Alexandria, Virginia – The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), representing some 250,000 sworn state and local law enforcement officers across the United States, calls on Congress to come together and pass a continuing resolution to extend funding for the federal government before the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

If lawmakers neglect their constitutional duties, allow funding to runout and shutdown the government, federal law enforcement officers, who are working to protect our cities and communities from violent crime, drugs, and guns, will be putting their lives on the line without getting paid. Federal funding for task forces will stop flowing. Federal grants, resources, and supports for state and local law enforcement will stop, leaving vital public safety initiatives in the lurch.

Now is not the time to let federal funding run out. As the deadly shooting at the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility yesterday illustrates, American law enforcement officers are working in an increasingly dangerous and charged environment. To have them risk their lives without pay undermines support for the work they are doing and increases the stresses and strains the job puts on them and their families.  We are calling on all lawmakers to do the right thing and enact a continuing resolution to fund the government before time runs out.