[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16659]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                NOT A PRETTY PICTURE FOR POLICE OFFICERS

  (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, just a few days ago, Bernard Melekian, who 
is Director of the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented 
Policing Services, produced a job loss ratio and report on the police 
departments throughout the United States of America. Mr. Speaker, it 
was not a pretty picture. We pat our police officers on the back, say 
they do a good job, and watch 12,000 of them lose their jobs in the 
United States of America.
  There's one point I want to bring out here, Mr. Speaker, and it's 
this: If we place so much homeland security responsibilities on our 
first responders, then how in God's name can we turn our backs when 
cities and towns and rural areas are in tough financial shape? We will 
have an opportunity to rectify and right the ship this afternoon.

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