Rep. Pascrell Blasts Republican Proposal to Cut $600 Million from the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program
Press Release
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today blasted a proposal by House Republicans to cut 70 vital federal programs, including a number of law enforcement programs especially the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. The COPS program allows communities facing economic duress to hire or retain police officers.
"Certainly we all have different ideas in regards to our national budget, but I thought we were all in agreement that protecting the American people is one of the essential roles of government," said Pascrell, a member of the House Budget Committee and Co-Chair of the Law Enforcement Caucus. "Advocating for the gutting of these law enforcement programs is especially troubling at a time when local governments are being forced to slash their police departments. A responsive police department is not a luxury -- less cops on the beat equals more crime on our streets, it's as simple as that. Let's govern according to the needs of the American people and not by the whims of a partisan agenda."
The proposed $600 million cut to the COPS program was one of 70 federal programs targeted by House Republicans. Other proposed cuts to law enforcement programs include the National Drug Intelligence Center (-$11M), Law Enforcement Wireless Communications (-$52M), US Marshals Service (-$10M), FBI (-$74M), State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance (-$256M) and Juvenile Justice (-$2.3M).
Rep. Pascrell affirmed his commitment to deficit reduction, but questioned the Republican rhetoric on deficit reduction after eight-years of the GOP leading the nation into two wars overseas without any consideration of how those wars would be funded. Meanwhile, the Republicans have called for adding $5 trillion to the deficit in their rules package, and their proposal does not offer any real plan to address our nation's deficits and debt.
"The American people need jobs, not political gimmicks," said Pascrell. "That's why I am committed to keeping my focus on jobs creation."
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