“Breakthrough” FY 2026 Justice Department Funding Bill Includes $20 Million for CRS

Congressional appropriators released today a FY 2026 funding bill for the U.S. Department of Justice that includes $20 million for CRS. This bill is expected to be voted by the House of Representatives this week.

The proposed appropriation of $20 million for CRS is a significant change from the same funding bill that the House Appropriations Committee passed on a party-line vote in September 2025. That bill did not include any funding for CRS. In the report accompanying the September 2025 bill, the Committee explained that it was accepting the Trump Administration’s “request to eliminate the CRS” and was defunding CRS.

The new House report that accompanies today’s funding bill states: “Community Relations Service (CRS).—ln lieu of the language under this caption in the House report, the agreement encourages the Department to operate and manage CRS as efficiently as possible.”

The $20 million is $2 million less than the $22 million proposed for CRS in the Senate bill from July 2025. Nonetheless, the proposed funding for CRS for FY 2026 is a positive and welcome development.

It remains critically important that CRS be fully funded and staffed as a separate, stand-alone agency within the Justice Department, so that CRS can fulfill all of its statutory functions.