{"id":1974739,"date":"2023-07-16T19:50:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T23:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-to-slash-fbi-budget-by-1-billion-advances-in-house\/"},"modified":"2023-07-16T19:51:56","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T23:51:56","slug":"bill-to-slash-fbi-budget-by-1-billion-advances-in-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-to-slash-fbi-budget-by-1-billion-advances-in-house\/","title":{"rendered":"House advances bill to cut FBI budget by $1B."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbill-to-slash-fbi-budget-by-1-billion-advances-in-house%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1974739&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n \u2062 <\/p>\n<div class=\"aplayer_app\" data-source=\"https:\/\/vs1.youmaker.com\/assets\/2023\/0716\/98085555-94ce-4951-96f9-c6c1db265b7e\/audio.mp3?length=4610061&#038;duration=384\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>House \u2062Republicans on\u2063 July\u2064 14 advanced\u200c a proposal that would slash $1 billion from the budget of \u2062the \u200dFBI\u200c amid ongoing\u2063 concerns with \u200cthe agency\u2019s\u200b conduct.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 appropriations \u200dbill, \u200dwhich\u200b was passed through the House Committee \u2062on Commerce,\u200d Justice, \u2064Science, \u200cand \u2062Related \u2062Agencies \u200con a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-joe-manchin-threatens-to-derail-bidens-1-9-trillion-aid-bill-unless-it-receives-bipartisan-support\/\" title=\"Sen. Joe Manchin Threatens To Derail Biden\u2019s .9 Trillion Aid Bill Unless It Receives \u2018Bipartisan\u2019 Support\">party-line vote<\/a>, \u200cwould reduce the\u2063 agency\u2019s\u2063 funding\u200c to \u200b$10.3 \u200bbillion \u200c(<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.house.gov\/meetings\/AP\/AP19\/20230714\/116251\/BILLS-118--AP--CJS-FY24CJSSubcommitteeMark.pdf\">pdf<\/a>) from the\u200d $11.3 billion\u2064 it received in the current\u2062 fiscal\u2064 year. \u2063The reduction \u2064would return\u2063 the agency\u2019s \u200bfunding\u200b to about \u200dwhat it\u200c was in \u200c2022.<\/p>\n<p>\u2062 \u200d <\/p>\n<p>The\u200c roughly \u200c9 percent cut\u200c includes \u200ca \u200d$400 million salary cut for the\u2062 bureau.<\/p>\n<p> \u2064 \u2062<\/p>\n<p>It comes \u200camid\u200d a series of \u2063frustrations with\u200c the\u2064 agency, \u2062which Republican lawmakers say has \u200dbeen weaponized against \u200dconservatives as they seek \u2064to address several key concerns.<\/p>\n<p> \u200d <\/p>\n<p>The\u200b bill \u2062prohibits the \u2062FBI \u2064and\u200b others\u200d from \u200cusing\u2064 funding\u2064 to\u200c \u201cconduct any \u2062diversity, equity, \u200cinclusion, \u2063or\u200b explicit bias\u2063 training.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u200d  <\/p>\n<p>That\u200d provision comes \u200bafter Republicans\u2063 in the House\u200c passed an\u2062 amendment to \u2064the\u200d National\u200d Defense \u2064Authorization \u200cAct prohibiting \u200cthe Department \u2064of Defense from \u200cengaging \u200din similar practices.<\/p>\n<h2>Whistleblower Protections<\/h2>\n<p>\u200d  \u200c<\/p>\n<p>It would \u200dalso \u200cprevent the agency\u2063 from using \u2064taxpayer funds to \u200bpay the \u200csalaries of those within \u200dthe Department of Justice (DOJ) who \u200bengage in retaliatory conduct against \u2064whistleblowers.<\/p>\n<p>\u200b \u2063 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNone of\u200c the funds\u2062 made\u2064 available by this Act may be used to\u2063 pay \u200cthe salary, benefits, bonuses, \u2064or expenses of a \u2063Department\u2063 of Justice \u200demployee\u2062 who is \u2062found \u2062to have \u200dretaliated against \u200da whistleblower\u200b or suppressed an\u2063 employee\u2019s constitutional\u2062 rights under the First \u2063Amendment,\u201d\u200d the bill reads.<\/p>\n<p>Agency whistleblowers \u200bhave\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/enveloped-in-politicization-fbi-whistleblowers-reveal-serious-abuses-house-report-finds_5275050.html\">said<\/a> that the\u2062 agency \u200bhas\u200d become \u201cenveloped in politicization.\u201d\u2063 Many have\u200d reported\u200d incidents of\u200d retaliation for\u2063 speaking \u2064to Congress about these \u2062issues\u2014despite\u200b longstanding congressional\u200d protections for \u200bexecutive\u200d branch whistleblowers.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.)\u2063 confirmed \u200cthat \u2062Republicans\u2063 had uncovered \u200da \u200d\u201cpattern\u201d \u200bof\u2064 such\u2064 behavior.