By Laura DeKoven Waxman
June 28, 2010

COPS Office Director Bernard K. Melekian told members of the Criminal and Social Justice Committee during their June 12 meeting in Oklahoma City that Attorney General Eric Holder had asked him to tell them that the COPS Office is back in business. Melekian discussed, however, the fact that in many cities the law enforcement budget is a major portion of the overall city budget, and cautioned the mayors that COPS funding "is not going to solve your public safety budget problems." He committed to the mayors, however, to maximize whatever COPS funding is available.

• Support for Cops Hiring Grants — calls for at least $1 billion per year for COPS Hiring Grants and for continuing the waiver of matching requirements and per-officer cap, and allowing funds to be used to avoid laying off officers, rehire laid-off officers, and hire new ones.

• Comprehensive Gang Violence Prevention Legislation — calls for enactment of a comprehensive gang reduction program that calls for a balanced approach to prevention, enforcement, intervention and re-entry services which relies on evidence based practices with rigorous process and outcome evaluation.

• Reducing the Backlog of DNA Rape Kits — calls on the FBI to revise its 100 percent technical review requirement and work with state and local law enforcement agencies to develop alternatives that allow for the speedy reduction of the DNA backlog while maintaining the integrity of the testing and its results.

• Reducing and Responding to Domestic Violence — supports the Violence Against Women Act, encourages additional funding to address domestic violence for public-private partnerships, and supports the Improving Assistance to Domestic and Sexual Violence Victims Act of 2009.

• Reimbursing Local Law Enforcement Agencies for Expenses Incurred During Dignitary Visits Sponsored by the Secret Service and the State Department — urges the Administration and the Congress to reimburse local law enforcement agencies for expenses incurred in providing direct support to federal agencies for dignitary protective visits.

• 700 MHz "D Block" Spectrum Assignment to Public Safety — opposes the FCC proposal in the National Broadband Plan to auction the D Block spectrum to a commercial provider; calls upon Congress to immediately pass legislation to prevent the FCC from undertaking an auction in 2011 and condition further FCC action on formal Congressional approval of plans for the D Block and meeting public safety spectrum needs, and to reallocate the D Block to public safety; and endorses identification of alternative federal funding sources to ensure that states and localities can afford costs associated with transition to a nationwide network.

• Upgrading the 9-1-1 Emergency System to Next Generation — urges the Administration and the Congress to implement a Next Generation 9-1-1.

• Resolution in Support of the Collective Agreement on Gun Violence Signed by Global Mayors Assembled at the 2010 Richard J. Daley Global Cities Forum, Chicago (IL) — calls on The U.S. Conference of Mayors to support the goals of the resolution signed by mayors at the Global Cities Forum — which calls upon national governments to help address the issue of global gun trafficking and gun violence.

• In Support of the 2010 National Drug Control Strategy — endorses the new approach to drug control reflected in the National Drug Control Strategy and applauds the strategy's call for strengthening prevention in local communities, endorsing the importance of integrating substance abuse treatment into mainstream healthcare, expanding support for recovery, addressing the cycle of drug use, crime, delinquency and incarceration; and seeking to disrupt domestic drug trafficking and production while strengthening international partnerships.

• Improving Treatment and Preventing Drug-Related Harms Among Returning Veterans of the United States Armed Forces — urges immediate policy changes to improve the health, reduce the likelihood of accidental death, and preserve the freedom of those who have served in our armed forces.

• Opposing Arizona Law SB 1070 — registers strong opposition to the Arizona immigration law: supports challenging the law in the courts; opposes enactment of laws similar to Arizona Law SB 1070 in other states; and calls on Congress to quickly enact bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform legislation incorporating the Conference's five adopted principles for reform.

• Comprehensive Immigration Reform that Preempts Any State Actions to Assert Authority Over Federal Immigration Law — calls for the immediate repeal of the Arizona immigration law; and calls upon the President and the Congress to take immediate action to pass comprehensive national immigration reform legislation that contains the following key principals: greater border security and enforcement; recognizing human and civil rights of both citizens and non-citizens being detained with a special emphasis on not separating families; strengthening the penalties against employers who knowingly employ undocumented workers; creating a program for the admission of temporary workers based upon the needs of the economy and over time qualifying for legal permanent residency; providing more fiscal support for city and state governments disproportionately shouldering the costs of the current broken immigration system; and implementing a pathway to citizenship of the estimated 11-12 million undocumented immigrants that requires a background check, payment of fines or back taxes, proficiency in English and standing in the "back of the citizenship line."

• Parole for Haitian Beneficiaries of Approved Immigrant Visa Petitions and Expedited Consideration of Pending Immigrant Visa Petitions — urges the Administration to promptly parole into the United States all Haitian beneficiaries of approved immigrant visa petitions and to permit them to legally work in the United States, and to expedite consideration and approval of all pending but not yet approved immigrant visa petitions.

• Commemoration of the Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act — urges mayors to renew their commitment to the ADA and to pay special attention to ensuring that the information and services provided via the internet or other types of information technology are accessible to people with disabilities.

• Recognizing the Legacy and Achievements of Dr. Dorothy Irene Height and Congratulating the National Council of Negro Women on 75 Years of Activism to Improve the Lives of African American Women and Girls — urges passage of the Dorothy I. Height & Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act; urges the Department of Interior to grant National Landmark status to the Dorothy I. Height Building; and supports NCNW's efforts to make the Dorothy I. Height Building sustainable and train disadvantaged youth in "green" jobs.

• Veteran Burial — calls on the Veterans Affairs Department to provide burial transportation to a national veteran's cemetery for honorably discharged indigent veterans without next-of-kin who die as a result of a non'service related illness or who die outside of a VA hospital facility.