Appropriations
The House Appropriations Committee released its Commerce-Justice-Science bill on 7/1 and held subcommittee markups on Monday, 7/12…
The bill funds the Justice Department at $36.04 billion, an increase of $2.64 billion above the FY 2021 discretionary enacted level. This includes funding for the following…
Public Safety, Violence Prevention, and Police and Gun Reform
The Biden administration in June announced a comprehensive strategy to combat gun violence and violent crime through preventative measures restricting access to guns…
In preparation for a possible increase in violence typically seen over the summer months, the Justice Department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime includes supporting state and local law enforcement efforts to identify the most violent offenders and most dangerous criminal organizations in communities…
The president’s nomination of David Chipman to lead the ATF is uncertain to win approval…
Last month, Congressional negotiators announced they reached an agreement on a framework for legislation aimed at overhauling the nation's policing laws, but any agreement remains elusive…
A group of 29 civil rights organizations penned a letter to top-ranking lawmakers last week to raise concerns about the talks surrounding a police reform bill, zeroing in on the qualified immunity doctrine…
Concern over crime is at the highest point in four years amid a spike in killings in big cities and an uptick in violent crime, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released 7/2, and the percentage of Americans who say crime in the United States is “extremely serious” has reached its highest point in two decades…
Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, attended a White House meeting with Biden, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, local law enforcement leaders and elected officials last month to discuss gun crime and firearms dealers…
Bolstered by widespread outcry over racial policing policies, new district attorneys came into office vowing to reduce the criminal justice footprint, but six months in, the prosecutors are struggling to navigate tensions between supporters for change and police unions blaming crime spikes as proof that progressive approaches to violence don’t work…
Democratic lawmakers want to eliminate funding long-designated for school resource officers (SROs), with The Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act…
A newly approved city budget will not include an additional $18 million for the Oakland Police Department, increasing vulnerability in a city already battling an epidemic of violent crime…
Innovative Policing and Police Technology
Mark43 Inc., a software provider to police departments, is spending more on lobbying and emphasizing its role in helping agencies share information with the public amid a pushback against law enforcement over the past year…
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced last month that Vibrant Emotional Health (Vibrant) will be the administrators of the new 988 dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline)…
The Mental Health Justice Act, which was introduced in the House in February, would create a national grant program to pay for first responder units made up of mental health providers on the local level…