The House Appropriations Committee today approved the fiscal year 2013 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill. The bill funds the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other related agencies.
In total, the legislation contains $51.1 billion in funding. This is a reduction of $1.6 billion below last year's level, and $731 million below the President's request for these programs.
"The bill approved today makes responsible funding decisions to prioritize programs that fund our federal law enforcement to protect our people at home and abroad, programs which maintain the competitiveness of our businesses and industries, and scientific research to ensure America leads the world in innovation," House Appropriations Chairman Rogers said.
"At the same time, this bill saves taxpayer dollars -- it represents a funding level that is below what was spent in 2008 -- by rooting out a number of extraneous or duplicative programs. These cuts were certainly not easy, but given the very real fiscal realities, they are necessary if we are to grow our economy and create an environment for job growth," Rogers continued.
"This bill is a reduction of 3 percent below the current fiscal year and 1.4 percent below the President's request. Since the beginning of the 112th Congress, this Subcommittee has cut $13.2 billion, reducing the total amount of this bill by 20% over three fiscal years," CJS Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf said.
"This year, we have focused limited resources on the most critical areas --fighting crime and terrorism, including a new focus preventing and investigating cyber-attacks; and boosting U.S. competitiveness and job creation by investing in science, exports and manufacturing," Wolf continued.