[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 120 (Monday, July 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H7540-H7541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    KEEP COPS IN THE STREET PROGRAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Stupak] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow or Wednesday, the Congress will 
vote to deny 1996 funding for the President's Cops on the Streets 
Program. The 1996 funding for this Federal program starts in just 68 
days. The reason why funding will stop is politics, pure and simple. 
Everyone except the GOP politicians agree that the Cops Program is a 
success. In fact, a recent survey showed that 95 percent of the police 
executives, 95 percent out of 220, want to keep the Clinton Cops 
Program and not go back to the House-proposed block grant program.
  Police executives know what happened in the 1960's and in the early 
1970's. The block grant program then squandered scarce taxpayer dollars 
on luxury items such as tanks, airplanes, real estate consultants, 
studies, police academies, just to say a few. Money was wasted and 
crime soared. Our cities, neighborhoods and taxpayers were the victims. 
Now the Republican Party wants to go back to these block grant 
programs, riddled with waste, fraud and corruption. Just when 
communities and cities in the past year have received over 20,000 cops 
and have witnessed a significant drop in violent crime, take New York 
City, for example. There is a 31-percent drop in homicides in this 
year. All across this country, rape, robbery, and assaults are down. 
One of the major factors contributing to this success in the Clinton 
Cops on the Street Program, more neighborhood policing. Here is a 
program that is contributing to the decrease in crime and less than a 
year later this successful program is being scrapped for politics. Here 
is a program that is efficient. Less than 1.5 percent in administrative 
cost. It is a single page to fill out the application form, not the 
cumbersome multipage, multifaceted, multi-bureaucratic review for a 
technical grant process, making police agencies jump from hoop to hoop, 
requiring grant writers, consultants and administrators.
  Under the Clinton Cops Program, administrative costs are low, less 
than 1.5 percent. Money goes into law enforcement and more cops on the 
street.
  If we look at the Commerce, Justice, and State appropriations bill 
which will be on the floor Wednesday, the gentleman from West Virginia 
[Mr. Mollohan] will introduce an amendment which will restore the $1.8 
billion for fiscal year 1996 for the Cops on the Street Program. The 
money would come from striking that amount of money from the GOP block 
grant program in the Commerce, Justice, and State appropriations bill.
  The Mollohan amendment would provide an additional 20,000 copes on 
the street over the next 12 months. Republican critics will say that 
what they want are local communities to decide on how to spend their 
law enforcement money. There is plenty of money for local block grants 
in the Commerce, Justice, and State appropriations bill. There is a 
half-billion dollars for law enforcement grants. The Byrne block grants 
can be used for 22 different programs, and each program has been 
specifically approved by this Congress and the Department of Justice to 
prevent the abuses that were in the 1960's and 1970's.
  Mr. Speaker, underneath the current block grant program that we have 
as proposed by our Republican counterparts, in your community, if you 
are trying to rely on these funds to fight crime and if violent crime 
goes down in your community the following year,
 you would lose funds. So if you crack down and you help clean up your 
neighborhoods, prevent crime, underneath the block grant program 
proposed by our friends, you would see your funding go down. If you are 
in a police crackdown, you lose funding. The President and Democrats 
believe you must reward communities that effectively fight crime, not 
punish them.

