this 
anticipated decrease in funding. Nonetheless, PAA and APC urge the 
subcommittee to support increased funding for the Census Bureau in 
fiscal year 2022 above the Administration's request. In fiscal year 
2022, Congress has a unique opportunity to initiate multi-year funding 
for the Bureau, providing the agency with resources that it needs to 
not only sustain and strengthen its mission, but also to recover from 
years of postponed enhancements and pursue numerous necessary 
operational improvements. The ambitious fiscal year 2022 funding 
recommendation ($2 billion) that census stakeholders are supporting 
would enable the Bureau to purse, among other things, the following 
initiatives:

    Modernizing the Bureau's data infrastructure.--The Census Bureau 
needs to harness currently available Big Data technology and 
methodology to reduce respondent burden and realign the Bureau's 
already-existing data from multiple sources into universal ``frames.'' 
A significant increase in funding for the Census Frames initiative, 
which was only funded at about $12.7 million in fiscal year 2021, will 
allow the Census Bureau to reduce duplication, increase ease and 
usability of Federal statistical data, enhance the quality of Bureau 
products, facilitate analysis of the U.S. population and economy, and 
ensure that the Federal Government can utilize administrative data, 
responsibly and appropriately, to maximum advantage before burdening 
survey respondents.
    Enhancing the American Community Survey (ACS).--ACS data are an 
invaluable resource that data users, including population scientists, 
rely on throughout the decade to make key investment and policy 
decisions as well as to conduct applied and scientific research and 
evaluate programs. The Bureau also needs to continue to use the ACS 
``as a testbed for innovative survey and data processing techniques,'' 
as Congress directed in fiscal year 2021. Funding for the ACS has 
remained relatively stagnant in recent years, including a little over 
$226 million in fiscal year 2021. The Bureau needs additional funding 
(no less than $45 million to increase the sample size by at least 1 
million households) to properly plan and execute an expansion of the 
ACS, beginning in fiscal year 2022.
    Stabilizing and increasing funding for Survey of Income and Program 
Participation (SIPP).--After multiple COVID-19 relief bills, 
policymakers and scientists need to understand how the individual 
provisions in these supplemental appropriations measures assisted (or 
failed to assist) families and communities. The Survey of Income and 
Program Participation (SIPP) is designed to achieve that goal, yet its 
funding has fluctuated routinely. Stabilizing and increasing support 
for SIPP, to no less than $48 million in fiscal year 2022, will help 
Congress make evidence-based policy decisions on the effectiveness of 
government assistance programs. Additional funding for SIPP could be 
reinvested to address long term erosion of the survey's funding and 
response rates, putting that money toward increased non-response follow 
up.
    Extending Pulse Surveys.--The Bureau's ``Pulse Surveys'' have 
provided timely data regarding the economic, social, and health effects 
of COVID-19 on U.S. communities and businesses. The surveys have 
attracted support from other Federal agencies that have requested to 
add questions and collaborated with the Census Bureau to produce the 
surveys. The Census Bureau needs no less than $6 million in fiscal year 
2022 to sustain and expand this innovation that provides much more 
timely data on current economic and social issues. Additional funding 
could be used to further expand the success of this novel program.
    Completing the 2020 Census.--Additional funding is necessary to 
complete delayed final assessments and evaluations of the 2020 Census 
and to release all remaining data products.
    Initiating the 2030 Census.--PAA and APC support the Census 
Bureau's proposal to accelerate planning for the 2030 Census by 
initiating a research and testing program to pursue innovations, early 
in the decennial planning cycle, including improvements to the address 
list, evaluations to assess the appropriateness of using administrative 
records in the enumeration process, and strategies for making field 
operations more efficient.
    In sum, PAA and APC join other census stakeholders in urging the 
subcommittee to provide the Census Bureau with $2 billion in fiscal 
year 2022 to complete all 2020 Census operations and data delivery 
objectives; enhance the ACS, including plans to increase the survey's 
sample size; initiate planning for the 2030 Census; improve the SIPP; 
extend and expand the Pulse Surveys and improve the quality and 
granularity of all census data sets. Further, PAA and APC urge the 
subcommittee to exercise its oversight authority and ask questions 
about the agency's proposed budget restructuring proposal, especially 
as it affects the status and integrity of the ACS.
                   national science foundation (nsf)
    For over 75 years the mission of NSF has been to promote the 
progress of science; to advance the National health, prosperity, and 
welfare; and to secure the National defense. Understanding the 
implications of complex population dynamics is vital to the agency's 
mission. The Directorate of Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) 
Sciences is the primary source of support for the population sciences 
within the NSF. The Directorate funds critical large-scale longitudinal 
surveys, such as the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, that inform 
pressing policy decisions and provide the empirical evidence to help 
policy makers to formulate effective decisions. It also has 
participated in cross-cutting, interdisciplinary initiatives of 
interest to population scientists, such as the Coastlines and People 
program, which supports research on the implications of climate change 
on populations, and Mid-scale Infrastructure--two areas of emphasis 
among the agency's research priorities.
    NSF is the funding source for over 20 percent of all federally 
supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and 
universities, including basic behavioral and social research. Moreover, 
the SBE Directorate funds approximately 67 percent of basic, 
university-based social and behavioral sciences research in the Nation.
    PAA and APC, as members of the Coalition for National Science 
Funding (CNSF), applaud the Administration's proposed NSF fiscal year 
2022 budget request, $10.2 billion, which represents a nearly 20 
percent increase in funding over the fiscal year 2021 enacted level. 
Moreover, the budget request envisions an allocation for SBE that would 
grow by approximately 13 percent, reflecting, we believe, a recognition 
that not only has SBE's funding stagnated vis-a-vis other directorates, 
but more importantly that SBE related research offers significant 
contributions to scientific progress. We continue to support the 
Committee's longstanding practice of not stipulating specific funding 
levels for individual NSF directorates; however, it is helpful to 
understand the Administration's views on research priorities, and in 
this instance we concur.
    We are also aware of the growing consensus within Congress and the 
Administration around the concept of establishing a new directorate 
within NSF that would support translational research, emerging 
technologies and public-private partnerships. We hope that the 
Committee will ensure that a new directorate will be funded through an 
expansion of NSF's footprint and budget-and not through siphoning 
resources from other research directorates. We note that the budget 
request includes a reprogramming of funds from existing NSF initiatives 
that would be transferred to the new directorate, but also requests new 
spending for the majority of the new directorate's budget.
    We urge Congress to accelerate the growth of NSF's budget by 
providing NSF with at least $10 billion in fiscal year 2022. The 
funding level will enable the NSF SBE Directorate to continue its 
support of social science surveys and a robust portfolio of population 
research projects. The NSF also continues to focus on interdisciplinary 
research initiatives, recognizing that social and behavioral science 
contributes to many critical areas of research. For example, the Mid-
scale Infrastructure program is currently funding broad-scale, sensor-
based data collection projects that represent collaborations among 
population scientists and computer scientists. Increased funding in 
fiscal year 2022 will allow NSF to continue funding the most promising 
grant applications and reduce the number of high caliber proposals that 
are rejected solely for lack of sufficient funds.
    Thank you for considering our requests and for supporting Federal 
programs that benefit the population sciences under the subcommittee's 
jurisdiction.

    [This statement was submitted by Mary Jo Hoeksema, Director, 
Government and Public Affairs.]
                                 ______
                                 
     Prepared Statement of the Regional Information Sharing Systems
    Information sharing and officer and citizen safety are top 
priorities of law enforcement leaders. For more than 47 years, law 
enforcement officers and criminal justice professionals have turned to 
and grown to rely on a nationally recognized and respected program 
known as the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS). RISS is a 
proven resource for law enforcement. It is difficult to place a dollar 
amount on RISS's return on investment because it not only helps law 
enforcement detect, deter, and resolve criminal investigations, RISS 
helps keep officers and citizens safe, while ensuring that privacy and 
civil liberties are protected. RISS is a leader in secure information 
sharing and investigative case support and has enabled an unprecedented 
level of collaboration among all levels of law enforcement. Our Nation 
and communities face threats every day--from national security to the 
opioid and methamphetamine epidemic, from violence against women and 
sex trafficking to property and financial crimes, and from cybercrime 
to identity theft. RISS offers quality and evidence-based support to 
law enforcement agencies and communities; often agencies cannot obtain 
these services and resources anywhere else. It is critical that RISS be 
sustained and expanded. It is respectfully requested that RISS be 
funded in fiscal year 2022 at $48 million.
    RISS is composed of six regional centers and the RISS Technology 
Support Center (RTSC). RISS is locally managed by policy board members 
consisting of police chiefs, sheriffs, commissioners, and other law 
enforcement leaders in each RISS Center's multistate region. An 
Executive Director operates each RISS Center. The RTSC is RISS's 
nationwide technology operation and maintains, operates, and enhances 
RISS's secure infrastructure and applications. The RISS Centers work 
regionally and nationwide to respond to each region's unique crime 
problems while working together on a nationwide basis to strengthen and 
advance criminal justice priorities. RISS is a trusted, secure, and 
cost-effective program law enforcement agencies and officers utilize 
to:

  --Share critical law enforcement and intelligence data across 
        jurisdictions.
  --Access case and analytical services that help solve crimes and 
        prosecute offenders.
  --Prevent friendly fire and safeguard the men and women protecting 
        our streets.
  --Preserve the integrity of operations and protect citizens and 
        communities.
  --Equip officers and criminal justice professionals with training, 
        technical assistance, and research.

    RISS receives hundreds of shared success stories from officers 
showcasing how RISS services and resources help law enforcement efforts 
in the field. To read example successes from each State, visit 
www.riss.net/Impact.

    Investigative Case Support: RISS provides investigative and 
analytical services, training, publications development, and 
investigative research, including the following:

  --Analytical services, such as cell tower mapping, link charts, 2D 
        and 3D crime scene diagrams, telephone-toll analysis, financial 
        analysis, digital forensics, and audio/video enhancements.
  --Intelligence and investigative research, which helps identify 
        suspect addresses, monikers, criminal associates, and other 
        investigative information.
  --Specialized equipment, such as cameras, recorders, and other 
        devices.
  --Technical support through RISS's field services staff and field-
        based solutions.
  --Training opportunities on topics such as investigative techniques 
        and emerging crime. Examples include Advanced Search Technique: 
        Hidden Compartment; Courtroom Testimony; Financial Crimes 
        Against Seniors; Basic Crash Investigations; Narcotics and 
        Counterfeit Goods; Death Investigations; and Unemployment 
        Fraud.
  --Law enforcement briefings and publications, such as Global 
        Pandemic-Implications on the Drug Trade and the Drug 
        Concealment Report: Traffickers' Unusual Places.

    RISS has set and achieved evidence-based goals since its inception. 
Below are some highlights of RISS's fiscal year 2020 results and 
productivity.

  --Developed 20,924 analytical products.
  --Loaned 2,752 pieces of specialized equipment.
  --Responded to 47,363 requests for research and technical assistance.
  --Sponsored or cosponsored 749 training opportunities and helped 
        train 33,119 individuals.
  --Provided access to more than 60.9 million investigative records to 
        authorized personnel.
  --Enabled users to conduct more than 4.5 million inquiries to RISS 
        resources.

    Secure Information and Intelligence Sharing: RISS integrates 
advanced technology and field-based solutions that connect systems and 
officers across jurisdictions.
    The RISS Secure Cloud (RISSNET) provides a system of systems 
concept, connecting networks and databases, providing bidirectional 
information sharing, and offering a single search of connected systems. 
RISSNET provides access to hundreds of resources and millions of 
records. Many of these systems are owned and operated by RISS partners, 
who use RISSNET to securely share information with a broader and vetted 
law enforcement community. RISS has also developed and maintains 
resources accessible via RISSNET, such as the:

  --RISS Criminal Intelligence Database (RISSIntel).--Provides for a 
        real-time, online federated search of connected systems; 
        adheres to 28 Code of Federal Regulations Part 23.
  --RISSLeads Investigative Website.--Facilitates multijurisdictional 
        information sharing.
  --Law Enforcement Secure Hosted Websites.--Provide partners a 
        solution to securely share information and materials with 
        specific groups or partners.
  --RISS Property and Recovery Tracking System (RISSProp).--Houses 
        pawn, secondhand, and other shop transactions to enable 
        officers to identify and return stolen property and identify 
        other related criminal activities.
  --RISS Master Telephone Index (MTI).--Compares and matches telephone 
        numbers in law enforcement investigations.
  --RISS Money Counter Network (MCN).--Stores currency serial numbers 
        compared to currency submitted by officers in previous cases.
  --Drug Pricing Reference Guide.--Enables officers to search for 
        comparable prices on narcotics; serves as a price guide when 
        assessing the value of seizures and contraband; and identifies 
        supply, demand, and popularity trends within the drug market.

    Below are examples of RISS technology-related accomplishments 
during fiscal year 2020.

  --Designed, developed, and began deploying the next generation of 
        RISSIntel. The new RISSIntel is housed in the secure government 
        cloud, provides advanced features and functionality, and 
        contains a new infrastructure and user interface.
  --Connected intelligence systems to RISSIntel and enabled 
        bidirectional sharing of information among more than 75 RISS 
        and partner intelligence databases.
  --Migrated RISSNET resources to a cloud environment and further 
        enhanced security.
  --Advanced the use of RISSProp to support organized retail crime 
        investigations and launched application enhancements. RISSProp 
        has helped recover more than $8 million in property since its 
        inception.
  --Leveraged RISSafe Watch Centers to support nationwide threat-to-
        life tips and leads.
  --Enhanced and expanded the use of the RISS MTI and the RISS MCN.

    RISS streamlines processes, increases information sharing and 
officer access to critical data, enhances officer and community safety, 
and advances important technology solutions.

    Deconfliction: RISS provides officer safety event deconfliction.

    Event deconfliction helps support and protect law enforcement 
officers in a variety of ways. Officers partaking in high-risk 
operations enhance their personal safety and the safety of those around 
them, and they identify operational conflicts and collaborate with 
other law enforcement agencies and officers. It also safeguards 
community members, helps ensure operational integrity, strengthens 
information sharing, helps reduce risk and liability, and builds 
community confidence. Officers can leverage each other's information 
and successfully apprehend criminals. Event deconfliction helps prevent 
``friendly fire'' and helps solve investigations.
    The RISS Officer Safety Event Deconfliction System (RISSafe) 
supports law enforcement personnel who are conducting an event near one 
another at the same time. When certain elements are matched between two 
or more events, a conflict results. Immediate notification is then made 
to the affected agencies or personnel regarding the identified 
conflict. Since RISSafe's inception, more than 2.2 million operations 
have been entered into RISSafe, resulting in more than 506,000 
identified conflicts. Without identifying these conflicts, officers may 
have interfered with another agency's or officer's investigation, links 
between cases may have been lost, or officers or citizens may have been 
unintentionally hurt or killed. RISSafe is accessible on a 24/7/365 
basis and is available at no cost to all law enforcement agencies. 
Currently, 29 RISSafe Watch Centers are operational, 23 of which are 
operated by organizations other than RISS.

    Partnerships and Collaboration: At the heart of police work is 
collaboration. RISS helps connect agencies and officers at every level 
and constantly seeks and strengthens partnerships with criminal justice 
associations, professional groups, and Federal partners. Example 
partnerships include the following:

  --Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
  --FBI's Law Enforcement National Data Exchange (N-DEx)
  --High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas
  --National Fusion Center Association
  --National Motor Vehicle Title Information System
  --Nlets-The International Justice and Public Safety Network
  --Office of the Director of National Intelligence
  --U.S. Attorneys' Offices
  --U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  --U.S. Department of Justice

    RISS Funding Increase in Fiscal Year 2022: RISS helps save agencies 
money and time and produces results. With increased funding, RISS can 
continue to provide its current programs while maximizing and expanding 
its secure infrastructure, proven services, and trusted partnerships. 
With increased funding at $48 million, RISS will support the following:

  --Expand the new RISSIntel to law enforcement agencies and connect 
        additional systems.
  --Expand access to RISSafe, including agencies and users in rural and 
        Tribal communities.
  --Expand RISSafe's 24/7/365 coverage and establish additional RISSafe 
        Watch Centers.
  --Enhance the RISS Officer Safety Website and develop training 
        videos, publications, and other materials.
  --Increase support for the WSIN RISS Center's threat-to-life endeavor 
        and facilitate fusion center involvement.
  --Expand RISSProp to other regions and agencies and expand the RISS 
        MCN by connecting additional money counter machines.
  --Replace or obtain new equipment, including protective gear for law 
        enforcement personnel.
  --Expand the ability for small and rural agencies to access 
        sophisticated, up-to-date investigative tools and equipment.
  --Leverage Federal and nationwide partnerships to expand information 
        sharing capabilities and available resources to officers and 
        law enforcement personnel.
  --Expand the MAGLOCLEN RISS Center's school safety action response 
        plans initiative.
  --Build on RISS's investigative support services and resources to 
        further aid law enforcement efforts to combat the opioid, 
        methamphetamine, and heroin crisis.

