President Bush has once
again proposed deep cuts for critical homeland security and law enforcement
assistance programs. While the President often speaks of his commitment
to help local law enforcement agencies, his budget proposals for the Departments
of Justice and Homeland Security tell a different story. Overall, funding
for programs that are primarily designed to assist state and local law
enforcement agencies were cut by more than $1 billion.
The Bush budget cuts
grants to local fire departments. The
Bush budget would cut funding for Firefighter Assistance Grants by $257 million
(or forty seven percent). These grants, which provide direct assistance
for local fire departments to better protect firefighters and the public, have
already been cut sixty percent over the last three years. Furthermore,
the budget includes zero dollars for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and
Emergency Response (SAFER) program, which makes grants to ensure that fire
departments have 24-hour staffing.
The
Bush budget cuts funding for state and local homeland security and law
enforcement programs.
The Bush budget would hit law
enforcement especially hard, cutting off funding for a variety of important
programs. For example, the Bush budget would:
●
Cut $370 million (or seventy eight percent) from the COPS program, which, among
other things, helps state and local law enforcement agencies hire police
officers, enhance crime fighting technology, support crime prevention
initiatives, and combat methamphetamine use and distribution;
●
Eliminate funding for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant
Program, which last year received $409.3 million to make grants to help state
and local governments improve the functioning of the criminal justice system –
with an emphasis on violent crime and serious offenders;
●
Eliminate funding for the Law
Enforcement Terrorism Protection Program, administered by the Department of
Homeland Security, which last year received $400 million to make grants to
local law enforcement agencies to assist in homeland security-related planning,
organization, training, exercises, and equipment;
●
Eliminate funding for the Juvenile
Accountability Block Grant program, which last year received $50 million to promote
greater accountability in the juvenile justice system;
●
Eliminate funding for the State
Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which last year received $399
million to assist state and local governments with the costs of jailing illegal
immigrants who have committed crimes not related to their immigration status;
●
Cut $15 million from the Emergency
Management and Performance grants, the federal government’s main grant program
for state and local emergency management activities.
The Bush budget cuts the
Office of Violence Against Women. The Bush budget would cut $34 million (or nine
percent) from this office, which provides national leadership on issues related
to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking by providing grants to help
victims with the protection and services they need.
