Vol. 39, Number 8 — August 2007

Senate Appropriations Committee Acts on Judiciary’s Funding

In mid-July, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of H.R. 2829, the FY 2008 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill.

"The Committee’s recommended funding levels support the federal Judiciary’s role of providing equal justice under the law and include sufficient funds to support this critical mission," the H.R. 2829 committee report noted. The Committee also acknowledged the cost-containment measures undertaken by the Judiciary and strongly supported the continuation of those efforts.

Overall, the Judiciary would receive $6.337 billion, a 6 percent increase over the FY 2007 level and $79 million above the House version of the bill. The Committee also approved a cost-of-living pay adjustment for judges in 2008.

“We were very pleased that theSenate took this action on the judges’ COLA,” noted Administrative Office Director James C. Duff, “and we will work with the House to ensure the COLA is agreed to in conference on a final bill.”

There is no timetable for when the full Senate will take action on the Judiciary’s appropriations bill. Differences between the House and Senate versions of the bills must be reconciled in conference before a bill can go to the White House. The Office of Management and Budget has said, however, that the President would veto the bill on policy grounds if the final bill includes provisions—unrelated to the Judiciary—that the Administration opposes. Given these potential delays it is likely the Judiciary will begin the new fiscal year operating under a continuing resolution.

Accounts Funded

The Senate recommendation for the Judiciary’s largest account, Salaries and Expenses, is a 5.2 percent increase over FY 2007. From this account, courts must pay for rent, judges’ and court personnel salaries and benefits, operating expenses, information technology costs, and other expenses.

“The Committee has adequately funded this account to enable the courts to meet their workload demands,” the report stated. The Senate mark would allow those court units experiencing workload increases—primarily district clerks and probation and pretrial services offices—to hire additional staff in FY 2008. Based on the House passed funding levels and the Senate mark, Director Duff encouraged court units with sufficient salary funding to hire staff to meet their workload demands.

“At these funding levels, we ar confident there will be sufficient funding in FY 2008 to support new staff hired in FY 2007,” Duff said.

The Defender Services account would receive $840.6 million, $10 million above the House-passed level. The Senate approved a $2 per hour inflationary increase in the non-capital panel attorney rate that would raise that hourly rate to $96. The House approved a $6 per hour increase, taking that rate to $100.

The Court Security account would receive $412.7 million, essentially full funding, and $16 million above the House level. The Committee also approved a pilot project to have the U.S. Marshals Service assume perimeter security functions at a limited number of primary courthouses, a function currently provided by the Federal Protective Service.

Courthouses

“The Committee urges the Judicial Conference to weigh carefully its need for more space to adjudicate cases against the federal Judiciary’s rent needs. . . .,” the Senate Appropriations Committee reported. Courthouse construction funds are also under the Committee’s jurisdiction, as part of the funding for the General Services Administration. The Senate Appropriations Committee mark provides GSA with $179.5 million in FY 2008—partial funding for six projects on the Judiciary’s Five Year Courthouse Project Plan. The courthouse construction projects would be in Jefferson City, Missouri; Savannah, Georgia; San Antonio, Texas; Mobile, Alabama; Rockford, Illinois; and San Jose, California. The Committee also provides an additional $80 million to GSA for the San Diego courthouse project and $183.3 million for courthouse repair and alteration projects in Reno, Nevada and New York City, New York.

	Judiciary Appropriations ($000) Appropriation Account FY 2007 Enacted Appropriations FY 2008 Full Requirements FY 2008 Current Services House Passed H.R. 2829 Senate Committee Mark U.S. Supreme Court Salaries & Expenses $62,576 $66,522 $65,952 $66,526 $66,522 Care of Building & Grounds 11,427 12,201 10,814 12,201 12,201 Subtotal 74,003 78,723 76,766 78,727 78,723 U.S. Court of Appeals for The Federal Circuit 25,311 28,442 27,072 27,976 27,438 U.S. Court of International Trade 15,825 16,632 16,632 16,544 16,632 Courts of Appeals, District Courts & Other Judicial Services Salaries & Expenses 4,480,521 4,730,489 4,707,153 4,664,689 4,714,090 Defender Services 776,283 856,344 833,947 830,499 840,601 Fees of Jurors 60,945 63,081 63,081 62,350 63,081 Court Security 378,663 414,726 396,539 396,476 412,720 Subtotal 5,696,412 6,064,640 6,000,720 5,954,014 6,030,492 Administrative Office 72,377 78,536 78,536 75,667 78,536 Federal Judicial Center 22,874 24,475 23,971 23,994 24,475 Judicial Retirement Funds 58,300 65,400 65,400 65,400 65,400 U.S. Sentencing Commission 14,601 15,477 15,477 15,477 15,477 Total, The Judiciary $5,979,703 $6,372,325 $6,304,574 $6,257,799 $6,337,173