Stretch the department spending. When it comes to Law Enforcement, your arrival at the department at a critical time of needed leadership is welcome. Since our hearing early this spring, with the departments lawenforcement chiefs, we have seen the departures of the atf director and the dea administrator. I hope you will Pay Attention to these Law Enforcement agencies. To ensure that they faithfully execute their duties during this time of change. As an example, the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms and explosives has a rule pending that would impose burdens burdensome and unnecessary regulations regarding firearms lost or stolen in transit. However, the atfs own statistics indicate this number is insignificant and should not be a cause for concern. It certainly does not warrant such encumbering regulations. Oversight and accountability should remain a top priority for this committee. I have consistently expressed my displeasure to your predecessor regarding the departments resistance to cooperating with the department of justices Inspector General. I continue to hear from the Inspector General that this office his office having difficulties obtaining documents needed to do their job. I urge you to work with the Inspector General to make sure he and his staff can successfully complete their reviews and audits of the department of justice. I have outlined the department that the Department Faces many challenges that will require fiscal support. The path to making meaningful progress runs through the subcommittee. I know that. As you begin your tenure, madam attorney general, i want to express the subcommittees hope that we will have a constructive working relationship. Thank you. Senator mikulski. Senator mikulski thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to welcome the attorney general. We are so glad that you were finally, finally, finally confirmed and we could get beyond the petty politics that were the obstruction to your confirmation. Before i go into my statement, i want to remind the committee that yesterday was senator shelbys birthday. Could we join in a round of applause and wish him good health . [applause] lets hope that is not the high point of the hearing. Madam attorney general, you have had an eventful first two weeks, and i know this is your first congressional hearing since you have been confirmed. We are looking forward to your testimony. In terms of the Justice Departments needs for its 2016 budget, we are eager to hear from you about the many ongoing efforts of the Many Justice Department agencies. We want to thank you, madam attorney general, for your work in coming to baltimore and your team coming into baltimore. It was helpful to the mayor, to our Police Department, and most of all, to the citizens, to have the presence of the Justice Department. I personally want to thank you on behalf of the entire maryland delegation for the professionalism of your team and yourself. I would like to knowledge the right of the Deputy Attorney general, mr. Ron davis, the director. Your Outstanding CommunityRelations Team that came in and provided crucial Technical Assistance during troubling times. We were in baltimore on tuesday together, as you listened to Faithbased Community officials and leaders. You met with local officials and even reached out to the freddie gray family. I will not be asking you any questions about the freddie gray investigation, because we know it is ongoing. You have gotten a request from the mayor about asking the department of justice to open a pattern and practice investigation into our Police Department. Later on this afternoon, you will be getting a letter from the maryland delegation supporting that request. That will go forward. I want to say this in many cities throughout the country, including my own town of baltimore, and communities primarily that have significant populations of color, there has been a tattered and broken trust between the community and the Police Department. We have to restore that trust, we need the Police Department. We want to express our condolences to the people and the Police Department of queens about the death of officer brian moore, who was gunned down so brutally. We do need criminal Justice Reform and we need it with an urgency of now. I intend to ask questions about what you need in the way of resources to do the job that needs to be done, and what reforms are needed that are specific and targeted. We are joined today by an outstanding appropriator and the chair Ranking Member of the authorizing committee. We are here to show that the American People have a government on their side and to have a constitutional focus to what we do. We have put money in the federal checkbook, 2. 3 billion for Grant Programs targeting resources for police, local government, and communities. They arrange for more cops on the beat, to dealing with the rape kit backlog, to child abuse. Mayors have told us they need help getting more cops on the beat, we had 180 million in doing that. We wanted to help them have the equipment they needed. And have 376 million in Grant Programs. Now we have to look at what does that mean. Some are crying out for body cameras. Is this one more gimmick or a crucial tool . Communities and nonprofits want to help young people. This is why we will look for your thoughts either today or in the ongoing discussion. When our juvenile Justice Programs of prevention intervention, who help with everything from delinquency prevention to the ongoing mentoring we need. Many civil Rights Groups and Community Leaders have called out for criminal Justice Reform. We are looking forward to your advice to that and know the Judiciary Committee will also be doing it. I will have questions related to money. And also, training. In other words if you get the , money, should you get training . I look forward to asking questions on if you get cops money, should there be required training on how to deal with racial and ethnic bias . What about the use of force . Should there be National Standards every Department Needs . What about body cameras . There are privacy concerns storage concerns, many concerns. What should we do . Last but not least, i hope for both this conversation and ongoing, the issue of the broken window policy. When the broken window policy was initiated by an eminent sociologist, john wilson, i supported it. I supported it as someone who started her career as a social worker, that if you fix the broken window, you intervene with youth when they were doing minor offenses, could we intervene in a way that prevented them from growing up doing major offenses . While we were looking at the broken the socalled criminal the minor criminal, we would fix the broken window, deal with vacant houses, deal with the truancy problem. Now what seems to happen is the policy has deteriorated where we have stopped fixing the broken window and have escalated the frisking. No more fixing but lots of frisk ing. That is what our folks feel. Last year, 120,000 only stops occurred in baltimore, we are a population of 610,000. That is a lot. I do not know what the appropriateness of that but we need to look at it. I sit here as the Ranking Member of the committee that will fund your department and assume my national responsibility. I am also here for the 85,000 kids, all of whom that day of the disturbance went home peacefully, what can we do to help them, the 610,000 lawabiding people in baltimore who obeyed the law and helped to do that. We look forward to working with you on what are the tools needed to restore confidence between our police and community. But also, put our arms around our young people and see what we can do to help them. Maybe when we fix a broken window, we have to fix a broken political process we have to get the job done. Thank you, and i look forward to your testimony. Senator shelby welcome to the committee, your written testimony will be made a part of the record. Loretta lynch thank you, sir. Thank you, mr. Chairman and remind me to come around on your birthday another time quite a celebration. Good morning, chairman shelby, vice chairman mikulski. And the other distinguished members of the subcommittee. It is indeed an honor to appear in front of you for the first time as attorney general. I look forward to working with all of you, today, and in the days ahead as we seek to protect and serve the American People together. I want to take a moment to extend a special thank you to senator mikulski for your leadership in the United States senate over the last three decades, for your support of the department of justice and its employees, and for the extraordinary example of Public Service you have provided to all americans, especially to women. