
Jim Jordan lays out his demands for appropriations bills in letter
Reese Gorman
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EXCLUSIVE — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) laying out his appropriations demands meant to cut spending and hold federal agencies accountable.
In the 11-page letter sent Tuesday and obtained by the Washington Examiner, Jordan laid out a list of demands for the appropriations bills ranging from protecting FBI whistleblowers to securing the southern border.
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Jordan asks, in part, that in the respective appropriations bills, Granger prohibits taxpayer funds from being used to pay the salary of FBI or Justice Department officials who are found to have retaliated against any whistleblower, prohibits taxpayer dollars from being used to fund President Joe Biden’s southern border policy, and eliminates taxpayer dollars from going toward the Global Engagement Center or any other governmental or nongovernmental entities “that are engaged in speech suppression.”
He also requests that there be no new funds appropriated for a new FBI headquarters unless it is moved to Huntsville, Alabama.
“The Committee remains concerned about the politicization of federal law enforcement power emanating from FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.,” the letter reads. “The centralization of FBI operations in the National Capitol Region has led to duplication of activity best left to the respective field offices, contributed to reduced autonomy in local field offices, and allowed improper political influence to taint law enforcement investigations and activity.”
In addition, Jordan says he wants to increase transparency at the FBI and DOJ by tying funding to specific policy changes at the FBI, such as requiring them to record any interviews in connection with a criminal investigation electronically. The recording would be required to be kept for 10 years. This would not pertain to interviews with confidential informants or interviews conducted of non-U.S. residents outside the United States.
Jordan also requests that no taxpayer funds go toward policies discouraging the U.S. Marshall Service from protecting Supreme Court justices.
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The Ohio Republican also touches on funding for social issues in his letter requesting that none of the funds appropriated to the Department of Homeland Security be used to administer hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery for immigrants in DHS custody.
“Since the start of the 118th Congress, the Committee on the Judiciary and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government have been conducting oversight to address the problems created by the Biden Administration and to protect fundamental civil liberties,” Jordan says in his letter. “This work has generated a number of potential reforms that the House of Representatives can advance through its ‘power of the purse.’ We appreciate your willingness to work with us to identify ways to utilize the appropriations process to constrain out-of-control federal agencies, hold the Biden Administration accountable, and most importantly protect the fundamental civil liberties of the American people.”
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