“Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related (CJS) Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022”
(H.R.4505)

 

Jurisdiction:
United States Congress

Source:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4505 

Sponsor:
Representative Matthew Cartwright (D-PA 08) 

Co-Sponsors:
Full co-sponsor list viewable here - Not applicable for Appropriations bills

Status:
Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 19, 2021.

On July 28, 2021 the House Rules Committee reported Resolution H. Res. This rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4346, H.R. 4373 and H.R. 4505 under a structured rule with one hour of general debate for each bill.

Congress put on hold the consideration of many Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bills and passed a short-term stopgap funding bill which funds the federal government through mid-December 2021.

FPC Position:
Oppose

Bill Summary:
This bill provides Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations to the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the science agencies, and several related agencies. 

Appropriations bills allocate funding and funding priorities, they do NOT create new law. However, appropriations bills are necessary to keep Federal agencies funded. As a result, members of Congress in both parties often insert funding items for public relations purposes, thus stuffing appropriations bills full of “pork” funding. 

Inside of H.R.4505, a 138-page funding bill, are several anti-gun funding items of concern to FPC. On page 73, there are the following tax-payer funded anti-gun items for local law enforcement and municipalities:

  • $90,000,000 for a community violence intervention initiative
    • “Community violence” programs have been used in the past to fund anti-gun policies or police units in large cities.
  • $40,000,000 for an incentivization program for red flag and gun licensing laws.
    • So called “Red Flag” programs grossly violate due process, making an individual guilty before proven innocent.
    • All licensing laws are government data collection that can be turned into a confiscation mechanism. 
  • $10,000,000 for a pilot program for gun buyback and relinquishment

Political Analysis:
Congress WILL need to pass multiple FY2022 appropriations bills before the stopgap funding expires in mid-December 2021. If they fail to pass one or more appropriations bills, the government could face a partial or full government shutdown. Neither political party wants to be blamed for a government shutdown. 

Thankfully, none of these anti-gun spending items are in the Senate version (S.3042) of the CJS FY2022 appropriations bill. This lack of synchronization between the House and Senate bills means there will need to be either amendments to either bill or a conference committee to work out the differences. In this negotiation process, traditionally, the Senate tends to have more influence. Pressure from constituents on these items will only further tip the scales in favor of the Senate CJS bill. 

FPC members and supporters should use these differences mentioned above to push Congress to strip these anti-gun appropriations items from the House bill.