OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Letter to Matt Cartwright, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, and Robert Aderholt, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies - To Improve Public Safety, We Must Better Support Local Law Enforcement

Letter

By: Rick Crawford, Greg Stanton, Ami Bera, Eric Swalwell, Julia Brownley, Raul Ruiz, Mike Levin, Diana DeGette, Jahana Hayes, Darren Soto, Frederica Wilson, David Scott, Robin Kelly, Adam Kinzinger, André Carson, Mike Johnson, Seth Moulton, Steny Hoyer, Dan Kildee, Dean Phillips, Vicky Hartzler, Richard Hudson, Jr., Chris Pappas, Frank Pallone, Jr., Don Payne, Jr., Lee Zeldin, Sean Maloney, Joe Morelle, Brad Wenstrup, Shontel Brown, Suzanne Bonamici, Chrissy Houlahan, Conor Lamb, Ralph Norman, Jr., Lizzie Fletcher, Blake Moore, Don Beyer, Jr., Rick Larsen, Mike Gallagher, Marilyn Strickland, Mo Brooks, Debbie Lesko, Doris Matsui, Jackie Speier, Salud Carbajal, Grace Napolitano, Michelle Steel, Scott Peters, Jim Himes, Mike Waltz, Ted Deutch, Hank Johnson, Jr., Cindy Axne, Rodney Davis, Frank Mrvan, Andy Barr, Jim McGovern, Anthony Brown, Peter Meijer, Angie Craig, Peter Stauber, David Rouzer, Donald Bacon, Joshua Gottheimer, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Dina Titus, Nicole Malliotakis, John Katko, Steve Chabot, Bob Gibbs, Frank Lucas, Dwight Evans, GT Thompson, Jr., Jim Langevin, Steve Cohen, Marc Veasey, Abigail Spanberger, Peter Welch, Ron Kind, Tom O'Halleran, Jared Huffman, Jerry McNerney, Jim Costa, Adam Schiff, Mark Takano, Darrell Issa, Doug Lamborn, Kat Cammack, Val Demings, Maria Salazar, Kai Kahele, Danny Davis, Cheri Bustos, Jacob LaTurner, Julia Letlow, Bill Keating, Jamie Raskin, Haley Stevens, Tom Emmer, Michael Guest, Madison Cawthorn, Jeff Van Drew, Tom Malinowski, Mikie Sherrill, Andrew Garbarino, Elise Stefanik, Brian Higgins, Joyce Beatty, Mike Carey, Brian Fitzpatrick, Susan Wild, Mike Doyle, Jr., Tim Burchett, Michael McCaul, Donald McEachin, Gerry Connolly, Kim Schrier, David McKinley, Mike Rogers, Raul Grijalva, Mike Thompson, Mark DeSaulnier, Anna Eshoo, Brad Sherman, Alan Lowenthal, Juan Vargas, John Larson, John Rutherford, Gus Bilirakis, Buddy Carter, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Bill Foster, Darin LaHood, John Yarmuth, Garret Graves, John Sarbanes, Chellie Pingree, Debbie Dingell, Michelle Fischbach, Kathy Manning, Ted Budd, Andy Kim, Albio Sires, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Kathleen Rice, Claudia Tenney, Chris Jacobs, Bill Johnson, Anthony Gonzalez, Brendan Boyle, Fred Keller, Jenniffer González-Colón, David Kustoff, Colin Allred, Robert Good, Stacey Plaskett, Bryan Steil, Mark Kelly
Date: April 29, 2022
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Budget and Spending Criminal Justice

Dear Chairman Cartwright and Ranking Member Aderholt,

As you begin to craft the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriation bill for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23), we urge you to include increased funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) Program and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program.

The Byrne JAG and COPS programs are the cornerstone of our federal justice assistance programs. Together, these grants are critical to ensuring state and local law enforcement have the training, tools, and personnel necessary to serve their communities. Since their inception, Byrne JAG and COPS grants have enabled law enforcement agencies to better protect their communities and promote community policing initiatives that form vital bonds between officers and those they serve.

The strength of the Byrne JAG program is in its broad impact across the criminal justice system. Byrne JAG funds are used in states and localities across the country for a variety of important initiatives, including improved tools and technologies, crime prevention and education, mental health and substance use disorder treatment, alternatives to incarceration, prosecution and indigent defense, crime victim services, recidivism reduction programs designed to stop the cycle of crime, and trainings to improve community policing efforts.

The COPS programs provide invaluable resources to hire community policing professionals, develop and test innovative policing strategies, and provide training to community members and local law enforcement. Since 1994, the COPS office has allocated more than $14 billion to local departments to help advance community policing. Increased funding is critical to ensuring that law enforcement has the resources necessary to continue these important community policing efforts that build bonds and make our communities safer.

These programs provide critical federal dollars to build upon successful crime reduction efforts and ensure officers maintain strong relationships with their communities. As many police departments across our nation continue to confront worsening gun violence, the importance of ensuring our federal policing grants are robustly funded is all the more crucial.

Support for the Byrne JAG and COPS programs is imperative to the safety of our communities and continued efforts to improve policing in our nation, yet funding for both programs have seen cuts over the past twelve years and must be restored to previous levels.

For these reasons, we respectfully request that you include increased funding for the Byrne JAG and COPS Hiring Programs in FY23.


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