<\/p>\n<p>\u2063 \u200d <\/p>\n<figure \u2064id=\"attachment_5303221\" \u200bstyle=\"width: 401px\" \u2064class=\"wp-caption \u200balignleft\">\n \u2064 \u2064  <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31\/id5303221-OBoyle_Daughters-1200x1623-2.jpg\"><br \/>\n  \u200d\u200b<figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption>\u200d \u2062\u200b  <\/a><br \/>\n\u200c  \u200b \u200d Garret O\u2019Boyle \u200dwith\u200b daughters\u2064 Iris and Gwen, shortly\u200c before he\u200c left the \u200dWaukesha \u2063Police \u2064Department\u200b in\u2062 Wisconsin \u200bfor \u2064the \u2062FBI. (Photo courtesy of Garret O\u2019Boyle)<br \/>\n \u2064 <\/figure>\n<p>\u200c \u2064 <\/p>\n<p>In the\u2064 most \u200bshocking of these\u2064 cases, that of Special agent Garret O\u2019Boyle, a whistleblower was\u200b moved \u200cacross the \u200bcountry by the FBI. When Mr. \u200bO\u2019Boyle \u200band his \u2064family \u2064arrived in Virginia, Mr. O\u2019Boyle \u200dlearned\u200c that\u200c he had \u2064been\u200c suspended \u2063without pay, \u200deffectively \u200d\u201crendering his\u200c family homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> \u200c <\/p>\n<p>The FBI also\u2063 refused\u200d to relinquish\u200b possession \u2063of\u2063 his\u2062 personal\u200b belongings, \u200dincluding his young \u2062children\u2019s\u200d clothing.<\/p>\n<p> \u2063 <\/p>\n<p>Special agent\u200b Stephen \u2064Friend was \u2064also placed on \u2062unpaid suspension, and the\u2062 FBI refused to\u2064 allow\u200b him to\u200b take \u2064other employment during this \u2063time.\u200d Mr. \u200dFriend \u200dalso had\u200d his security clearance \u2062denied.<\/p>\n<p>\u2062  \u200d<\/p>\n<p>Asked\u200d about the\u2063 apparent\u2062 retaliation, \u200bMs. Cammack said \u2064the\u2063 FBI had suggested \u200dto him that \u2062it was\u2062 merely a \u201ccoincidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a\u200d coincidence\u200c that \u2062they\u2063 leave these people\u200b in\u2063 a \u2064position where they\u2062 cannot\u200d seek\u2062 outside employment, \u200cthey cannot access\u200c their \u2064personal\u2063 belongings, \u200bdespite the fact \u2064that\u200c these men have \u2062served\u200c their country. But\u200d even \u2064worse,\u200d their\u2062 loyalty to \u2062the nation has been \u2064questioned. This is\u2064 truly \u2062the weaponization \u2063of government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>  \u2062<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Politically Sensitive\u2063 Investigation\u2019 \u2064Temporarily \u2063Barred<\/h2>\n<p> \u2064 <\/p>\n<p>It would also\u200c seek \u200cto \u200ctemporarily\u200c prohibit the\u2062 FBI \u200dand\u2062 DOJ from \u2064conducting\u200c \u201cpolitically\u200d sensitive \u2063investigations\u201d\u200c at \u2064a time when \u200bthe \u2064agencies are\u2062 under\u2064 fire \u2062for \u200btheir \u2063conduct against\u200d former \u2064President\u2062 Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u2062  <\/p>\n<p>Last \u2063year, \u200dthe \u200bFBI\u2062 conducted\u200d a\u200c raid\u200c on \u2063Mr. Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago \u200dFlorida\u2064 home,\u2063 which \u200cFBI Director Christopher Wray\u200d defended to Congress as the \u201clawful\u2062 execution \u2062of\u2062 a search \u2063warrant.\u201d \u200dRepublicans\u2064 have disagreed, suggesting that \u2063the \u2062move \u2063was a \u200dpolitical \u200bstunt.<\/p>\n<p>\u2064  <\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5400543\" style=\"width: 600px\" \u200bclass=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n    <a \u200dhref=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/07\/15\/id5400543-Trump.jpg\"><br \/>\n\u200c   \u200d   \u2063<figcaption \u200dclass=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption>\u2063\u200b   <\/a><br \/>\n\u200d  \u2063  Former \u2062U.S. \u2064President and \u2064Republican presidential\u200c candidate Donald\u2064 Trump\u200d prepares to deliver remarks \u2062in\u200d Las Vegas \u2063on\u2063 July 8, \u20632023.\u2063 (Mario\u2063 Tama\/Getty \u2063Images)<br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<p>Likewise, DOJ\u200d special counsel Jack Smith \u2064recently announced \u2063the \u2063decision to press 37 federal charges against Mr. Trump for \u200dalleged mishandling\u200d of classified documents. Mr. \u2063Trump\u200c has defended\u200b his conduct as protected \u200cunder the \u2063Presidential\u200c Records Act and\u2062 has characterized the allegations \u2063as a politically driven \u2062\u201cwitch\u2062 hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2064 \u200d <\/p>\n<p>To that\u2062 end, the legislation \u2064seeks\u2062 to bar the DOJ \u200cand FBI\u200d from \u2064conducting\u200d \u201ca \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-jeopardized-national-security-by-calling-verified-hunter-biden-evidence-disinformation-whistleblowers-say\/\" title=\"FBI Jeopardized National Security By Calling Verified Hunter Biden Evidence \u2018Disinformation,\u2019 Whistleblowers Say\">politically sensitive investigation<\/a>\u200d until the \u2064Department\u200c of Justice establishes a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-to-slash-fbi-budget-by-1-billion-advances-in-house\/\" title=\"House advances bill to cut FBI budget by B.