[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 83 (Monday, May 21, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     COPS IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 15, 2007

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
strong support for H.R. 1700, the COPS Reauthorization Act. This 
legislation is a much needed and renewed commitment by this Democratic-
led Congress to combat crime in our local communities and 
neighborhoods.
  Since its inception under the leadership of the Clinton 
administration, the COPS program has proven to ensure greater safety 
for citizens in large metropolitan areas and small communities alike by 
providing local law enforcement with the ability to hire more police 
officers, increased technology assistance such as laptops for patrol 
cars, and new funding for programs to allow prosecutors to go after 
more criminals. Since 1994 117,000 new police officers have hit the 
streets in the United States and 414 in the area of St. Paul, which I 
represent.
  According to an independent study done by the GAO, COPS hiring grants 
were responsible for reducing the crime rate in the United States by 
roughly 200,000 crimes between 1998 and 2000. Unfortunately, past 
Republican-led Congresses sharp cuts in over a billion dollars to the 
COPS hiring grant programs have diminished the capacity of this great 
program that has been critical to decreasing the crime rate across this 
country. To make matters worse, this year President Bush is seeking to 
zero-out funding for the COPS hiring programs and must not see the 
value of more law enforcement officers on the streets. This Congress 
will answer the President's call of zero funding by restoring this 
important program to a respectable level and add 50,000 police officers 
in the next 6 years to fight crime.
  COPS has provided an avenue to deploy more law enforcement officers 
in many areas of the United States and unsurpassed technology to assist 
the growing law enforcement community. It is a first-rate program, I 
commend the gentleman from New York, Mr. Weiner for bringing this 
legislation to the floor and I urge all my colleagues to support this 
bill and the men and women in law enforcement that continue to protect 
our communities.

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