Congress Passes Omnibus Spending Resolution

On December 19, the U.S. Congress passed an Omnibus spending resolution that combines the 11 unfinished appropriations bills, including the Commerce Justice Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, into one catch-all measure.

The Omnibus package shaved roughly $22 billion from the individual spending bills delivering across-the-board cuts to almost all domestic programs. The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act, which authorizes the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program, was initially slated to receive $10 million in both House and Senate CJS Appropriations bills. The Omnibus spending measure includes $6.5 million for the program, a $1.5 million increase over FY 06 and FY 07 funding levels.

Other criminal justice programs in the Omnibus package include the Justice Assistance Grant program (JAG), which will receive $170 million and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) which will receive $400 million. Additionally the Byrne Discretionary Grant program will receive $187.5 million. The full text of the omnibus package is available here.

The spending package will now be sent to the President. It is unclear if the President will sign or veto the bill.

House and Senate CJS Funding Comparison Chart
(funding levels in millions)

Program	FY06	FY07	FY08 House Passed	FY08 Senate Passed	FY 08 Omnibus
Mentally Ill Offender Program	$5	$5	$10	$10	$6.5
Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grants	$416	$520	$600	$660	$170.433
VAWA	$386.5	$386.5	$390	$390	$400
COPS Program	$478.3	$542	$725	$550	$587.2
Drug Courts Program	$10	$10	$40	$25	$15.2
Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program	$10	$10	$10	$10	$9.4

For more information on FY 08 appropriations or the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act please contact Sara Paterni.