Chairwoman Lowey Statement at Subcommittee Markup of FY 2021 Commerce-Justice-Science Funding Bill

I thank Chairman Serrano and Ranking Member Aderholt for their work on this bill as well as the staff for reviewing the many member requests and helping to craft the product before us.

At a time when we must restore Americans’ faith in law enforcement, the Commerce, Justice, Science bill provides strong funding increases to promote civil rights and improve police practices throughout the country, including more than $500 million in federal grants for states and localities to carry out police reform initiatives.

Beyond this urgent responsibility, this subcommittee is tasked with investing in programs that promote economic development, keep our communities safe, reduce gun violence, and advance evidence-based scientific research.

This bill would do so by providing:

• An increase of $23 million for the Economic Development Administration to spur the economic growth of hard hit regions;
• Increased funding for multiple programs at the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women to protect the most vulnerable as our nation faces a troubling new wave of gender and domestic violence as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
• An increase of $9.7 million for the National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS) grants to help prevent guns from entering the wrong hands;
• An increase of $270 million for the National Science Foundation.

I congratulate Congressman Serrano on his drafting of this bill. He has been an invaluable leader as Chairman of this subcommittee, and he will be greatly missed when he retires at the end of this year. I look forward to moving the bill through the Appropriations process.