[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 16, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1059-E1060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     COPS IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 15, 2007

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1700, the 
Community Oriented Policing Services, or C.O.P.S., Program 
Reauthorization Act. The bill authorizes appropriations of more than 
$1.1 billion for community policing, community prosecutors and crime-
fighting technology grants. The original mission of this program was 
simple: put 100,000 more police officers on the beat for policing 
programs. The brainchild of the Clinton administration, the C.O.P.S. 
program brought members from both parties together with the goal of 
reducing crime.
  The C.O.P.S. program provides grants to local municipalities for 
crime fighting technologies and for additional community policing

[[Page E1060]]

and has been proven to reduce crime, especially violent crime. A 2005 
study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that the 
C.O.P.S. program contributed to a 1.3 percent decline in the overall 
crime rate and a 2.5 percent reduction in the violent crime rate in 8 
years.
  But like a patient that stops taking the medication once it starts 
working, the Bush administration has been taking a step back in law 
enforcement and homeland security in its effort to gut the program. We 
must not rest on our laurels and declare, ``Mission Accomplished.'' The 
President has declared we live in an age of terrorism, and expanding 
the police force and providing our local and state governments with 
resources to combat crime and terrorism should remain a priority. But 
for years, with the backing of the Republican-led Congress, the 
President has sought to cut or eliminate funding for the program.
  In Fiscal Year 2008, the Bush administration is proposing to cut the 
C.O.P.S. program by over 94 percent compared to 2007. Congress 
appropriated $542 million for the program in FY07, and the President is 
proposing only $32 million for FY08. The yearly program funding once 
peaked at $1.4 billion dollars per year under the Clinton 
administration. It has resulted in the hiring of nearly 120,000 police 
officers and has prevented over 200,000 crimes since its inception. In 
contrast, the Bush administration's proposal offers zero funding for 
community based prosecutors, zero funding for crime fighting 
technologies, and only $4 million for policing and public safety 
grants.
  Instead of providing funding for more cops on the beat, the President 
is handing the C.O.P.S. program a bill for funds unspent in previous 
years. The $32 million budget request, minus the $87 million the 
Administration is hoping to get back from the C.O.P.S. program, results 
in negative funding for community policing. Proponents of weakening the 
program will attempt to explain that the C.O.P.S. program is 
duplicative, but a review of the Bush administration's FY08 budget 
request reveals that the administration also is reducing funding for 
those other programs as well. It makes no sense to eviscerate the 
successful C.O.P.S. program or roll it into a block grant, particularly 
when Department of Justice estimates are showing a rise in crime.
  As it seeks to eliminate the C.O.P.S. program, the Bush 
administration is pursuing a misguided goal. I commend Congressman 
Weiner (D-NY) for bringing this bill forward today, I strongly support 
the C.O.P.S. program, and I urge adoption of the legislation.

                          ____________________