Lautenberg Announces Nearly $200 Million for Cops Program in Final Appropriations Bill
States News Service
WASHINGTON: The following information was released by New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg:
U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today announced that President Barack Obama will sign $198 million into law for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program. $166 million of that funding will be used for grants to hire and retain police officers in communities around the country. The funding comes from the joint House and Senate minibus conference report, which includes the final version of the Fiscal Year 2012 Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) appropriations bill that was approved in Congress yesterday.
Police officers shouldn’t be on the unemployment lines, they should be in our communities, and the COPS program will keep them there, said Senator Lautenberg, a member of the CJS Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds the program. House Republicans zeroed out COPS funding in their budget and I am pleased we were able to overcome these attacks and salvage this funding to keep the program up and running. As so many communities are struggling with budget cuts that hurt local police departments, this funding is especially important to keep police on the beat in our neighborhoods.
House Republicans eliminated all funding for the COPS Program from their version of the CJS appropriations bill. As a member of the Senate CJS Subcommittee, Senator Lautenberg was a leader in the effort to include $231 million for the program in the Senate version, which was approved earlier this month. The conference report released today preserves nearly $200 million of the funding included in the Senate bill.
The COPS grant program provides federal resources so that law enforcement agencies can hire officers, acquire new technologies and equipment, and promote innovative approaches to solving crime. Across the country, the program has put more than 120,000 police officers on the beat since 1995. New Jersey has received more than $400 million since the programs inception, which has funded more than 5,000 officers.
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