For Immediate Release:

March 28, 2022

Sacramento, CA – Today, President Biden submitted his Budget Request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, calling for an increase of $1.7 billion in spending for federal law enforcement. PORAC has been calling for bi-partisan congressional action to increase funding for law enforcement and applauds the President for making good on his commitment to do just that in his March 1, 2022 State of the Union speech. PORAC urges Congress to include these funding increases in the final budget. The request lays out the Administration’s funding priorities for the coming year, and includes key investments in federal grant programs for the law enforcement community.

The Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2023 would devote more than $37 billion in discretionary resources for the Department of Justice, an increase of $2.63 billion over the previous year’s enacted level. It also includes key resources for several public safety initiatives, including:

• $6.24 billion for the Office of Justice Programs to support critical longstanding Justice Department grant programs including Byrne JAG grants, Project Safe Neighborhoods, and programs that serve victims of crime, among others.
• $2.83 billion for the Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS Office) to support the hiring of police and sworn law enforcement personnel nationwide and the implementation of community-based strategies to combat violent crime.
• $1 billion to support Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs, including those that provide critical resources to all states and territories to fund police, prosecutors, courts, and victim services, as well as resources to provide legal assistance for victims, transitional housing, and homicide and domestic violence reduction initiatives.
• $30 billion in new mandatory resources to support law enforcement, crime prevention, community violence intervention, and justice system reform. The Administration will be providing additional details on this mandatory funding in the coming weeks.

The Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), the largest statewide law enforcement association in the nation, offered the following statement from President Brian Marvel on the President’s Budget Request:

“We applaud the President’s call for Congress to significantly increase the budget for these federal programs that provide key resources to state and local law enforcement agencies across the nation. These programs are essential to local agencies and help to advance the practice of community policing to build trust and mutual respect between police and communities. Modernizing law enforcement is achievable, but it requires patience, collaboration, and the funding to see these policies through.”

“PORAC has called for increased grant funding for our nation’s law enforcement community for years, and it is especially needed now, as officers seek to protect our families and communities from a dramatic increase in crime and violence. Earlier this month, the President signed into law the Fiscal Year 2022 funding package, which included key increases for many of these programs. Additionally, lawmakers are hard at work introducing other meaningful initiatives, including Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s (NJ-5) Invest in Law Enforcement Act (H.R. 6448), which has been endorsed by PORAC and would authorize critical funding increases for smaller local departments throughout the country to ensure they have adequate resources to keep their communities safe. PORAC is committed to ensuring federal budgetary measures help to address the nation’s rising crime crisis and ensure our officers can do their jobs safely and effectively.”

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