    The year 2020 was challenging for everyone. As our Nation's 
leaders, you have many critical topics to address and resolve moving 
ahead. Your leadership and support are valued and appreciated. Your job 
is hard. Our men and women in uniform also face challenges every day. A 
program like RISS helps them by providing resources, training, and 
information. RISS helps keep them safe. Our nation should continue to 
invest in and support the RISS Program.
    It would be counterproductive to require local and State RISS 
members to self-fund match requirements or reduce the Bureau of Justice 
Assistance discretionary funding. RISS cannot make up the decrease in 
funding that a match would cause, for it has no revenue source of its 
own. RISS is grateful for the opportunity to provide this testimony at 
your request and appreciates your ongoing support. For additional 
information, visit www.riss.net.

    [This statement was submitted by Donna Williams, Chair, RISS 
National Policy Group.]
                                 ______
                                 
                 Prepared Statement of Research!America
  fiscal year 2022 appropriations for the national science foundation
    Research!America appreciates the opportunity to submit testimony 
for the record. We are the Nation's largest nonprofit alliance 
advocating for science, discovery, and innovation to achieve better 
health for all. We greatly appreciate the subcommittee's dedicated 
stewardship over funding for such critical priorities as the National 
Science Foundation (NSF). As you consider fiscal year 2022 allocations, 
we request that NSF receive at least $10.2 billion, an increase of 20 
percent, in fiscal year 2022 to create jobs, support sustained economic 
growth, and bolster the wellbeing of Americans and people around the 
globe.
    An increase of that amount aligns with the President's fiscal year 
2022 request for NSF. We agree that bolstering our science and 
technology (S&T) capability is essential to fueling innovation and 
discovery that can improve the Americans' lives and lift our knowledge 
to new heights.
    In that context, we are grateful to both parties in both chambers 
of Congress for pursuing legislation to greatly enhance our S&T 
strength and competitiveness. The NSF for the Future Act and U.S. 
Innovation and Competition Act are indicative of a forward-thinking 
approach to tackling threats--existing, emergent, and unknown--to 
Americans and individuals across the globe.
    NSF's portfolio is intentionally diverse because science investment 
can yield unknown discoveries, spanning biology, economics, 
engineering, mathematics, computational science, data analytics, the 
social and behavioral sciences, and other high impact disciplines. We 
strongly believe that robust funding for NSF is a sound strategy for 
advancing the United States' strategic interests in an ever-more 
complex international landscape, preempting and overcoming threats to 
our Nation and world, and for meeting the aspirations of the American 
people.
What the NSF Provides
    The NSF is a key driver for our Nation's S&T leadership, supporting 
strategically important research at more than 1,900 academic 
institutions in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. 
territories. An estimated 313,000 students, teachers, researchers, and 
postdoctoral fellows were empowered by the NSF in fiscal year 2020. 
Approximately 95 percent of NSF funding is allocated to grants or 
cooperative agreements to researchers through a competitive merit 
review process. Since 1950, NSF has supported more than 248 Nobel Prize 
winners, including seven Nobel Laureates in 2020. The research 
supported by NSF bears on virtually every sector of our economy, 
supports cyber--and other crucial areas of national security, and 
factor importantly into the productive use of big data and other highly 
promising avenues of S&T.
NSF's COVID Response
    The NSF has been a key part of our National response to COVID-19. 
In March 2020, as the pandemic bore down on our Nation, NSF issued a 
call for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) proposals to address this new 
health threat. By April 10, 2020, more than 60 RAPID projects around 
the country were funded, supporting research related to the pandemic. 
For example, NSF-funded researchers modeled the spread of the virus and 
worked to understand transmission and prevention. Decades of NSF 
research investment was utilized in the response to the virus, 
including NSF-backed 3D printing technology for the production of PPE 
and computer software creating simulations to provide insight into the 
molecular structure of the virus.
    NSF investments are also helping us prepare for future public 
health threats. Research in artificial intelligence and big data have 
the potential to identify disease threats before they spread. Other 
NSF-backed initiatives, like the Civic Innovation Challenge, 
demonstrate how partnership between government and technology can equip 
communities to manage emergencies.
NSF Leverages American Ingenuity to Break New Ground in Science and 
        Technology
    NSF supports the type of high-risk research that drives progress 
and has resulted in recent groundbreaking discoveries. Researchers 
funded by NSF have made key breakthroughs in their 20-year quest to 
create quantum internet with a new process by which information stored 
at the atomic level can be received and read. Quantum internet can be 
used to send ``un-hackable'' messages and will improve GPS, both of 
which are key to national security. Though this is a long-term project, 
the invaluable applications are unquestionably worth the time and 
investment.
    NSF funding also made possible a smartphone app which can identify 
signs of eye disease in children. Using smartphone photos, the program 
identifies a telltale ``white sheen'' which can indicate 
retinoblastoma, as well as cataracts or an infection. Research like 
this forms the basis for future apps which help with early detection 
and diagnosis of disease.
    NSF-funded research also continues to propel progress through 
collaboration across multiple fields. Through NSF's continued support, 
scientists work together to produce cutting-edge research that pushes 
the fields of medicine, engineering, and biology forward. In 2019, 
interdisciplinary collaboration between multiple countries and more 
than 300 researchers allowed the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) to 
capture the first image of a black hole. This discovery increased 
confidence in the fundamental laws of physics while creating a 
technological basis for future breakthroughs. Projects like this drive 
innovation and create, as a by-product, advances in technology and 
information exchange, which in turn, are used for other research.
Americans Understand the Value NSF Delivers
    Since 1992, Research!America has commissioned national and State-
level surveys to assess public sentiment on issues related to research 
and innovation. Our surveys have explored Americans' perspectives on 
the role of NSF-funded S&T in advancing key national priorities. One of 
the most consistent findings over time has been Americans' support for 
basic research. In our most recent survey, fielded in January 2021, 85 
percent of respondents agreed that ``even if it brings no immediate 
benefits, basic scientific research that advances the frontiers of 
knowledge is necessary and should be supported by the Federal 
Government.''
NSF is Essential to Training the Next Generation of American Scientists 
        and Innovators
    The U.S.'s global leadership is directly tied to our strength in 
the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). 
NSF cultivates future American leaders in these strategically important 
disciplines. Since 1952, NSF has supported more than 61,700 students 
through Graduate Research Fellowships and has provided grant support to 
thousands of postdoctoral fellows and young investigators.
    The agency has also engaged in unique public-private partnerships, 
including the High Performance Computing (HPC) Consortium, a 
partnership between IBM, the White House Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the NSF. This 
partnership gave researchers studying the COVID-19 virus access to 
powerful computational platforms which allowed for major breakthroughs 
in modeling COVID-19 transmission and the atomic structure of the 
virus. Efforts like this set the stage for future success as our Nation 
seeks to accelerate the pace of medical and scientific progress.
    Research!America appreciates the complicated and complex task 
facing the subcommittee as it seeks to prioritize funding in a manner 
that best serves the American people. We urge you to provide at least 
$10.2 billion, an increase of 20 percent, for NSF in FY22. We hope you 
will call on our organization if additional information would prove 
useful.
    Thank you for your continued leadership and consideration.

    [This statement was submitted by Mary Woolley, President and CEO.]
                                 ______
                                 
              Prepared Statement of the Sac and Fox Nation
fiscal year 2022 budget for the office of justice programs, department 
                               of justice
    Chairwoman Shaheen and distinguished Members of this subcommittee, 
on behalf of the Great Sac and Fox Nation, I submit testimony of our 
Tribal priority requests for funding programs in the fiscal year 2022 
budget for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) in the Department of 
Justice (DOJ). The Sac and Fox Nation is the home of Jim Thorpe, one of 
the most versatile athletes of modern sports who earned Olympic gold 
medals for the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon. The Nation would like to 
thank Congress for providing relief that is allowing Tribes to begin 
the recovery process from the pandemic that will remain as prominent in 
the minds of the world as the name Jim Thorpe.
    The Sac and Fox Nation would like to advance the following 
Department of Justice budget requests for fiscal year 2022:

    1.  Fully Fund the Tribal Law and Order Act
    2.  Fully Fund All Tribal Provisions of the Violence Against Women 
Act
    3.  Tribal Grants--Utilize DOJ Appropriations as Base Funding with 
Tribes Setting Their Own Priorities
    4.  10 percent Tribal Set-Aside from All Discretionary Office of 
Justice Programs
    5.  Approve a Streamlined Funding Mechanism for the Coordinated 
Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS)

    The Sac and Fox Nation also supports the appropriation requests of 
the National Congress of American Indians.
About the Sac and Fox Nation
    The Sac and Fox Nation is a Self-Governance Tribe headquartered in 
Stroud, Oklahoma. Our Tribal jurisdictional area covers all or parts of 
Lincoln, Payne, and Pottawatomie counties. Of the over 4,000 enrolled 
Tribal members, 2,600 live in Oklahoma. Our culture is based upon 
respect for the life within ourselves, our families, our communities, 
and all of creation. The Sac and Fox way of life is spiritually based. 
The Creator gave this way of life to the Sac and Fox people and we seek 
the guidance of the Creator in how to live. The oldest continuing 
religious practices are ceremonies like clan feasts, namings, 
adoptions, and burials. More recent religious practices include the 
Drum Dance, the Native American Church and Christianity.
Fully Fund Tribal Law and Order Act as Authorized
    The Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) has three basic purposes:

    1.  Make Federal departments and agencies more accountable for 
serving Native peoples and land;
    2.  Provide greater freedom for Indian Tribes and Nations to design 
and run their own justice systems; and,
    3.  Enhance cooperation among Tribal, Federal, and State officials 
in key areas such as law enforcement, training, interoperability, and 
access to criminal justice information.

    The Sac and Fox Nation operates a Juvenile Detention Center which 
provides services to 46 Tribes in Oklahoma, Kanas and Texas, as well as 
the State of Oklahoma. We are anxious to advance the opportunities that 
TLOA can offer to further expand and increase access to our facility. 
However, unless TLOA is fully funded, facilities such as ours will not 
be able to attain the full potential and help to guide children in the 
system towards a successful future.
    The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has consistently reported about 
the chronic underfunding and the breakdown in the trust and treaty 
obligations of the United States to Tribes. In both the Quiet Crisis 
and Broken Promises reports, it was noted that ``Native Americans as a 
group suffer from one of the Nation's highest rates of crime 
victimization. At the same time, the criminal justice system in Indian 
Country faces structural barriers and struggles to fully recognize 
Tribal sovereignty. The additional failure to provide sufficient 
Federal funding undermines the ability of Tribal governments to provide 
criminal justice and public safety for their citizens.'' \1\ The full 
potential of TLOA cannot be realized or implemented without sufficient 
resources for Tribal justice systems and ongoing coordination and 
consultation between Tribal governments and appropriate Federal 
agencies. While Sac and Fox is optimistic that President Biden's 
Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation 
Relationships has benefitted those working in the Federal Government, 
we need Congress and staff to better understand how dire Tribal 
communities need resources to improve our quality of life and protect 
our people, land, and traditions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet needs in Indian 
Country, July 2003, and Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding 
Shortfall for Native Americans, December 2018 by U.S. Commission on 
Civil Rights
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While DOJ recognized the importance of completing the circle when 
it issued the ``Proposed Statement of Principles'' \2\, in which it is 
referenced that stable funding at sufficient levels for essential 
Tribal justice functions is critical to the long-term growth of Tribal 
institutions. Yet, more than 10 years after passage of TLOA, provisions 
of the act remain under funded.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ Guidelines Stating principles for Working with Federally 
Recognized Indian Tribes, Eric Holder, The Attorney General, U.S. 
Department of Justice, December 3, 2014

    Office of Violence Against Women.--Fully fund the programs 
authorized in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), including the $5 
million authorized for Tribal implementation of VAWA special domestic 
violence criminal jurisdiction and continue to fund the Indian Country 
Sexual Assault Clearinghouse at $500,000.
    Thank you for helping us to protect our mothers, daughters, sisters 
and wives from jurisdictional gaps or safe havens for criminals to 
include Indian Women in the 2013 reauthorization of VAWA. But without 
funding to implement the law, this is an idle victory. We urge you to 
fully fund all of the Tribal provisions of VAWA and offer survivors of 
these crimes protection and access to much-needed services.
    It is estimated that over 85 percent of American Indians and Alaska 
Natives will experience intimate partner violence, stalking, or sexual 
violence in their lifetime. This violence threatens the lives of Native 
women and children and the future of American Indian Tribes and Alaska 
Native villages. The Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) provides 
funding to Tribal governments to address violence against women in 
their communities. OVW's largest source of funding for Tribal 
governments is the Grants to Tribal Governments Program, which is 
funded via statutory allocations from other OVW programs. Full funding 
for these OVW programs results in full funding for the Grants to Tribal 
Governments Program.

    Tribal Grants.--Eliminate the competitive grant funding process and 
utilize Justice Department appropriations as base funding where Tribes 
and Tribal Courts themselves determine their own priorities.
    One of the biggest issues with DOJ funding is that it is 
competitive. In order to obtain essential funding Tribes must compete 
against each other based on DOJ's priorities and guidelines rather than 
Tribes identifying their own priorities to best serve their citizens at 
the local level.
    Tribes have advocated to dispel grant funding for desperately 
needed services at the local level. Instead, the approach should be to 
utilize DOJ appropriations as base funding so that Tribes can develop 
sustainable programs for the benefit of their citizens. Grants offer 
one-time funding streams with no assurances of future funding to build 
staff capacity and generally does not allow Tribes enough time to 
design and implement effective programs without having to engage in the 
next cycle to compete for funds. It appears that DOJ understands this 
concept inasmuch as it has previously proposed the idea of base funding 
in the form of a block grant during an earlier Tribal consultation on 
the OVW funding. We propose that DOJ not merely propose this for OVW 
but consider this for all Tribal appropriations in the Department so 
that Tribes can determine their own priorities.

    Tribal Set-Aside (Ten Percent).--Create a 10 percent Tribal set 
aside from funding for all discretionary OJP programs and ensure that 
those funds are allocated as flexible base funding. A 10 percent set 
Tribal set aside would streamline the Federal funding process by which 
Tribes receive resources to establish Tribal courts; assist in 
developing detention facilities; provide legal assistance; develop and 
maintain juvenile delinquency prevention programs; and provide 
substance abuse prevention programs. In addition, the set-aside funding 
would give Tribes the flexibility to develop a comprehensive strategy 
on how best to spend these resources to meet needs at the local level.
    Congress and the Administration should enact an amendment to the 
Budget Control Act of 2011 to fully exempt Indian program funding from 
future sequestrations to honor the Federal trust responsibility and the 
chronic and severe underfunding of all Tribal programs.

    The Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS).--CTAS 
attempts to streamline the grant application process for Tribes and 
Tribal Consortia to enable them to submit a single grant application 
for most of the Tribal grant programs in DOJ, as opposed to previous 
years in which Tribes were required to submit multiple grant 
applications. However, consideration was not given to the capacity of 
Tribes to prepare this large application model, which, for many Tribal 
communities, remains a struggle to apply for these multiple grant 
awards with separate reporting requirements, award periods, and grant 
managers. CTAS will not achieve its intended purpose of streamlining 
Tribal grants until it is accompanied by a streamlined funding 
mechanism.
    Thank you for allowing the Sac and Fox Nation to submit our funding 
priorities and comments on the Office of Justice Programs and the 
overall Department of Justice funding for Tribes.

