H.R. 2847 (111^th): Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act

GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/1/hr2847.

Summary

H.R. 2847, the Fiscal Year 2010 Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations bill contains a total of $64.4 billion. The bill is $6.8 billion, or 11.7 percent, above the Fiscal Year 2009 enacted level, and provides funding for the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, and Federal science agencies, such as NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF), and related agencies. Agencies funded through the bill received approximately $16 billion in supplemental appropriations outside the normal FY 2009 appropriations process, the vast majority of which came from the "stimulus" bill.

H.R. 2847 would provide $13.85 billion for the Department of Commerce, which is an increase of $4.57 billion, or 49 percent, over FY 2009. The majority of the increase for Commerce is due to a $4.2 billion increase in spending for the Census Bureau. The bill provides $27.74 billion for the Department of Justice (DOJ), which is an increase of $1.65 billion, or 6.3 percent, above FY 2009. Funding for science agencies is $25.1 billion, an increase of $868 million, or 3.5 percent, above FY 2009. Spending for other related agencies is $956 million, which is $83 million, or 9.5 percent, above FY 2009.

Spending Highlights and Other Provisions

Department of Commerce:  The bill contains $13.85 billion for the Department of Commerce, an increase of $4.57 billion, or 49 percent, over FY 2009.      

• Census Bureau:  Provides $7.374 billion for the Census Bureau, an increase of $4.2 billion, or 130 percent, over FY 2009 for the 2010 Decennial Census.  The "stimulus" bill already included an additional $1 billion for the 2010 census.

• EDA:  Provides $293 million for the Economic Development Administration (EDA), which is an increase of $15 million over FY 2009.  The EDA operates a number of taxpayer funded economic development programs.  $25 million from this funding would be set aside for the Global Climate Change Mitigation Incentive Fund for economic development to "address the effects of climate change."

• NOAA:  Provides $4.6 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is a $237 million increase over FY 2009.  NOAA funding includes $400 million for climate change research and educational programs.

• ITA:  Provides $444 million for the International Trade Administration (ITA), which is $14 million above FY 2009.  

• NIST:  Provides $781 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  The funding includes $124 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEP), which provides business services to manufacturers, and $70 million for the Technology Innovation Program, which makes high-risk, high-reward investments in private research.

• BIS:  Provides $100 million to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for export control and a treaty compliance system.

• NMFS:  Provides $80 million for pacific coastal salmon recovery through the National Marine Fisheries Service.

• Salaries and Expenses:  Provides $60 million for salaries and expenses. 

• Inspector General:  Provides $27 million for the Office of Inspector General.

• Hoover Building:  Provides $5 million for renovations of the Herbert C. Hoover Building, the Department of Commerce's headquarters.

Department of Justice:  The bill provides $27.74 billion for the Department of Justice (DOJ), which is an increase of $1.65 billion, or 6.3 percent, above FY 2009. 

• FBI:  Provides $7.7 billion for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is $653 million above FY 2009.  $101 million of the FBI's appropriation is dedicated for overseas deployments.  The remaining funds are divided between numerous crime enforcement and administrative programs, including white collar crime enforcement, gang and violent crime, records management, and intellectual property enforcement.

• FBI Construction:  Provides $132 million for the construction of FBI facilities, which is $20 million less than FY 2009.

• Prisons:  Provides $6.1 billion for the Federal Prison System's administration, operation, and maintenance, which is an increase of $481 million above FY 2009.

• Prison Construction:  Provides $96 million for construction, modernization, maintenance, and repair of prison and detention facilities, which is $479 million less than FY 2009.

• Detention Trustee:  Provides $1.4 billion for the Office of the Federal Detention Trustee (OFTD), which is an increase of $143 million over FY 2009.

• Local Assistance: Provides $3.4 billion for State and local law enforcement assistance grants, which includes funding for the Office of Violence Against Women, the Office of Justice Programs, and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).  The COPS program would receive $761 million, which is $251 million, or 32 percent, above FY 2009.  The funding would also include $529 million for the Edward Byrne memorial justice assistance grant program (JAG).  In the past, some Members have criticized local justice assistance programs for being duplicative.  These programs also received billions of Federal dollars in the recent "stimulus" legislation.

