WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, joined 23 Senate Democrats to send a letter calling on the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on Financial Services and General Government to provide additional funding, beyond the recently released Republican budget proposal, for the Federal Defender Services program in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) bill.
In their letter, the lawmakers urged subcommittee leaders to fully fund the program at $1.76 billion, as requested by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, to maintain baseline constitutional requirements for federal public defense instead of the lower amounts in House and Senate Republicans’ appropriations bills.
“As you are aware, in FY24, an inadvertent failure to account for the federal defender program’s carryforward funding structure resulted in initial funding levels that were more than $100 million less than what the program needed. In response to those marks, the program implemented a set of cost-savings measures, including a hard hiring freeze, suspension of most in-person training opportunities, and deferral of other programmatic needs such as cybersecurity upgrades. In FY25, the Defender Services budget was frozen at the artificially low FY24 levels, leaving the program with a critical shortfall woefully inadequate to meet its identified needs,” the lawmakers wrote. “As a result of two years of underfunding because of a calculation error, Defender Services began FY26 significantly in the red. The current funding level, based on the recent anomaly, is still $194 million short of what is required to fund the program.”
The lawmakers continued, “We are very appreciative of your inclusion of a $1.564 billion anomaly for Federal and Community Defenders in the Continuing Resolution. This is an important step in addressing the underfunding. Now we must fully fund the program as soon as possible. Full funding for the program to staff Federal Defender offices, pay the panel deficit for missed payments last fiscal year, and avoid missed payments to panel attorneys throughout FY26 requires $1.76 billion. Without full funding, Federal Defender Services will face more extreme shortfalls in FY26.”
“The Defender Services program has a history of bipartisan support. This essential funding supports the more than 4,000 attorneys, investigators, paralegals, and other personnel throughout 83 federal defender organizations serving 92 of the 94 federal judicial districts, as well as approximately 12,000 private CJA panel attorneys. Criminal defense funding is non-partisan, and federal defenders represent everyone regardless of political affiliation. Currently, more than ninety percent of federal cases are handled by public defense lawyers,” the lawmakers underscored. “The inevitable cascading consequences of underfunding public defense will delay prosecutions, create backlogs in U.S. Attorneys Offices, compromise convictions and sentences, and deny witnesses and victims their day in court.”
“In short, a fully funded federal defender system is necessary to promote public safety and the rule of law. We respectfully urge you to fully fund the Federal Defender Services program at $1.76 billion to maintain baseline constitutional requirements for federal public defense and appreciate the unprecedented challenges of the current appropriation process,” the lawmakers concluded.
The Federal Defender Services program serves as an integral part of the federal judicial system by securing access to counsel and providing other necessary defense services for those who cannot afford counsel. The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to an attorney in criminal proceedings, and the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) provides that courts appoint counsel from Federal public and community defender organizations or from a panel of private attorneys established by the court. The court must employ private attorneys, often at a higher cost, to meet their constitutional duty to appoint counsel for individuals who cannot afford counsel. As the Executive Branch pursues increased federal prosecutions, including capital cases, it is important that constitutionally adequate counsel is provided.
Federal Defender organizations have now entered their third year in a hard hiring freeze, resulting in more than 500 positions below what the Judicial Conference-approved staffing formula dictates. Additionally, CJA panel attorneys face another devastating year of months-long payment delays. In FY25, money to pay CJA panel attorneys for work performed in federal court ran out beginning in July 2025 and did not restart until the government shutdown ended this November, resulting in over four months without pay. Trials across the country were delayed because of the nonpayment, and at least one case was dismissed.
The letter is led by U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.). Alongside Heinrich, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). The letter is led by U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) in the House.
The text of the letter is here.
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