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Legislation & Politics | ||
Letter to Appropriations Subcommittee - FY09 - Commerce-Justice-ScienceApril 3, 2008 Members of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Dear Senator: On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), including our members working in state and local law enforcement, and our members working on law enforcement issues at the Department of Justice (DOJ), I am writing to request full federal funding to states and localities for law enforcement services and to DOJ for related administrative and program work. AFSCME also supports funding for the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service. President Bush’s proposed fiscal year 2009 budget would undermine key DOJ state and local law enforcement programs by cutting more than $1.2 billion from states and localities, eliminating more than 20 effective and distinct programs, and replacing them with new underfunded and untested competitive grant programs. The President’s proposed cuts would shift law enforcement costs to states and localities. Furthermore, his proposed competitive grants would result in some previously funded jurisdictions receiving no federal funds. These proposals would reduce Americans’ safety, pressure states and localities to cut law enforcement services, and harm AFSCME members working in law enforcement positions. President Bush’s proposed program cuts and restructuring at the Department of Justice, which most affect AFSCME members include: Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne-JAG) Formula Funding AFSCME requests funding for Byrne-JAG at $1.1 billion, which is the FY 2009 authorized level. Congress has demonstrated bipartisan support for increased funding with 56 Senators co-signing a letter led by Senators Harkin, Bond, Feinstein and Chambliss, which requests an additional $490 million in the expected FY 2008 supplemental Appropriations bill. Similarly, there is bipartisan congressional support for S. 231 and H.R. 3546, which would authorize Byrne-JAG’s FY 2009 funding at $1.1 billion. In 2002, annual funding for Byrne-JAG was $900 million and as recently as FY 2007, Byrne-JAG’s budget was $520 million. Funding should not fall below $660 million, which was recommended in the Senate’s FY 2008 Appropriations bill. Byrne-JAG is important because it helps state and local law enforcement control drug-related and violent crime. President Bush proposes to eliminate Byrne-JAG and thereby cut FY 2008 funding by $170 million. He proposes to replace the formula-funded Byrne-JAG program and others proposed for elimination with a new competitive grant program, which would ensure many currently funded states and localities receive no future funds. Juvenile Justice Programs, including Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP) state formula grants and Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG): AFSCME requests funding for Juvenile Justice Programs at $384 million, which is the FY 2008 enacted level, including $80 million for JJDP state formula grants, which was the FY 2006 and 2007 enacted levels, and $80 million for JABG, which was recommended in the Senate’s FY 2008 Appropriations bill. Juvenile justice services are important because they offer the opportunity to successfully intervene in the lives of criminal and delinquent children and redirect them in positive directions. The benefits of reduced incarceration, recidivism, and social and economic costs are significant and the cost-benefit ratio is extremely high. President Bush proposes to eliminate JJDP state formula grants, JABG, and about 10 other juvenile justice programs, which cuts FY 2008 juvenile justice funding by $384 million, JJDP by $74 million, and JABG by $52 million. He proposes to replace these formula programs with a new competitive grant program, which would ensure many currently funded states and localities receive no future funds. Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) AFSCME requests funding for COPS at $1.047 billion, which is the FY 2009 authorized level. Congress has demonstrated bipartisan support for increased funding with the sign-on letter circulated by Representatives Weiner and Keller and the bipartisan “COPS Improvement Act of 2007” (S. 368/H.R. 1700), which would increase COPS’ authorized level to $1.15 billion. In the late 1990’s, annual funding for COPS exceeded $1 billion and to maintain reduced crime rates, Congress should restore funding to this level. Funding should not fall below $725 million, which was recommended in the House’s FY 2008 Appropriations bill. COPS is important because it is proven effective at reducing crime and increasing community safety. President Bush proposes to eliminate the COPS program and thereby cut FY 2008 funding by $587 million. He proposes to replace the formula-funded COPS program and others proposed for elimination with a new competitive grant program, which would ensure many currently funded states and localities receive no future funds. State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP): AFSCME requests funding for SCAAP at $950 million, which is the FY 2009 authorized level. Funding should not fall below $460 million, which was recommended in the House’s FY 2008 Appropriations bill. In 2008, the House voted, 388-39, to approve an amendment to increase SCAAP’s FY 2008 appropriation from $410 million to $460 million. SCAAP is important because it reimburses states and local governments for some costs of incarcerating criminal illegal aliens held in state/local correctional facilities. Given that immigration is a federal function, states should not be burdened to pay the full cost to incarcerate criminal aliens. President Bush proposes to terminate SCAAP, which cuts FY 2008 funding by $410 million. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS): AFSCME requests funding for BJS programs at $45 million and funding for BJS administrative and management costs at $15 million, which are both necessary to ensure BJS has the resources for its programming and staffing needs. AFSCME opposes the President’s proposal to fund this $15 million within BJS. Within BJS, AFSCME requests full funding for the critically important National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). NCVS is the only accurate census of crime victims and its survey results are valuable for the national Crime Prevention Council, community groups and law enforcement agencies. The importance of funding NCVS is detailed in the House Appropriations Subcommittee’s FY 2008 report, which states “the Committee directs the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to appropriately fund the continuation of the NCVS, which is a critical source of information on crime victimization across the country. Conducted each year since the early 1970s, the survey enables BJS to estimate the likelihood of victimization by violent and property crime in the Nation, as well as for segments of the population. The NCVS also provides the largest national forum for victims to describe the impact of crime and characteristics of violent offenders.” AFSCME urges you to fund these critical law enforcement programs because they strengthen community safety, save lives by supporting law enforcement personnel and victims, and reduce violent crime, drug addiction and juvenile delinquency. Given that some jurisdictions are reporting increased violent crime, we think it is best to address these problems with dedicated funding streams and systematic approaches. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – National Ocean Service Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP): AFSCME requests funding for CELCP at $60 million. During FY 2003-2006, CELCP’s annual appropriation ranged between $37.6 million - $51.3 million and an increase is merited. In FY 2008, although the Senate approved $49 million and the House approved $35 million, the final omnibus appropriation bill funded only $8 million. Fully funding CELCP at $60 million would make up for last year’s underfunding, reduce the backlog of quality conservation projects, and ensure top ranked applications are funded. CELCP funds competitive grants to coastal states and territories to protect important land areas threatened by conversion from their natural condition and protect land with significant conservation, ecological, aesthetic or historic values. The national competitive requirements for CELCP grants ensures funded projects are all meritorious and the matching fund requirements ensures projects leverage additional dollars. CELCP is needed because coastal lands and estuaries are ecologically productive and economically important. The U.S. Ocean Action Plan states that continued health and biodiversity of marine and estuarine systems depends on maintaining high quality habitat and habitat loss and degradation are key issues afflicting our coasts and estuaries. We strongly support the grant application to fund Puerto Rico’s San Miguel Natural Reserve, which was prepared by Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. CELCP ranked this application in the top ten for FY 2008 grants. Unfortunately, FY 2008’s appropriation was enough to fund only the top 3 of 43 projects. We thank you for your continued leadership on appropriations issues and for your serious consideration of AFSCEM’s funding requests for these vital programs. Sincerely, Charles M. Loveless CML:mgb
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Raymond Summers
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