SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED AGENCIES JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire, Chairman TED STEVENS, Alaska ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey Subcommittee Staff LULA EDWARDS SCOTT GUDES (Minority) DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED FOR FISCAL AGENCIES YEAR 1997 APPROPRIATIONS THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1996 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., in room S-146, the Capitol, Hon. Judd Gregg (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Gregg, Domenici, Hollings, and Bumpers. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATEMENT OF JANET RENO, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL OPENING REMARKS Senator GREGG. We are going to start this hearing a little early, because the Attorney General is early, and that is great. And I very much appreciate her making that extra effort to be here not only on time but early. That is reflective of the way she runs her Department in my opinion, which is very efficient. Senator Hollings I expect will be joining us shortly. He works on southern time; we work on northern time. This hearing, obviously, is meant to go over the budget for the 1997 period. That budget is affected significantly by what has happened just in the last few weeks here with the Congress and the President on the agreements which were reached. One of the bills which was finally reached was the Commerce, State, Justice bill for fiscal year 1996, and that bill set out a lot of priorities which will dominate how we go forward in fiscal year 1997. To the extent that there are new initiatives, new ideas or areas of emphasis which may be different than what was done in the 1996 proposals, I think we want to highlight those today. In addition, I think it should be noted for the record that from a standpoint of funding, although the majority of the Government, especially on the discretionary side of the budget, has received significant reductions, sometimes in some accounts whole activities being zeroed out, many other activities being reduced by 30 percent-that is not an unusual number to find in many accounts. But in Justice, we have significantly increased spending in the Justice accounts over the fiscal year 1995 levels. This action reflects a belief jointly held by the administration and the Congress that a stronger commitment to enforcement of our criminal laws and especially in the area of violent crime, terrorism, and illegal immigration is absolutely critical. And thus, unlike many departments where the issue is, how do you live on less, the issues for the Attorney General have been how do you most effectively use increased resources, and I think the Attorney General has been very effective in addressing those issues, and I have enjoyed working with her and will now turn it over to the Attorney General for whatever comments she wishes to make. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPENING STATEMENT Ms. RENO. Thank you, and I think one of the reasons that I have been successful is because we have had the opportunity to work with you and Senator Hollings and your staffs. Mr. Taylor and Mr. Gudes have been just exceptional in working with us to address problems of mutual concern to highlight issues that we will both be dealing with, and we have appreciated that very, very much. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE INITIATIVES Let me just highlight what we intend to do to build on what the committee and the Department of Justice have done to date. Obviously, one of our concerns is the Southwest border, both from the point of view of immigration and with respect to drugs and corruption along the border. The budget before you provides a $428 million, or 16 percent increase for INS as it focuses attention on the border. That would include hiring 700 additional Border Patrol agents and funding 126 of the authorized but unfunded Border Patrol agents shortfall that I identified previously. It would also provide additional moneys for support personnel and immigration inspectors. It includes $70 million to support 54 additional agents for the DEA along the Southwest border, 70 additional agents for the FBI, and 91 assistant U.S. attorneys. But as we look at the issue of immigration, we have tried to perfect a balanced approach that first addresses the border and controls illegal immigration, then focuses on workplace enforcement and the removal and deportation of criminal aliens, and we will ask for additional initiatives in that regard. For fiscal year 1997, the budget for INS also includes $47.4 million in fee-funded enhancements to provide immigration adjudication, naturalization, and inspections. These resources will permit 198 additional inspectors to be stationed at air ports of entry to strengthen border facilitation. From my experience as a prosecutor in Miami, one of our frustrations as local prosecutors is to see illegal aliens in the criminal justice system. We are seeking $330 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. This amount, when combined with the $170 million we have proposed to be available out of the State Prison Grant Program provides $500 million to reimburse State and local governments. |