$900,000,000 for the department's general legal work
Making consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes, section 5, Sec. 5.
Written by .
$900,000,000 for the department's general legal work
The document says “shall”Who acts: Attorney GeneralHow: statuteSec. 5 in the PDF
What the document says
“$900,000,000, of which not to exceed $50,000,000 for litigation support contracts and information technology projects, including cybersecurity and hardening of critical networks, shall remain available until expended”
The general legal activities account, which pays for the Justice Department's litigating divisions other than those funded separately. The account paragraph also directs that such sums as may be necessary go to the Civil Rights Division for the election monitoring program under section 8 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, of which $3,390,000 remains available until spent.
What the document actually says
“$900,000,000, of which not to exceed $50,000,000 for litigation support contracts and information technology projects, including cybersecurity and hardening of critical networks, shall remain available until expended”
That sentence, in plain words
The department's law work gets $900,000,000. Up to $50,000,000 of it has no end date. That part pays for case support and computers.
What this is about
Government lawyers bring and defend cases. This pays most of them. Some of it also pays for watching elections.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026, Public Law 119-74, sec. 5, 140 Stat. 6 (2026). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ74/html/PLAW-119publ74.htm
This page
“$900,000,000 for the department's general legal work,” Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026, section 5, Sec. 5. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/commerce-justice-science-energy-water-development/proposal/sec05-general-legal-activities/ (retrieved August 26, 2026).
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