Chris Van Hollen Tells Director Kash Patel That Trump's FBI Budget Would 'Likely Do A Lot Of Harm'

Forbes Breaking News

At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) spoke to FBI Director Kash Patel about President Trump's proposed budget.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Chairman Moran, and I look forward to working with you on this subcommittee.

00:06I want to thank the chair of the full committee, Senator Collins, for her leadership, and also

00:11recognize Senator Shaheen and thank her for her guidance as we go through this budget,

00:18having previously served as the chair here.

00:21And it's good to be hearing from our first witness.

00:24Director Patel, welcome.

00:25Look, this is supposed to be a hearing on the FBI's fiscal year 2006 budget request.

00:33We're in a difficult spot because we really don't have much of a budget request.

00:40What I'm holding up, 46 pages, is the entire budget request of the Trump administration

00:47for the entire government.

00:50And you can see we've got a short paragraph here on the FBI.

00:56That's all we've got compared to the fiscal year 2025 budget, which was submitted.

01:04So I would say to my colleagues that we're having a hearing on the fiscal year 26 budget request

01:14without an actual request, except for one paragraph, which, as the chairman noted, proposes a $545 million cut

01:25to the FBI salaries and expenses account.

01:29It doesn't tell us what missions the FBI proposes to reduce or to eliminate.

01:35It doesn't give us any sense of what it means for the safety and security of the American people.

01:41We're left to guess at that.

01:45I would say normally we also get for the FBI alone this information, the congressional budget justification.

01:54And so we don't have any of this this year.

01:58We have one paragraph, Mr. Director.

02:01And as the chairman noted, the FBI has experienced significant cuts.

02:08In fiscal year 24, under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the CJS bill overall was cut by $2.5 billion

02:16and resulted in a cut of 1,025 positions at the FBI.

02:22This was before your time, Mr. Director.

02:25And under the Fiscal Year 25 continuing resolution, deep cuts continue.

02:30And I understand the FBI will be cutting another 875 personnel just this year because of the Fiscal Year 25 request.

02:39Mr. Director, you testified yesterday that the president's Fiscal Year 26 proposal,

02:44which is this paragraph before us, would result in a cut of another 1,300 positions.

02:50My view is that those will likely do a lot of harm to the FBI's overall mission.

02:59I do want to briefly touch on another issue of great importance to the mission of the FBI

03:03and the men and women who serve there, and that's the need for a modern, secure campus

03:08that meets their security needs and the mission.

03:12This is an effort that goes way back, well over a decade.

03:16Look no further than the 2011 and 2017 GAO reports on this issue.

03:23And if it was an urgent priority then, a new headquarters could not be more urgent now.

03:30The FBI is in desperate need of a new headquarters.

03:33The current building is literally crumbling with nets in place to catch falling concrete and debris.

03:39Mr. Director, I'm glad from your testimony yesterday that you have taken notice of this

03:46and you stated in that testimony that the Hoover Building, quote,

03:50is simply unsafe for the FBI personnel.

03:53I completely agree.

03:55We also know from GAO reports that the Hoover Building does not meet the security needs of the FBI

04:00and that significantly more security requires a setback campus,

04:07not one located in the middle of downtown Washington, D.C.

04:11That's why after a years-long transparent and open process,

04:15the GSA selected a site for the new headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland.

04:20That decision was final and it was made clear that it was the best site that met the needs of the FBI.

04:27So, Mr. Director, I hope that in the coming weeks we can discuss the importance of that new headquarters.

04:35I also look forward to hearing how the FBI will be implementing its proposal to relocate up to 904 vacant positions

04:45from the National Capital Region to unfilled slots in the field.

04:51I appreciate the fact that the Baltimore Field Office would get 40 of those positions,

04:57Baltimore has seen a drop in violent crime, but we always need to do more.

05:03And in closing, I just want to thank the 35,000 FBI employees for their tireless dedication and service to our country.

05:10We continue to ask them to do more with less,

05:14all while their invaluable work keeps us all safe from harm.

05:18And so we must ensure that they have the resources that they need to complete their mission.

05:23Dr. Patel, Director Patel, I look forward to your testimony.

05:26Thank you very much.

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