'You're Out Of Compliance With The Requirements Of The Law': Chris Van Hollen Warns Patel About Budget

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At today's Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) questioned FBI Director Kash Patel.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just to follow up on Senator Collins' question regarding reports

00:11that a lot of the FBI investigators involved in reviewing the cases for January 6th were

00:18going to be purged. The Vice Chair, Senator Murray, myself, and many of my colleagues

00:26on this subcommittee, wrote Attorney General Bondi a letter on February 8th. We've not

00:32gotten a response from them. That letter was directed at exactly this issue. Director Patel,

00:39can you track down that letter in the system and work with the Attorney General to get us a response?

00:45We wrote on February 8th about exactly the issues that Senator Collins just raised.

00:49I'll track it down, sir.

00:50Okay. Well, we will be hoping to get a response and insisting on a response. Let me ask you

00:58about the spend plan for fiscal year 2025. I mean, this is a hearing I know on fiscal year

01:072026 budget. I said we got a little paragraph from the FBI about that. But one of the things

01:14this committee and the law requires are spend plans for the current fiscal year. In fact,

01:20when we passed the continuing resolution, we required that agencies provide their spend plans

01:27for fiscal year 2025 within 45 days of enactment. We're now 54 days after that, and we've gotten

01:35nothing from the FBI. This is a typical spend plan. For example, this is for fiscal year 2024,

01:42the most recent fiscal year. Director Patel, will you comply with the requirement that the

01:50FBI submit a spend plan? Senator, I will comply with the requirement,

01:55and I believe I have to work with OMB on the apportionment of that. So we're working on that.

01:59Can you give us a date? The fiscal year's 25 is ticking away. Can you give us a date by which

02:06we'll get the spend plan that's already overdue? I'll speak with OMB and get back to you on a date.

02:11So the hangup right now is OMB? It's an interagency process, sir. I'm working through how

02:17to get these funds. But the ball is in OMB's court right now, not the FBI's court, is what you're

02:21telling me. It's in both of our courts. Okay. Well, right now, you know, as one of the lead law

02:26enforcement officers, you're out of compliance with the requirements of the law. So I hope you

02:32will lead by example and get it to us. With respect to the congressional budget justification here,

02:41we don't have one. In other words, we have your one paragraph. We usually get, as I mentioned in my

02:48opening statement, a full justification which helps this committee do its work in terms of putting

02:54together the budget. Can we, I believe that's within the entire domain of the FBI. Can you commit

03:01to getting us the budget justification for the FBI? I will work with the department to do that.

03:07Okay. So we, that's a yes? I will work with the department. I have to report to DOJ on that and

03:13work with them to get you that plan. All right. Well, you know, I'm glad we're holding this hearing,

03:20but we obviously, Mr. Chair, we don't have a, we really don't have a budget to work with. Let me

03:25ask you about your testimony the other day in the house, Mr. Director, where I think you conceded that

03:34the budget request, as skinny as it is, was really not adequate to meet the mission. In fact, I think

03:41you testified that you really need another billion dollars. So would you agree that this budget that's

03:52been submitted is inadequate to meet the needs and that your testimony yesterday about another billion

03:58dollars are required to meet the mission? Is that your view? Senator, I think my view is that,

04:04my view is that we will make and agree with this budget as it stands and make it work for the

04:09operational necessity of the FBI. And as the head of the FBI, I was simply asking for more funds

04:15because I can do more with more money. Well, I look, I understand that OMB has a say in this,

04:24obviously, but I think your testimony yesterday was important and revealing that as the director,

04:30you believe that another billion dollars over and above the current level is really necessary to

04:37complete the mission. And it does put this subcommittee in a difficult position because really

04:43that's, you know, we rely on you and others to persuade that the OMB and the president to submit

04:52a budget that meets the needs and requirements of the FBI. And clearly, at least based on your

04:58testimony in the house, you don't think that that's happened. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

05:03Thank you, Senator Van Hollen.

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