[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10100]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      OPPOSITION TO H.R. 4660, THE FY15 COMMERCE-JUSTICE-SCIENCE 
                          APPROPRIATIONS BILL

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 12, 2014

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in reluctant opposition to 
H.R. 4066, the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) Appropriations Bill for 
Fiscal Year 2015.
  I commend Chairman Wolf and Ranking Member Fattah for their dedicated 
work on crafting this legislation. However, I cannot vote for it in its 
current form. While I can support the overall $51.2 billion in 
discretionary spending, a number of specific programs were 
shortchanged. For example, the bill cuts important investments in key 
areas such as law enforcement, access to justice for the poor, and 
climate research. In addition, a number of pernicious policy riders 
were added on the House floor which poisons the overall bill.
  With respect to funding levels, I have serious concerns about cuts 
that were made to a number of programs within the Department of 
Justice. This bill cuts the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) 
program by $117.5 million from FY14 and is $177.5 million below the 
Presidents' request. And while an amendment was adopted to increase 
funding for COPS by $110 million on the House floor this came at the 
direct expense of the Census Bureau, which was already funded below the 
Administration's request. This is a false choice that is both 
unnecessary and arbitrary.
  I also oppose reductions in funding for the Legal Services 
Corporation (LSC), which is the single largest funder of civil legal 
aid for low-income Americans, including many military families and 
veterans. This bill would reduce funding for LSC by $15 million in FY15 
and would be $80 million below the President's request. Over 1,000 full 
time employees have been terminated as a result of cuts to LSC in 
recent years and a continued lack of funding will result in tens of 
thousands of Americans being denied vital legal assistance.
  I am also disappointed in the arbitrary and short-sighted cuts to 
climate research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
that will limit our understanding of mid-term weather forecasting, 
including drought. These damaging cuts will hinder our ability to 
understand and respond to changing weather patterns across the country.
  I also strongly object to many of the policy riders that were 
included in the final passage of H.R. 4066. I was disappointed that an 
amendment offered by Rep. Moran to strike sections 528 and 529 was not 
adopted, leaving in place the misguided provision to continue funding 
restrictions on the construction or modification of detention 
facilities in the United States to house Guantanamo detainees. As the 
President made clear in his State of the Union Address earlier this 
year, we cannot wait any longer to lift the remaining restrictions on 
detainee transfers and close down this facility once-and-for-all.
  The legislation also includes language that severely limits the 
ability of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 
(ATF) to combat illegal gun trafficking. Specifically, the ATF is 
prohibited from denying an application to import particular models or 
configurations of a shotgun that do not meet the statutory ``sporting 
purposes'' test.
  There were also many amendments adopted on the House floor that I 
strongly opposed. An amendment introduced by Rep. Scott Garrett would 
prohibit funds from being used by the Justice Department to pursue 
litigation using the ``disparate impact'' legal theory. This not only 
flies in the face of the Civil Rights Act but would prohibit the 
Justice Department from getting involved in litigation where whole 
classifications of individuals are being systematically discriminated 
against.
  I was also disappointed that an amendment passed on the House floor 
that would not allow for funds to be used to transfer or assign 
employees to the Pardon Attorney's office for the purpose of screening 
clemency applications. This severely undermines the Justice 
Department's efforts to scale back prison sentences for individuals 
incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses. Another ill-conceived 
amendment offered by Representative Steve King would handcuff 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by limiting its use of 
prosecutorial discretion.
  Despite my opposition to the overall legislation, I was encouraged 
that a bipartisan amendment led by Rep. Mike Thompson and Rep. Peter 
King to lift funding for the National Instant Criminal Background Check 
System (NICS) was adopted. This increased funding matches the level of 
funding requested by states for NICS grants in FY14 and will ensure 
that Maryland has the necessary resources to implement the technology 
to automate criminal history and mental health records in our 
background check system.
  In addition, I supported the funding levels of many other programs 
and priorities. Within the Department of Justice, I was encouraged that 
Violence Against Women Prevention and Prosecution programs, Byrne-JAG 
formula grants, and the Youth Mentoring program all received funding at 
or above the President's request.
  I will continue to monitor the progress of this bill and it is my 
hope that my concerns are resolved in conference with the Senate and I 
will be able to vote for it in its final form.

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