\">policy \u2063requiring nonpartisan career staff<\/a>\u2063 to \u200doversee\u2063 such\u200d investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>  \u200c<\/p>\n<p>It\u200d defined \u200cpolitically sensitive investigations as \u201cinvestigations of elected officials\u2063 or their\u200b family members, political candidates \u2062or their family\u200c members, political organizations, religious organizations,\u2063 and members of\u200d the media.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> \u200b\u200c <\/p>\n<h2>Barred\u2062 From Labeling\u2064 Speech\u200d \u2018Misinformation\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>  \u2063<\/p>\n<p>The bill \u200dwould additionally prohibit the \u200cFBI,\u200b DOJ, \u2063and \u200dother federal agencies from using funds to\u200d classify Americans\u2019\u2063 speech as \u201cmisinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> \u2064 \u200b<\/p>\n<p>The prohibition \u200bcomes amid revelations following Elon Musk\u2019s acquisition \u200dof\u200b Twitter that\u2063 the federal \u200cgovernment\u200b had been \u2064in \u200ccontact with the \u2062social media platform\u200b to \u2062demand that posts, ideas, \u200cand\u200d stories be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/twitter-files-fbi-assisted-ukrainian-governments-effort-to-censor-twitter-accounts-including-journalists_5322152.html\">censored<\/a> \u200bfrom the platform. It also\u2062 prohibits federal agencies from partnering with nonprofit\u200d or private\u2062 organizations to achieve the same \u200ceffect.<\/p>\n<p> \u200d <\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5393191\" style=\"width: \u200d600px\" class=\"wp-caption\u2064 alignnone\">\n \u2064  \u200c\u2063 <a \u2064href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/07\/12\/id5393191-2023-07-12T162916Z_1_LYNXMPEJ6B0SX_RTROPTP_4_TESLA-ESG-INDEX-1200x802.jpg\"><br \/>\n  \u2063<figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption>\u200d  \u200c  <\/a><br \/>\n   \u2062 Elon \u2062Musk,\u2064 CEO of\u200c SpaceX\u200d and\u2062 Tesla,\u2064 at\u2063 a\u200d conference \u2062at the Porte\u2062 de Versailles \u2064exhibition center \u200bin Paris on June\u2063 16,\u200c 2023. \u2062(Gonzalo Fuentes\/Reuters)<br \/>\n  \u200d<\/figure>\n<p>  \u2064<\/p>\n<p>\n\u200c    \u200d<\/p>\n<div class=\"morearticles\">\n \u200d  \u2064 \u200d  \u200c<strong>Read\u200d More<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2063      <\/p>\n<div \u2064class=\"post_list\">\n\u200b      \u200b  <\/p>\n<div class=\"article\">\n \u2063 \u200c \u200b   \u2062    \u2063<a\u2062 href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/infographic-key-revelations-of-the-twitter-files_4986669.html\">INFOGRAPHIC: Key Revelations of \u2062the\u200d \u2018Twitter Files\u2019<\/a><br \/>\n  \u200c \u2064     \u2064<\/div>\n<p> \u200d  \u200d\u200b   \u200b<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u200d   \u200d\u2064 <\/p><\/div>\n<p>  \u200b<\/p>\n<p> \u200c <\/p>\n<p>The bill\u2063 reads: \u201cNone\u200b of\u2064 the funds appropriated \u2062or otherwise \u200dmade available\u2064 by this \u2063Act may be made used to (1) classify \u200cor facilitate \u2063the classification\u2064 of \u2063any \u2062communications\u2063 by a\u200c United\u2062 States \u2063person\u2063 as misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation; \u200cor\u2063 (2) \u200bpartner \u200dwith or fund\u2063 nonprofit<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House Republicans on July 14 voted to cut $1 billion from the FBI&#8217;s budget due to ongoing concerns about its conduct. The appropriations bill, passed by the House Committee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies along party lines, would reduce the agency&#8217;s funding to $10.3 billion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":1974740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1974739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1974739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1974740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1974739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1974739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1974739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}