Hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee - Markup of the Fiscal Year 2016 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bil

Hearing

"I am pleased to have worked with Senator Shelby on the CJS bill. He is a true partner on several key issues like public safety and innovation that are important to Maryland and to the country.

"I want to explain why my amendment is necessary. While Senator Shelby's CJS allocation looks higher than last year's -- it is not. Last year, we had a one-time $1.1 billion credit from Toyota's settlement with the Justice Department, which went into the Department of Justice's Asset Forfeiture Fund. Those funds have been spent and are not available in 2016.

"The Republican budget agreement also limited our scorekeeping adjustments from the Crime Victims Fund -- one of our so-called CHIMPs. That cost the CJS bill another $2 billion. So the CJS bill is simply underfunded based on the post-sequester levels of the Budget Control Act. We really need a sequel to the Murray-Ryan budget deal sooner rather than later.

"The Commerce Department is a job creator, supporting infrastructure, innovation and exports. The bill provides strong funding for Economic Development Administration grants with $213 million, $100 million of which is for the Public Works infrastructure grants that benefit every single state, including my home state of Maryland.

"We increased the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) funding by $29 million, including a $7 million increase for cybersecurity research. There is also strong funding of $473 million for the International Trade Administration. Senator Graham and I are partners on export promotion, focusing on Asia and Africa where American exporters need the most help.

"The Commerce Department also plays a role in public safety, providing weather alerts to help keep people out of harm's way. Full funding of $1.7 billion for the JPSS and GOES weather satellites will help get them back on track and back on budget. Also included in the bill is $135 million for the Polar Follow-On, so the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) can start building the next generation of weather satellites.

"We can't have strong, vibrant communities unless they are safe. The CJS bill includes $2.3 billion for key grants for our state and local police departments, including $187 million for COPS hiring grants, which will put 1,000 new police officers on the beat and $382 million for Byrne-JAG grants, which provide resources for important equipment like radios for our officers.

"I also want to thank Committee Members for good ideas included in this bill. Senators Leahy and Shaheen, among others, brought me concerns about the resurgence of heroin use. This bill has $7 million for anti-heroin task forces to help local police battle new threats from an old drug.

"This bill funds Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs at the highest level ever -- $479 million -- to help women leave dangerous situations and access temporary housing and counseling. We also have $41 million of funding to stop the rape kit backlog, which will be used not only to test rape kits, but to provide victims with other services as well. This will help get justice for rape victims and reform police procedures, so backlogs don't happen ever again.

"The Senate CJS bill also funds our federal law enforcement agencies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has robust funding of $8.5 billion, an increase of $106 million from last year's enacted level. This funding is important for investigating cyber crimes like the hacking of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) system last week or the attack on insurance provider CareFirst in May. Cyber attacks like these leave our personal information vulnerable to being stolen and used by fraudsters, so the FBI is helping government and private sector entities stop this crime.

"The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Marshals Service are funded at their fiscal year 2015 levels, totaling $4.8 billion for the three agencies to continue to keep us safe from violent crime, catch child predators and stop gangs and drug dealers.

"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is funded at $18.3 billion -- $280 above the fiscal year 2015 level. The bill supports NASA science with $5.3 billion, $50 million more than last year and $6 million more than the President's request. This level will help keep America number one in astronomy including $620 million in funding for the James Webb Space Telescope being managed by the Goddard Space Center in Maryland and will be 100 times more powerful than Hubble. There is also $90 million for W-FIRST to help understand the dark energy that makes up 74 percent of the universe.

"The bill helps us to better understand and protect our planet with $1.9 billion for Earth Science, including $100 million to accelerate Landsat-9. It advances our knowledge of the Sun and solar wind, so we can protect our electric grid on Earth by providing $230 million for Solar Probe Plus, our first mission into the Sun. We also included $150 million for satellite servicing to repair worn and aging satellites with robots, saving money on new satellites and creating a whole new industry.

"The National Science Foundation is provided 7.3 million dollars to support the innovative pipeline of students, researchers, and entrepreneurs. The bill funds 15,000 grants for education and basic research that support 165,000 scientists, students, and teachers.

"I support voting this bill out of Committee, but I will offer an amendment to make a good bill a great bill by adding needed resources for community safety, federal law enforcement and innovation to create new jobs today and new industries tomorrow. And we will not support considering these bills on the floor until we have a sequel to Murray-Ryan to undo the irresponsible, post-sequester level spending caps."

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