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with you during your final two years in office. As we approach National Police week, which begins this week, it next week, it is fitting that we take a moment to consider the contributions and the needs of Law Enforcement thank you, sir. Actually sir, it seems to be fixed. Thank you, mr. Chairman. As i noted, National Police week will begin next week. At this time in history, it is important we take a moment to consider the contributions and needs of our Law Enforcement officers across the country. Law enforcement is a difficult profession, but a noble one. Over the course of my career as a federal prosecutor and as u. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of new york, i have been privileged to work closely with outstanding Public Safety officials. I have seen up close the dangers they face every day. As mentioned by senator mikulski, earlier this week, officer brian moore, a 25yearold new York City Police officer, died after being shot while trying to lessen a man in to question a man in queens. Just two days ago, Sergeant Greg moore of idaho was tragically gunned down, also while interacting with a suspicious individual. The tragic loss of these brave individuals serves as a devastating reminder that our nations Public Safety officials put their lives on the line every day to protect they have often never met. Their work is the foundation of the trust that must exist between Law Enforcement officers and the communities we all serve. That is why, when there are allegations of wrongdoing made against individual officers and Police Departments, the department of justice has a responsibility to examine the evidence and, if necessary, to help them implement change. While i was in baltimore on tuesday, i met with the mayor, Law Enforcement officials, and the community, faith, and youth leaders. I spoke with an officer who was injured amidst the violence and heard a number of ideas regarding ways in which the Justice Department can continue assisting baltimore as they work to recover from recent unrest. Although the city has made significant strides in their collaborative Reform Efforts with the Community Oriented policing services office, i have not ruled out the possibility that more may need to be done. I sure you senators, i am i assure you, senators, i am listening to all voices. We are in the process of considering the request from city officials and community and Police Leaders for an investigation into whether the Baltimore CityPolice Department engaged in a pattern or practice of civil Rights Violations and i intend to have a decision in the coming days. The situation in baltimore involves a core responsibility of the department of justice. Not only to combat illegal conduct, but to prevent circumstances that give rise in the first place. Going forward, your support of the department and of our funding and the president s fiscal year 20 seeking budget request will enable us to build on successes and make further progress in the mission with which we are interested. I am pleased to say that this budget request is in line with my highest priorities. Safeguarding our National Security. Defending the most honorable among us vulnerable among us. And strengthening trust between Law Enforcement officers and the communities that we serve. Of course, our most important objective must be protecting the American People from terrorism and other threats to our National Security. As you know, under my predecessor, eric holder, the department of justice engaged in an essential efforts to counter filing extremism and domestic radicalization to strengthen counterterrorism measure promote information sharing and collaboration with the intelligence community. And provide training and Technical Assistance to our foreign partners. We must advance on all fronts, we must prepare to meet new and emerging threats and vigorously defend american citizens at home and abroad. The president s budget request will strengthen our National Security efforts by investing a total of 4. 6 billion in the departments cutting edge programs. This total includes 775 million, an increase of 27 million to address cyber crimes and enhancing the security of information networks. In an age in which criminals have the ability to threaten our National Security and our economic wellbeing from far beyond our borders, is critical that we ban our focus and strengthen our defenses to protect all americans from explication and abuse. I believe that Cyber Security must be the top priority for the department of justice. This funding will allow us to build on the outstanding work of the department in identifying new threats, sorting attempted intrusions and bringing perpetrators of wrongdoing wherever they may hide, to justice. As the Department Works to safeguard american security, we are equally committed to upholding american values, including the protection of our most vulnerable populations. The fiscal year 2016 budget would provide 103 million in new civil rights investments to address hate crimes, sexual violence, and human trafficking. An area that warrants a renewed focus and efforts. It would allocate 100. 4 million 124 million to approve the efficiency of the court system by supporting additional immigration judge teams and board of immigration appeals attorneys by expanding the successful legal orientation programs and allowing for additional legal representation for unaccompanied children and deliver 247 million in program increases for the smart on Crime Initiative, designed to address americas overreliance on incarceration while reducing recidivism and deploying Law Enforcement resources more effectively. By all evidence, this program has been a major success as well as an area of bipartisan cooperation and agreement. The requested funds in issues budget will allow us to expand this critical work and amplify our shared commitment to a fair and efficient and effective criminal Justice System. The department has made clear, and i support, this innovative approach does not lessen our resolve to combat Violent Crimes, drug trafficking, and other violations of federal law. We remain determined to investigate and prosecute criminal activity. The president s budget supports our goals by appropriating an additional 43 million to investigate and hold accountable those who break federal laws and harm innocent citizens. From the legal firearm and drug traffickers to perpetrators of healthcare scams and financial fraud. In all of our efforts, we intend to work closely, not only with this body, but with our Law Enforcement partners on the front lines across the country. That is why the president s request allocates an additional 154 million to support state, local, and tribal partners in their own efforts to counter violent extremism, higher and hire and retain officers serve the victims of Crime Research best practices, improve indigent defense and expand reentry programs. This appropriation includes near