Cantwell, Grassley Lead Bipartisan Coalition to Preserve Key Crime-Fighting Program
51 senators back Byrne JAG program that equips law enforcement to tackle gangs, illegal drugs, sex offenders and domestic violence
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) led a bipartisan group of 51 senators in calling for robust funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program in FY2015. The Byrne JAG program is a critical crime-fighting program that helps state and local governments across the country reduce crime, prevent juvenile delinquency and reduce recidivism.
“It is clear to us that the strong foundation of federal, state, and local partnerships built from the Byrne JAG program remains as vital as ever,” the senators wrote in an April 11 letter to Senate appropriators. “We write to ask that you maintain funding for the program in the fiscal year 2015 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill.”
The Byrne JAG program is a partnership among federal and local government that tailors federal law enforcement grants to the needs of different communities. The flexibility of these grants allows local jurisdictions to focus on their most eminent needs in law enforcement. The grants also help meet funding needs that are not addressed in state budget processes.
“Byrne JAG-funded programs facilitate cross-governmental intelligence and information sharing on terror and criminal threats, drug and human trafficking organizations and sexual predators,” the senators wrote “This collaboration is essential to address today’s criminal networks that cross city, state and even international boundaries.”
A total of $376 million in Byrne JAG grants was awarded in fiscal year 2014. In 2013, Washington state received $5.3 million in Byrne JAG grants. These funds have been used to support vital gang prevention and drug treatment programs; prosecution and court programs; community corrections programs; and planning, prevention, evaluation, and technology improvement programs.
In Snohomish County, Byrne JAG grants have been used to aid the Snohomish Regional Drug & Gang Task Force. In Benton and Franklin counties, Byrne JAG grants support the Tri-City Metro Drug Task Force, which is dedicated to the disruption of narcotic trafficking, illegal gun sales and gang activity in the region. In Pierce County, Byrne JAG grants support local anti-gang and drug units as well as domestic violence prosecutions during a time when budgets for law enforcement officials and prosecutors across the state have been cut.
The letter was signed by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Charles E. Grassley (R-IA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Christopher Coons (D-DE), James M. Inhofe (R-OK), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Tom Udall (D-NM), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Al Franken (D-MN), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Kay R. Hagan (D-NC), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tom Carper (D-DE), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Carl Levin (D-MI), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and John Walsh (D-MT).
Cantwell has long fought for federal programs that provide support to local law enforcement to fight crime in Washington communities. She has been a leading supporter of the Byrne JAG program. Cantwell and Grassley led a bipartisan letter last year calling for robust funding in Byrne JAG funds, which helped result in Congress approving $365 million in Byrne JAG funds to state and local governments. In 2005 she called on then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to launch an investigation into gang related meth trafficking in the Washington state area. In 2006 Cantwell led the charge to pass the Combat Meth Act and secured $99 million for state and local law enforcement agencies to combat the problem.
The full text of the letter is available below.
April 11, 2014
The Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski
Chairwoman
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Senate Committee on Appropriations
142 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Richard C. Shelby
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Senate Committee on Appropriations
125 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Chairwoman Mikulski and Ranking Member Shelby:
We write to thank you for your strong and consistent support of the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program, and for the funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014. We write to ask that you maintain funding for the program in the fiscal year 2015 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill.
As thoughtful stewards of taxpayer money, we must continually assess where federal support is necessary and appropriate. It is clear to us that the strong foundation of federal, state, and local partnerships built from the Byrne JAG program remains as vital as ever.
One of the highest responsibilities of government is to protect its citizens and ensure public safety. We are concerned that regional, national and international gangs and drug trafficking organizations are increasingly driving the crime on our streets, embedding criminal activity deeper into our rural communities, and driving a dangerous new wave of heroin addiction across the country. Byrne JAG-funded programs facilitate cross-governmental intelligence and information sharing on terror and criminal threats, drug and human trafficking organizations and sexual predators. This collaboration is essential to address today’s criminal networks that cross city, state and even international boundaries.
Nationwide, the overall crime rate is at its lowest level since the 1960s due in part to advances in policing, information technology, offender management, and cross-jurisdictional coordination support by the Byrne JAG program. Crime in some communities, however, is on the rise again, reminding us that we must never become complacent when it comes to the safety of our citizens. Federal support for Byrne JAG and state and local law enforcement is our first line of defense against criminals and the Byrne JAG program is vital in combating crimes of all types.
Through Byrne JAG, the Department of Justice (DOJ) plays a crucial role in spurring innovation and testing cost-effective, evidence-based approaches to fighting crime. With over 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S., cross-jurisdictional learning and coordination cannot happen effectively without federal support.
Furthermore, crime prevention and control can be truly successful only when the criminal justice system is in balance, with all of the parts functioning effectively. Byrne JAG’s flexibility allows state and local governments to target their most pressing needs in law enforcement, prevention, pretrial services and treatment, courts, corrections, crime victims’ services, prosecution and defense, and post-incarceration reentry services. Byrne JAG also leverages the massive investment that already occurs regularly in these programs at the state and local level.
We know of your steadfast commitment to the Byrne JAG program in years past, and we ask for your continued support in the fiscal year 2015 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill.
Sincerely,
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