WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) with appropriation recommendations for fiscal year 2024 that will constrain out-of-control federal agencies, hold the Biden Administration accountable, and most importantly protect the fundamental civil liberties of the American people.
Since the start of the 118th Congress, the Committee on the Judiciary and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government have been conducting oversight to address the problems created by the Biden Administration and to protect fundamental civil liberties. This work has generated a number of potential reforms that the House of Representatives can advance through its "power of the purse."
Chairman Jordan sent the following areas for potential reform:
* Immigration enforcement and border security. Since President Biden took office in 2021, border officials have encountered more than 5.5 million illegal aliens along the southwest border, and the Biden Administration has released into American communities over 2 million illegal aliens encountered along the southwest border. The Biden Administration's open-border policies have led to a number of suspected terrorists entering our country. The crisis at the border is a direct result of the radical policies of President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas, and it affects American communities all across the country. The Committee recommends prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used to implement the Biden Administration's radical immigration policies.
* Reining in abusive federal law enforcement agencies. The Committee and Select Subcommittee have received startling testimony about egregious abuses, misallocation of federal law-enforcement resources, and misconduct within the leadership ranks of the FBI. We recommend that the appropriations bills eliminate any funding for the FBI that is not absolutely essential for the agency to execute its mission, including as a starting point eliminating taxpayer funding for any new FBI headquarter facility and instead examining options for relocating the FBI’s headquarters outside of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. We also recommend tying funding for the FBI to specific policy changes-such as requiring the FBI to record interviews-that will promote accountability and transparency at the FBI. We recommend the FBI submit an operational plan within 90 days to move the FBI Headquarters out of the National Capital Region. The operational plan should also consider the existing resources and infrastructure available at the FBI’s Redstone Arsenal Campus in Huntsville, AL.
* Protecting FBI whistleblowers. The Committee and Select Subcommittee have received whistleblower testimony from several current and former FBI employees who chose to risk their careers to expose abuses and misconduct in the FBI. We ask that the Appropriations Committee include language in the Justice Department appropriations bill prohibiting retaliation against FBI whistleblowers, including by prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used to pay the salary of any Justice Department or FBI employee who is found to have retaliated against a whistleblower.
* Protecting Freedom of Speech online. The Committee and the Select Subcommittee are also conducting robust oversight of how federal agencies collude with companies and other intermediaries to censor speech. Information obtained by the Committee and the Select Subcommittee suggests that federal agencies have sought, whether directly or indirectly, to censor, discourage, or chill online public discourse. We respectfully request language in fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills prohibiting taxpayer funds from being used to censor Americans online or to classify speech as so-called "mis-, dis-, or mal-information." We also ask that the Appropriations Committee eliminate taxpayer dollars going to the Global Engagement Center and other governmental and non-governmental entities that are engaged in speech suppression.
* Protecting the Second Amendment. The Committee is also examining the Biden Administration's attacks on fundamental Second Amendment rights at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). In two recent regulatory actions, the ATF has circumvented the will of Congress and flouted the Second Amendment. Accordingly, we recommend prohibiting taxpayer funds from being used to implement ATF radical regulations concerning pistol braces or so-called "ghost guns."
Read the full letter to Chairwoman Granger here.
Source: House Committee On The Judiciary