Fiscal Year 2014 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill Approved by Committee

Jul 17, 2013
Press Release

The House Appropriations Committee today approved the fiscal year 2014 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 $47.4 billion in total funding. This is $2.8 billion below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level and $350 million below the level caused by automatic sequestration budget cuts.

“I applaud the approval of this important bill today. At its core, this bill is about protecting the life, liberty, and property of our citizens. It helps keep the American people safe both by supporting critical law enforcement to fight criminals and terrorists, as well as weather forecasting satellites that warn Americans for the worst natural disasters. And it works to develop a stronger American economy that leads the way in innovation, and helps foster an environment for job creation and job repatriation,” Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers said. “The funding provided in this bill maintains these key tenets of the American way, while falling in line with a budget allocation that adheres to the law of the land and recognizes the dire need to get our budgets back into balance.”

“The bill recognizes our fiscal realities, controlling overall spending, while prioritizing critical federal functions. We have focused limited resources on the most critical areas: fighting crime and terrorism, including cyber-attacks; improving weather forecasts and warnings; and boosting U.S. competitiveness and job creation by investing in science, exports and manufacturing," CJS Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf said.

The following amendments to the bill were adopted by the full committee today:

Rep. Wolf – The manager’s amendment makes technical and non-controversial changes to the bill and report. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Kingston – The amendment prohibits funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to implement, administer, or enforce a regulation that would make it more difficult for companies to defend against age discrimination lawsuits. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote. 

Rep. Carter – The amendment prohibits funding for an unauthorized reporting and registration requirement – proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) – on the sale of multiple rifles to the same person in various border-states. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Nunnelee – The amendment prohibits funding from the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program to "sanctuary cities" that do not enforce federal immigration laws. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote. 

Rep. Kingston – The amendment prohibits funds for the DOJ to overturn, invalidate, or interfere with state immigration laws. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote. 

Rep. Lee – The amendment adds report language expressing a “sense of Congress” that legislation should not be passed that “increases poverty in the U.S.” The amendment was adopted on a voice vote. 

The bill was approved by the full committee on a voice vote.

For the text of the bill, please visit: /uploadedfiles/bills-113hr-sc-ap-fy2014-cjs-subcommitteedraft.pdf

For the bill report, please visit: /uploadedfiles/hrpt-113-hr-fy2014-cjs.pdf

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113th Congress