During a conversation today with Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson, Sagadahoc/Knox/Lincoln/Waldo County District Attorney Geoff Rushlau, and Maine State Assistant Attorney General Lea-Anne Sutton, Senator Collins noted her strong support for the continued funding of the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program.
Senator Collins informed the group that she has written a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joining with a bipartisan group of Senators, urging continued funding for the Byrne/JAG program.
The Senators requested the authorized funding amount of $1.095 billion for the program. Last year, the program received just $170 million.
The Byrne/JAG program local law enforcement agencies with additional funding to support for drug and gang task forces as well as additional programs.
“This is critical funding that our nation’s law enforcement community needs to keep America’s streets safe,” said Senator Collins. “It is important that this program is funded at the authorized level to ensure that our drug and gang task forces are able to continue operating.”
This request has been supported by numerous law enforcement organizations including the National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, National Sheriffs’ Association, National Association of Counties, National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Legal Action Center, National District Attorneys’ Association, National HIDTA Directors Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major County Sheriffs Association, National Criminal Justice Association, National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies, Major City Chiefs Association, National Troopers Coalition, State Association of Addiction Services, the National Crime Prevention Council and the Fraternal Order of Police.
A full text of the letter follows:
We respectfully request that you provide $489.6 million for the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program in any Supplemental Appropriations bill that comes before the Senate. This addition would restore Byrne/JAG funding to the same level previously approved by the Senate in the Commerce-Justice Science (CJS) Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008 (FY 2008), and prevent law enforcement layoffs and spending reductions that would otherwise occur in the wake of the FY2008 cuts to the Byrne/JAG program.
The Byrne Formula Grant Program is a tried and tested program that has served us well for more than two decades. The program’s broad-based support was verified in the Senate’s passage last year of S.231, the Feinstein-Chambliss Byrne/JAG Reauthorization Act, which would extend this $1.095 billion authorization through 2012. The bill received 52 co-sponsors and passed the Senate by unanimous consent
As you know, the Senate-approved CJS Appropriations bill for FY2008 would have funded Byrne/JAG at $660 million. Following a veto threat, however, difficult choices had to be made in conference, and in the Omnibus Appropriations bill that ultimately passed, Byrne/JAG funding for FY2008 was reduced to only $170.4 million. This figure represented more than a 2/3 drop from Byrne/JAG’s actual appropriated levels in FY2007.
In the wake of these drastic cuts, various law enforcement agencies, as well as numerous police and sheriff’s offices, have notified us that these FY2008 Byrne/JAG cuts will have a devastating effect on law enforcement, forcing them to possibly close multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces, and negatively affecting a variety of other crime control programs. Particularly at a time when a risk of adverse economic conditions may lead to increased crime, it is vitally important that we support our nations’ finest in their efforts on the front lines, where they risk their lives daily keeping Americans safe.
Unless these Byrne/JAG funds are restored promptly, law enforcement agencies may be forced to dismantle multi-jurisdiction task forces that often took years to create and develop. And individual officers serving on those task force members will face a loss of income or even their jobs, some of which have been held for years.
Funding for Byrne/JAG, at its $1.095 billion authorized level, has long been supported by America’s leading law enforcement organizations, including the National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, National Sheriffs’ Association, National Association of Counties, National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Legal Action Center, National District Attorneys’ Association, National HIDTA Directors Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major County Sheriffs Association, National Criminal Justice Association, National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies, Major City Chiefs Association, National Troopers Coalition, State Association of Addiction Services, the National Crime Prevention Council and the Fraternal Order of Police.
There is strong bipartisan support for the Byrne/JAG Program, and we urge you to provide this critically needed funding in any supplemental appropriations bill that comes before the Senate this year.