Ranking Member DeLauro Remarks: Fiscal Year 2027 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee Markup

WASHINGTON – House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) delivered the following remarks during the subcommittee markup of the fiscal year 2027 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies funding bill:

Thank you Chairman Cole, Chairman Rogers, and Ranking Member Meng. 

I also want to thank the subcommittee staff, Bob Bonner, Nora Faye, Jamie Wise, and Faye Cobb on the minority, and their counterparts on the majority, Rob Yavor (pronounced YAY-ver), Liz Porter, Chris Eckhardt, Nick Mitchell, and Mye Miller (pronounced MY) as well for their work.

I oppose the bill we are considering this morning, because it makes Americans less safe, erodes our economic and scientific competitiveness, and hurts working families who are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.

The Trump administration’s trade policies have been nothing short of disastrous. Since he took office, the President has imposed, withdrawn, reimposed, and then been forced by the Supreme Court to remove again, a series of haphazard, harmful, and extremely costly tariffs.

Throughout 2025, these tariffs cost American families upwards of $1,700 in higher prices.

The Trump trade wars were waged in the name of boosting domestic manufacturing in America. Yet from February 2025 through February of this year, the U.S. lost over 88,000 manufacturing jobs. That is more than 100 manufacturing jobs per day – a fact that Secretary Lutnick was unaware of when he testified before this committee last week.

Across the board, the Trump economy is hurting working families. The first year of Trump’s second term was the worst year for American job growth since the final year of his last term. And this bill before us does nothing to change the track that this country is on. In fact, it would make our problems even worse.

By cutting $144 million in funding – 36 percent – from Economic Development Administration programs, this bill reduces investments that create jobs and revitalize distressed local communities – rural communities in particular. From 2018 to 2024, the EDA created or retained more than 727,000 jobs and spurred more than $80 billion in private investment. We should be increasing our investment in programs like this, not scaling back support when the American people need it most.

This bill cuts $142 million in funding from the International Trade Administration, which fights unfair trade practices in other countries and supports American businesses trying to expand their exports. Unfair trade practices were another reason given for President Trump’s trade wars. Yet the Republican proposal is to take resources away from a very pivotal agency that combats these same tactics. 

This bill not only harms Americans’ financial security, but their physical safety as well. By defunding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, this bill would significantly weaken our ability to track down illegal arms dealers, intercept gun smuggling, and capture dangerous criminals who put American lives at risk.

The more than $280 million cut to ATF’s budget would force the agency to reduce their workforce by more than one thousand positions. These officers work around the clock to keep us safe, but the Republican proposal is to put them out of a job. 

On top of defunding the ATF, this bill cuts funding for Justice grants, including a $50 million cut to Juvenile Justice grants. It fully eliminates funding for Community Violence Intervention and Prevention, Hate Crime Prevention, Law Enforcement De-escalation Training, and Police-Community Relations grants. These are tools that local law enforcement depends on to make our communities safer.

This bill weakens our scientific competitiveness by cutting billions of dollars from scientific research, technology development, and STEM education across the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Earlier this month my Republican colleagues, alongside Democrats and the American people, celebrated the remarkable success of the Artemis mission. This was a groundbreaking achievement—the furthest manned space flight from Earth in over 50 years. Now, Republicans are proposing to slash funding for NASA science, aeronautics, and education initiatives. 

The bill also cuts funding to the National Science Foundation by $1.8 billion, further undermining efforts to support basic scientific research, cutting-edge technology development, and STEM education. 

These cuts represent a failure to invest in the future, and to ensure that the next generation of world class engineers, inventors, researchers and technicians are educated here in the United States and can bring their expertise to American companies.

If we want to see more scientific and technological successes like the NASA Artemis missions, as well as other innovations that will make our country more economically competitive, we need to sustain funding for the people and the scientific and technological investments that make such American innovations possible.

Lastly, this bill decimates the Legal Services Corporation by cutting its funding by more than half. Their work helps veterans, seniors dealing with financial exploitation and consumer fraud, people with disabilities, renters who are facing eviction or living in deplorable housing conditions, and victims of domestic violence. For every dollar we invest in the LSC, we get $7 in return. This cut is foolish.

I oppose this bill because it makes Americans less safe, does nothing to bring down costs for working families, and weakens our scientific and economic competitiveness.

I encourage my colleagues to oppose this measure, and work on a bipartisan basis to craft a bill that meets this moment.

Thank you and I yield back.