Attorney General Michael Mukasey praised for dedication, grilled on money allocation

This morning, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies under the Committee on Appropriations, heard Mukasey’s testimony on the U.S. Department of Justice’s budget. The 2009 budget request of 22.7 billion dollars “will allow us to accomplish our mission and to focus on several of the priorities I’ve discussed in other settings. These are national security, violent crime, immigration and border security, and public corruption.”

A large portion of the proposed budget is allocated toward the FBI. Mukasey says that there is a “relatively new mission” within the FBI, which is that of intelligence gathering. When asked more specifically about how the money will be used, approximately 280 agents will be hired along with 271 intelligence analysts.

While providing detailed information, at times Mukasey didn’t comment on questions saying he needed to look into them. He was urged greatly by committee members to find the answers they sought, including looking into the allocation of additional funding for border security, especially in Tucson. When challenged that when drug smugglers are arrested and then released for having anything less than 500 pounds of drugs, Mukasey’s defense skirted away from the issue.