Appropriations for FY2004: Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies

Publication Date: September 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Banking and finance; Government

Type:

Abstract:

The Administration submitted its FY2004 budget request in February 2004. The request for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies (commonly referred to as CJS) totaled $41.220 billion. The major components of the request included: Justice Department—$19.005 billion; Commerce Department—$5.814 billion; the Judiciary—$5.430 billion; State Department—$8.644 billion; and Related Agencies—$2.424 billion. On July 23, 2003, the House passed its CJS bill (H.R. 2799), which totals $41.23 billion. The Senate Appropriations Committee, which reported its bill (S. 1585) on September 5, 2003, recommends $40.37 billion.

Department of Justice. The FY2004 request of $19.005 billion is roughly $643 million below the FY2003 funding level of $19.648 billion. Most of the Administration’s proposed reductions would come in state and local law enforcement assistance programs in the Office of Justice Programs. The House bill recommends $20.154 billion for Justice, while the Senate Appropriations Committee recommends $18.582 billion.

Department of Commerce. The FY2004 request of $5.814 billion is about $18 million more than the FY2003 appropriation of $5.796. The Administration proposes a moderate increase for most agencies, but reductions for some information and technology programs, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology and National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The House bill would provide $5.256 billion for the Commerce Department. The Senate Appropriations Committee recommends $6.369 billion.

The Judiciary. The Judiciary’s FY2004 request comes to $5.430 billion, which is roughly $540 million above the FY2003 appropriation of $4.890 billion. The Judiciary request emphasized costs for the Supreme Court, court security, and defender services. The Judiciary would receive $5.194 billion under the House bill, and $5.077 under the Senate’s reported bill.

Department of State and International Broadcasting. The FY2004 request comes to $8.644 billion, which would be about $465 million more than the FY2003 amount of $8.179 billion. The majority of this proposed increase would go toward theAdministration of Foreign Affairs account,which covers diplomatic and consular operations and embassy security. The House bill provides the State Department with $8.421 billion. The Senate bill would provide $8.031 billion.

The FY2003 regular appropriation for CJS was enacted on Feb. 20, 2003 (P.L. 108-7), five months into the budget year. The CJS bill was included in a consolidated appropriations package (H.J.Res. 2), which incorporated 11 out of the
13 usual appropriations bills. The package included a 0.65% across-the-board rescission.

This report will be updated as Congress acts on the CJS appropriations bill.