WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will urge states and cities to use unspent money from final yr’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief package deal to fund crime prevention packages and rent cops.
Biden is anticipated to stress the necessity for extra funding for public security packages at an occasion with mayors and regulation enforcement officers Friday on the White House.
Numerous main cities have reported surges in crime charges because the begin of the coronavirus pandemic. The White House stated it’s pushing native governments to spend the money earlier than the summer season months, when there has traditionally been extra violent crime in contrast to winter months.
“One of the reasons why the president wants to speak now was both because we are approaching another summer and he wants to stress the priority of using these dollars for public safety and violence prevention,” a senior administration official stated in a name with reporters.
At least $10 billion from the American Rescue Plan, which Congress handed in March 2021, has already been dedicated to public security packages, together with home violence prevention efforts, drug abuse and psychological well being companies, and bonuses for hiring and retaining cops, the White House stated.
About $6.5 billion was allotted in 2021 by 300 localities and greater than half of states, together with $2 billion for crime prevention packages to ease the burden on police and $1 billion for bonuses to assist recruit and retain public security employees, the White House stated.
Without these funds, many cities would have been pressured to reduce on public security spending due to funds shortfalls after the financial influence of the pandemic and the extra prices it imposed on native governments, the White House added.
In addition, $350 billion from the rescue plan went to assist governors, mayors and different native leaders help their responses to and restoration from the pandemic.
As crime continues to rise in elements of the nation, Republicans have sought to make it a key situation within the midterm elections, accusing Democrats of being in favor of “defunding” police departments.
Biden, who has more and more pushed again towards that narrative, maintains that he’s for funding the police and has accused Republicans of supporting cuts to police budgets, citing their opposition to the American Rescue Plan.
“The American Rescue Plan has enabled these mayors and other state and local leaders to shore up their budgets and invest in public safety,” the White House stated in a press release. “Unfortunately, every Republican in Congress voted against the American Rescue Plan public safety funding for cities and rural counties across the country.”
The Biden administration has additionally been wanting to tout the Covid relief invoice as one of many president’s high coverage achievements, together with the $550 billion infrastructure package deal, because it makes the case to hold Democrats in energy forward of the elections this fall.
In his remarks Friday, Biden will name on states and native communities to spend the Covid relief money on “putting more police officers on the beat for accountable community policing, expanding evidence-based community violence intervention programs, and preventing crime by making our neighborhoods stronger with more educational and economic opportunities,” the White House stated.
