Today, U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09), a Member of the House Ways and Means Committee and Co-Chair of the House Law Enforcement Caucus, issued the following statement in response to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s announcement that New Jersey would join a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to withhold disbursement of critical law enforcement grants:

"I applaud Governor Murphy’s administration for standing up for these critical law enforcement grants, said Rep. Pascrell. “Trying to use federal resources to coerce state and local law enforcement officers to follow an extremist, anti-immigrant Trump agenda is shameful and betrays the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day. We should focus on improving public safety and helping communities who rely on this federal assistance. I’ve been sounding the alarm about this issue for several months because I know New Jersey relies on these vital federal resources to keep our communities safe.”

In December 2017, Rep. Pascrell led a bipartisan letter signed by 93 colleagues to the U.S. Department of Justice expressing concerns about the delay in disbursing funds for a community crime-fighting program to states. In November 2017, Rep. Pascrell led a letter signed by all Democrats in the New Jersey Congressional delegation calling on the Trump Administration to disburse approximately $4 million in federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to New Jersey.