House vote rejects cuts to law enforcement grants

3-14-2008 Washington D.C.:

Washington, D.C. - The budget approved by the U.S. House on a 212-207 vote Thursday rejected proposed administration cuts to law enforcement grants as well as changes in the program, said Rep. Dave Loebsack, a Mount Vernon Democrat.

Loebsack said the budget would provide full funding for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. In Iowa, the grant money is used for drug investigations, and Iowa law enforcement officials have been vocally unhappy in recent weeks about cutbacks.

House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C., said in a statement that Loebsack's testimony to the committee asking for more money for the grants "played a valuable role" in the committee's decision. The grants are important to local law enforcement officials as they fight drugs, Spratt said.

Full funding would mean the program would receive about $1 billion during the upcoming budget year, about the same as it received in 2005, congressional aides said. However, the budget is a blueprint and actual spending levels have yet to be determined.

President Bush's proposal eliminated all direct grants for the program and replaced them with $200 million in competitive grants, which would have pitted law enforcement agencies against each other and left Iowa $1.6 million short compared to previous allocations, aides said. The program has faced repeated cuts during the past five years.

The Byrne program is named for a rookie New York City police officer killed by drug dealers in 1998. ..more.. by Reporter Jane Norman can be reached at (202) 906-8137 or at jnorman@dmreg.com