House Republicans Move To Cut FBI Funding, Protect Whistleblowers
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has begun taking action to protect whistleblowers and cut $1 billion from the FBI’s funding.
GOP lawmakers continue to probe the FBI’s treatment of conservatives, and their latest act to hold the bureau accountable came in the form of a new bill that just passed through the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies.
The bill, which would cut FBI funding by roughly 9%, faces an uphill battle in the Democrat-controlled Senate — and would almost certainly be vetoed by President Joe Biden if it were to make it through the Senate.
The legislation would also prevent the FBI from spending funds on its office of diversity and inclusion, along with other diversity offices that fall under the scope of the appropriations bill — including the Commerce Department and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Commerce Department would also face a $1.4 billion cut in discretionary spending, while the DOJ would receive a $2 billion funding cut.
House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) released a statement about the legislation, which read: “The bill holds the Department of Justice accountable and improves our immigration court system. It supports state and local law enforcement and provides critical resources to combat illegal drugs flooding our country.”
Lawmakers have also included a provision in the bill that would protect whistleblowers from retaliation, which comes after several FBI whistleblowers have alleged that they were retaliated against for speaking out about corruption in the bureau. The provision would withhold salaries from federal employees who take action against whistleblowers and violate the First Amendment rights of employees.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has been calling for the DOJ appropriations legislation to include whistleblower protections, especially the withholding of taxpayer-funded salaries for individuals found to be retaliating against a whistleblower.
One such whistleblower who has accused the federal government of retaliation was former IRS agent Gary Shapley, who has spoken with Congress and numerous media outlets about the punishments he faced for raising concerns about the DOJ.
“The actions taken by my leadership right now could be nothing but retaliation,” Shapley told Just the News earlier this month. “They know what prohibited personnel practices are, and they know how to how to try to engage in retaliatory activities that somehow you obfuscate that piece, whether it’s a prohibited personnel practice.”
Shapley is also scheduled to give another testimony before the House Oversight Committee on July 19.
