House Appropriations Committee Advances Justice, Financial Services Spending Bills

On July 13, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY2018 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (as-yet-unnumbered) and the Financial Services and General Government (as-yet-unnumbered) spending bills. Both bills were approved by separate votes, 31-21.

The charts below detail funding levels for programs important to women and their families.

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies

According to the committee report, the bill would provide $53.935 billion in discretionary funds for programs within the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and the National Science Foundation and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This amount is $2.62 billion below FY2017.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) would receive $29.315 billion in FY2018, which is $367.864 million over FY2017 and $986.856 million over the president’s request. The Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee approved the bill on June 29 (see The Source, 6/30/17).

The report language contains several provisions to address human trafficking across several agencies and divisions within DOJ (see pp. 28, 31, 32, 33-34, 36, 43, and 47). Of particular note, the committee “encourages the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to examine ways to assist nonprofits and other nongovernmental entities with a proven track record of administering successful prevention and early intervention programs for girls vulnerable to trafficking” (p. 47).

Noting “targeted attacks against Internet users, particularly women,” the committee urges DOJ to intensify its efforts against cyberstalking and threat crimes.

The measure also includes $45 million in grants to address the sexual assault kit backlog (p. 51), as well as a provision to address female genital mutilation (p. 28).

Financial Services and General Government

According to the committee report, the bill would provide $20.231 billion in discretionary funds in FY2018 for several agencies, including the Small Business Administration (SBA), as well as a federal payment to the District of Columbia. This amount is $1.284 billion below FY2017 and $2.468 billion below President Trump’s FY2018 budget request. The Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee approved the bill on June 29 (see The Source, 6/30/17).

The bill also would allocate $12.3 million for Veterans Outreach programs, which include the Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-Wise) program.