    [This statement was submitted by the Honorable Justin F. Wood, 
Principal Chief.]
                                 ______
                                 
            Prepared Statement of the Sea Grant Association
    The Sea Grant Association (SGA) recommends Congress appropriate at 
least $107.9 million in fiscal year 2022 for the National Sea Grant 
College Program (Sea Grant) and at least $15 million for Sea Grant 
Aquaculture. The SGA recommendation of $107.9 million for Sea Grant 
includes a minimum of $25 million to expand Sea Grant's capacity to 
address coastal resilience issues.
    Sea Grant is funded out of appropriations provided to the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research (OAR) in the Operations, Research, and Facilities 
account. The SGA is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering 
the Sea Grant's vision, mission, and goals. SGA's regular members are 
the academic institutions that participate in the National Sea Grant 
College Program. The SGA advocates for greater understanding, use, and 
conservation of marine, coastal and Great Lakes resources.
    On December 18, 2020, the President signed into law the National 
Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2020, Public Law 116-221. 
This legislation reauthorized Sea Grant through fiscal year 2025. The 
legislation reiterated Sea Grant's core activities of supporting 
research, education, extension, and outreach. The legislation also 
called out support for several specific activities including efforts to 
strengthen coastal economic, environmental, and community resilience, 
and to conduct research and extension to further sustainable 
aquaculture. This testimony is submitted to the subcommittee to request 
the resources necessary for Sea Grant to meet the programmatic 
objectives and priorities called out in Public Law 116-221.
justification for the fiscal year 2022 sea grant association's request 
                             for sea grant
    Over 126 million residents--40 percent of the population of the 
United States--live in coastal counties. These counties employ 56 
million people, resulting in $3.4 trillion in wages annually, and 
produce more than $8.3 trillion in goods and services that support 
coastal and non-coastal communities. Weather- and climate-related 
hazards impacting these communities have increased at an alarming rate. 
The total cost of all U.S. billion-dollar disasters over just the last 
5 years (2015-2019) exceeds $525 billion. Weather and climate risks are 
deeply connected to threats to critical infrastructure, water and food 
supplies, social instability, unemployment, and governance challenges. 
Most recently, we are seeing these types of interdependencies play out 
as the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant economic crisis have clearly 
exacerbated impacts to coastal communities, particularly under 
resourced communities and communities of color. Sea Grant, with its 
partners and through the expansion of its resilience portfolio, will 
apply the knowledge gained via research to help communities of color, 
(including Native American and Indigenous communities), and low-income 
communities reduce or eliminate the barriers to the implementation of 
adaptation, mitigation, and resilience strategies.
    Increasing physical and economic damages, social inequities, and 
personal despair have tested our level of preparedness to deal with and 
respond to major weather and climate threats. Hurricanes, typhoons and 
tsunamis are compounded by other challenges including coastal 
inundation (due to rising sea levels and land subsidence), increasing 
storm intensity, aging infrastructure, uneven enforcement of building 
codes, lack of adequate zoning ordinances, poor planning and 
construction, continued development in high-risk areas, and the 
inexperience of coastal dwellers to prepare for and recover from these 
events. The frequency of ``sunny day'' flooding alone has doubled since 
2000 in the United States. Exacerbated by sea level rise, these events 
overwhelm sewage treatment plants and public utilities, disrupt 
transportation corridors, reduce property values of homes and 
businesses, and threaten public health. In addition, many regions may 
be at increased risk of anthropogenic disasters such as oil or chemical 
spills, which could occur alone or be exacerbated by other hazardous 
events. Communities of color and low-income communities are often on 
the frontline of these threats, experiencing the first and worst 
impacts of changes in climate and weather patterns. Only through 
knowledge, understanding, preparation and partnerships will communities 
be able to address the hazards that are uniquely concentrated in 
coastal counties.
    The resilience of our communities--the very safety, security and 
survival of their residents--depends on how well prepared they are for 
these threats and for recovery following an event. Community-level 
preparedness includes a number of considerations, from how individuals 
prepare to where and how critical infrastructure and buildings are 
constructed. Resilient communities have residents, businesses and 
infrastructure that are positioned to reduce the impacts of risks to 
lives and property. This allows people to return to their homes and 
businesses, and recover more quickly after an event than in communities 
that are not as prepared. Resilient communities also have thriving 
living shorelines and coastal resources such as mangroves, oyster 
reefs, barrier dunes, salt marshes, and other natural infrastructure 
that buffer waves and coastal storms and protect the shoreline from 
erosion during storms.
    Sea Grant is a network of research, education and outreach 
professionals who work in partnership with universities, communities, 
and stakeholders. Sea Grant's vision is to enhance the use and 
conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources to create a 
sustainable economy and environment. Sea Grant helps coastal and Great 
Lakes communities become more resilient through its activities that 
strengthen the ability of communities to effectively prepare and plan 
for environmental and economic challenges. Sea Grant has a proven track 
record of doing this at local, State, regional and national levels in 
partnership with its stakeholders and like-minded entities. With 
increased capacity, Sea Grant will help our coastal and Great Lakes 
communities become more resilient. Expanding Sea Grant's resilience 
portfolio will protect lives, sustain critical infrastructure, protect 
and restore critical natural resources, enhance economic opportunity 
and recovery from the COVID pandemic, and support more rapid economic 
recovery after events. Sea Grant is recognized for its ability to 
develop locally relevant solutions to build coastal community 
resilience. Sea Grant's strength lies in its ability to work 
effectively at the local government and community level with tailored 
information, guidance and support.
    To address coastal resilience issues more adequately, the Sea Grant 
Association recommends an increase in base funding for Sea Grant of at 
least $25 million. This investment would focus on two major areas:

  --Capacity building ($10M) to support recruitment of additional 
        resilience extension, communication or education staff in each 
        State Sea Grant program and support a national coordinator and;
  --Research, engagement, decision support, implementation ($15M) 
        proposed to be directly allocated to each State Sea Grant 
        program to support local State-based research, training, 
        technical assistance and coordination that enhance community 
        resilience.
      quantifying sea grant's contribution to coastal communities
    Within Sea Grant, 20 national office staff, 34 university-based 
State programs, 646 extension staff and educators, 488 researchers, and 
at least 2,700 partners are funded and leveraged to cooperatively reach 
the program's goals. Sea Grant's mission is to address the needs of 
America's coastal and Great Lakes communities using the best available 
science, beginning with an understanding of the needs of diverse 
stakeholders. Since its inception Sea Grant has been at the forefront 
of actionable science addressing priorities of national, State, and 
local importance. Sea Grant has coordinated efforts to solve problems 
locally and regionally, emphasizing partnerships, meeting stakeholder 
needs, and using feedback from end-users to inform research, with a 
$412.4 million economic benefit from an $80 million Federal investment 
in 2019. In addition, in 2019, Sea Grant created or supported 10,400 
jobs; created or sustained 998 businesses; provided the 34 State-level 
programs with funding that assisted 263 communities improve their 
resilience; helped nearly 13,000 people adopt safe and sustainable 
fishing practices; helped restore or protect an estimated 1.8 million 
acres of habitat; worked with over 1000 industry and private sector, 
local, State and regional partners; and supported the education and 
training of nearly 2000 undergraduate and graduate students.
    Sea Grant's locally based staff and specialists collaborated with 
governments, academia, industries, non-profit groups, and individuals 
to ensure thriving coastal and Great Lakes communities. Just as it has 
done in response to hurricanes, oil spills, and other environmental and 
economic challenges, Sea Grant in 2020 learned how to draw from past 
experiences to use its strengths to support its constituents during the 
COVID-19 pandemic. Sea Grant's credibility in scientific and disaster 
communications was an advantage to coastal and Great Lakes communities 
around the Nation by providing online resources to enhance at-home STEM 
education, assisting the seafood industry and other coastal businesses 
in their direct marketing of their products, navigating the 
complexities of Federal and State assistance programs, and working 
quickly to find innovative ways to connect with and support their 
stakeholders.
    Sea Grant sends 95 percent of its appropriated funds to coastal 
States through a competitive process to address issues that are 
identified as critical by public and private sector constituents and 
coastal communities throughout the United States. Sea Grant fosters 
cost-effective partnerships among State universities, State and local 
governments, NOAA, and coastal communities, businesses, and relevant 
non-governmental organizations. Funding for Sea Grant results in 
support for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, resilient 
communities and economies, healthy coastal ecosystems, environmental 
literacy, the Sea Grant Knauss Fellows and other fellowship programs, 
and workforce development. In its 50 plus-year history, Sea Grant's 
successes can be attributed to its ability to respond to the changing 
needs of our coastal communities.
    Local, State, regional, and national partnerships are critical to 
addressing issues central to the survival of our coastal communities, 
economies, and ecosystems. Coastal and Great Lakes communities need to 
be informed, engaged, and prepared to respond to these threats and to 
turn these adversities into opportunities. This is precisely what Sea 
Grant does.
    Sea Grant has been an integral player in creating economic 
opportunities, enhancing food and water security, and reducing risks 
from natural hazards and extreme events facing coastal communities 
through research and outreach efforts. Sea Grant is user-driven and 
university-based, and fully engaged with regional, State, and local 
organizations.
    With the funding recommendations contained in this statement, Sea 
Grant will leverage significant State and local support, continue to 
increase the economic development and resiliency of coastal 
communities--particularly coastal communities of color, and help 
sustain the health and productivity of the ecosystems on which our 
communities depend.
    Thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony.

    [This statement was submitted by Dr. Susan White, President.]
                                 ______
                                 
     Prepared Statement of the Society for Industrial and Applied 
                           Mathematics (SIAM)
          fiscal year 2022 for the national science foundation
    Summary: This written testimony is submitted on behalf of the 
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) to ask you to 
continue your support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 
fiscal year 2022 by providing NSF with at least $10 billion. In 
particular, we urge you to provide strong support for the Research and 
Related Activities Account (R&RA) that supports key applied mathematics 
and computational science programs in the Division of Mathematical 
Sciences and the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure. SIAM also 
requests your support for the Education and Human Resources (EHR) 
directorate that addresses fundamental challenges in mathematics and 
STEM education.
    Full Statement: On behalf of SIAM, we submit this written testimony 
for the record to the subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and 
Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the U.S. Senate.
    SIAM has over 14,000 members, including applied and computational 
mathematicians, computer scientists, numerical analysts, engineers, 
statisticians, and mathematics educators. They work in industrial and 
service organizations, universities, colleges, and government agencies 
and laboratories all over the world. In addition, SIAM has almost 500 
institutional members, including colleges, universities, corporations, 
and research organizations. SIAM members come from many different 
disciplines but have a common interest in applying mathematics in 
partnership with computational science to solve real-world problems, 
which affect national security and industrial competitiveness.
    First, we would like to emphasize how much SIAM appreciates your 
Committee's continued leadership on and recognition of the critical 
role of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and its support for 
mathematics, science, and engineering in enabling a strong U.S. 
economy, workforce, and society.
    Today, we submit this testimony to ask you to continue your support 
of NSF in fiscal year 2022 and beyond. In particular, we join with the 
research and higher education community and request that you provide 
NSF with at least $10 billion in funding for fiscal year 2022. This is 
consistent with the President's budget request for fiscal year 2022 
that calls for $10.2 billion. After years of inadequate funding, NSF 
needs bold growth to protect U.S. competitiveness as countries such as 
China are rapidly increasing their science and engineering investments. 
According to the National Science Board, in fiscal year 2017, NSF 
rejected close to four billion dollars of proposals rated ``very good 
or higher'' due to budget constraints. Funding of $10 billion would 
help the agency address critical unmet national research needs, reverse 
historical underinvestment, and allow new activities related to 
translation, innovation, and partnerships that will enable expanded 
approaches to critical technologies and science and engineering 
solutions.
    As we are reminded every day, the Nation's health, economic 
strength, national security, and welfare are being challenged in 
profound and unprecedented ways. Many of these challenges are fueled by 
gaps in our understanding of complex systems such as biologic 
processes, the energy grid, cyberspace, terrorist networks, or the 
human brain. Mathematics and computational science play a foundational 
and cross-cutting role in understanding these systems through advanced 
modeling and simulation, developing techniques essential to designing 
new breakthrough technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), and 
providing new tools for managing resources and logistics. Progress in 
computational sciences and applied mathematics also underpins advances 
across an array of fields and challenges in computing, materials, 
biology, engineering, and other areas.
                      national science foundation
    NSF serves a unique and critical function supporting all areas of 
science and engineering to further innovation and seed the knowledge 
and technologies for a strong future America. NSF provides essential 
Federal support for applied mathematics and computational science, 
including more than 60 percent of all Federal support for basic 
academic research in the mathematical sciences. Of particular 
importance to SIAM, NSF funding supports the development of new 
mathematical models and computational algorithms, which are critical to 
making substantial advances in such fields as neuroscience, energy 
technologies, genomics, and nanotechnology. In addition, new techniques 
developed in mathematics and computing research often have direct 
application in industry. Modern life as we know it--from search engines 
like Google to the design of modern aircraft, from financial markets to 
medical imaging--would not be possible without the techniques developed 
by mathematicians and computational scientists using NSF funding. NSF 
also supports mathematics education at all levels, ensuring that the 
next generation of the U.S. workforce is appropriately trained to 
participate in cutting-edge technological sectors and that students are 
attracted to careers in mathematics and computing.
    SIAM applauds NSF's investments in Industries of the Future areas 
with programs such as the AI Institutes, Institutes for Data-Intensive 
Research in Science and Engineering, Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes, 
TRIPODS \1\ Institutes, and the NSF-Simons Research Centers for 
Mathematics of Complex Biological Systems. Furthermore, SIAM supports 
the new Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) 
included in the President's budget request for NSF. SIAM applauds the 
aims of the new proposed Directorate to advance science and engineering 
research and innovation, accelerate the translation of basic research, 
solve national and societal problems, and support education pathways. 
While investment in emerging areas like AI is important, SIAM urges 
Congress to provide sufficient NSF support for core programs, such as 
those funded by the Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) and the 
Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC), which have stagnated in 
recent years and whose foundational investments underpin advances 
across many science and engineering challenges.
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    \1\ Transdisciplinary Research on Principles of Data Science

    SIAM urges strong investment in the Research and Related Activities 
account (R&RA) to enable robust funding for the Division of 
Mathematical Sciences (DMS), the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure 
(OAC), and other core programs and crosscutting initiatives for 
essential mathematical and computational science research, workforce 
development programs, and early career researcher support.
                 nsf division of mathematical sciences
    The NSF Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) in the Directorate 
for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) provides core support for 
all mathematical sciences. DMS also funds national mathematical science 
research institutes; infrastructure, including workshops, conferences, 
and equipment; and postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate training.
    The activities supported by DMS and performed by SIAM members, such 
as modeling, analysis, algorithms, and simulation, underpin 
advancements across science and engineering and provide new ways of 
obtaining insight into the nature of complex phenomena, such as the 
power grid, software for military applications, and the human body.
    Investment in DMS is critical because of the foundational and 
cross-cutting role that mathematics and computational science play in 
sustaining the Nation's economic competitiveness and national security, 
and in making substantial advances on societal challenges such as 
energy and public health. NSF, with its support of a broad range of 
scientific areas, plays an important role in bringing U.S. expertise 
together in interdisciplinary initiatives that bear on these 
challenges. Agencies such as the Department of Defense and National 
Institutes of Health depend on the NSF-supported applied math and 
computational sciences ecosystem to fulfill their missions as they 
build on NSF-funded modeling, algorithm, and simulation breakthroughs 
and leverage the workforce trained using NSF support. Both agencies and 
foundations partner with NSF thereby leveraging Federal funding for 
maximum impact, such as with the Joint NSF/National Institutes of 
Health Initiative Quantitative Approaches to Biomedical Big Data 
(QuBBD).
               nsf office of advanced cyberinfrastructure
    Work in applied mathematics and computational science is critical 
to enabling effective use of the rapid advances in information 
technology and cyberinfrastructure. Programs in the NSF Office of 
Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) in the Directorate for Computer and 
Information Science and Engineering (CISE) focus on providing research 
communities access to advanced computing capabilities to convert data 
to knowledge and increase our understanding through computational 
simulation and prediction. SIAM strongly endorses OAC's efforts as a 
steward for computational science, building bridges across NSF to 
accelerate transformational science and engineering, and driving 
universities to improve their research and education programs in this 
multidisciplinary area. SIAM strongly endorses NSF's role advancing 
high performance computing to meet critical national security needs, 
fully leverage computing technology for economic competitiveness and 
scientific discovery, and position the U.S. for sustained technical 
leadership.
        supporting the pipeline of mathematicians and scientists
    A lack of sufficient funding for NSF's Education and Human 
Resources (EHR) directorate has left critical gaps in addressing 
fundamental challenges for mathematics and STEM education across 
educational levels. SIAM supports EHR and its programs like Improving 
Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE), which is key to both advancing 
STEM professional development and developing a STEM literate citizenry. 
SIAM notes that mathematical education is foundational to STEM learning 
across disciplines, and NSF should continue to fund development of 
mathematical and computational skills, including at the undergraduate 
level when young scientists and engineers gain critical interests and 
competencies.
    SIAM supports the NSF CAREER awards, Graduate Research Fellowships, 
and Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (MSPRF) 
that are crucial to the training and professional development of the 
next generation of leadership in mathematical sciences research and 
education.
                               conclusion
    We would like to thank you again for your ongoing support of NSF 
that enables the research and education communities it supports, 
including thousands of SIAM members, to undertake activities that 
contribute to U.S. health, security, and economic strength. NSF needs 
sustained growth to maintain our competitive edge in science and 
technology, and therefore we respectfully ask that you continue robust 
support of these critical programs in fiscal year 2022.
    We appreciate the opportunity to provide testimony to the Committee 
on behalf of SIAM. SIAM looks forward to providing any additional 
information or assistance you may ask of us during the fiscal year 2022 
appropriations process.

