On July 27, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 30-1, S. 1662, the FY2018 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies spending bill, as amended. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies passed the bill on July 25; the House Appropriations Committee passed its version of the spending bill on July 13 (see The Source, 7/17/17).
According to the committee report, the measure would provide $53.4 billion in overall funding, $3.2 billion below FY2017 and $4.4 billion above the president’s FY2018 request.
The Department of Justice would be funded at $29.1 billion, $121 million above FY2017. This amount would include funding for the Adam Walsh Act to apprehend sex offenders who fail to register as fugitives and $48.34 million the investigation and prosecution of cases involving the sexual exploitation of children. The Federal Bureau of Investigation would receive $87 million for the Innocent Images National Initiative, which investigates sexual predators on the Internet. The bill also would provide $170 million to address rape kit and DNA evidence backlogs.
The following chart details funding for programs important to women and their families.
Program/Agency |
FY2017 |
President’s FY2018 Request |
||
Office on Violence Against Women |
$481.5 million |
$480 million |
$527 million |
$483.5 million |
Grants to Combat Violence Against Women (STOP Grants) |
$215 million |
$215 million |
$215 million |
$215 million |
Transitional Housing Assistance |
$30 million |
$30 million |
$30 million |
$31 million |
Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women |
$3 million |
$5 million |
$3.5 million |
$3 million |
Consolidated Youth-Oriented Program |
$11 million |
$11 million |
$11 million |
$11 million |
Sexual Assault Victims Services |
$35 million |
$35 million |
$35 million |
$35 million |
Rural Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Enforcement |
$35 million |
$34 million |
$35 million |
$36 million |
Violence on College Campuses |
$20 million |
$20 million |
$20 million |
$20 million |
Civil Legal Assistance |
$45 million |
$45 million |
$45 million |
$45 million |
Elder Abuse Grant Program |
$5 million |
$5 million |
$5 million |
$5 million |
Family Civil Justice |
$16 million |
$16 million |
$16 million |
$16 million |
Education and Training for Disabled Female Victims |
$6 million |
$6 million |
$6 million |
$6 million |
National Resource Center on Workplace Responses |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
Indian Country-Sexual Assault Clearinghouse |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
Research on Violence Against Indian Women |
$1 million |
$2 million |
$1 million |
$1 million |
Rape Survivor Child Custody Act |
$1.5 million |
$2.5 million |
$1.5 million |
$1.5 million |
Office of Justice Programs |
$1.691 billion |
$1.224 billion |
$1.48 billion |
$1.624 billion |
Victims of Trafficking |
$45 million |
$45 million |
$45 million |
$45 million |
Prison Rape Prevention and Prosecution |
$10.5 million |
$15 million |
$15 million |
$15 million |
National Sex Offender Public Website |
$1 million |
$1 million |
$1 million |
$1 million |
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) |
$9 million |
$9 million |
$9 million |
$9 million |
DNA Initiative |
$125 million |
$105 million |
$125 million |
$125 million |
Debbie Smith Backlog Grants |
$117 million |
$97 million |
$117 million |
$117 million |
Sexual Assault Forensic Exam |
$4 million |
$4 million |
$4 million |
$ 4 million |
Related Agencies |
||||
Commission on Civil Rights |
$9.2 million |
$9.43 million |
$9.183 million |
$9.2 million |
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
$364.5 million |
$376.646 million |
$363.807 million |
$364.5 million |
Legal Services Corporation |
$385 million |
$33 million |
$300 million |
$385 million |