[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 28, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S991-S992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RURAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2009

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to express my support as a 
cosponsor of S. 150, the Rural Law Enforcement Assistance Act of 2009, 
introduced by my colleague on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator 
Leahy. As our Nation copes with economic turbulence, we here in 
Washington are faced with tough decisions regarding the Federal budget. 
Back in our home States, State and local legislators are facing their 
own tough decisions and are examining drastic cuts to budgets that 
could impact law enforcement services provided to citizens. These cuts 
are leaving law enforcement administrators wrestling to do more with 
less. Unfortunately, we are finding out that these administrators are 
forced with the only choice of serving their public with fewer 
officers, less money for training and less money for tools and 
resources for the more than 800,000 men and women who keep our citizens 
safe from crime. I fear we have only seen the tip of the iceberg that 
is our present economic state. Large cities and small towns are seeing 
the possibility of not filling vacant law enforcement officer positions 
due to the recent budget crisis. In my home State of Utah, with the 
exception of a few law enforcement agencies, most of the departments 
patrol rural jurisdictions. Some of the hardest hit areas by this 
economic downturn are rural communities. Police agencies in these 
communities often lose out to larger metropolitan areas for 
consideration of justice assistance grants. Under the present form of 
the Department of Justice's Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 
Program, the sheriff's departments and police departments in Utah have 
seen a 65-percent decrease in justice assistance grant funding received 
from this program. These areas have their own challenges--issues such 
as illicit drug use that are not just unique to cities but transcend 
city limits and have manifested themselves in rural communities in much 
the same way they do in urban settings.
  Press reports in the preceding weeks have been very grim to say the 
least. Joblessness is on the rise. The combination of revenue losses 
and budget shortfalls will see an increased demand for services on the 
part of these rural agencies. These issues will make it challenging to 
continue to meet the demands of normal calls for service. According to 
the chiefs and sheriffs in Utah, because of this economic downturn, the 
cost of everything is going up, including crime.
  If passed, the Rural Law Enforcement Assistance Act would level the 
playing field by reauthorizing the rural law enforcement assistance 
grant under the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. This 
reauthorization will make agencies located in rural States and populous 
States with rural areas candidates for this grant assistance. These 
grants can be used to hire officers, pay for officer training, crime 
prevention programs, and victim assistance programs. For example, in 
the coming fiscal year some Utah agencies may not be able to purchase 
essential items and tools like rape-investigation kits which are 
critical in the gathering of physical evidence after a victim has been 
assaulted. Grants awarded under the Rural Law Enforcement Assistance 
Act could be used to purchase these kits and other critical tools 
needed for investigations. As a longtime advocate for victims' rights, 
I find this troubling that there might be agencies in this country that 
may not have the necessary budget to purchase essential tools needed to 
investigate these heinous crimes.
  For decades criminologists and economists have debated the link 
between crime and the economy. Some researchers have concluded that 
there is a ripple effect from the economy and it radiates out and 
displays itself in the form of increased calls for service, increased 
domestic violence, and increased property crimes. Presently, we do not 
have current crime statistics for 2008, but I will use a less 
scientific method: it is called listening to the professionals who each 
and every day answer the calls for police services in these rural 
areas. They tell me that they are seeing an increase in burglaries, 
domestic violence, emergency mental health committals, and more calls 
for service. Some agencies are down in personnel numbers. However, 
these law enforcement professionals are forging ahead doing the very 
best they can with whatever means they have. They are not looking at 
these grants as a free pass to purchase frivolous big-ticket items that 
have little to do with their agency's mission. These administrators 
tell me they are hopeful this act will pass so that they can continue 
to serve the rural communities who have come to expect the most basic 
of police services as a right guaranteed by the Constitution in 
``ensuring domestic tranquility.''
  My colleagues in this Chamber have taken great pains to examine and 
discuss a way to lead our country out of this crisis and get our 
economy moving again. We should be scrutinizing Government spending in 
this tight economy. But I cannot think of a better form of economic 
stimulus than making justice assistance grants available to rural 
communities and metropolitan areas alike. However, rural agencies 
currently find themselves on the outside looking in under the present 
JAG formula. The reauthorization of the Rural Law Enforcement 
Assistance Act would give rural agencies a better opportunity at 
receiving this grant assistance.
  In closing, I quote the Greek philosopher Plato who said the 
following about communities: ``The community which has neither poverty 
nor riches will always have the noblest principles.''
  This Nation is one large framework of communities and was founded on 
some of the noblest principles ever recorded in history. Some of our 
citizens choose a city lifestyle, and some have selected a rural small 
town life. Crime does not distinguish between urban and rural. The more 
than 800,000 men and women who make up the law enforcement community 
that keep our streets

[[Page S992]]

safe in metropolitan cities and Main Street USA know this firsthand. 
One of the viscous subplots of this economic turmoil is that crime and 
the need for police services undoubtedly will increase. The small town 
rural police department may be the only Government entity that answers 
the phone in the middle of the night when a citizen has just lost a job 
and is contemplating suicide. A sheriff's deputy or police officer 
dispatched to the scene might be the only direct intervention that this 
citizen has with a government service. If there are not enough deputies 
or officers to go around, the response to this cry for help may be 
delayed or, worse yet, might not get there in time. When you reframe 
this issue relative to the scenario that I just laid out, it troubles 
me deeply and impresses upon me just how much our rural law enforcement 
community needs this reauthorization.

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