• DEA:  Provides $2 billion for the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is an increase of $80 million over FY 2009.

• U.S. Marshals:  Provides $1.38 billion for the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), which is an increase of $188 million over FY 2008.  The funding includes $114 million for new immigration enforcement and $20 million to expand the Adam Walsh Act sex offender enforcement program.

• BATF:  Provides $1.1 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is $51 million more than FY 2009.

• NSD:  Provides $88 million for the National Security Division (NSD) of the DOJ, which is an increase of $4.1 million over FY 2009.

• JIST:  Provides $109 million for Justice Information Sharing Technology (JIST), which provides investments in information technology.  The funding is a $29 million increase over FY 2009.

• Wireless Communications:  Provides $205 million for Tactical Law Enforcement Wireless Communications, which is an increase of $20 million over FY 2009.

• Administration Review and Appeals:  Provides $296 million for the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) and the Office of the Pardon Attorney (OPA), which is an increase of $30 million.  The two offices review of immigration law and executive clemency.

• Juvenile Justice Programs:  Provides $385 million for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency programs, including the Tribal Youth Program, gang education initiatives, grants to enforce State laws prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors, and other juvenile programs.

• National Drug Intelligence Center:  Provides $44 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, which is an increase of $44 million over FY 2009.  The NDIC was established to "coordinate and consolidate drug intelligence" and has received numerous earmarks in the past.

• Office of Inspector General:  Provides $84 million for the Office of Inspector General, which is an increase of $8 million over FY 2009.

• Interagency Law Enforcement:  Provides $528 million for Interagency Crime and Drug Enforcement (ICDE), which is $13 million above FY 2009.  The program attempts to coordinate DOJ investigations and prosecutions in pursuit of multinational drug trafficking organizations.

• Weed and Seed:  Provides $15 million for the Weed and Seed program, a program aimed a preventing, controlling, and reducing violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in neighborhoods across the country.  According to OMB, "Despite the program's 11-year history, only a limited number of Weed and Seed sites have been independently evaluated."

• Other Programs:  Provides funding for salaries and expenses at DOJ agencies and for other programs as follows:

• Provides $1.8 billion for the U.S. Attorney's Office, which is $97 million above FY 2009.

• Provides $118 million for DOJ administration, which is $12 million above FY 2009.

• Provides $12 million for the U.S. Parole Commission, which is $289,000 above FY 2009.

• Provides $875 million for DOJ legal activities, which is $71 million above FY 2009.

• Provides $163 million for the DOJ Antitrust Division, which is $5 million above FY 2009.

• Provides $11 million for the Community Relations Service, which is $1.6 million above FY 2009.

Science:  H.R. 2847 provides $25.1 billion for Federal science agencies in FY 2010, an increase of $868 million, or 3.5 percent, above FY 2009.

• NASA:  Provides $18.2 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which is $421 million above FY 2009.  The legislation would create a new NASA construction account to fund all of NASA's construction programs.  H.R. 2847 would freeze funding for certain exploration activities at the current level pending a blue ribbon Human Space Flight Review panel report on future options.  The bill funds NASA's programs as follows:

• $4.49 billion for NASA science activities, which is $6.9 million less than FY 2009.

• $500 million for aeronautics, which is $1 million above FY 2009.

• $3.29 billion for exploration, which is $212 million less than FY 2009.

• $6.09 billion for space operations, which is $332 million above FY 2009.

• $175 million for education programs carried out by NASA's Education Mission Directorate, which is $5.8 million above FY 2008.

• $3.3 billion for the cross-agency support account, which provides for the research, development, operations, salaries and related expenses, and other general and administrative activities.   The funding is $142 million less than FY 2009.

• $209 million for safety and mission success funding, which is $25 million above FY 2009.

• $441 million for construction of facilities and "environmental compliance and remediation," which was not funded in FY 2009.

