Statement by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the President’s FY22 Discretionary Funding Request

The Biden-Harris Administration today submitted to Congress the President’s priorities for fiscal year 2022 discretionary spending. The funding request invests in the core foundations of our country’s strength and advances key Justice Department priorities, including increasing funding for federal civil rights enforcement, addressing the rise of domestic terrorism, combatting gun violence and reforming criminal justice systems.

“The President’s proposed funding request prioritizes resources the Justice Department needs to advance its mission of ensuring equal justice under law,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This proposal makes critical investments in a wide range of departmental priorities, including strengthening civil rights enforcement and defending against domestic and international terrorism.”

The President’s 2022 discretionary request:

• Reinvigorates Federal Civil Rights Enforcement. In order to protect marginalized communities, the discretionary request invests $209 million, an increase of $33 million, in the department’s Civil Rights Division, Community Relations Service, and other programs. These funds would support: police reform; the prosecution of hate crimes across the nation, and especially in communities uniquely impacted by bias, xenophobia, and driven by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, such as Asian-American communities; the enforcement of voting rights in the Civil Rights Division; mediation and conciliation services for community conflicts arising from discriminatory practices; and other activities.
• Addresses Domestic Terrorism. The discretionary request provides an additional $101 million to address the rising threat of domestic terrorism while respecting civil rights and civil liberties. This increase includes $45 million for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for domestic terrorism investigations, $40 million for the U.S. Attorneys to manage increasing domestic terrorism caseloads, $12 million for additional response capabilities at the U.S. Marshals Service, and $4 million to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to support research on domestic terrorism threats. These investments complement funding provided for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
• Combats the Gun Violence Public Health Epidemic. The discretionary request includes $2.1 billion, an increase of $232 million above the 2021 enacted level, for DOJ to address the gun violence public health crisis plaguing communities across the nation. Investments include $401 million in state and local grants, an increase of $162 million or 68 percent above the 2021 enacted level.
• Invests in Community Policing, Police Reform, and Other Efforts to Address Systemic Inequities. Policies that create strong, positive ties between law enforcement and the communities they serve are critical to making the nation’s communities safer and to rooting out systemic inequities in the justice system. The discretionary request provides $1.2 billion, an increase of $304 million, to support a range of programs supporting police-community relationships, including the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring program and programs that support community-oriented policing policies and practices, such as racial sensitivity and implicit bias training and additional support for hate crime training and police innovation programs.
• Invests in Efforts to End Gender-Based Violence. The discretionary request proposes a historic investment of $1 billion to support Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs at DOJ, a $487 million or 95-percent increase over the 2021 enacted level. This funding supports substantial increases for longstanding VAWA programs, in addition to funding for new programs to expand restorative justice efforts, protect transgender victims, and support women at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges.
   

These discretionary investments reflect only one element of the President’s broader agenda. In the coming months, the Administration will release the President’s Budget, which will present a unified, comprehensive plan to address the overlapping crises we face in a fiscally and economically responsible way. 

For more information on the President’s FY22 discretionary funding request, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/FY-2022-Discretionary-Request/.