  When we have this bill up tomorrow or Wednesday, whatever day it 
comes before this House, I hope that all my colleagues will look very 
closely at the block grant program. I hope they will support the 
Mollohan amendment which will move $1.8 billion back into the Clinton 
Cops Program. Having been a police officer myself for the last 12 
years, before I came into this job, it always seemed like police 
officers, law enforcement were always at the end of the political game.
  I remember being in the State Police in 1979 and in 1980 in which 
there was a budget cut. What did we do even though we gave up pay 
increases and that? They ended up cutting State troopers from our 
State, just like in 1979 and 1980 in Michigan. I know many of you said, 
``Well, that happened in Michigan. It won't happen here in the Federal 
Government.''
  Let me remind my colleagues on June 29, 1995, rollcall vote 458, on 
basically a party line vote, all but one Republican voted for the bill, 
you cut $2.5 billion from the block grant program. Not only does 
politics come in when we are talking about law enforcement, how we 
fight crime in Michigan, but it also appeared here on this House floor 
less than a month ago.
  In my 12 years, I have seen politics play a vital role in how crime 
is fought, how officers are funded, and right now the pollsters tell us 
crime is the number one concern for the voters. Yet we are having 
proposals which will actually punish police officers for doing their 
job because they will get less money the following year to fight crime.
  While we are dealing in a time of declining resources, we must put 
our resources where it will do the most good for the most amount of 
people. That has been time and time again in the Clinton Cops Program.
  Don't just take it from me, but if you look at a list of who supports 
the Clinton Cops Program, the Fraternal Order of Police support it, the 
National Association of Police Organizations, International Brotherhood 
of Police Officers, International Union of Police Associations, Police 
Executive Research 

[[Page H7541]]
Forum, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, 
National Troopers Coalition, Police Foundation, National Sheriffs 
Association, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, and the U.S. 
Conference of Mayors.
  Mr. Speaker, when we debate this bill on Wednesday before this body, 
I hope that the Members will support the Mollohan amendment.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Montgomery] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Mr. Speaker, August 31 will mark the end of a very 
distinguished career in the U.S. Army with the official retirement of 
Col. Jay McNulty. It also will mean the House of Representatives will 
lose the services of an individual who is the epitome of 
professionalism.
  For slightly over 28 years, Jay has served in his Nation's uniform 
with great distinction. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, first 
with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse) and then the 1st 
Squadron of the 1st Regiment of Dragoons (Blackhawk). As a former 
armored officer myself in World War II and during Korea, I feel a 
special kindredship with Jay because of our similar military duty.
  Since 1993, Colonel McNulty has served as Chief of Army Liaison to 
the U.S. House of Representatives. I am sure my colleagues will join me 
in commending Jay for the many times he has been of help to them and 
their constituents. He has served the Army well in this position.
  On a more personal note, I appreciate the excellent job Jay did in 
planning and making arrangements for our trip to observe the 50th 
Anniversary of D-Day in England and Normandy last year. I believe we 
had the largest congressional delegation to ever attend a single event, 
not to mention the many other delegations from other countries. The 
trip was a logistical nightmare, but thanks to Colonel McNulty and his 
dedicated staff it was one of the smoothest trips I have been on.
  Jay, we will miss you and certainly wish you well in the future as 
you take on new challenges. We thank you for your service to the House 
and the Nation. You truly have been a credit to the uniform you wear.
                               Biography

       Col. John J. McNulty III, was commissioned a lieutenant of 
     Armor in March 1967. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from 
     the University of Texas and a Masters of Science in Public 
     Administration from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.
       Colonel McNulty's assignments have been primarily with 
     armored cavalry units, including separate tours in Vietnam 
     with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse) and the 
     1st Squadron of the 1st Regiment of Dragoons (Blackhawk). On 
     six different occasions, he has commanded troop/company-sized 
     units. Two of these commands were as an Exchange Officer with 
     the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. In 1984, he assumed 
     command of the 1st Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment at 
     Fort Bliss, Texas. In July 1986, upon relinquishing command, 
     he was appointed Assistant Commandant of the United States 
     Army Sergeants Major Academy.
       In August 1988, Colonel McNulty was assigned to the Office 
     of the Secretary of the Army as the Chief of the 
     Congressional Inquiry Division in the Office of the Chief of 
     Army Legislative Liaison. Since 1993 he has been the Chief of 
     Army Liaison to the House of Representatives in the United 
     States Congress.
       Colonel McNulty is a graduate of the Command and General 
     Staff College and the United States Army War College.
     

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