    [This statement was submitted by Susanne C. Brenner, President, 
Anne Gelb, Vice President for Science Policy, and Suzanne L. Weekes, 
Executive Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of the Society for Industrial and Organizational 
                               Psychology
    fiscal year 2022 national science foundation appropriations and 
                                language
    On behalf of the Society for Industrial and Organizational 
Psychology (SIOP), we are pleased to provide this written testimony to 
the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and 
Science, and Related Agencies for the official record. In this 
testimony, SIOP urges the subcommittee to consider two requests: 
provide the requested amount of $10.2 billion for the National Science 
Foundation (NSF), including strong support for the Directorate for 
Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE), in the fiscal year 
2022 appropriations process; and report language to encourage NSF to 
more rigorously implement the science of team science in the agency's 
funding strategies for large-scale and multi-disciplinary research 
projects.
Appropriations Support
    SIOP is a community of nearly 10,000 members worldwide with a 
common interest in promoting the research, practice, and teaching of 
industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology to enhance human well-
being and performance in organizational and work settings. SIOP 
provides a platform for scientists, academics, consultants, and 
practitioners to collaborate, implement, and evaluate cutting-edge 
approaches to workplace challenges across sectors.
    We have evidence that Federal investment in social and behavioral 
science research directly and positively impacts the U.S. economy, 
national security, and the health and well-being of Americans. Through 
SBE, NSF supports basic research to develop a scientific evidence base 
for improving the performance, effectiveness, management, and 
development of organizations and the workforce. The methods, 
measurements, and theories developed through this Federal investment 
enhance business practices, policymaking, and interprofessional 
collaboration. The evidence base derived from basic research in the 
science of organizations is applied throughout the public and private 
sectors.
    SBE is critically important to NSF and has been highly responsive 
to the transformative events of the past year. This was especially 
evident during the COVID-19 outbreak when SBE supported the second most 
research grants to address the virus among NSF Directorates. This 
included significant support for the field of I-O psychology as the 
nature of work had fundamentally shifted. Through SBE investments, 
including those from the Science of Organizations program, I-O 
psychologists developed data-driven methods to address workplace 
dysfunction, including impacts on employee well-being, work-life 
balance, performance, and engagement; the effects of rapid changes to 
workers across various levels of job structure, socioeconomic status, 
and race; and the challenges and opportunities related to remote 
collaboration during COVID-19 and as industries shift to a ``new 
normal.'' Further, SBE provided support to I-O psychologists to study 
other pressing issues, including how job-related stressors impact 
police officers and, in turn, the communities they serve. With support 
from SBE for I-O psychologists, society is better positioned to learn 
from our collective experiences and design more effective, equitable 
workplaces.
    SIOP also supports NSF's dedication to its Future of Work at the 
Human-Technology Frontier Big Idea, which seeks to address and improve 
human-technology interactions as workplaces integrate and adapt to 
artificial intelligence, automation, machine learning, and beyond. In 
addition to developing these technologies, successful implementation 
relies on understanding human learning at various stages of life, and 
improving education and training to appropriately use these 
technologies.
    Continued Federal support for I-O psychology keeps its knowledge 
and expertise in the public domain and enhances shared workplace 
efficiency and understanding of worker well-being at all levels. Other 
applications of I-O psychology include: transitioning veterans and 
service members to civilian jobs, managing age diversity in the 
workplace, accounting for the technology-enabled workforce, and 
developing preventative sexual harassment workforce interventions, 
among many others.
    Given NSF's critical role in supporting fundamental research and 
education across science and engineering disciplines, SIOP supports an 
overall fiscal year 2022 NSF budget of $10.2 billion. SIOP requests 
robust support for the NSF SBE Directorate, which funds important 
research studies, enabling an evidence base, methodology, and 
measurements for improving organizational function, performance, and 
design across sectors and disciplines.
Science of Team Science
    In last year's testimony, SIOP requested report language to 
encourage the further adoption of the Science of Team Science (SciTS) 
in NSF programs and policies. SciTS is the empirical examination of the 
processes by which large and small scientific teams organize, conduct, 
and communicate research. I-O psychologists with expertise in SciTS 
have engaged with NSF program officers and leadership, as well as some 
congressional staff to ensure their findings are fully ingrained in the 
agency's new models and approaches for funding cross-disciplinary 
science and/or large-scale research projects (e.g. Engineering Research 
Centers; Science and Technology Centers; Convergence Accelerators; and 
National Artificial Intelligence [AI] Institutes). As NSF increasingly 
encourages and promotes collaboration, SIOP believes it is important 
that the agency take additional steps to ensure evidence-based team 
science is considered in multi-partner initiatives to improve 
communication between researchers, productivity, efficiency and cost-
effectiveness. This is especially important as NSF continues to focus 
on public-private partnerships.
    In fiscal year 2020, the House Appropriations bill report included 
the following language that was in the spirit of the original request:

          ``Scientific collaboration.--NSF is encouraged to improve the 
        understanding of scientific collaboration and how scientists 
        work together.'' \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/
democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/
FY2020%20CJS%20CJS%20Filed%20Report%20-%20HR3055.pdf

    While this language was most appreciated and helpful, SIOP is of 
the opinion that the message would be more impactful if it were to 
specifically mention the importance of ``team science'' in multi-
disciplinary research programs and projects.
    Team science is a well-known research subject at NSF and the 
language should be understood by the agency. NSF has funded several 
team science studies through SBE and program officers across 
directorates have expressed interest in leveraging team science to 
improve multi-disciplinary awards, including participating in one-on-
one conversations with SIOP experts and inviting them to present on NSF 
panels. SIOP appreciates NSF's interest in learning more about 
leveraging SciTS to improve programs and collaborations at the agency. 
While NSF has taken some steps forward to address the importance of 
team science in some multi-disciplinary awards, we feel that 
appropriations report language that specifically mentions the 
importance of team science would build on this existing momentum and 
further catalyze meaningful action.
    For further reference, SIOP members served on the National 
Academies' Committee on the Science of Team Science, which produced the 
2015 report on this topic: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/19007/enhancing-
the-effectiveness-of-team-science. Also, slides and recordings from 
NSF's 2018 Accelerating Engineering Research Center Preparedness 
Workshop can be found at: https://ercbiennial.asee.org/2018-pgw/
program/. SIOP members Drs. Steve Kozlowski and Kara Hall present on 
team science.
Requested Report Language

          Team Science.--NSF is encouraged to continue to seek ways to 
        implement the science of team science to improve scientific 
        collaboration as the agency develops new models and approaches 
        for funding large-scale and cross-disciplinary research 
        projects. In particular, NSF is encouraged to ensure that it is 
        implementing the recommendations from the National Academies of 
        Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, Enhancing the 
        Effectiveness of Team Science.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/19007/enhancing-the-effectiveness-
of-team-science

    Thank you for the opportunity to offer SIOP's support for NSF. 
Please do not hesitate to contact SIOP should you have any questions. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional information is also available at www.siop.org.

    [This statement was submitted by Dr. Steven Rogelberg, President, 
and Tracy L. Vanneman, Executive Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
           Prepared Statement of the Society for Neuroscience
  support of fiscal year 2022 appropriations for the national science 
                               foundation
    Chair Cartwright, Ranking Member Aderholt, and Members of the 
subcommittee, on behalf of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), we are 
honoured to present this testimony in support of robust appropriations 
for biomedical research at the National Science Foundation (NSF). SfN 
urges you to provide at least $10.2 billion, an increase of 
approximately $1.7 billion, in funding for NSF in fiscal year 2022. Dr. 
Moses Chao and I, as Chair of the Government and Public Affairs 
Committee and President of SfN respectively, understand the critical 
importance of Federal funding for neuroscience research in the United 
States. I currently serve as a researcher and as a Professor in the 
Department of Psychology at Cambridge University and Dr. Chao is a 
professor of Cell Biology, Physiology and Neuroscience, and Psychiatry 
at the New York University School of Medicine. Our research serves as 
two examples of the wide variety of neuroscience research advancing our 
collective understanding of the brain.
    My own research focuses on the neural and psychological basis of 
drug addiction and is dedicated to understanding the maladaptive 
engagement of the learning, memory, and motivational mechanisms 
underlying compulsive drug use. Drug abuse and addiction have 
devastating consequences at the individual, family, and society levels, 
as clearly evidenced by the opioid crisis and also increased alcohol 
drinking during pandemic lockdowns. My research group made significant 
advances in showing structural and neurochemical changes in the brain 
associated with behavioral impulsivity confer a major risk on 
vulnerability to develop cocaine addiction. We also demonstrated the 
neural circuit basis of the transition from recreational to the 
compulsive use of opioids, stimulants, and alcohol, revealing 
commonalities as well as differences in the neural basis of addiction 
to these drugs. This understanding opened the door to the development 
of novel pharmacological and psychological treatments for addiction 
which may promote and maintain abstinence from drug use.
    Dr. Chao's research efforts focus on growth factors (also called 
neurotrophins) in the brain. These proteins are crucial for everything 
from neuron differentiation, growth, and survival during development to 
learning and memory in children and adults. Deficits in neurotrophins 
are involved in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, 
Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, and Amyotrophic Lateral 
Sclerosis (ALS), as well as limiting recovery after stroke or brain 
injury.
    Dr. Chao and I cover different areas of neuroscience research, 
though we have come together to convey the need for further and ongoing 
investment in neuroscience research. SfN believes strongly in the 
research continuum: basic science leads to clinical innovations, which 
lead to translational uses positively impacting the public's health. 
Basic science is the foundation upon which all health advances are 
built. To cure diseases, we need to understand them through fundamental 
discovery-based research. However, basic research depends on reliable, 
sustained funding from the Federal Government. SfN is grateful to 
Congress for its support of the important mission of the NSF, which 
includes a focus on promoting the progress of science and advancing the 
National health, prosperity, and welfare, through increased 
appropriations in recent years.
                the importance of the research continuum
    NSF funding for basic research is critical for facilitating 
groundbreaking discoveries and for training researchers at the bench. 
For the United States to remain a leader in biomedical research, 
Congress must continue to support basic research fueling discoveries as 
well as the economy. The deeper our grasp of basic science, the more 
successful those focused on clinical and translational research will 
be. We use a wide range of experimental and animal models not used 
elsewhere in the research pipeline. These opportunities create 
discoveries--sometimes unexpected discoveries--expanding knowledge of 
biological processes, often at the molecular level. This level of 
discovery reveals new targets for research to treat all kinds of brain 
disorders that affect millions of people in the United States and 
beyond.
    NSF basic research funding is also a key economic driver of science 
in the United States through funding universities and research 
organizations across the country. Federal investments in scientific 
research fuel the Nation's pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical 
device industries. The private sector utilizes basic scientific 
discoveries funded through NSF to improve health and foster a 
sustainable trajectory for American's Research and Development (R&D) 
enterprise. Basic science generates the knowledge needed to uncover the 
mysteries behind human diseases, which leads to private sector 
development of new treatments and therapeutics. This important first 
step is not ordinarily funded by industry given the long-term path of 
basic science and the pressures for shorter-term return on investments 
by industry. Congressional investment in basic science is irreplaceable 
in the pipeline for development of drugs, devices, and other treatments 
for brain-related diseases and disorders.
    Another example of NSF's success in funding neuroscience is the 
Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) 
Initiative. A part of the research landscape in neuroscience, the BRAIN 
Initiative has been critical in promoting future discoveries across 
neuroscience and related scientific disciplines. By including funding 
in 21st Century Cures, Congress helped maintain the momentum of this 
endeavor. Note, however, using those funds to supplant regular 
appropriations would be counterproductive. There is no substitute for 
robust, sustained, and predictable funding for NSF. SfN appreciates 
Congress' ongoing investment in the BRAIN Initiative and urges its full 
funding in fiscal year 2022. Some recent exciting advancements in NSF 
funded neuroscience research include the following:
Increasing happiness through new experiences
    As COVID-19 has affected Americans' daily routines, NSF-funded 
research may point the way towards strategies to improve people's 
moods. In a study conducted before the pandemic, participants wore GPS 
trackers for several months and reported on their mood throughout each 
day. The researchers found a correlation between a more positive mood 
and days when participants went to more locations outside of their 
daily routine. When people had more variability in their day, they were 
more likely to report feeling ``happy,'' ``relaxed,'' or ``excited.'' A 
follow-up study looking at functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) 
scans of participants' brains found these positive changes in mood are 
driven by communication between the hippocampus, the part of the brain 
that maps the environment, and the striatum, which plays a key role in 
reward. This work suggests adding a variety of experiences, even 
something as simple as a walk around the neighborhood, to our daily 
lives may be critical to maintaining a positive outlook.
Understanding the origins of creativity
    Music, art, and other creative activities are fundamental endeavors 
to the human experience. Where this creativity comes from in the human 
brain and how it is controlled, however, is a question of great debate. 
Researchers funded by the NSF sought to answer this question by 
studying jazz guitarists performing while wearing 
electroencephalography (EEG) caps to measure their brain activity. 
These guitarists, who ranged in experience from novices to 
professionals, were asked to improvise several performances, which were 
recorded and judged by experts. Brain-activity data showed less-
experienced guitarists relied more on right frontal hemisphere 
structures associated with conscious control over activity, while more-
experienced participants had more activity in structures associated 
with the default mode network, suggesting their performances require 
less active control. This suggests as a creative endeavor is improved, 
the brain switches from conscious monitoring of the activity to a more 
automatic reliance on what has already been learned. This baseline 
knowledge reduces the active concentration an expert will need for 
these learned skills, allowing for more cognitive resources to be 
devoted to the creativity of their output.
   covid-19 is a challenge and opportunity for neuroscience research
    Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed progress in 
neuroscience research, with social distancing requirements hampering 
ongoing research related to the brain. Investment in neuroscience 
research, including on the neurological aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus 
and the COVID-19 pandemic itself is needed though cannot be allowed to 
eclipse or replace regular funding for neuroscience research. We urge 
you to identify ways to ensure the funding surge needed to address the 
COVID-19 emergency does not slow progress on other important and 
innovative research, including the groundbreaking research in 
neuroscience and mental health. SfN encourages the subcommittee to fund 
basic research on the biology of how COVID-19 impacts brain function as 
well as impacts the virus has on the nervous system in preclinical 
models and, by extension, on humans. In doing so, SfN encourages 
Congress and the NSF to prioritize intentional collaboration and 
coordination to effectively allocate scarce resources so researchers 
can investigate all facets of infectious and non-infectious disease.
    Ongoing research already demonstrates the need for scientists to 
examine the neurological impacts of COVID-19. While mortality due to 
SARS-CoV-2 may be primarily due to its effects on the lungs, it is now 
apparent the virus damages many other organs, including the central 
nervous system. We need to understand how these direct and indirect 
effects on other organ systems are producing chronic diseases and long-
term disability, making people more susceptible to other chronic 
disorders covered by the different NIH Institutes. A recent study 
(Lancet article, Taquet et al 2021) shows an increased risk of anxiety, 
depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and insomnia were reported 
after COVID-19 diagnosis. These data, though incomplete, suggest brain 
impairment may be associated with COVID-19 infection. Furthermore, it 
was found people with two copies of the risk gene for Alzheimer's 
disease were more likely to have severe COVID-19 (Kuo et al J. 
Gerontology 2020). These findings, coupled with incidents of memory 
loss, brain fog and hallucinations reported in the New York Times (3/
23/21) illustrates a need for increased resources to study the impact 
of this virus on the peripheral and central nervous systems, as well as 
the immune and inflammatory systems. The COVID-19 public health 
emergency provides an important example of the critical need for 
collaborative research and coordinating data and resources across 
institutes. A balanced and collaborative research effort across 
institutes will likely be the path toward solving these multiple 
issues.
congress & nsf must support access to models necessary for neuroscience 
                               discovery
    Adequate NSF funding is necessary to advancing our understanding of 
the brain; however, full realization of this funding's promise requires 
appropriate access to research models, including non-human primate and 
other animal models. Animal research is highly regulated to ensure 
ethical and responsible care and treatment of the animals. SfN and its 
members take their legal and ethical obligations related to this 
research very seriously. While SfN recognizes the goal of the 
reduction, refinement, and eventual replacement of nonhuman primate 
models in biomedical research, much more research and time is needed 
before such a goal is attainable. Premature replacement of non-human 
primate and other animal models may delay or prevent the discovery of 
treatments and cures-not only for neurological diseases like 
Alzheimer's disease, addiction, and traumatic brain injury, but also 
for communicable diseases and countless other conditions. There are 
currently no viable alternatives available for studying biomedical 
systems advancing our understanding of the brain and nervous system; or 
when seeking treatments for diseases and disorders like depression, 
addiction, Parkinson's Disease, and emotional responses. This research 
is critically important and presents an opportunity to benefit 
countless people around the world. SfN urges Congress to work with the 
NSF to ensure this important research can continue.
                        funding in regular order
    SfN joins the biomedical research community supporting an increase 
in NSF funding to at least $10.2 billion, a $1.7 billion increase over 
FY21. This proposed increase is necessary to provide certainty to the 
field of science, allowing for the exploitation of new scientific 
opportunity, additional training of the next generation of scientists, 
increased economic growth and further improvements in the public's 
health. Equally as important as providing a reliable increase in 
funding for biomedical research is ensuring funding is approved before 
the end of the fiscal year. Continuing Resolutions have significant 
consequences on research, including restricting NSF's ability to fund 
grants. For some of our members, this means waiting for a final 
decision to be made on funding before knowing if their perfectly scored 
grant would in fact be realized or operating a lab with 90 percent of 
the awarded funding until appropriations are final. This negatively 
impacts all the positive benefits research provides the field. SfN 
strongly supports the appropriation of NSF funding in a timely manner 
which avoids delays in approving new research grants or causes 
reductions in funding for already approved research funding.
    SfN thanks the subcommittee for your strong and continued support 
of biomedical research and looks forward to working with you to ensure 
the United States remains the global leader in neuroscience research 
and discovery. Collaboration among Congress, the NSF, and the 
scientific research community has created great benefits for not only 
the United States but also people around the globe suffering from 
brain-related diseases and disorders. On behalf of the Society for 
Neuroscience, we urge you to continue this critical cooperation and 
support of biomedical research.

