WASHINGTON- The House last night passed the FY2001 Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill (H.R. 4690), providing key funding for law enforcement, the Judicial Branch and government regulatory agencies, said Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-San Diego), a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

“Every American child should grow up without fear of crime and violence. This spending bill increases funding to fight the war on crime and drugs while maintaining a balanced budget and protecting our senior’s Social Security. Important marine conservation programs are also included to protect our natural resources,” said Rep. Cunningham. In addition to increasing funding to fight crime, the bill included key language for Southern California’s District Court System. “We support our federal, state, and local law enforcement officers and are working to improve our Federal Court System. San Diego’s Federal Courts are overwhelmed-- the provisions of this bill will help to alleviate some of our courts caseload,” continued Cunningham.

Southwest Border Federal District Court: Report language highlighting the problems caused by the growing caseload in the Southwest Federal Court District and directing Judiciary to direct additional discretionary resources to the Southwest Border region.

San Diego/Tijuana Raw Sewage Treatment Project: $500,000 provided to help construct a barrier preventing Tijuana’s raw sewage from contaminating San Diego soil and water.

State Criminal Alien Assistance Program: $420 Million, $180 million less than requested. Provides reimbursement to States for the costs of incarcerations of criminal aliens.

Restoration of funding for law enforcement block grants eliminated by the Clinton-Gore Administration: Some of the grants include the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant, the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant, and the prisons grant program.

Funding for the Patent and Trademark Office, critical to San Diego’s technology community: however, funding appropriated for this critical office sustained by its own fees is below the amount of income it realizes from these fees.

Border Infrastructure: $3.3 million for Border Barriers in San Diego; $307,000 for Planning and Design of an El Cajon, CA Border Patrol Station.

Sea Grant Program: $61.2 million, representing an increase of nearly $2 million over FY00. Sea Grant works in conjunction with UCSD providing grants and funding for oceanographic research.

Following are the overall funding levels provided in the bill:

FY01 Bill: $34.9 billion

FY01 President's Request: $37.6 billion

FY00 Funding: $37.7 billion

(Serrano): Adds $134 million to Legal Services Corporation, by reducing Narrowband Communications (-$82 million); Assets Forfeiture Fund discretionary appropriations (-$23 million);); Bureau of Prisons Salaries and Expenses (-$45 million); and State Department Diplomatic and Consular Services (-$10 million).

(McGovern): Increases funding for the SBA Women's Business Centers and Women's Owned Business Council by $4.479 million with offsets from the Telecommunications Carrier Compliance Fund.

(Campbell): Reduces Federal Prison System Salaries and Expenses funding by $173,480, the average cost of incarcerating the non-citizens currently detained when the INS denied bond, asylum, or other relief based on secret evidence.

(Waxman): Allows reimbursement to the Justice Department for litigation filed before January 1, 2000, that has received funding under section 109 of Public Law 103-317, thereby allowing the Veterans Administration to transfer funding for the lawsuit against tobacco companies.

(English): Increases salaries and expenses for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative by $3 million and decreases the Department of Commerce General Administration.

(Mink): Increases NOAA Procurement, Acquisition and Construction by $1.2 million, by offsetting other NOAA accounts.

(Bilbray): Increases International Boundary and Water Commission Construction by $500,000, by reducing State Diplomatic and Consular programs by the same amount.

(McCarthy): Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to accept donated property and services relating to operation of the Prison Card Program from a nonprofit entity notwithstanding the fact it provides services under a contract for operation of pre-release services, halfway houses and other custodial facilities.

(Latham): Designates $4 million for the Small Business Administration to be used for the National Veterans Business Development Corporation established under the Small Business Act.

(Stearns): Limits the use of funds for the Office of Media Relations of the FCC to not more than $640,000.

(Olver): Clarifies that the limitations on funds for implementing the Kyoto Protocol shall not apply to activities which are otherwise authorized by law.

(Vitter): Prohibits the use of funds by a U.S. delegation involving the Commission to implement the Memorandum of Understanding Relating to the Treaty between the United States and the Union of Soviet Republics with regard to the 1972 limitation on Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems.

