Espaillat Statement During Full Committee Markup of Fiscal Year 2023 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Funding Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) issued the following remarks during the Appropriations Committee's markup of the fiscal year 2023 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies bill:

“I commend Chairman Matt Cartwright and Ranking Member Robert Aderholt and their staff for working to advance a bill that will keep our communities safe and advance access to education through the National Science Foundation.

“I am grateful to the committee for including several of my priorities, including $1.7 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). We are experiencing a gun violence crisis in the United States, and last year alone, there were approximately 20,000 suspected ghost guns recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations. ATF was responsible for issuing a final rule to rein in the proliferation of ghost guns – unserialized, privately-made firearms that law enforcement are increasingly recovering at crime scenes in cities across the country. I am glad to see strong funding levels for ATF so that it can continue its mission to protect the public from crimes involving firearms.

“The bill also includes $541 million for Community Oriented Policing Services Programs and $417 million for Byrne Justice Assistance Grant. These funds will support community violence intervention programs, de-escalation training centers, crime prevention and education, and mental health programs.

“Finally, the bill provides $60 million to Hispanic Serving Institutions through National Science Foundation funding. The Hispanic Serving Institutions program plays an important role in increasing the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of Hispanic students pursuing STEM degrees. This funding will help address the underrepresentation of Hispanic Ph.D. graduates in the STEM fields.

“For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote YES on this bill.

For 2023, the bill provides $85.5 billion, an increase of $7.6 billion – 9.7 percent – above the comparable 2022 level. The legislation:

* Supports safer communities with substantial funding for Federal, State, and local law enforcement, including greatly expanding gun violence prevention efforts

* Addresses violence against women with significant increases for Violence Against Women Act prevention and prosecution programs, as well as efforts to reduce the backlog of unprocessed rape kits

* Helps create good paying American jobs with investments in economic development in distressed communities, with support for small businesses, including small and medium-sized manufacturers

* Confronts the climate crisis with strong funding for climate resilience and research at NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Science Foundation, and increased funding for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of DOJ to help combat the climate crisis and advance environmental justice

A summary of the bill is here. The text of the draft bill is here. The bill report, before the adoption of amendments in full Committee, is here. In keeping with the Appropriations Committee’s commitment to transparency, information on Community Project Funding in the bill is here.