FY16 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill Includes $40 Million Increase for Neuroscience

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02), Ranking Member on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) announced key priorities in the FY 2016 CJS Appropriations Act. In remarks during Wednesday's full committee markup, Fattah highlighted several of his initiatives included in this year's legislation: increased funding for neuroscience research, money for a National Brain Observatory, manufacturing programs to stimulate U.S. businesses, and youth mentoring funding through the Department of Justice.

During the markup, Fattah also offered an amendment to the bill that would rename the Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) initiative in honor of slain Philadelphia police officer Robert Wilson III. Wilson was killed in the line of duty on March 5, 2015. The amendment passed with a unanimous vote.

Overall, the funding bill allocates $51.378 billion in net discretionary funds to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Commerce, National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and other related agencies that fall under the under the subcommittee's jurisdiction.

Neuroscience research funding received $146.9 million in the bill, which represents a nearly 40 percent increase over the previous year's funding level and one of the largest percentage increases in the legislation. This includes $3 million to create a National Brain Observatory. Additionally, youth mentoring—a significant priority for Congressman Fattah—was funded at $95 million, which is $5 million above the FY 15 level.

"I am proud of many aspects of this bill—notably the increased funding for several of my key legislative priorities including brain research, mentoring, and manufacturing. I want to thank Chairman Culberson for his inaugural leadership of this subcommittee and for his collegial style in guiding us through this year's CJS appropriations process," Congressman Fattah said. "While this bill is far from perfect, it makes significant investments in areas that will improve the quality of life for millions of Americans, deepen our investment in medical and scientific research, and expand our country's domestic manufacturing capacity."

Other Fattah priorities included in this year's bill include strong support for the Minority Business Development Agency, robust funding levels for NASA, with increases for both Space Technology and Commercial Crew, and sustained resources to help small and mid-size U.S. manufacturers, including the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program.

The bill also includes a number of funding shortfalls, providing insufficient resources to programs that are critical investments in the future of the United States' growing population. In the markup, Fattah remarked, "There's a lot of good in our bill, but because of the allocation we are living within, there are still some challenges….we can't move forward absent additional dollars."

The legislation lacks adequate funding for state and local law enforcement assistance, including an elimination of funds for COPS hiring grants. It also fails to fund the Legal Services Corporation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Census Bureau at satisfactory levels. 

"I have widespread concerns about many of the specific funding levels offered in this bill," Fattah said. "This bill hugely underfunds NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) and provides wholly insufficient support for climate science research within both NSF and NASA. These are incredibly important programs and I hope that we can work with our Republican counterparts on these numbers so we can provide more sufficient resources."

Highlights of the FY 2016 CJS Appropriations Act:

National Science Foundation: $7.394 billion in overall funding.

• Neuroscience: $146.9 million in total funding for neuroscience, an increase of $40.5 million above the FY 15 level; $3 million of the increase will go to begin work on the National Brain Observatory
• The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation: Funded at $46 million, the same as in FY 15.
• HBCU-UP Program: Funded at $35 million, an increase of $3 million above the FY 15 level.
• Tribal Colleges and Universities Program: Funded at the NSF-requested level of $14 million, an increase of $500,000 above last year.

Department of Commerce: $8.3 billion in overall funding.

• Minority Business Development Agency: $32 million is provided, $2 million above FY 15 and $1.98 million above the request.    
• Regional Innovation Program: The bill provides $11 million for program, $1 million above FY 15 levels.
• Manufacturing Extension Partnership program: Funded at $130 million – flat with FY 15 levels.

Department of Justice: $27.47 billion in overall funding.

• Sexual Assault Backlog Funding: The bill provides $125 million for the DNA Initiative program – the same as FY 15 levels and $41 million for the Community Backlog Reduction program – the same as FY 15 levels.
• Second Chance Act programs: Funded at $68 million – identical to the FY 15 level.
• National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS): The bill continues the FY 15 level of funding at $73 million to improve submission of records into the NICS background check system.

NASA: $18.53 billion in overall funding.

• Space Technology: $625 million provided for Space Tech, which is $29 million above FY 15 funding.
• Commercial Crew: $1 billion is provided, $195 million above FY 15.
• Space Launch System (SLS): The bill provides $1.85 billion for SLS vehicle development, $150 million above FY 15 levels and $546.6 million above the budget request
• NASA Education: $119 million is provided for education programs, including the Minority University Research and Education Program (funded at $32 million)

Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): The bill funds OSTP at $5.5 million, equal to the FY 15 level.

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah

Related Links

http://www.fattah.house.gov