LEGISLATIVE
UPDATE
PRESIDENT BUSH’S FISCAL
2007 BUDGET PROPOSES BIG
CUTS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT
GRANT PROGRAMS
Department of
Homeland Security
In
the fiscal 2006 Homeland Security appropriations bill, border security and
preparing against weapons of mass destruction took up the majority of the $31.9
billion appropriated to the Department.
The increased funding to Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and
Customs Enforcement and to work on defenses against chemical, biological and nuclear
weapons came at the expense of first responder grants. State and local aid, including first
responder preparedness grants, were cut by sixteen percent to $3.3 billion in
fiscal 2006. These funding priorities
have not changed for fiscal 2007 according to the Department of Homeland
Security’s proposed budget. Funding for
grants to police, firefighters and other first responders continue to suffer as
funding continues to shift to these other priorities.
President
Bush’s fiscal 2007 budget proposes $42.7 billion dollars for the Department of
Homeland Security, which is a 6% overall increase for the department from
fiscal 2006. The budget includes $838
million for the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), which is an $80 million
increase from last year, and $633 million for the State Homeland Security Grants
(SHSG) program, an increase of $88 million from 2006. However, the total proposed funding for state
and local homeland security grants that benefit police, firefighters and other
first responders, which includes UASI and SHSG, would be slashed by 13% to 2.6
billion.
To
receive homeland security grants, states would be required to develop a
strategy for interoperability of radio and other communications systems during
emergencies.
Department of Justice
As
with previous years, the administration’s budget proposes cutting, to the point
of almost eliminating, several grant programs for state and local law
enforcement. Among the proposed
eliminations are the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants and the State Criminal
Alien Assistance Program, which reimburses law enforcement agencies for the
costs of imprisoning illegal immigrants.
Also on the chopping block is the Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS) program would receive a 79% cut in funding.
Congress,
however, is likely to reject these cuts in funding, as it has in previous
years.
The administration’s budget does propose one major funding increase for the Project Safe Neighborhood’s initiative, which was started by the administration and works to target firearm-related crimes. It is slated to receive $395 million, which is an increase of $154 million (64%) from 2006.