Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are looking to cut $1 billion worth of funding from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
According to the Washington Examiner, House Republicans are also looking to decrease overall funding for agencies related to the FBI.
The funding cut is part of a Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies funding bill for 2024.
The bill can be found in its entirety here.
According to the Examiner, the FBI's funding, as a result of the bill, would drop from its current amount - which is $11.3 billion - to $10.3 billion in 2024. This is roughly a 9% cut in the FBI's funding.
The Examiner reports that "included in the $1 billion cut is a $400 million decrease in FBI salaries and related expenses, and new spending limitations on the bureau."
But, there is more. The Examiner reports that "Other key components of the bill include a ban on the bureau investigating politically sensitive cases without a bipartisan staff in the Justice Department overseeing it."
The outlet reports that "the bill also prevents the bureau from paying the salaries of agents who retaliate against whistleblowers, and those who refuse to comply with a congressional subpoena."
Finally, the Examiner reports that the bill "blocks the salaries of those who allegedly impose on an employee's First Amendment rights, including free speech, and prevents the bureau from labeling any communications as 'misinformation.'"
According to Fox News, the bill has already passed through the House Appropriations subcommittee by a party-line vote.
It is unclear what support there is for the bill in the House of Representatives as a whole. But, it is safe to conclude that the bill will not have enough support in the U.S. Senate, where the Democrats have an extremely narrow majority.
Democrats on the House Appropriations Subcommittee have already been criticizing the bill. The Democrats are trying to claim that the bill "defunds" law enforcement. The Democrats know firsthand how unpopular a "defund the police" movement could be considering that such a movement backfired on them when they tried to do it in the summer of 2020.
According to Republicans, however, the two situations are not equivalent.
Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) put out a statement, saying:
The bill holds the Department of Justice accountable and improves our immigration court system. It supports state and local law enforcement and provides critical resources to combat illegal drugs flooding our country.
