The judiciary’s policy-making arm has scaled back its funding request as part of a negotiation process with Congress. Following a reduction of $184 million from an initial request of nearly $9 billion, the Judicial Conference’s Budget Committee conveyed to Congress that a decreased budget could ultimately result in negative impacts for defenders’ offices and infrastructure.
Judge Amy J. St. Eve, chair of the committee, and Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the judiciary’s top administrative official who is set to retire, made the revised proposal known in a letter to Congress, stating that the new funding request of $8.95 billion—though a decrease from the judiciary’s first ask of $9.1 billion—continues to be crucial for the functioning of the judiciary.
The letter, dated November 8, was released publicly this past Friday. In it, the judiciary warns that if the current proposed levels of funding are approved, it would be compelled to enforce budget cuts that could lead to layoffs.