    [This statement was submitted by Barry Everitt, Sc.D., F.R.S., 
President, and Moses Chao, PhD, Chair, Government and Public Affairs 
Committee.]
                                 ______
                                 
       Prepared Statement of the Tribal Law and Policy Institute
                         department of justice
    On behalf of the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI), this 
testimony addresses important programs in the Department of Justice 
(DOJ). First, TLPI joins the American Bar Association (see attached 
letter) in requesting substantially increased funding for Tribal courts 
in response to the $1.2 billion annual shortfall for Tribal courts as 
identified in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 2020 report to 
Congress, Report to the Congress on Spending, Staffing, and Estimated 
Funding Costs for Public Safety and Justice Programs in Indian Country, 
2018.
    Secondly, TLPI joins the National Congress of American Indians 
(NCAI) in requesting:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Program                   NCAI Fiscal Year 2022 Request
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Tribal Grants: Eliminate            Use DOJ appropriations as base
 competitive grant funding process and    funding.
 utilize Justice Department
 appropriations as base funding so that
 Tribal nations determine their own
 priorities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Tribal Set-Aside from Office of     Create a 10 percent Tribal set-
 Justice Programs (OJP).                  aside for all discretionary
                                          OJP programs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Tribal Set-Aside from Crime         Create a 5 percent set-aside
 Victims Fund.                            for Tribal governments.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Tribal Youth Program under the      $25,000,000
 Juvenile Accountability Block Grants
 program.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal     $3,000,000
 Assistance (TCCLA) Grant.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: Community Oriented Policing         $52,000,000
 Services (COPS) Tribal Law Enforcement.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ: OVW Tribal programs under the       Fully fund all VAWA-authorized
 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).       programs including the Sexual
                                          Assault Clearinghouse and
                                          $5,000,000 for Tribal
                                          implementation of VAWA special
                                          domestic violence criminal
                                          jurisdiction.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TLPI is a 100 percent Native American operated non-profit 
corporation organized to design and deliver education, research, 
training, and technical assistance programs which promote the 
enhancement of justice in Indian country and the health, well-being, 
and culture of Native peoples. TLPI focuses on collaborative programs 
that provide critical resources for Tribal court systems and other 
programs involved in promoting improvement of justice in Indian 
country.
    The Federal Government's trust responsibility to Tribal nations is 
at the heart of TLPI's recommendation to follow NCAI's fiscal year 2022 
Indian country budget request. Like all other governments, Tribal 
nations are responsible for the protection and care of their citizens, 
residents, and visitors on Tribal lands. Through treaties and other 
agreements, Tribal lands were ceded in exchange for the promise of 
protected self-governance and adequate resources from the United 
States. Those promises are the foundation of the government-to-
government relationship that exists today.
    Part of the Federal trust responsibility to Indian Tribes includes 
basic governmental services in Indian Country, funding for which is 
appropriated in the discretionary portion of the Federal budget. Tribal 
governments protect and preserve their unique cultures, identities, and 
natural environments for future generations. As governments, Tribes 
must deliver a wide range of critical services, such as education, 
workforce development, youth programs, and first-responder and public 
safety services, to their citizens. The Federal budget for Tribal 
governmental services reflects the extent to which the United States 
honors its promises to Indian people--and to date, those promises have 
not been truly honored.
    Tribal justice systems historically have been under-funded and 
continue to be under-funded in most Tribal communities. In 1991, the 
United States Civil Rights Commission found that ``the failure of the 
United States Government to provide proper funding for the operation of 
Tribal judicial systems . . . has continued for more than 20 years.'' 
\1\ In 2014, the Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American 
Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence noted that 
Department of Justice (DOJ) funding for Tribal justice systems has been 
consistently decreasing in recent years.\2\ The Indian Law and Order 
Commission (ILOC) noted that in addition to funding shortfalls, DOJ's 
short-term, competitive funding approach is deficient because it 
reflects Federal priorities rather than Tribal ones, favors hired 
grant-writers, requires Tribes to compete against each other, and 
offers only 3-year programs that often leave Tribes with staff turnover 
and short-term programs.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ United States Commission on Civil Rights, The Indian Civil 
Rights Act: A Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights 71 
(June 1991).
    \2\ Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American Indian and 
Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence, U.S. Dep't of Justice, 
Report of the Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Native 
Children Exposed to Violence: Ending Violence So Children Can Thrive 53 
(November 2014).
    \3\ Indian Law and Order Commission, A Roadmap for Making Native 
America Safer: Report to the President & Congress of the United States 
83 (2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Further, the Civil Rights Commission continued reporting on this 
topic with A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian 
Country in 2003 and Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding 
Shortfall for Native Americans in 2018. Broken Promises found that 
``Federal funding for Native American programs across the government 
remains grossly inadequate to meet the most basic needs the Federal 
Government is obligated to provide . . . Since 2003, funding for Native 
American programs has mostly remained flat, and in the few cases where 
there have been increases, they have barely kept up with inflation or 
have actually resulted in decreased spending power.'' \4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ United States Commission on Civil Rights, Broken Promises: 
Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, 4 (December 
2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, in 2020, the BIA submitted a report to Congress, Report to 
the Congress on Spending, Staffing, and Estimated Funding Costs for 
Public Safety and Justice Programs in Indian Country, 2018. The total 
annual estimated need for Tribal public safety and justice programs 
included $1.3 billion for Tribal law enforcement and $1.2 billion for 
Tribal courts. According to the same report, BIA funding only meets 
14.7 percent of estimated need. Leaving Tribes to fight for short-term 
funds via competitive grant processes, many administered by the DOJ.
    DOJ funding across programs affecting Indian country should be 
dramatically increased and the distribution mechanism modified. As 
nations, Tribes should not have to compete for short-term grants that 
reflect Federal priorities. Rather, funds should be allocated as 
flexible base funding.
    Create a 10 percent Tribal allocation across all Office of Justice 
Programs (OJP) programs.--A 10 percent OJP Tribal set-aside would 
simplify the Federal funding process by which Tribal nations receive 
resources to establish Tribal courts; assist in developing detention 
facilities; provide legal assistance; develop and maintain juvenile 
delinquency prevention programs; and provide substance abuse prevention 
programs. Further, the Tribal set-aside provides Tribes the flexibility 
to develop a comprehensive strategy on public safety and justice needs. 
It also would create new opportunities for coordinating BIA and DOJ 
funding to reduce inefficiencies and unnecessary administrative costs.
    Include Tribal governments in disbursements from the Crime Victims 
Fund.--The Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is the Federal Government's primary 
funding source for providing services to victims of crime. Unlike State 
and territorial governments, which receive an annual formula 
distribution from the CVF, Indian Tribes were only able to access CVF 
funds via pass-through grants at the discretion of the States or by 
competing for very limited resources administered by the DOJ. This 
system left a significant unmet need in most Tribal communities-
communities where crime victimization rates far exceed the National 
average.
    For the past 4 years, Congress has directed a portion of the 
overall disbursements from the CVF to Tribal nations. The 5 percent 
Tribal set-aside included in the fiscal year 2021 appropriations bill 
will direct $100.75 million to support and improve crime victim 
services on Tribal lands. This funding greatly impacts crime victims' 
services infrastructure on Tribal lands, and it is imperative that it 
be appropriated on an annual basis to sustain the programs and services 
that will be developed. TLPI urges the committee to keep disbursements 
from the CVF at the increased level and to direct an amount equal to 5 
percent of overall CVF disbursements to Tribal governments on a non-
competitive basis.
    If Congress declines to adopt the flexible 10 percent set-aside 
across OJP programs, restore fiscal year 2010 levels of $25 million in 
funding for the Tribal Youth Program (TYP) under the Juvenile 
Accountability Block Grants Program.--Native youth living in Indian 
country face numerous overlapping barriers to safety, wellness, 
academic achievement, and positive youth development. Barriers occur at 
the individual, family, community, and regional levels, resulting in 
disproportionate involvement with juvenile justice, child welfare, and 
other youth-serving systems. Today's Native youth continue to face the 
effects of collective intergenerational and historical traumas.
    TYP is the first OJJDP program dedicated to prevention, 
intervention, and juvenile justice system improvement in Native 
communities. The need for the program can be demonstrated by the 
application rates within the last 5 years. For the majority of those 
years, the DOJ Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitations, Purpose 
Area 9 (TYP) received some of the highest number of grant applicants 
and categorically received the least amount of funding. Further 
exacerbating the issue, TYP is currently funded at some of its lowest 
levels since its establishment in the 1990s. This is despite an 
increase in funding in fiscal year 2021, the first increase in 3 years. 
Due to this decreased funding, hundreds of Tribes across the United 
States are left grappling with how to ensure that their most cherished 
resource is provided equal opportunity as other youth in this country 
to heal, thrive, and realize their life potential. Funding for the TYP 
should, at minimum, be restored to its fiscal year 2010 level of $25 
million.
    Fund the Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance, Training and 
Technical Assistance (TCCLA) grant program at a level of $3 million.--
The Indian Tribal Justice Technical and Legal Assistance Act of 2000 
(Public Law 106-559) authorized DOJ to award grants to non-profit 
entities, such as the 25 Indian Legal Services programs connected with 
the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), to provide civil and criminal 
legal assistance to both Tribal governments and their justice systems 
and to individual indigent Tribal citizens. Services impacted by this 
funding include domestic violence, pro se assistance, re-entry and 
expungements, child welfare, free legal clinics and toll-free hotlines, 
and much more.
    Increase funding of Tribal law enforcement programs under DOJ's 
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Grants to $52 million.--
Since its inception, the COPS Office has awarded more than 2,000 grants 
totaling over $400 million to Tribes to hire more than 1,700 new or 
redeployed law enforcement officers. It has helped Tribes obtain 
necessary law enforcement training, equipment, vehicles, and 
technology. The COPS Office has also become one of the primary 
resources available to Tribal law enforcement agencies attempting to 
develop and maintain policing infrastructure and upgrade outdated 
equipment. Yet, there is still substantial unmet need within Tribal 
justice systems for more COPS funding.
    Fully fund the programs authorized in the Violence Against Women 
Act (VAWA), including the funds authorized for the Sexual Assault 
Clearinghouse and Tribal implementation of VAWA special domestic 
violence criminal jurisdiction.--It is estimated over 85 percent of 
American Indian and Alaska Native women will experience violent 
victimization in their lifetimes.\5\ OVW provides funding to Tribal 
governments to address violence against women in their communities. 
OVW's largest source of funding for Tribal governments is the Grants to 
Tribal Governments Program, which is funded via statutory allocations 
from other OVW programs. Fully-funding these OVW programs results in 
full funding for the Grants to Tribal Governments Program and for the 
implementation of Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ U.S. Department of Justice, Violence Against American Indian 
and Alaska Native Women and Men: 2010 Findings from the National 
Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey 2 (2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               conclusion
    Thank you for your consideration of this testimony.

    [This statement was submitted by Gerald Gardner, Executive 
Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
 Prepared Statement of the United States Section of the Pacific Salmon 
                               Commission
   fiscal year 2022 budget for the national marine fisheries service
    Mr. Chairman, and Honorable Members of the Committee, I am W. Ron 
Allen, the Tribal Commissioner and Chair for the U.S. Section Budget 
Committee of the Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC). I am also the Tribal 
Chairman/CEO of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe located on the Olympic 
Peninsula of Washington State. The U.S. Section prepares annual budgets 
for the implementation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. The implementation 
of the Treaty is funded through the Departments of Commerce, Interior 
and State.

          Department of Commerce funding in support of implementing the 
        Pacific Salmon Treaty is part of the Salmon Management 
        Activities account in the National Marine Fisheries Service 
        (NMFS) budget. The United States and Canada completed 
        negotiations of revised Annex Chapters to the Treaty in 2019. 
        Funding in the Department of Commerce budget intended for the 
        programs to fulfill national commitments created by the revised 
        Treaty Annex Chapters was $39,500,000 in the fiscal year 2021 
        budget. The U.S. Section recommends fiscal year 2022 funding of 
        $43,500,000 to implement national commitments created by the 
        Treaty. This represents a $4,000,000 increase from fiscal year 
        2021 funding levels.

