June 2023 FBA Government Relations Update
ADVOCACY UPDATE
Now that the debt ceiling crisis has been resolved, Congress has turned to the myriad of pressing legislative issues on its plate, including appropriations. This week, the Republican-led House released topline numbers for the 12 spending bills, and with the exception of defense-related and homeland security spending, all the allocations, to a greater or lesser degree, are lower than FY 2023 enacted amounts. The House plan for the Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) bill, which funds the Department of Justice and includes an important part of Anderl Act implementation, is a total of $58,676 million, compared to the Fiscal Year 2023 enacted amount of $82,441 million – a 29% decrease. The House plan for the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) bill, which includes Judiciary branch funding, is $11,311 million, a 59% decrease from the FY 2023 enacted amount of $27,556 million. It is important to note that this is the opening move in the appropriations process and that the final numbers are likely to be higher, though how much higher is unclear at this time. Consequently, FBA advocacy in support of Anderl Act implementation funding and overall Judiciary funding continues to be important.
Rep. Aderholt has not yet received a response from the Department of Justice’s Office of Judicial Programs to his Question for the Record about the Department’s plans for the grant program authorized by the Act, but we are staying in touch with Rep. Aderholt’s office to help ensure this important issue is not overlooked by the Department.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
1. Article I Immigration Court Legislation
Unfortunately, there is no progress to report at this time. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) have not found Republican cosponsors yet, and they have not introduced their bills.