Congressional Research Service

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: Fy2015 Appropriations Congressional Research Service

Publisher Marketing: This report tracks and describes actions taken by the Administration and Congress to provide FY2015 appropriations for the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) accounts. It also provides an overview of FY2014 appropriations for agencies and bureaus funded as a part of the annual appropriation for CJS. The annual CJS appropriations act provides funding for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, the science agencies, and several related agencies. Appropriations for the Department of Commerce include funding for agencies such as the Census Bureau; the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Appropriations for the Department of Justice (DOJ) provide funding for agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Prisons; the U. S. Marshals; the Drug Enforcement Administration; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; along with funding for a variety of grant programs for state, local, and tribal governments. Funding for the science agencies goes to the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The annual appropriation for the related agencies includes funding for agencies such as the Legal Services Corporation and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Over the past 10 fiscal years, appropriations for CJS increased from FY2005 to FY2010, and they have generally declined since. After adjusting for inflation, FY2013 and FY2014 appropriations for CJS were generally at the same level as in FY2005. The peak in CJS appropriations around FY2010 was the result of increased appropriations for the Department of Commerce to support the 2010 decennial census. Since FY2010, total appropriations for CJS have been around $60 billion, with the exception of FY2013 when sequestration cut nearly $4 billion out of the total FY2013 CJS appropriations. While decreased appropriations for the Department of Commerce mostly explain the overall decrease in CJS appropriations since FY2010, there have also been cuts in funding for DOJ and NASA. Recent reductions to NASA's appropriation have brought it more in-line with what the agency received in FY2005. In addition, despite recent cuts to DOJ's appropriation, Congress still appropriated $6.883 billion more for DOJ in FY2014 than it did in FY2005.