Funding to Keep Native American Communities Safe

Native American Legislative Update - May 2012

Funding to Keep Native American Communities Safe

Appropriations season has begun. Even though each chamber of Congress recognizes that it is very unlikely that its own appropriations bills will actually go through the whole congressional process and be signed by the president this year, each chamber is still working to finalize a set of bills outlining its spending priorities. When final spending decisions are made, probably in the “lame-duck” session after the elections, these appropriations bills will form a platform for negotiations between the two houses.

Last week, the first of twelve FY 2013 appropriations bills came to the floor of the House. The Commerce/Justice/Science (“CJS”) appropriations bill (H.R. 5326) funds the Departments of Commerce and Justice, various science agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and justice-related agencies, such as the Legal Services Corporation. The House considered dozens of amendments during debate on the measure.

Of particular interest in the CJS appropriations bill is funding to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for Indian Country law enforcement programs, including:

• for assistance to Indian tribes, including tribal courts, tribal detention facilities and other programs, $38 million;
• for hiring, equipment, training and anti-methamphetamine activities for tribal law enforcement under the Tribal Resources Grant Program through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), $20 million; and
• for analysis and research on violence against Indian women, and for the American Indian and Alaska Native sexual assault clearinghouse through DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women, $1 million and $500,000, respectively.

The Senate is Spending More than the House. Why?
Almost all House appropriations bills will provide lower funding than Senate appropriations bills, because the House bills are based on the House-passed budget resolution, which limits total appropriations a level that is $19 billion less than the limit set in last summer’s Budget Control Act.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is relying on the total discretionary spending allowed for FY2013 in the Budget Control Act ($1.047 trillion). As a result, the Senate CJS appropriations bill generally sets higher levels for Indian Country law enforcement programs – a total of $81.5 million specifically for tribal programs in the Senate CJS bill (S. 3535) versus a total of $59.5 million in H.R. 5326. This wide gap between the Senate and House levels will make post-election negotiations all the more complicated.