    The Department of Commerce principally funds programs conducted by 
the States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska and the NMFS. 
However, the cost of programs conducted by the States to fulfill 
national commitments created by the Treaty continue to be substantially 
greater than the funding provided in the NMFS budget. Consequently, the 
States have supplemented the Federal Treaty appropriations from other 
sources, including State general funds. Many of those funding sources 
are limited or no longer available and this has been exacerbated by the 
ongoing global pandemic.
    The $20,000,000 increase in the fiscal year 2020 budget and the 
$5,000,000 in the fiscal year 2021 budget were greatly appreciated, 
however it falls short of what the U.S. Section estimates is needed to 
fully implement the revised Annex Chapters to the Pacific Salmon 
Treaty.
    The U.S. Section recommends that the Pacific Salmon Treaty line 
item in the Salmon Management Activities section of the NMFS budget be 
funded at $43,500,000 for fiscal year 2022. This line item includes 
$14,730,000 to provide base support for the States of Alaska, 
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. NMFS activities to implement the 
Treaty's conservation and allocation provisions for Coho, Sockeye, 
Chinook, Chum, and Pink salmon fisheries is funded through overhead 
fees. Effective, science-based implementation of negotiated salmon 
fishing arrangements and abundance-based management approaches for 
Chinook, southern Coho, and Northern Boundary and Transboundary River 
salmon fisheries.
    The U.S. Section recommends annual operational costs of $13,460,000 
for hatchery conservation programs and habitat restoration for Puget 
Sound critical stocks, $3,910,000 for Southeast Alaska Chinook Salmon 
mitigation, and $5,540,000 to increase prey availability for Southern 
Resident Killer Whales. The recommended funding also includes 
$5,850,000 for sound science initiatives to fill key science gaps and 
improve fishery management effectiveness. The recommended funding also 
helps meet requirements of the biological opinion for species listed as 
endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
    The U.S. Section recommends restoring the funding for the Chinook 
Salmon Agreement line item in Salmon Management Activities to 
$1,800,000. This funding supports research and stock assessments 
necessary to acquire and analyze the technical information needed to 
fully implement the abundance-based Chinook salmon management program 
provided for by the Treaty. The States of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, 
and Idaho, and the 25 Treaty Tribes conduct projects selected in a 
rigorous competitive process.
    The International Fisheries Commissions line, under Regional 
Councils and Fisheries Commissions in the NMFS budget was funded at 
$457,000 in fiscal year 2021 and provides the U.S. contribution to 
bilateral cooperative salmon enhancement on the transboundary river 
systems, which originate in Canada and flow to the sea through 
Southeast Alaska. This project was established in 1988 to meet U.S. 
obligations specified in the Treaty and annual funding should continue 
at about $463,000 annually.
    The core Treaty implementation projects included in the Pacific 
Salmon Treaty line, and the U.S. Chinook Agreement line under Salmon 
Management Activities, as well as the International Fisheries 
Commission line under Regional Councils and Fisheries Commissions 
consist of a wide range of stock assessment, fishery monitoring, and 
technical support activities for all five species of Pacific salmon in 
the fisheries and rivers between Cape Suckling in Alaska to Cape Falcon 
in Oregon. The States of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and the 
NMFS conduct a wide range of programs for salmon stock abundance 
assessment, escapement enumeration, stock distribution, and fishery 
catch and effort information. The information is used to establish 
fishing seasons, harvest levels, and accountability to the provisions 
of Treaty fishing regimes.
    Prior to fiscal year 2020, the base annual Treaty implementation 
funding remained essentially flat since the inception of the Treaty in 
1985. In order to continue to fulfill the Federal commitments created 
by the Treaty, as costs and complexity increased over time, the States 
had to augment Federal funding with other Federal and State resources. 
However, alternative sources of funding have seen reductions or, in 
some cases, have been eliminated. The increases of $20,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2020 and $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 to implement the 
revised Annex Chapters were a welcome change.
    Negotiations to revise the provisions of the Annex Chapters to the 
Treaty, except for the Fraser River Chapter, were successfully 
completed in 2018. The revised provisions will last for 10 years. These 
chapters contain the specifics for implementing the Treaty for each 
species in each geographic area. The provisions for a revised Fraser 
River Chapter were completed in 2019. The revised chapters represent 
the combined efforts of the participants to ensure healthy salmon 
populations for the next 10 years. They also require commitments to 
increase efforts to improve upon current management strategies for 
numerous salmon populations.
    Finally, you should consider the fact that the value of the 
commercial harvest of salmon subject to the Treaty and managed at 
productive levels under the Treaty, supports the infrastructure of many 
coastal and inland communities. The value of the commercial and 
recreational fisheries, and the economic diversity they provide for 
local communities throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, is 
immense. The Pacific Salmon Commission recently funded an economic 
study of these fisheries and determined that this resource creates 
thousands of jobs and is a multi-billion dollar industry. The value of 
these fish to the 25 Treaty Tribes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and 
Alaska goes far beyond their monetary value, to the cultural and 
religious lives of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples. A 
significant monetary investment is focused on salmon due to the 
listings of Pacific Northwest salmon populations under the Endangered 
Species Act.
    Given these resources, the U.S. Section will continue to utilize 
the Pacific Salmon Commission process to develop recommendations that 
help with the development and implementation of solutions to minimizing 
impacts on listed stocks. We will continue to work towards the true 
intent of the Treaty, and with your support, we will manage this shared 
resource for mutual enhancements and benefits.
    This concludes the statement of the U.S. Section of the Pacific 
Salmon Commission submitted for consideration by your Committee. We 
wish to thank the Committee for the support given to us in the past. 
Please let us know if we can supply additional information or respond 
to any questions the Committee Members may have.
    Thank you.

    [This statement was submitted by W. Ron Allen, Chair.]
                                 ______
                                 
        Prepared Statement of the Western Governors' Association
    Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the 
subcommittee, the Western Governors' Association (WGA) appreciates the 
opportunity to provide testimony on two items within the jurisdiction 
of the subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related 
Agencies, both of which relate to the U.S. Department of Commerce. WGA 
is an independent organization representing the Governors of the 22 
westernmost States and territories. The Association is an instrument of 
the Governors for bipartisan policy development, information-sharing 
and collective action on issues of critical importance to the western 
United States.
    Western Governors support adequate and dedicated funding for the 
National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) program under 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). WGA is 
well-acquainted with the significant environmental, economic, and 
social effects of drought on the West and its communities. Drought 
contributes to the incidence of forest and rangeland wildfire, impairs 
ecosystems and wildlife habitat, degrades agricultural productivity, 
and poses threats to municipal and industrial water supplies. A growing 
population's dependence on limited water resources creates challenges 
for water management across the West, from the Great Plains to the 
Intermountain West to the coastal, estuarine and marine environments of 
the Pacific States and islands. Planning for an adequate, reliable and 
clean water supply requires accurate and complete water and weather 
information.
    NIDIS promotes a coordinated and integrated approach to managing 
future drought. This approach involves improved forecasting and 
monitoring to provide the kind of authoritative, objective and timely 
drought information that farmers, water managers, decision-makers, and 
local governments require for effective drought preparation and 
response. Through NIDIS, NOAA is building a network of early warning 
systems for drought while working with local resource managers to 
identify and address unique regional drought information needs.
    Western Governors value the approach used to build and improve 
NIDIS. Rather than creating a new NIDIS bureaucracy, the system draws 
from existing capacity in States, universities and multiple Federal 
agencies, as called for in the original authorizing legislation. Given 
our shared fiscal challenges, WGA regards this as a model for Federal-
State collaboration in shared information services.
    Water users throughout the West--including farmers, ranchers, 
Tribes, land managers, business owners, recreationalists, wildlife 
managers, and decision-makers at all levels of government--must be able 
to assess the risks of drought before its onset to make informed 
decisions and implement effective mitigation measures. For these 
reasons, Western Governors request continued support and adequate 
funding for the National Weather Service River Forecast Centers and 
Weather Forecast Offices and the NIDIS program, which perform a 
valuable role in western water management and drought response.
    Many western communities, especially Tribal communities, lack 
access to broadband internet due to the high cost of infrastructure and 
the economic realities of serving low customer densities in potential 
service areas. This has left many rural businesses at a competitive 
disadvantage and citizens without access to telework, telemedicine and 
distance learning opportunities. Consequently, Western Governors 
support opportunities to improve connectivity on rural and Tribal lands 
and efforts to leverage State expertise through State block grants. The 
Governors appreciate the increased funding allocated to Tribal and 
State projects within the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration (NTIA) last fiscal year, including funding to mitigate 
the effects of COVID-19 and the new Tribal Broadband Connectivity 
Program. The Governors look forward to engaging with NTIA on this 
funding and stand ready to implement projects for the benefit of rural 
and Tribal communities,
    Deployment of broadband infrastructure to these underserved and 
unserved communities requires an accurate picture of nationwide 
broadband availability. Western Governors applaud recent efforts to 
address the accuracy of broadband data coverage measurements through 
the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Broadband Data Task Force 
and the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability 
Act, known as the Broadband DATA Act, and support continued investment 
in these efforts. WGA also encourages coordination of data collection 
strategies among the Federal Communications Commission, U.S. Department 
of Agriculture and other agencies involved in broadband mapping and 
deployment.
    Western Governors recognize the enormous challenge you have in 
balancing competing funding priorities, and we appreciate the 
difficulty of the decisions the subcommittee must make. These 
recommendations are offered in a spirit of cooperation and respect, and 
WGA is prepared to assist you as the subcommittee discharges its 
critical and challenging responsibilities.

    [This statement was submitted by James D. Ogsbury, Executive 
Director.]
                                 ______
                                 
         Prepared Statement of the Western States Water Council
         noaa/nws u.s. weather research program appropriations
    On behalf of the Western States Water Council (WSWC), a government 
entity advising the governors of 18 States, we wish to express our 
strong support for a $15 million increase in the U.S. Weather Research 
Program line item within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration's (NOAA) Fiscal Year 2022 appropriation for the National 
Weather Service (NWS), Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) 
account.
    The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (Public 
Law 115-25), reauthorized in 2019 along with the National Integrated 
Drought Information System (NIDIS), directed NOAA to ``collect and 
utilize information in order to make usable, reliable, and timely 
foundational forecasts of subseasonal and seasonal [S2S] temperature 
and precipitation.'' The statute further required submission of a 
report to Congress that described ``specific plans and goals for the 
continued development of the subseasonal and seasonal forecasts'' and 
``an identification of research, monitoring, observing, and forecasting 
requirements'' needed to meet the statutory goals.
    In 2020, the NWS submitted to Congress the report, Subseasonal and 
Seasonal Forecasting Innovation: Plans for the Twenty-First Century. 
The report outlines current uses of NOAA S2S products and services, and 
how NOAA plans to improve the usability and transference of data, 
information, and forecasts. Developed with input from Federal, 
regional, State, Tribal, and local government agencies, research 
institutions, and the private sector, the report outlines innovations 
needed to achieve two goals for improving products and services: (1) 
improving the skill of foundational tools in order to improve the skill 
of the official S2S forecasts; and (2) enhancing the value of S2S 
products for stakeholders.
    The report recommended a number of pilot projects, including one 
for improving forecasts of winter precipitation (which provides the 
snowpack sustaining water supplies in mountain areas) in the West, and 
one for spring/summer precipitation forecasts for agricultural water 
supply in the Plains States. Another was recommended for Artic sea ice 
and one for tropical cyclones.
    The WSWC urges the subcommittee to provide resources to start the 
western pilot project to improve S2S precipitation forecasting to 
support water management. In fiscal year 2021 NOAA's Weather Research 
Program line item was budgeted at $26.5 million. The fiscal year 2022 
President's budget request is $26.7M. A $15 million investment in S2S 
pilot projects would be on par with NOAA's successful Hurricane 
Forecast Improvement Project (HFIP).
    Much of the West is currently experiencing unprecedented drought 
conditions. Currently, nearly all of our 18 member States are suffering 
from severe to exceptional drought, with half afflicted by the latter, 
the driest condition represented on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale 
(www.drought.gov). Agricultural interests are hit hardest as crops, 
feed, and forage deteriorate and rise in cost, threatening farmers, 
ranchers, and dairies. In some cases, producers are culling herds. 
Municipal water shortages are also possible, particularly for rural 
communities. Dry, hot, and windy weather combined with dried out 
vegetation has wildfires on the rise.
    The scientific insights, data, and tools that the S2S pilot 
projects promise would help agricultural, rural, and urban water and 
land managers make better decisions. Better forecasts will provide 
private and public decisionmakers with longer lead times than are 
currently feasible to implement mitigation policies and programs. This 
would help to protect surface and ground-water supplies and provide 
greater certainty to farmers and ranchers who must make important crop, 
livestock, and conservation decisions now without reliable extended 
precipitation forecasts.
    Current skill in S2S precipitation forecasting is not adequate to 
support water management decision-making, and a priority need to be 
placed on improving S2S forecasting capabilities. Water is the life-
blood of the West, which experiences far greater variability in annual 
precipitation than does the eastern half of the country. Managing water 
in the West is about managing for the extremes of droughts and floods, 
and the need to store water when available to manage it during drier 
times for cities, farms, energy, and the environment. Better longer-
term precipitation forecasts are a necessary tool for more efficient 
water resource management. Will this summer (or next winter) be wet or 
dry? This is a critical question asked every year by State, local, 
Federal, and Tribal water managers, as well as by cities, farmers, and 
hydroelectric powerplant operators.
    Although the skill of conventional short-term weather forecasts 
(which go out as far as two weeks) has improved over the past several 
decades, the same cannot be said for the critical longer-term forecasts 
important for water management. These longer S2S forecasts span time 
periods of several weeks out to one or 2 years. The NWS's Climate 
Prediction Center (CPC) has minimal skill when producing available S2S 
forecasts.
    As documented by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental 
Information, disasters at both wet and dry extremes of the hydrologic 
cycle are responsible for billions of dollars in losses. With better 
S2S forecasts, water managers can better prepare for and respond to 
drought and flooding, reducing loss of lives and property, as well as 
economic and environmental losses. Similarly, decision makers in 
agriculture, fisheries, hydroelectric power generation, and emergency 
management sectors share a common interest in more skillful and useful 
forecasts.
    Lead time is critical in making water management decisions. Longer 
lead times are especially useful in planning and managing for the 
extremes of droughts and floods. Skillful S2S forecasts would inform 
and allow for more efficient operation of dams and reservoirs, 
balancing competing objectives of flood control and water storage. 
Absent good predictive capability, weeks ahead, reservoir operators 
must manage risk as conservatively as possible to ensure that space 
will be available to hold winter-spring runoff and manage floods. 
Better forecasts would allow operators to store more water for use 
during drought, while still providing flood protection--the equivalent 
of developing new water supplies at minimal cost. There are 
opportunities for improving S2S forecasting, but historically there has 
been a S2S research investment gap between conventional numerical 
weather modeling and century-scale climate modeling. Significant 
scientific progress has been achieved at the weather and century-scale 
ends of this spectrum, thanks to ongoing Federal investments, but much 
remains to be done at the S2S scale.
    According to the American Meteorological Society, the skill of 5- 
to 6-day NWS temperature forecasts in 2012 is equivalent to that of 3- 
to 4-day forecasts in 1992. Also, substantial Federal support from 1990 
onwards for the U.S. Global Change Research Program resulted in major 
progress in developing increasingly complex climate models. However, 
similar progress and investment have not occurred at the S2S time scale 
so important for western water management. Improving S2S precipitation 
forecasting is a scientifically challenging subject that will require a 
commitment of dedicated, sustained funding. There is no silver bullet 
for S2S forecasting improvement, but the necessary ingredients for 
making progress include investment in all aspects of the subject (human 
resources, high-performance computing, observing systems, and 
transition of research innovations to operations). Well-defined metrics 
and timelines for evaluating success, with a strong project management 
focused on outcomes, are needed.
    Regional pilot projects in areas where NOAA's current predictive 
skill is minimal are key to accelerating advancement of forecasting 
skill. Pilots provide opportunities to test tools such as statistical 
models or hybrid statistical-dynamical tools that can enhance 
information provided by NOAA's dynamical models.
    The international Colorado River Basin has experienced prolonged 
drought conditions, for over 20 years, resulting in declining reservoir 
elevations in Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Water agencies in the seven 
Colorado River Basin States have been taking unprecedented steps to 
manage the risk of shortage, including executing historic drought 
contingency plans with the Department of the Interior in 2019. Drought 
risk management programs in the contingency plans cost money and/or 
water. Skillful seasonal precipitation forecasts would help support 
decisions to balance costs against risks of shortage.
    In 2015 NOAA released its first-ever service assessment for 
drought, for the California drought which had then completed its third 
year. NOAA assessments evaluate its performance after significant 
hydrometeorological, oceanographic, or geologic events. The assessments 
are triggered by factors such as major economic impacts to a large area 
or population, or extensive national public interest impacts. 
Assessments evaluate the effectiveness of products and services made 
available to stakeholders, to help NOAA continuously improve the 
services it provides. The drought assessment's top finding given the 
input received from numerous stakeholders emphasized the need for an 
improved seasonal prediction capability focused on cool-season mountain 
precipitation, both in California and in the Colorado River Basin. ``A 
majority of the stakeholders interviewed for this assessment noted one 
of the best services NOAA could provide is improved seasonal 
predictions with increased confidence and better interpretation.''
    NOAA's CPC seasonal precipitation products are national in scale 
and are not designed to provide regional forecast information--
information which is most relevant to decision makers. For instance, 
State and Federal officials managing California's water supply have a 
major unmet need for skillful predictions targeted at cool-season 
snowpack for the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
    Improving the skill of S2S precipitation forecasting to make it 
usable for water resources management is scientifically challenging. In 
2016, the National Academy of Sciences released a report on a national 
research agenda for improving S2S forecasting. The report provided a 
vision for S2S forecasts that could be as widely used in the next 
decade as conventional weather forecasts are today. It identified key 
strategies and made 16 specific recommendations for a research agenda. 
It noted, ``More skillful and useful S2S forecasts--developed through 
sustained engagement with users and advances in basic knowledge and 
technological capabilities--could radically improve the basis for 
decision making on S2S timescales. There are also emerging science and 
technical capabilities that make rapid advances in S2S forecasts more 
likely than envisioned even 5 years ago.''
    Preliminary experimental work being performed by NOAA's Earth 
Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL) under a contract with the California 
Department of Water Resources developed a preliminary statistical model 
for S2S precipitation using sea surface temperatures and sea level 
pressure. This work demonstrates a potential opportunity for improving 
S2S forecasting precipitation through NOAA investment in statistical 
modeling.
    NOAA outlooks now rely heavily on the El Nino-Southern Oscillation 
(ENSO) as a source of predictability. NOAA's early winter forecast in 
2014 called for a weak to moderate El Nino with above-normal 
precipitation for California. ENSO conditions were neutral and 
California had one of its driest years on record. In 2015, NOAA 
correctly predicted the onset of very strong El Nino conditions, but 
the expectation of a wet Southern California and dry Pacific Northwest 
was met with continued drought in Southern California and flooding in 
the Pacific Northwest, illustrating how much work remains to be done to 
improve seasonal forecasting.
    NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) tracks 
U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (https://
www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions). The 2012 drought was the most extensive 
drought to affect the U.S. since the 1930s, with moderate to extreme 
drought conditions affecting more than half the country. Estimated 
losses totaled $34.8 billion. Drought in the West and Plains States in 
2013 caused an estimated $11.7 billion in losses. In 2014 California 
suffered its worst drought of record, and together with other States, 
losses were estimated at $4.4 billion. The western drought of 2015 cost 
$5 billion and in 2016 a Southeast and Northeast drought cost $3.8 
billion. Similarly, drought costs across the Nation have been estimated 
at $2.7 billion in 2017, $3.1 billion in 2018, and $4.5 billion in 
2020. These numbers don't include related wildfire losses, or losses 
due to floods. This year the West is experiencing another drought, the 
costs of which will be significant.
    Better S2S forecasts would help inform decision-making and help 
mitigate such losses. This $15 million request for a pilot project to 
accelerate research and improve S2S predictive capabilities is a small 
investment, compared to the potential savings nationwide.
                                 ______
                                 
