A GOP-controlled House panel today approved using $37 billion in unrequested war money to match President Barack Obama's 7 percent budget boost for the military. The move came over the opposition of Democrats and the White House, who argue that domestic programs deserve equal treatment. The Appropriations Committee action came as it approved a $579 billion Pentagon spending bill that would fund a 2.3 percent pay increase for the military and add new money to boost air reconnaissance. WRCB has more on budget negotiations from the AP.

Appropriations for the Legal Service Corporation for the next fiscal year is contained in the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which is set for a vote on the House floor on Tuesday. The committee mark up of the bill cuts LSC funding by 20 percent from the present $375 million to $300 million. An effort to eliminate all federal funding for legal aid and an effort to increase LSC funding beyond the committee level are also expected when the bill is considered. The TBA supports the funding level set in the administration budget proposal at $452 million. Supporters of this vital access to justice program should contact Tennessee members of congress urging a no vote on the zero funding proposal and a yes on any amendment to increase. For more detailed information, visit the ABA webpage on LSC funding. Watch for more in Monday’s issue of TBA Today. 

Federal officials have indicted former House Speaker Dennis Hastert for lying to the FBI about $3.5 million he agreed to pay to an undisclosed subject to "cover up past misconduct." The indictment does not explain precisely what the "past misconduct" is, but instead details at length various withdrawals and financial transactions he made with the unidentified subject. The payments totaling about $1.7 million occurred over a period of years beginning in 2010 and ending in 2014. WCYB has more from CNN.

The future of subsidies through the Affordable Care Act likely will be decided next month when the Supreme Court rules in King v. Burwell, the case arguing that the act does not give the government authority to offer subsidies in federal insurance exchanges, the Nashville Business Journal reports. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who is in Nashville today for a precision medicine summit at Vanderbilt, said GOP legislators will be prepared — should the court rule for the plaintiffs — to help keep those subsidies in place, at least in the short term.

The Senate has confirmed just two of President Barack Obama’s nominees to the federal courts in 2015, a remarkably slow pace even by the standards of Congress, the New York Times law blog reports. The minuscule number of confirmations this year follows a burst of Senate approvals in the back half of 2014, a moment when Democrats still controlled the Senate and were no longer hindered by the Republican power to filibuster after deploying the so-called “nuclear option.”

A GOP-controlled House panel has approved a $51 billion measure authorizing modest budget hikes for the Justice Department and NASA, but the legislation falls well short of what's needed to win President Barack Obama's signature. The bill increases funding for space exploration and efforts to fight cybercrime but cuts legal aid for the poor, the decennial census and weather satellites. It also eliminates a grant program that helps local police departments hire new officers. The legislation is one of 12 annual spending measures advancing through Congress, but like its predecessors, it is sure to face a veto threat. News Channel 9 has more from the AP.

Cases involving police use of deadly force should be investigated by independent prosecutors rather than local prosecutors who often work closely with law-enforcement officers, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen told the Commercial Appeal on Wednesday. The Memphis Democrat’s comments came after he filed legislation conditioning federal criminal justice funding on whether state and local governments enact laws requiring that independent prosecutors handle allegations of deadly police force. Read more from the congressman's press release.

Congress has passed a bill setting up a national alert system whenever a police officer is killed or injured, the Johnson City Press reports from the AP. Supporters say the bill would ensure that information about suspects is quickly shared with other law enforcement agencies and the public. The program would be managed by the Justice Department and participation by state and local police agencies would be voluntary. Another bill passed by the House Tuesday as Part of National Police Week would prohibit death benefits for the families of fallen police officers from being subjected to federal income tax.

The White House this week announced nominees for five vacant judgeships in the District of Columbia’s local courts, including a magistrate judge who has been waiting nearly two years for confirmation after repeated re-nominations. The Senate last confirmed a judge to Superior Court in May 2013 and D.C. officials have complained that the vacancies are having an “adverse impact” on the court’s ability to manage cases. The Blog of Legal Times has the story.

Babies born in the United States to noncitizen parents would no longer be automatically granted citizenship under a proposal debated at a congressional hearing yesterday, the Tennessean reports. The House Subcommittee on Immigration held a hearing on so-called “birthright citizenship” as well as the issue of “birth tourism,” which refers to pregnant women from other countries who travel to America to deliver their children. Tennessee representatives Phil Roe, Scott DesJarlais and John Duncan have signed on to legislation to limit citizenship.