House Appropriations Advances FY 2023 Funding for NTIA, DOJ Antitrust, Others
The House Appropriations Committee voted 31-24 Tuesday to advance the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee’s FY 2023 bill, which includes funding increases for NTIA, other Commerce Department agencies and the DOJ Antitrust Division (see 2206270061). The committee is to vote Thursday on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee’s FY23 bill, which proposes increasing CPB’s annual funding to $565 million beginning in FY 2025 (see 2206240074). The markup session begins at 9 a.m. in 1100 Longworth.
Appropriations Republicans ultimately voted against the Commerce bill, but ranking member Kay Granger of Texas praised the measure for strengthening “the ability of the U.S. to be competitive around the world” and investing “in cutting-edge research and technology.” Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro also praised proposed funding for agencies that “support American competitiveness.” The funding bill includes $62 million for NTIA, $4.25 billion for the Patent Office, $1.47 billion for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, $191.4 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security, and $230 million for DOJ Antitrust (see 2206230001).
Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., praised House Appropriations for allocating some of NTIA’s funding to its Office of Public Safety Communications “to develop a plan for a competitive grant program to provide 911 centers with resources to help professionals address critical training needs, which includes how to respond to reports of active shooter situations.” Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., praised the measure’s cybersecurity funding.
House Appropriations voted 30-26 against an amendment from Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., that would have allocated at least $5 million from the DOJ National Security division’s budget to create an office “dedicated to countering espionage and influence efforts” of the Chinese government “targeting American businesses, research institutions, and academia.” The amendment was aimed at bringing back a form of the DOJ China Initiative that the Biden administration ended, Garcia said. The program “was proving to be effective in fighting both IP theft and trade secret theft.”
Commerce ranking member Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania and other Democrats opposed the amendment. Garcia “will struggle to find anyone in this room who doesn’t want to counter espionage against” the U.S., “but it’s about the way you go about it,” Cartwright said. “We have not previously imposed line-item funding” for NSD’s missions “and there really is no reason to start now.” He noted existing programs aimed at countering Chinese espionage and cybersecurity protections.
House Appropriations’ proposed report on the LHHS bill includes language encouraging CPB to continue work aimed at ensuring multicultural and diverse broadcast programming. The report also directs federally funded radio stations “to engage in public-private partnerships with State and local entities, including nonprofits,” to ensure “continued access to public broadcasting in local communities.”