[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. LINDA T. SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 16, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2847) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, 
     and Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2010, and for other purposes:
  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Chair, I rise today to urge 
my colleagues to support this amendment to increase funding for the 
State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). When the Federal 
government passed SCAAP in 1994, it recognized its responsibility to 
reimburse states and localities for the arrest, incarceration, and 
transportation costs associated with criminal aliens.
  Unfortunately, this program has been consistently under-funded. This 
year was not the first time a President proposed no funding for the 
SCAAP program. Fortunately, the Appropriations Committee allocated $300 
million to the program. While this level is significantly better than 
zero, it remains $100 million below the 2009 funding level. Our 
amendment will provide that additional $100 million for SCAAP.
  Even with $400 million, states and localities would still only 
receive reimbursement for a small fraction of what they are spending. 
This inadequate funding has had a devastating effect on public safety, 
especially in California and other border states. At a time when many 
states and counties face budget shortfalls, every dollar reduction in 
SCAAP reimbursement means one less dollar to spend on essential public 
safety services. Following SCAAP funding cuts in 2003, the LA County 
Sheriff's Department was forced to implement a new ``early release'' 
policy for inmates convicted of misdemeanors.
  From a public safety perspective, it is far better for criminals to 
serve their full sentences. Without adequate resources, other programs 
will have to be scaled back or terminated to accomplish this goal. 
Basic police protection, anti-gang activities, homicide investigations, 
anti-terrorism activities; and rehabilitation programs to reduce 
recidivism are programs that could face cuts in California and across 
the nation if this amendment does not pass.
  We introduced this bipartisan amendment to ensure that police chiefs 
and sheriffs do not have to choose between keeping our youth out of 
gangs and incarcerating criminal aliens.
  I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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