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Senate Hearings Before the Committee on Appropriations

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Senate Hearings Before the Committee on Appropriations S. HRG. 114–178 Senate Hearings Before the Committee on Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Fiscal Year 2016 114th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION H.R. 2578 BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE—OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE—OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations, 2016 (H.R. 2578) S. HRG. 114–178 COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016 HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON H.R. 2578 AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF COM- MERCE AND JUSTICE, AND SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2016, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Department of Commerce—Office of the Secretary Department of Justice—Office of the Attorney General Drug Enforcement Administration Federal Bureau of Investigation National Aeronautics and Space Administration Nondepartmental Witnesses United States Marshals Service Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/ committee.action?chamber=senate&committee=appropriations U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 93–106 PDF WASHINGTON : 2016 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi, Chairman MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland, Vice RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama Chairwoman LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine PATTY MURRAY, Washington LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois MARK KIRK, Illinois JACK REED, Rhode Island ROY BLUNT, Missouri JON TESTER, Montana JERRY MORAN, Kansas TOM UDALL, New Mexico JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin STEVE DAINES, Montana CHRIS MURPHY, Connecticut BRUCE EVANS, Staff Director CHARLES E. KIEFFER, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama, Chairman LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland, LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska Ranking Member SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California MARK KIRK, Illinois JACK REED, Rhode Island JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi, (ex officio) CHRIS MURPHY, Connecticut Professional Staff JEREMY WEIRICH ALLEN CUTLER KOLO RATHBURN STEVEN WALL JEAN TOAL EISEN (Minority) JENNIFER ESKRA (Minority) MOLLY O’ROURKE (Minority) Administrative Support HAYLEY ALEXANDER JORDAN STONE (Minority) (II) CONTENTS HEARINGS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2015 Page Department of Commerce—Office of the Secretary .............................................. 1 THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ......................................... 89 Drug Enforcement Administration ......................................................................... 83 Federal Bureau of Investigation ............................................................................. 65 United States Marshals Service ............................................................................. 77 THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015 National Aeronautics and Space Administration .................................................. 159 THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015 Department of Justice—Office of the Attorney General ....................................... 187 BACK MATTER List of Witnesses, Communications, and Prepared Statements .......................... 307 Nondepartmental Witnesses ................................................................................... 253 Subject Index: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives .................................. 309 Department of Commerce—Office of the Secretary ....................................... 309 Department of Justice—Office of the Attorney General ............................... 311 Drug Enforcement Administration .................................................................. 313 Federal Bureau of Investigation ...................................................................... 314 National Aeronautics and Space Administration .......................................... 315 United States Marshals Service ...................................................................... 316 (III) COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RE- LATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2015 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 10:33 a.m., in room SD–192, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Richard Shelby (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Shelby, Collins, Kirk, Capito, Lankford, Mikul- ski, Shaheen, Coons, Baldwin, and Murphy. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY STATEMENT OF HON. PENNY PRITZKER, SECRETARY OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD C. SHELBY Senator SHELBY. The subcommittee will come to order. Today, I want to welcome Secretary Pritzker, who will testify about the De- partment of Commerce’s 2016 budget request. This subcommittee has had a productive relationship with the Commerce Department under Secretary Pritzker’s tenure, and we appreciate very much her being here today. The Department of Commerce is responsible for a variety of ac- tivities critical to our Nation’s well-being, including: weather fore- casting, economic development, fisheries management, cybersecurity standards, and trade enforcement, among others. Few departments have such potential to directly impact the strength and sustainability of our communities and local busi- nesses back home. The Commerce Department’s request for fiscal year 2016 totals $9.8 billion, which is $1.3 billion, or 16 percent, above the 2015 en- acted amount of $8.5 billion. This request represents a significant increase in spending at a time when America is still living within a constrained budget. The Department’s request proposes increas- ing funding for several important programs that are already expen- sive, including the build up to the 2020 Decennial Census and ef- forts to launch the next generation of weather satellites. These large increases are coupled with substantial funding proposals for new initiatives, which will continue to add financial pressure on ex- isting core programs and operations. (1) 2 Such a disjointed request, I believe, ignores current fiscal reali- ties and raises immediate questions about the administration’s pri- orities for establishing a balanced budget within the Commerce De- partment. Strict oversight and fiscal responsibility are essential for the Department’s success in 2016. One of the growing pressures on the Department’s budget is the anticipated budgetary and personnel build up to execute the 2020 Census. And while the Department is working to the make the 2020 Census as efficient and cost-effective as possible, any delay in testing and activities now will have very costly ramifications in the future. The Department, I believe, simply cannot afford to have an- other $1 billion setback similar to that experienced in 2010. Madam Secretary, I believe if you’re not watchful of plans and schedules with the Census today, important programs throughout the Department could suffer in order to keep the Census on track. When it comes to accountability, ensuring the timely delivery, launch, and operation of weather satellites remains a primary con- cern for this subcommittee. According to NOAA’s own budget re- quest, polar orbiting satellites provide the primary input, up to 85 percent, of the data needed for NOAA’s numerical weather pre- diction models, the underpinnings of high impact weather fore- casts. Eighty-five percent, I think, is a big deal. Despite the continued support and full funding provided by the subcommittee to NOAA for these satellites, recent reports by GAO and the Department of Commerce Inspector General suggest that a gap in polar satellite data is likely to occur. GAO continues to predict a gap that could last anywhere from 17 to 53 months, while NOAA and NASA say there is only a potential of a 3 month gap. I’m disappointed in the lack of a specific plan to address the poten- tial near-term data gap that could occur this calendar year. Madam Secretary, this mixed message on the potential gap deep- ly troubles me. It’s clear that the loss of this data would negatively impact the capability of our Nation’s weather forecasters, poten- tially putting lives and property in harm’s way. This gap debate and incongruent information does little to dissuade my concerns or that of the American people. In addition, I’m concerned about the Department’s
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