Justice Department programs are likely to take another funding hit in fiscal 2012, according to spending allocations House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) sent to subcommittee chairmen last week.
Under those spending instructions, funding for the Commerce, Justice and science spending measure would receive $50.2 billion in fiscal 2012. Programs in that spending bill received a little more than $53.3 billion in fiscal 2011. The $50.237 billion represents a $3.1 billion cut from the fiscal 2011 spending bill and is $7.4 billion less than President Barack Obama requested in his budget for the coming fiscal year. While the allocations distributed by Rogers do not specify programmatic spending levels, a cut of that size is likely to affect many programs.
However, programs in the Justice bill are likely to be hit less than those in the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill. Funding for that bill will total $139.2 billion in fiscal 2012-some $18.2 billion less than the current fiscal year.
Rogers also announced that the Commerce, Justice and science measure will be marked up in subcommittee July 7 and will be considered by the full Appropriations Committee on July 13.
“The appropriations bill this year will include double-digit reductions for virtually every non-security area of government,” Rogers said in a statement.
DOJ received $27.4 billion this fiscal year. Grant programs to local and state governments were the heaviest hit.
