Press Releases
Pascrell, Reichert Lead 175 Members of Congress in Support of Byrne JAG and COPS Grants in Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations
Washington, DC,
March 20, 2018
Tags:
Public Safety
Today, U.S. Representatives Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) and Dave Reichert (R-WA), co-chairs of the House Law Enforcement Caucus, led a bipartisan letter signed by 173 colleagues requesting that Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Chairman John Culberson and Ranking Member José Serrano provide sufficient funding in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 appropriation bill for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) Program and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) programs. “These programs are critical to ensuring that state and local law enforcement have the tools, programs, personnel and resources necessary to protect and serve their communities, including in efforts to prevent further gun violence and help stem the opioid epidemic,” the Members write. “Since their inception, the Byrne JAG and COPS programs have enabled law enforcement agencies to form vital partnerships among communities and law enforcement officers, combat criminal activities, and develop and implement problem-solving and crime prevention programs nationwide.” Last year, Reps. Pascrell and Reichert sent a letter to President Trump outlining the importance of the COPS Office. Prior to the release of the President’s budget, Reps. Pascrell and Reichert led a letter signed by 133 of their colleagues in support of robust financial support for the COPS Office in FY19. The letters highlighted the critical role the COPS Office serves to support the law enforcement community and improving community policing efforts across the country to keep neighborhoods safe. The letters also raised concerns about any proposals that would jeopardize the work of the COPS Office. The President eliminated the COPS Office in his FY19 budget. Background on the Byrne JAG Program The Byrne JAG program allows states and local governments to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crimes based on their own local needs and conditions. Grants can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support and information systems for criminal justice for any one or more of the following areas: 1) law enforcement programs; 2) prosecution and court programs; 3) prevention and education programs; 4) corrections and community corrections programs; 5) drug treatment programs and 6) planning, evaluation and technology improvement programs. COPS Office Background Since its inception, the COPS Office has placed more than 130,000 sworn law enforcement officers in communities across the country by providing grants for the hiring of officers through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program. These grants provide federal resources to communities with public safety needs that may lack the funds to hire law enforcement officers. Additionally, the COPS Office is responsible for implementing legislation authored and co-sponsored by Reps. Pascrell and Reichert. Specifically, the COPS Office oversees implementation the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act (Public Law: 114-12), which establishes a nationwide Blue Alert communications system to help disseminate information on serious injury or death of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, an officer who is missing in connection with the officer's official duties, or an imminent and credible threat that an individual intends to cause the serious injury or death of a law enforcement officer. Finally, the COPS Office is responsible for overseeing implementation of the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (Public Law: 115-113), which allows the COPS Office to make grants available to initiate peer mentoring pilot programs and develop training to meet law enforcement mental health needs. Text of the bipartisan letter follows: March 14, 2018 The Honorable John Culberson The Honorable José Serrano Chairman Ranking Member Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Science, and Related Agencies House Appropriations Committee House Appropriations Committee Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515 Dear Chairman Culberson and Ranking Member Serrano: Thank you for your ongoing and diligent efforts to appropriately rebalance limited resources in order to support our nation’s highest priorities. As you begin to craft the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriation bill for Fiscal Year 2019, we respectfully urge you to include sufficient funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) Program and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) programs -- in particular, the COPS