Durbin Pushes to Restore Funding for Successful First Responder Porgrams

DURBIN PUSHES TO RESTORE FUNDING FOR SUCCESSFUL FIRST RESPONDER PROGRAMS

"Homeland security begins with hometown security," U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today during a meeting with local fire and police chiefs. Durbin held the meeting to discuss several programs important to local first responders which did not fare well in the President's 2007 budget. The budget dramatically cut funding for the successful Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program by 78 percent, eliminated the The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, and deeply cut two programs to hire and train firefighters.

"The funding cuts will make it harder to equip and train local firefighters and police officers," said Durbin. "Our first responders and emergency preparedness officials need to know that the Department of Homeland Security will provide them with the tools they need."

Critical law enforcement programs funded by the Justice Department have suffered steep and steady declines since September 11, 2001, said Durbin.

"We need to make a commitment to the communities that rely on federal support for their local law enforcement agencies and move the programs that have proven to be so valuable toward the top of our nation's priority list."

Firefighters & First Responders: The President's budget eliminates the SAFER firefighter hiring program, which provides funding to fire departments to hire additional firefighters and first responders. In Illinois, over $1.3 million was awarded to fire departments for hiring and recruiting additional firefighters in 2005.

The President's budget also proposes to cut funding for the FIRE program nearly in half, reducing its budget from $545 million to $293 million. The FIRE program provides fire departments with vital equipment and training. In 2005, Illinois was awarded over $25 million for fire department equipment. Durbin noted that these programs are especially important to Illinois' rural and volunteer fire departments.

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program: The JAG program was established two years ago by combining the Byrne Grant program and the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program. The President's budget eliminates this important program, which was budgeted at $327 million last year. Durbin expressed serious concern that the elimination of this program could significantly impact the ability of Illinois law enforcement to combat the state's growing meth problem. The amount of meth seized by the Illinois State Police increased nearly tenfold between 1997 and 2003. Ending the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funds would severely hamper regional methamphetamine task forces and several crime prevention programs. The Southern Illinois Enforcement Group pays almost half of its agents with funding from Byrne grants.

Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS): The President's budget cuts funding for the successful Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program by 78 percent. Since COPS was created in 1994, the program has assisted Illinois law enforcement agencies in reducing violent crime by awarding the state more than $422.7 million in COPS grants for community policing efforts. These grants have funded 5,530 additional police officers and sheriff's deputies in Illinois, benefiting 682 local and state law enforcement agencies. In addition, $22 million has been awarded to hire 182 school resource offices to improve safety for students, teachers and administrators in Illinois elementary and high schools. The program has also awarded $50.3 million to enhance crime fighting technologies.

Durbin supported an amendment to the FY 2007 budget to provide interoperable communications equipment for first responders so that they can respond to natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other public safety needs.

"The lack of interoperable communications for America's first responders puts them and our communities at risk. Too many of our police, fire, emergency medical services and transportation officials can not communicate with each other, and our local departments are not able to link their communications with state and federal emergency response agencies."

Durbin also supported an amendment that provided $2.8 billion more than the Budget Resolution included for first responder grants to states and localities to be used for hiring, equipping, and training first responders, as well as covering related overtime costs. Due to the repeated cuts to first responder programs over the last several years, $1.6 billion is needed just to restore cuts to state homeland security formula grants, FIRE Act grants, SAFER grants, Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG), and the Metropolitan Medical Response teams. This funding would also restore severe cuts to the COPS grants program and fully fund Law Enforcement Terrorism Preparedness Program and Byrne formula grants. Beyond restoring the FY2007 cuts, the amendment increases funding for first responder preparedness by an additional $1.2 billion and EMPG grants by $46 million or 25% over last year's appropriated level.

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=253104&&