         Prepared Statement of the Western States Water Council
             nasa's applied earth science research programs
    The Western States Water Council (WSWC) is a policy advisory body 
representing 18 States. Members are appointed by their respective 
governors. Since 1965, the WSWC has long been involved in western water 
conservation, development, protection, and management issues, as well 
as promoting development and advancement of earth science, particularly 
water-related data acquisition, management and dissemination.
    The WSWC championed the placement of a thermal infrared (TIR) 
imager on Landsat 8 and the expedited construction and launch of 
Landsat 9 with TIR capabilities. We strongly support innovation to 
provide similar next generation National Land Imaging Program data--
including thermal imaging capabilities--while exploring the potential 
for medium and longer-term advances in technology, design and future 
capabilities to meet existing and future uses. Landsat TIR data is used 
extensively by western States and others to measure and monitor 
agricultural and other outdoor water uses and needs. It is increasingly 
important for present and future management of our scarce water 
resources and is an excellent example of the application of basic 
science pioneered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
(NASA).
    In the West, the agricultural and water communities have benefited 
tremendously from the use of moderate resolution thermal satellite data 
to map out, measure and monitor consumptive water use. Agriculture is 
by far the largest consumer of water in the West, and better managing 
that use is an essential component of both water and food security, as 
well as sustainable economic development and environmental protection. 
Increasing demands for water related to growth and changing values are 
leading to more and more transfers of water from agriculture to other 
uses, with resulting challenges in maintaining viable rural 
agricultural communities. Many western States are using Landsat thermal 
data to protect water rights and manage water use.
    NASA has identified the ``water and energy cycle'' and ``water 
resources'' as topics to support in the agency's research and 
applications programs respectively. The Council strongly supports and 
works cooperatively to advance linkages between NASA's capabilities and 
water managers' needs, working with NASA/JPL's Western Water 
Applications Office (WWAO). WWAO's mission is to ``connect the drops'' 
and improve how water is managed in the arid western U.S. by getting 
NASA science, data and technology into the hands of water managers and 
decision makers. Connection, data and innovation are at the heart of 
WWAO.
    The Council urges the Congress to appropriate sufficient funds to 
support and enhance WWAO's and NASA's focus on research for water 
resources applications, as well as to promote long-term engagement with 
State and regional agencies in the western United States responsible 
for water management and water policy--so as to maximize benefits to 
the public from NASA's existing and future investments in Earth 
observations, Earth system models and systems engineering.
    The WSWC also calls on the Congress to plan for and provide 
resources for long-term continuity of observations and the transition 
from research to operations (R2O), such as the use of Landsat TIR 
sensor data. The Open Evapotranspiration (OpenET) software system and 
data platform is another example of the use of NASA TIRs data through 
an operational use partnership (https://openetdata.org/). OpenET is a 
collaboration involving scientists from Federal agencies and academic 
institutions using satellite and weather data to map consumptive water 
use/evapotranspiration (ET) at the individual field scale. 
Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is another tool that 
NASA has used to measure land subsidence due to groundwater extraction, 
and its use has been demonstrated as part of NASA's Airborne Snow 
Observatory (ASO) for estimating snowpack conditions. Additional 
airborne and spaceborne remote sensing research and observations have 
the potential to provide information on varied temporal and spatial 
scales that could with sustained engagement focus on the R2O transition 
and ultimately be useful for water resources planning, management and 
decision-making.
    NASA's work with the California Department of Water Resources on 
applications for use of remote sensing information has demonstrated 
that the potential exists for repurposing data collected from certain 
present NASA missions for water management applications, and that 
additional potential exists for research applications with sensors 
planned in future Decadal Survey missions such as the NASA-ISRO 
Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), which is designed to observe and take 
measurements of the planet's crust and disturbances, including 
subsidence due to groundwater pumping. The successful transfer of 
technology from the research domain to the applications domain is 
dependent, in part, on continuing communication between researchers and 
those responsible for resource management and policy decisions and a 
long-term commitment to maintaining such communication.
    Much of the West is currently experiencing unprecedented drought 
conditions. Currently, nearly all of our 18 member States are suffering 
from severe to exceptional drought, with half afflicted by the latter, 
the driest condition represented on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale 
(www.drought.gov). Agricultural interests are hit hardest as crops, 
feed, and forage deteriorate and rise in cost, threatening farmers, 
ranchers, and dairies. In some cases, producers are culling herds. 
Municipal water shortages are also possible, particularly for rural 
communities. Dry, hot, and windy weather combined with dried out 
vegetation has wildfires on the rise. Western States are using NASA 
tools to monitor drought-related impacts and consumptive water uses and 
needs.
    Thank you for the opportunity to express our support for various 
NASA programs and missions the application of which support western 
water management.
                                 ______
                                 
        Prepared Statement of the Wildlife Conservation Society
 funding for the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa)
    The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) would like to thank Chair 
Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and the Members of the subcommittee for 
providing this opportunity to submit testimony in support of funding in 
the fiscal year 2022 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration's (NOAA) National Marine Sanctuaries Program, the 
National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources funding 
for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale and for 
Regional Ocean Data Portals within the Coastal Zone Management Grants 
and Services funding line.
    WCS was founded with the help of Theodore Roosevelt in 1895 with 
the mission of saving wildlife and wild places worldwide. Today, WCS 
manages the largest network of urban wildlife parks in the United 
States. Visited by 4 million people annually, the network includes our 
flagship, the Bronx Zoo, as well as the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn. 
Globally, our goal is to conserve the world's most important wild 
places, focusing on 14 priority regions that are home to more than 50 
percent of the world's biodiversity. We have offices and field programs 
in more than 60 countries and with our partners manage more than 200 
million acres of protected areas around the world, employing more than 
4,000 staff including about 200 Ph.D. scientists and 100 veterinarians. 
Working in all the world's oceans, WCS combines its expertise in the 
field, aquarium and zoos to achieve its conservation mission both in 
New York and around the world. In our view, the largest threats facing 
marine wildlife and habitats require innovative, science-based 
solutions that balance conservation and sustainable use of the ocean.
    The future of our ocean and coastal resources--and our National 
well-being--depends on a strong NOAA. For these reasons, we support 
robust investment in the Federal Government's premier ocean science, 
conservation and management agency. We ask that the subcommittee 
Members use this additional investment in NOAA in the fiscal year 2022 
Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriations bill to 
increase investments in the National Marine Sanctuaries Program, North 
Atlantic right whale conservation and regional ocean data portals.

    NOAA--National Marine Sanctuaries Program--$84.503 Million: The 
National Marine Sanctuary System is our essential network of protected 
waters held in trust for all Americans. Marine sanctuaries and 
monuments are home to millions of species, preserve our Nation's 
maritime heritage, and promote access for exploration and world-class 
outdoor recreation. The conservation and sustainable use of marine 
ecosystems and biodiversity are vital to maintaining a healthy ocean 
and Great Lakes, addressing the climate crisis, and underpinning 
productive coastal economies.
    The United States is an ocean nation containing 3.4 million square 
nautical miles of ocean-larger than the combined land area of all 50 
States. The National Marine Sanctuary Program serves as trustee for 14 
ecologically and culturally significant ocean and Great Lakes sites. 
The system works with diverse partners and stakeholders to promote 
responsible, sustainable ocean uses that ensure the health of our most 
valued ocean places. A healthy ocean is the basis for thriving 
recreation, tourism and commercial activities that drive coastal 
economies. The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries also leads the 
National Marine Protected Areas Center, the Nation's hub for building 
innovative partnerships and tools to protect our special ocean.
    WCS strongly supports the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment 
to 30x30 goals--conserving at least 30 percent of the world's lands and 
oceans by 2030 (30x30). U.S. implementation of 30x30 provides a 
critical foundation for global success on biodiversity conservation, 
mitigating and adapting to climate change through natural climate 
solutions, and preventing zoonotic spillover that causes pandemics such 
as COVID-19. It provides an opportunity for improved inter-agency 
coordination, as well as alignment, and synergy among existing and new 
laws, regulations, and mechanisms to enhance habitat protection. 30x30 
can also provide a pathway to reconciliation of the issues of equity 
and justice that underlie conservation in this country by honoring and 
elevating the role of Indigenous Nations in any 30x30 strategy.
    Although there are places that merit all protections that U.S. law 
can provide, working lands and busy waters also play a critical role in 
meeting the Nation's 30x30 goals. As such, the National Marine 
Sanctuaries Program which balances conservation and sustainable use 
must be an integral part of the U.S. response. The program needs 
additional resources to support existing Sanctuaries as well as to 
initiate the public-facing, stakeholder-driven process to designate new 
Sanctuaries in areas that NOAA has determined are worthy of 
designation. While there is no Sanctuary in the New York Bight, WCS 
nominated Hudson Canyon as a National Marine Sanctuary in 2016. Located 
just 100 miles from the Statue of Liberty, NOAA determined it is a site 
of ecological and economic importance and placed the nomination in its 
inventory of successful nominations. WCS's nomination recommended a 
Hudson Sanctuary designation would supplement and complement existing 
regulations by ensuring that oil, gas and mineral exploration and 
extraction be permanently precluded from a Hudson Sanctuary and that 
the existing authorities (e.g. Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 
the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and NOAA's Highly 
Migratory Species Division) continue to regulate fisheries when a 
Sanctuary is designated. With increased resources from Congress, WCS 
looks forward to NOAA initiating the public-facing, stakeholder driven 
designation process for Hudson Canyon.
    For these reasons, WCS supports the Biden-Harris Administration's 
recommended investment of $85.503m for the fiscal year 2022 Sanctuaries 
and Marine Protected Areas ORF as detailed in the President's Budget 
Request and Congressional Justification.

    NOAA--Office of Protected Species, funding for North Atlantic Right 
Whale conservation within Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles, and Others 
Species, $20 Million: NOAA's Office of Protected Species is responsible 
for the conservation, protection and recovery of more than 150 
endangered and threatened marine species under the Endangered Species, 
including the North Atlantic right whale. The Office is also 
responsible for the management and protection of all whales, dolphins, 
porpoises, seals, and sea lions under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
    Fewer than 360 North Atlantic right whales remain on Earth, with as 
few as 90 breeding-aged females. While the 17 newborn calves sighted 
this winter offer an emblem of hope, right whale deaths still outnumber 
births by a margin of three to two. We are facing an emergency 
situation: this species cannot recover without a significant reduction 
to the high level of mortality they are currently experiencing, 
including from ship strikes in high trafficked areas such as New York 
and New Jersey waters. Scientists from the Wildlife Conservation 
Society, in collaboration with partners that include the Woods Hole 
Oceanographic Institution, monitor right whales and other marine 
mammals as they migrate through New York's busy waters. The New York 
Bight is used for shipping, fishing, and wind farm development, yet the 
impacts of these activities on whales is poorly understood. Eight 
million dollars out of $20 million is needed to increase investments in 
research, monitoring and management related to vessel strikes and 
fishing gear entanglements by NOAA. With this funding, managers, 
stakeholders and the public will be able to contribute to the 
conservation of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

    NOAA--Coastal Zone Management Grants and Services, Regional Data 
Portals, $10 Million: The ocean is increasingly crowded and conflicts 
arising from current and emerging offshore ocean uses present unique 
management challenges. These challenges must be addressed regionally, 
including collaboration between regions, and holistically with States, 
Tribes, fishery management councils, Federal agencies, and other ocean 
users across all sectors, including industry and conservation partners. 
Regional Ocean Partnerships (ROPs), convened by coastal State 
governors, are already structured to maximize interagency collaboration 
on cross-jurisdictional ocean and coastal matters and many have been 
efficient models for convening all ocean users.
    Ocean data portals developed by ROPs are designed to maximize 
interagency collaboration on cross-jurisdictional ocean and coastal 
matters while also providing an important tool for stakeholder 
engagement and public education. Both ROPs and the publicly accessible 
ocean data portals they manage serve a key coordinating function, 
working to enhance a common understanding among stakeholders and 
agencies about ocean resources and their use. This leads to improved 
management decisions that help cut costs, benefit our business 
ventures, boost our scientific understanding, and conserve ocean 
ecosystems. WCS relies on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the 
Ocean (MARCO) data portal to inform our conservation work. We also use 
this unique tool to inspire and educate teachers and students about 
marine conservation.
    WCS appreciates the opportunity to share its perspective and to 
make a case for increases in Federal investments in conservation in the 
fiscal year 2022 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act. As an ocean nation, Americans depend on Federal 
investment in NOAA programs that are rooted in marine science and 
stakeholder engagement. These investments will help us balance marine 
conservation and sustainable use of the ocean.
    Thank you for the opportunity to provide details on these WCS 
requests to the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies 
Appropriations subcommittee in preparation for the fiscal year 2022 
Appropriations Act. WCS marine science and policy experts are available 
to the subcommittee should there be any follow up questions.
    Contact: Noah Chesnin, Associate Director, New York Seascape 
Program, [email protected]

