Yesterday, Larry Cosme, National President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) – the nation’s largest non-partisan, non-for-profit professional association representing more than 31,000 federal law enforcement officers and agents across 65 federal agencies – released the following statement criticizing House appropriators for slashing the budget of federal law enforcement agencies:
“Defunding law enforcement will only ever empower criminals and jeopardize public safety. The House Republican proposal to slash the budgets of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and other Department of Justice (DOJ) components is an insult to the thousands of federal law enforcement officers working daily to protect the American people. Congress should not levy disagreements with political leadership by slashing resources and budgets that front-line law enforcement rely on to investigate terrorists, respond to violent crime, and counter transnational drug and human trafficking networks,” FLEOA President Cosme said.
“If Congress is concerned about the American people’s trust in our law enforcement agencies, crippling their capacity is not the manner to deal with these concerns–especially considering the proposal cuts community relations services by 60 percent and information sharing technology by 72 percent. These cuts are antithetical to the goal of building trust across the nation and will make law enforcement at all levels unable to effectively respond to rising crime,” Cosme continued.
“We are not insensitive to the importance of budget cuts during times of fiscal constraint, but these cuts should not be imposed based on disagreements with agency leaders. Congress can always amend our criminal laws to better focus agency actions, but funding cuts simply ensure no laws will be effectively enforced. The vast majority of law enforcement officers and agents across the federal government risk their lives each day without regard for the political affiliation of the people they are protecting or investigating. They adhere only to the rule of law and our constitution. By cutting these agency budgets, House Republicans are not confronting their political opponents, they are gambling with the safety of the American people,” Cosme said.