Hiring program. These programs are critical to ensuring that state and local law enforcement have the tools, programs, personnel and resources necessary to protect and serve their communities, including in efforts to prevent further gun violence and help stem the opioid epidemic. The Byrne JAG and COPS programs are the cornerstone of our federal justice assistance programs. Since their inception, the Byrne JAG and COPS programs have enabled law enforcement agencies to form vital partnerships among communities and law enforcement officers, combat criminal activities, and develop and implement problem-solving and crime prevention programs nationwide. The strength of the Byrne JAG program is in its impact across the criminal justice system, from law enforcement to prosecution and courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, program planning, evaluation, technology improvement, and crime victim and witness initiatives. The COPS Office and its corresponding programs provide invaluable resources and technical assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies, keeping our communities safe. Sufficient funding is critical to ensuring that law enforcement has the resources necessary to effectively and efficiently protect the public, because in recent years law enforcement agencies have experienced shrinking budgets and difficult decisions concerning operational readiness and number of officers on patrol. We appreciate the difficulty you face in appropriating adequate resources for the programs under your jurisdiction and we thank you for your work. Support for the Byrne JAG and COPS Hiring programs is imperative to the safety of our communities. These programs supplement the manpower and incentivize collaboration across agencies necessary to build upon successful crime reduction efforts of the past twenty years. For these reasons, we respectfully request that you include strong funding for the Byrne JAG and COPS programs, especially the COPS Hiring program, in the FY2019 CJS appropriations bill. Sincerely, Signatories: Bill Pascrell, Jr. Dave Reichert A. Donald McEachin Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. Rick W. Allen Lou Barletta Andy Barr Nanette Diaz Barragán Joyce Beatty Ami Bera, M.D. Donald S. Beyer, Jr. Earl Blumenauer Suzanne Bonamici Brendan F. Boyle Robert A. Brady Anthony G. Brown Julia Brownley Cheri Bustos G. K. Butterfield Bradley Byrne Mike Capuano Salud O. Carbajal André Carson Earl L. Buddy' Carter Kathy Castor Judy Chu David N. Cicilline Steve Cohen Barbara Comstock Gerald E. Connolly Jim Costa Ryan A. Costello Joe Courtney Kevin Cramer Charlie Crist Joe Crowley Elijah E. Cummings Carlos Curbelo Danny K. Davis Rodney Davis Peter DeFazio Diana DeGette John K. Delaney Rosa L. DeLauro Val Butler Demings Mark DeSaulnier Ted Deutch Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. Keith Ellison Tom Emmer Eliot L. Engel Anna G. Eshoo Adriano Espaillat Elizabeth H. Esty Dwight Evans Brian Fitzpatrick Bill Foster Lois Frankel Marcia L. Fudge Tulsi Gabbard Ruben Gallego Tom Garrett Vicente Gonzalez Paul A. Gosar Josh Gottheimer Garret Graves Michelle Lujan Grisham Colleen Hanabusa Vicky Hartzler Alcee L. Hastings Denny Heck Jody Hice Brian Higgins French Hill James A. Himes Steny H. Hoyer Jared Huffman Randy Hultgren Hakeem Jeffries Bill Johnson Mike Johnson Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. William R. Keating Robin L. Kelly Trent Kelly Joseph P. Kennedy, III Daniel T. Kildee Ron Kind Peter T. King Steve King Adam Kinzinger Steve Knight Ann McLane Kuster Doug LaMalfa Leonard Lance James R. Langevin Rick Larsen John B. Larson Barbara Lee Sander Levin John Lewis Ted W. Lieu Daniel W. Lipinski Frank A. LoBiondo Zoe Lofgren Billy Long Alan Lowenthal Ben Ray Luján Stephen F. Lynch Tom MacArthur Sean Patrick Maloney Doris Matsui James P. McGovern David B. McKinley, P.E. Jerry McNerney Martha McSally Patrick Meehan Gwen S. Moore Seth Moulton Stephanie Murphy Jerrold Nadler Grace F. Napolitano Richard E. Neal Richard M. Nolan Donald Norcross Eleanor Holmes Norton Beto O’Rourke Tom O'Halleran Jimmy Panetta Donald M. Payne, Jr. Ed Perlmutter Scott H. Peters Collin C. Peterson Jamie Raskin Kathleen M. Rice Cedric L. Richmond Mike Rogers Jacky Rosen Keith J. Rothfus Lucille Roybal-Allard Raul Ruiz Bobby L. Rush Linda T. Sánchez John P. Sarbanes Jan Schakowsky Adam B. Schiff Bradley S. Schneider David Scott Terri A. Sewell Carol Shea-Porter Brad Sherman Kyrsten Sinema Albio Sires Louise Slaughter Adam Smith Jason Smith Steve Stivers Eric Swalwell Mark Takano Glenn 'GT' Thompson Mike Thompson Scott Tipton Paul Tonko Norma J. Torres Niki Tsongas Michael R. Turner Juan Vargas Marc Veasey Filemon Vela Timothy J. Walz Debbie Wasserman Schultz Bruce Westerman Frederica S. Wilson Rob Woodall John Yarmuth Don Young |