• $33 million for the Inspector General of NASA, which is $1.4 million than FY 2009
  
  
• NSF:  Provides $6.93 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is $446 million more than FY 2009.  According to the committee, their goal is put the NSF on a path to double in funding.  The NSF is funded as follows:

•  $5.64 billion for research and related activities, which is $459 million above FY 2009.

• $114 million for major research equipment and facilities construction, which is $37 million less than FY 2009.

• $862 million for education and human resources, which is $17 million above FY 2009.

• $299 million for agency operations and award management, which is $5.8 million above FY 2009.

• $4.3 million for the National Science Board, which is $310,000 above FY 2009.

• Office of Science and Technology:  Provides $7.1 million for the Executive Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), which advises the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.  The funding is $1.8 million more than FY 2009.

• Inspector General:  Provides $13 million for the Inspector General of the National Science Foundation, which is $1 million above FY 2009.

Related Agencies:  The CJS appropriations bill includes $956 million in spending for a number of other agencies, which is an increase of $83 million, or 9.5 percent, above FY 2009.

• Commission on Civil Rights:  Provides $9.4 million for the Commission on Civil Rights, which is responsible for investigating charges of citizens being deprived of voting and other civil rights.  The funding is $600,000 above FY 2009.

• EEOC:  Provides $367.9 million for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the government agency with jurisdiction over employment discrimination issues.  The funding is a $23 million increase over FY 2009.

• ITC:  Provides $82 million for the International Trade Commission, a quasi-judicial Federal agency with broad investigative responsibilities on matters of trade.  The funding level is $7.6 million above FY 2009.

• Legal Services:  Provides $435 million for the Federal Legal Services Corporation (LSC), an increase of $50 million over FY 2009.  The program gives taxpayer funds to provide free civil legal aid for low-income individuals.  The program distributes the vast majority of its funding to nonprofit legal aid entities.  In recent years, the program's governance, accountability, and grant management practices have been called into question, and LSC has had a difficult time showing that its funds are spent on its stated purpose.  According to a 2008 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, "LSC has not kept up with evolving reforms aimed at strengthening internal control over an organization's financial reporting process and systems.  We also found weaknesses in LSC's internal controls over grants management and oversight of grantees."  Because of these problems and potential mismanagement, some Members have called for LSC to be reduced or eliminated.

• Marine Mammal Commission:  Provides $3.3 million for the Marine Mammal Commission, an increase of $100,000 over FY 2009.

• U.S. Trade Rep:  Provides $48 million for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which is $1 million above FY 2009.

Other Provisions:  The bill contains approximately 1,100 earmarks and a number of non-spending provisions for the departments and agencies funded through H.R. 2847.

• Earmarks:  The Conference Report accompanying H.R. 2847 contains billions in funding for approximately 1,100 earmarks, listed on 80, non-searchable pages.  Earmarks in the bill range from $180,000 for "Training the Next Generation Weather Forecasters" at San Jose State University to $1 million for a forensics laboratory in South Carolina.

• Guantanamo Bay:  H.R. 2847 does not include funding for the release of detainees at the U.S. facility on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  The bill also includes a ban on using any funds from this, or any prior legislation, to release Guantanamo detainees.  The bill would also require the President to submit a comprehensive plan to Congress regarding the disposition of Guantanamo detainees.  No funds could be used to detain or prosecute such a prisoner until at least two months after the plan was submitted.

• Pro-Life Riders:  H.R. 2847 contains pro-life policy riders that prohibit the use of any of the DOJ funds from being used to pay for an abortion, except in the case of rape or to preserve the life of the mother.

• Competitive Bidding Ban:  The bill prohibits the Bureau of Prisons from using any funds to enter into a public/private contact under the OMB Circular A-76, which requires private contractors to compete for federal money to ensure that the U.S. receives maximum value for tax dollars.

• Matching Funds Waived:  The appropriation grants the Attorney General (AG) authority to waive a legislatively mandated requirement that federal grants for prisoner reentry programs under the Second Chance Act be matched by State or local funds.

Cost

According to the CBO, H.R. 2847 would appropriate $64.415 billion in funds for FY 2010.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.