       LIST OF WITNESSES, COMMUNICATIONS, AND PREPARED STATEMENTS

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
American:
    Bar Association, Prepared Statement of the...................   259
    Educational Research Association, Prepared Statement of the..   260
    Geophysical Union, Prepared Statement of the.................   263
    Indian Higher Education Consortium, Prepared Statement of the   265
    Institute of Biological Sciences, Prepared Statement of the..   268
    Mathematical Society, Prepared Statement of the..............   270
    Society for:
        Engineering Education, Prepared Statement of the.........   272
        Microbiology, Prepared Statement of the..................   274
        The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Prepared Statement 
          of the.................................................   276
    Society of Plant Biologists, Prepared Statement of the.......   277
Animal Welfare Institute, Prepared Statement of the..............   280
Anti-Defamation League, Prepared Statement of the................   283
Association for Psychological Science (APS), Prepared Statement 
  of the.........................................................   286

Boozman, Senator John, U.S. Senator From Arkansas, Questions 
  Submitted by...................................................    90

Capito, Senator Shelley Moore, U.S. Senator From West Virginia, 
  Questions Submitted by 

CAST, Prepared Statement of......................................   288
Coastal States Organization, National Estuarine Research Reserve, 
  National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, IOOS Association, and Sea 
  Grant Association, Prepared Statement of the...................   290
Collins, Senator Susan M., U.S. Senator From Maine, Questions 
  Submitted by 


Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Prepared Statement 
  of the.........................................................   293
Consortium:
    For Ocean Leadership, Prepared Statement of the..............   296
    Of Social Science Associations, Prepared Statement of the....   299
Coons, Senator Christopher A., U.S. Senator From Delaware, 
  Questions Submitted by.........................................   126
Court Appointed Special Advocates/Guardian ad Litem, Prepared 
  Statement of the...............................................   302
CRS Remembered, Prepared Statement of............................   304

Daughters of Penelope, Prepared Statement of the.................   307
Demand Progress, Prepared Statement of...........................   310

Eli Parson, Graduate of the San Francisco Family Treatment Court, 
  San Francisco, California, Prepared Statement of...............   312
Entomological Society of America, Prepared Statement of the......   314

Federal Managers Association, Prepared Statement of the..........   316
Federation of:
    American Societies for Experimental Biology, Prepared 
      Statement of the...........................................   319
    Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Prepared 
      Statement of the...........................................   321
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Prepared 
  Statement of the...............................................   324
Futures Without Violence, Prepared Statement of..................   326

Garland, Hon. Merrick B., Attorney General, Department of 
  Justice:
    Prepared Statement of........................................   139
    Questions Submitted to.......................................   176
    Statement of.................................................   138
Geological Society of America, Prepared Statement of the.........   327
Graham, Senator Lindsey, U.S. Senator From South Carolina, 
  Questions Submitted by.........................................    90

Hagerty, Senator Bill, U.S. Senator From Tennessee, Questions 
  Submitted by...................................................    96
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Prepared Statement of the..   330

Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, Prepared Statement of the.............   331
Joint Ocean Commission Initiative to the U.S. Senate Committee on 
  Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and 
  Related Agencies, Prepared Statement of the....................   334

Kennedy, Senator John, U.S. Senator From Louisiana, Questions 
  Submitted by 

Leahy, Senator Patrick, U.S. Senator From Vermont, Questions 
  Submitted by 


Manchin, III, Senator Joe, U.S. Senator From West Virginia, 
  Questions Submitted by 


Merkley, Senator Jeff, U.S. Senator From Oregon, Questions 
  Submitted by 


Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California, Prepared Statement 
  of the.........................................................   338
Moran, Senator Jerry, U.S. Senator From Kansas:
    Opening Statements of 


    Questions Submitted by 


Mousseau, Cynthia, JD, Prepared Statement of.....................   304
Murkowski, Senator Lisa, U.S. Senator From Alaska, Questions 
  Submitted by 


National:
    American Indian Court Judges Association, Prepared Statement 
      of the.....................................................   340
    Association of Assistant United States Attorneys, Prepared 
      Statement of the...........................................   344
    Fire Protection Association, Prepared Statement of the.......   346
    Legal Aid & Defender Association, Prepared Statement of the..   348
Natural Science Collections Alliance, Prepared Statement of the..   351
Nature Conservancy, Prepared Statement of the....................   353
Nelson, Hon, Bill, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space 
  Administration:
    Prepared Statement of........................................   193
    Questions Submitted to.......................................   212
    Statement of.................................................   192
New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate, Prepared Statement of 
  the............................................................   356
Nonprofit:
    Civil and Human Rights Advocacy and Religious Organizations, 
      Prepared Statement of......................................   360
    Voter Assistance, Civil Rights, and Religious Organizations, 
      Prepared Statement of......................................   363
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Prepared Statement of the.   365

Ocean Conservancy, Prepared Statement of the.....................   368
OpenSecrets, Prepared Statement of...............................   370

Panchanathan, Hon. Sethuraman, Director, National Science 
  Foundation:
    Prepared Statement of........................................     7
    Questions Submitted to.......................................    33
    Statement of.................................................     5
Pew Charitable Trusts, Prepared Statement of the.................   372
Population Association of America/Association of Population 
  Centers, Prepared Statement of the.............................   372

Raimondo, Hon. Gina, Secretary, Department of Commerce:
    Prepared Statement of........................................   104
    Questions Submitted to.......................................   121
    Statement of.................................................   103
Regional Information Sharing Systems, Prepared Statement of the..   375
Research!America, Prepared Statement of..........................   378

Sac and Fox Nation, Prepared Statement of the....................   379
Schatz, Senator Brian, U.S. Senator From Hawaii, Questions 
  Submitted by...................................................   183
Sea Grant Association, Prepared Statement of the.................   382
Shaheen, Senator Jeanne, U.S. Senator From New Hampshire:
    Opening Statements of 

    Questions Submitted by 

    Statement of.................................................   100
Society for:
    Industrial and:
        Applied Mathematics (SIAM), Prepared Statement of the....   384
        Organizational Psychology, Prepared Statement of the.....   386
    Neuroscience, Prepared Statement of the......................   388

Tai, Hon. Katherine, Ambassador, U.S. Trade Representative:
    Prepared Statement of........................................    68
    Questions Submitted to.......................................    85
    Statement of.................................................    66
Tribal Law and Policy Institute, Prepared Statement of the.......   392

United States Section of the Pacific Salmon Commission, Prepared 
  Statement of the...............................................   394

Van Hollen, Senator Chris, U.S. Senator From Maryland, Questions 
  Submitted by 

Western:
    Governors' Association, Prepared Statement of the............   396
    States Water Council, Prepared Statements of the 

Wildlife Conservation Society, Prepared Statement of the.........   401
Wray, Hon. Christopher, Director, Federal Bureau of 
  Investigation:
    Prepared Statement of........................................   219
    Questions Submitted to.......................................   247
    Statement of.................................................   217

                            SUBJECT INDEX

                              ----------                              

                         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

                                                                   Page

Additional Committee Questions...................................   121
    Questions Submitted by Senators:
        Coons, Christopher A.....................................   126
        Moran, Jerry.............................................   122
        Murkowski, Lisa..........................................   126
        Shaheen, Jeanne..........................................   121
            A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2022 Funding 
              Request for the U.S. Department of Commerce........   121
        Van Hollen, Chris........................................   130
Canadian Border Closure..........................................   120
Coordination of Federal Cybersecurity Efforts....................   111
Countervailing:
    Duties on Lumber.............................................   108
    Duty/Antidumping Cases.......................................   118
Department of Commerce Digital Infrastructure....................   109
Deployment of NOAA Ships.........................................   111
EDA American Rescue Plan Funds 

Enhancing American Competitiveness...............................   114
Fisheries Monitoring Costs.......................................   120
ITMS Discussion..................................................   106
Manufacturing and Technical Education............................   118
NOAA Fisheries Surveys...........................................   115
Raimondo, Hon. Gina M., Secretary, Department of Commerce, 
  Prepared Statement of:
    Advance Economic Recovery in Underserved Communities.........   105
    Improve Weather and Climate Forecasting......................   106
    Invest in Climate Science and Research.......................   106
    Spur Research and Technological Innovation...................   105
    Strengthening American Competitiveness and Security..........   106
    Support American Manufacturing...............................   105
Return on Investment of Public Funds.............................   110
Right Whale Rulemaking...........................................   112
Seasonal Small Business Workforce................................   119
Section 232 Tariffs..............................................   117
Softwood Lumber..................................................   112
United States Innovation and Competition Act.....................   107
                               __________

                         DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Additional Committee Questions...................................   176
    Questions Submitted by Senators:
        Collins, Susan M.........................................   181
        Leahy, Patrick...........................................   176
        Merkley, Jeff............................................   179
        Schatz, Brian............................................   183
        Van Hollen, Chris........................................   181
Garland, Hon. Merrick B., Attorney General, Department of 
  Justice, Prepared Statement of:
    Top Funding Priorities:
        1. GKeeping our Country and Communities Safe.--This 
          includes funds for:
            Combating Violent Crime and Gun Violence.............   140
            Countering Foreign and Domestic Terrorism............   140
            Enhancing Cybersecurity and Fighting Cybercrime......   140
        2. GProtecting Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.--Another 
          top Department priority is protecting civil rights and 
          civil liberties. This includes:
            Addressing Inequities in the Criminal Justice System.   140
            Advancing Environmental Justice......................   140
            Ending Gender-Based Violence.........................   140
            Investing in Community Policing......................   140
            Reinvigorating the Department's Civil Rights 
              Components.........................................   140
        3. GEnsuring Economic Opportunity and Fairness:
            Combating Fraud and Protecting Consumers.............   140
            Reinvigorating Antitrust Enforcement.................   140
            Revitalizing Tax Enforcement.........................   140
        4. GReducing the Immigration Court Backlog...............   141
    Greater detail on all of these priorities is provided below:
        1. GKeeping our Country and Communities Safe:
            Combating Violent Crime and Gun Violence.............   141
            Countering Foreign and Domestic Terrorism............   141
            Enhancing Cybersecurity and Fighting Cybercrime......   141
            New Programs are Also Proposed.......................   142
        2. GProtecting Civil Rights and Civil Liberties:
            Addressing Inequities in the Criminal Justice System.   144
            Advancing Environmental Justice......................   144
            Ending Gender-Based Violence.........................   143
            Investing in Community Policing......................   142
            Reinvigorating the Department's Civil Rights 
              Components.........................................   142
        3. GEnsuring Economic Opportunity and Fairness:
            Combating Fraud and Protecting Consumers.............   145
            Reinvigorating Antitrust Enforcement.................   145
            Revitalizing Tax Enforcement.........................   145
        4. GReducing the Immigration Court Backlog...............   145
                               __________

                    FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Additional Committee Questions...................................   247
    Questions Submitted by Senators:
        Leahy, Patrick...........................................   247
        Manchin, Joe, III........................................   253
        Murkowski, Lisa..........................................   251
        Van Hollen, Chris........................................   251
Wray, Hon. Christopher, Director, Federal Bureau of 
  Investigation, Prepared Statement of...........................   219
    Criminal Threats.............................................   226
        Violent Crime............................................   227
    Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Overview.............................   220
    Key Threats and Challenges...................................   220
    National Security............................................   221
        Capitol Violence.........................................   221
        Cyber....................................................   224
        Foreign Influence........................................   225
        Lawful Access............................................   222
        Top Terrorism Threats....................................   221
                               __________

             NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Additional Committee Questions...................................   212
    Questions Submitted by Senators:
        Manchin, Joe, III........................................   212
            A Review of the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request for 
              the National Aeronautics and Space Administration..   212
        Van Hollen, Chris........................................   213
                               __________

                      NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

$50 Billion for TIP..............................................    25
Additional Committee Questions...................................    33
    Questions Submitted by Senators:
        Capito, Shelley Moore....................................    52
            Pandemic Period Support for Green Bank Observatory...    52
            ``Open Skies'' Science...............................    53
        Collins, Susan M.........................................    53
            COVID-19 Impact on Public Scientific Research........    53
            Rapid Grants Using COVID-Relief Funds................    54
            Post-Pandemic Investment Recommendations.............    54
        Kennedy, John............................................    55
            Taxpayer Dollar Stewardship..........................    55
            EPSCoR Funding in Louisiana..........................    55
            Estimated Student Participants in Fiscal Year 2020...    56
            Students Externally Engaged in Fiscal Year 2020......    56
            Geographic Diversity of SBIR/STTR Award Funding......    56
        Manchin, Joe, III........................................    47
            Green Bank Observatory Operations (GBO) Planning.....    47
            NSF's Major Infrastructure Maintenance and Upgrade 
              Processes, Including Green Bank....................    48
            Green Bank Telescope Capabilities....................    48
            Apprenticeship Programs..............................    48
            Equity in Investments Beyond EPSCoR..................    50
        Merkley, Jeff............................................    51
            COVID-19 Impact on Stem Research.....................    51
        Moran, Jerry.............................................    43
            Proposed NSF Budget Increase.........................    43
            Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research................    44
            Science and Security.................................    45
            Geographic Diversity of Award Funding................    46
            New Directorate Organizational Model.................    47
            New Directorate Legislative Authorities..............    47
        Murkowski, Lisa..........................................    60
            New Directorate and Partnership With DOE.............    60
            New Directorate and Alaskan Universities.............    60
            Expanding EPSCoR in Alaska...........................    60
            Use-Inspired Research and Inclusion of Native Voices 
              and Perspectives...................................    61
            NSF USArray Transportable Array Transfer to National 
              Mesonet Program (NMP)..............................    61
            New Landslide Warning System (LWS) and Research......    62
        Shaheen, Jeanne..........................................    33
            A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2022 Funding 
              Request for the National Science Foundation and 
              Securing U.S. Competitiveness......................    33
                New NSF Directorate..............................    33
                COVID-19 Pandemic................................    35
            NSF Major Facility COVID-19 Status--May 5, 2021......    38
                Operations Stage Facilities......................    38
                   BIO...........................................    38
                   ENG...........................................    38
                   GEO...........................................    39
                   MPS...........................................    39
                Construction Stage Facilities....................    40
                Post COVID-19....................................    40
                NSF EPSCoR Program...............................    40
                New Major Research Projects......................    41
                New Facility Transition Funding Pilot............    42
                Arctic Research..................................    42
        Van Hollen, Chris........................................    56
            Minority-Serving Institutions Award Funding..........    56
            NSF Direct Funding to All Categories of Minority-
              Serving Institutions: Fiscal Year 2010-Fiscal Year 
              2019...............................................    57
            COVID-19 Impact on Gender in Research................    57
            COVID-19 Driven Research Delays......................    59
            Climate Change and Alternative Protein Research......    59
Broadening Participation.........................................    14
Collaborating With Other Agencies................................    17
Commercialization of Technologies................................    28
Competition......................................................    20
Competitive Research Proposals Funding Levels....................    12
EPSCoR...........................................................    21
Expanding Access.................................................    16
Grants...........................................................    12
May 1 Deadline for OSTP Report...................................    19
Office of Science and Technology Policy R&D Government 
  Expenditures...................................................    18
Partnership With DOE.............................................    27
Partnerships 

Preventing Duplication in Research and Funding...................    28
Quantum Technology and TIP.......................................    23
Small Business...................................................    21
Spending Plan for Budget Increase................................    24
STEM Education...................................................    30
Supercomputing...................................................    26
The National Science Foundation's Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request     7
    A Vision for the Future......................................     8
    Conclusion...................................................    11
    Investing in Innovation......................................     8
        Advances:
            Climate Science and Sustainability Research..........    11
            Racial Equity in Science and Engineering.............    10
        Continues Construction of Major Research Facilities......    11
        Enhance Fundamental Research and Development.............     9
        Strengthens U.S. Leadership in Emerging Technologies.....     9
    Introduction.................................................     7
    The Fight Against COVID-19...................................     7
TIP..............................................................    16
West Virginia Labs...............................................    29
                               __________

                OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Additional Committee Questions...................................    85
    Questions Submitted by Senators:
        Boozman, John............................................    90
        Capito, Shelley Moore....................................    91
        Collins, Susan...........................................    90
        Graham, Lindsey..........................................    90
        Hagerty, Bill............................................    96
        Kennedy, John............................................    92
        Leahy, Patrick...........................................    85
            A Review of the Activities and Fiscal Year 2022 
              Funding Priorities of the Office of the U.S. Trade 
              Representative.....................................    85
        Manchin, Joe, III........................................    86
        Murkowski, Lisa..........................................    89
        Van Hollen, Chris........................................    88

                                   [all]