(Vitter): Prohibits the use of funds by the State Department to approve the purchase of property in Arlington, VA by the Xinhua News Agency.

Provides a $744 million increase over last year to address critical detention requirements to house Federal prisoner and criminal and illegal alien populations (includes INS, U.S. Marshals, and Bureau of Prisons).

Provides a $394 million increase for the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorneys to maintain and enhance Federal law enforcement's ability to fight the war on violent crime and drugs, and provide new tools to combat cybercrime and national security threats, including:

$136.8 million increase (over FY00) for the DEA, total FY01 funding is $1.445 billion.

$189.7 million increase (over FY00) for the FBI, total FY01 funding is $3.23 billion. Includes $68 million to continue funding for the National Instant Check System (NICS), which the President's budget proposes to fund through a controversial user fee. The bill continues a provision carried in previous years prohibiting the FBI from charging a user fee for gun checks.

$85 million increase (over FY00) for the U.S. Attorneys, total FY01 funding is $1.25 billion. Includes $14.5 million to enhance prosecution of existing gun laws.

Provides a $410 million increase for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to enforce our immigration laws including additional border patrol agents, increased detention and removal capacity, and continuation of the interior enforcement, naturalization, and other application backlog reduction -- an initiative that started back in FY99. Total INS budgetary resources are $4.67 billion. The subcommittee rejects the President's controversial fee proposals, including the reinstatement of 245I, increasing the airline user fee, and removing cruise ship exemptions.

Restores programs the Administration proposed to eliminate or reduce, including $523 million for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program; $552 million for the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Grant program; $250 million for Juvenile Accountability Block Grant programs, and $686 million for the Truth-in-Sentencing State Prison Grant program.

Preserves important programs at last year's levels, including $284 million for Violence Against Women Act programs, $595 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, and $287 million for Juvenile Justice programs.

Judiciary receives $3.91 billion for FY01, $245 million more than FY00, $214 million below the President's request.

Department of Commerce and Related Agencies receives $4.4 billion, $287 million below the comparable level for FY00 (after adjusting for the non-recurring costs of the Decennial Census) including:

$622 million for the National Weather Service, which is $17.8 million more than FY00, $13 million below the President's request.

$395 million for trade agencies, an increase of $13 million to prevent closings of the Foreign Commercial Service Offices, $39 million below the President's request.

$2.23 billion for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is $116 million below FY00 and $530 million below the President's request.

$392.9 million to complete the 2000 Census.

$422 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), $216 million below FY00 and $290 million below the President's request.

State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors receives $6.4 billion, which is $243 million more than FY00, $415 million below the President's request.

Includes $1.06 billion to continue worldwide security improvements and replacement of vulnerable embassies and $120 million in increased funding for the State Department operations.

Provides $3.1 billion for Diplomatic and Consular Programs to fund the operating costs of a consolidated Department, which is $4.5 million below the President's request.

Provides $880.5 million to Contributions to International Organizations, including full funding for current year U.N. assessments, the same as FY00, $66 million below the President's request.

Provides $498 million for Contributions to International Peacekeeping, the same as FY00, $241 million below the President's request.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is funded at $207 million, $29 million below the President's request.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is funded at $291 million, $10 million more than FY00, $31 million below the President's request.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is funded at $134.8 million, $10 million more than FY00, $29 million below the President's request.

Small Business Administration is funded at $860.7 million, $13.7 million more than FY00, $197.1 million below the President's request.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is funded at $392 million, $24.8 million more than FY00, $30 million below the President's request.

Legal Services is funded at $275 million, $30 million below FY00 and $65 million below the President's request.

Advanced Technology Program is terminated. It was funded at $143 million in FY00 and the President requested $198.6 million.

North-South Center is terminated. It was funded at $1.8 million in FY00 and the President requested $2.5 million.

East-West Center is terminated. It was funded at $12.5 million in FY00, the same as the President's request.

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