WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Appropriations Committee met to consider the Fiscal Year 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The measure was approved by the Committee with a vote of 31 to 26.

Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) said, “This comprehensive bill strengthens our economy, makes our communities safer by investing in law enforcement and diverting narcotics from our streets, while also boosting our competitive edge in space exploration to the Moon and beyond. At the same measure, we are sending a clear message to overreaching federal agencies, especially at the Department of Justice, by reining in politically aimed practices. This legislation reflects Chairman Cole’s stalwart leadership and I look forward to advancing this important legislation together.”

Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) said, “The FY25 legislation advanced before us enhances accountability and oversight—protecting the rights and hard-earned taxpayer dollars of the American people. It includes important safeguards that support the integrity and trust of our top law enforcement agencies and curb government overreach. The security of our communities is prioritized with investments that back our men and women in blue and address increasing crime. It also denies complacency against communist China by targeting their fentanyl supply chains and work to steal U.S. innovation and research. From our neighborhoods to the final frontier, Chairman Rogers developed a bill where every element puts America first.”

Subcommittee Chairman Rogers’ opening remarks are available here.

Chairman Cole's opening remarks are available here.

Fiscal Year 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

The Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides a total discretionary allocation of $78.288 billion, which is effectively $1.275 billion (2%) below the Fiscal Year 2024 spending level.

The bill provides a non-defense discretionary total of $71.932 billion and a defense discretionary total of $6.356 billion.

The bill reins in the Washington bureaucracy by rightsizing agencies and programs and directs funding to support the fight against fentanyl, state and local law enforcement, and efforts to counter the People’s Republic of China.

Importantly, the bill utilizes the power of the purse to address the weaponization of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and bring an end to the overreach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Key Takeaways

• Ends the abuses of power at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and focuses the Executive Branch on its core responsibilities by:

• Holding the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accountable for targeting everyday Americans by cutting its budget and mandating critical reforms.
• Preventing the FBI from developing a new headquarters building in the National Capitol Region by limiting its use of existing construction balances to the sustainment of the J. Edgar Hoover Building.
• Mandating that FBI interviews be recorded.
• Reversing anti-Second Amendment overreach by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), defunding the ATF’s rules on pistol braces and privately made firearms.
• Defunding Attorney General Garland’s October 4, 2021, memorandum to the FBI that targets parents for speaking out at school board meetings.
• Defunding Executive Order 14092, which calls for an assault weapons ban.
• Defunding efforts to federalize state and local policing practices.
• Reducing funds for certain DOJ litigating components in response to the DOJ’s abuse of the FACE Act.
• Increasing oversight of DOJ grant programs and funds.
• Eliminating unnecessary and wasteful programs.

• Bolsters our national security by:

• Mandating the re-establishment of the DOJ’s China Initiative.
• Supporting the American research enterprise to counter China’s increasing investments in basic research and technology development.
• Investing in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum, and advanced manufacturing.
• Supporting the critical Artemis program to advance American leadership in Space and counter China’s malign ambitions.
• Protecting U.S. research from Chinese theft by supporting the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Office of Research Security Strategy and Policy.
• Rejecting the Administration’s request to halt reimbursements to law enforcement for the costs of incarcerating unauthorized criminal aliens.
• Mandating that the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) reinstate case completion performance metrics to increase immigration adjudications and hold immigration judges accountable.
• Maintaining strong support for law enforcement, preserving robust funding for Byrne JAG formula grants and COPS Hiring grants that assist state and local law enforcement agencies.
• Focusing DOJ grant funding on programs that assist law enforcement in addressing the opioid crisis, combating child exploitation, eliminating the rape kit backlog, and preventing school violence.
• Enhancing multi-agency efforts to combat transnational organized crime and reduce the availability of illicit drugs, particularly fentanyl.

• Supports American values and principles by:

• Maintaining all legacy firearms riders and adding new provisions that strengthen Second Amendment protections.
• Maintaining the longstanding Hyde prohibition that prevents the use of DOJ funds to pay for abortion.
• Bolstering funds to combat child exploitation.
• Eliminating progressive grant programs that support criminal leniency.
• Protecting Americans against religious discrimination.
• Prohibiting the DOJ from censoring lawful speech or classifying speech as misinformation.
• Ensuring state and local law enforcement resources are used as intended—not to promote progressive ideologies.

A summary of the bill is available here.

During the markup, Committee Republicans refused amendments offered by the Democrats that would have:

• Allowed the FBI to develop a new headquarters building in the National Capitol Region.
• Increased processing times for National Firearms Act applications.
• Allowed taxpayer dollars to be used for abortion.
• Allowed funds to be used to label Americans’ constitutionally protected speech as “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “malinformation.”
• Struck longstanding Second Amendment provisions, restricting the constitutional rights of the American people.
• Dropped longstanding provisions prohibiting the closure of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and the use of military construction funds to build a detention center in the United States or territories, which would have allowed the transfer of dangerous terrorists to U.S. soil.
• Continued government overreach at the ATF.
• Funded polarizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
• Provided legal representation to illegal aliens.
• Allowed illegal aliens to be counted in the U.S. Census.
• Promoted and advanced critical race theory.
• Created a federal firearms registry.
• Allowed funding for hormone therapies or surgeries for gender-affirming care.
• Exposed Americans to religious discrimination.
• Funded the Administration’s wasteful green agenda.
• Reimplemented the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
• Allowed an individual to be assigned to a Bureau of Prison’s facility that does not correspond to an individual’s biological sex.
• Prohibited the DOJ from interfering with states’ and Indian tribes’ decisions regarding recreational marijuana.

Adopted Amendments

• Rogers #1 (Manager’s Amendment) – Makes technical, bipartisan changes to the bill and report.
• The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

• Rogers #2 (En Bloc) –
• Prohibits the use of algorithmic justice by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
• Increases the Bureau of Industry and Security Anti-Boycott Compliance.
• Clarifies the rate regulations for the NTIA’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Coordination program.
• Establishes a partnership with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission.
• Develops a dedicated high-performance computing facility at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
• Mandates a report on efforts to indict, extradite, and arrest members of Hamas, who were involved in the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
• Prioritizes streaming piracy cases at the DOJ.
• Enhances nationwide responses to transshipment and other trade-related crimes.
• Urges the FBI to continue its efforts to address Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counternarcotics investigations in Central America.
• Prioritizes assisting small and rural law enforcement agencies.
• The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

• Clyde #1 – Prevents the ATF from maintaining the Out-of-Business records or transfers.
• The amendment was adopted by a vote of 29 to 25.

• Cloud #2 – Requires the ATF to report on certain information regarding the Out-of-Business Records Center.
• The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

• Cloud #3 – Requires the ATF to report on firearms trace requests.
• The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

• Clyde #2 – Reduces the Attorney General’s salary to $1.00 until records related to Special Counsel Hur’s investigation of President Joe Biden are transmitted to Congress.
• The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

Bill text, before adoption of amendments, is available here.

Bill report, before adoption of amendments, is available here.

A table of included Community Project Funding requests is available here.