Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2007
SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007 -- (House of Representatives - June 28, 2006)
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Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I rise in opposition to this amendment, regrettably for my friend from New York.
I also am a very strong supporter of the COPS program, like my friend from Alabama, a former prosecutor. I have always supported and continue to support the COPS program. But robbing one vital program to support another is not the answer.
Representing Southern California, the home of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, I have seen the tremendous space science that has come out of our robotic exploration of Mars and out of the entire space program. This has manifest itself in health technology and telecommunications technology. It has had tremendous benefits to all of our constituents.
I don't want to see that research go away. I don't want to see that space science go away. And already there are dramatic cuts and delays in some of the space sciences that we just cannot afford. We have to find a different way to fund the COPS program. Taking the money out of this vital NASA effort is not the answer, and I must oppose the amendment.
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Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Chairman, hundreds of thousands of men and women each day put
on a uniform and put their lives in danger to protect our neighborhoods. Just last year, 154 police officers were killed in the line of duty in the United States. There were 17 police officers who were killed in the line of duty in 2005 in my home State of California, alone. These are men and women who serve us bravely and with distinction, and they will not be returning home to their families.
When I introduced the Law Enforcement Tribute Act in 2001, the city of Glendale had wanted to honor Officer Lazzaretto as well as three other police officers and one sheriff's deputy that had been killed in the line of duty. Chuck Lazaretto was tragically killed in a shooting in May 1997. Because of this House's support, we enabled Glendale to place a memorial honoring its fallen heroes outside its new police department headquarters.
The parameters of LETA are very simple. Maximum grants are $150,000, and they must have at least a 50 percent local match. This amendment would appropriate $500,000 for fiscal year 2007.
In addition to the memorial that was erected in my district, the Law Enforcement Tribute Act program provided funds in 2004 to 17 local law enforcement memorials all over this Nation, including memorials in Tacoma, Washington; Fairbanks, Alaska; Tucson, Arizona; and Memphis, Tennessee.
It is a fitting tribute for the Federal Government to continue to provide a small amount of assistance to honor these fallen heroes.
I ask for my colleague's support in honoring the fallen men and women of law enforcement, and restore funds for the Law Enforcement Tribute Act Program to its FY 03 funding level of $500,000.
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