By Ed Somers
November 22, 2004

As U.S.MAYOR goes to press, it had been reported in the press and confirmed by Congressional staff that negotiators on the FY 2005 omnibus funding bill were considering the virtual elimination of COPS hiring funds.

The hiring portion of the COPS program — once funded at almost $1.6 billion — received $120 million in FY 2004. For FY 2005, the Senate bill would provide $180 million, and the House would provide $113 million for COPS hiring . However, new reports indicate that there might be a deal made to drastically reduce funding below both the House and Senate bills, to less than $5 million — a virtual elimination.

It is very rare that negotiators would eliminate a program funded in both the House and Senate bills.

As Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran stated in a action alert, "The nations mayors and police chiefs have a strong history of providing bi-partisan support for this key domestic security program which continues to have a major impact on crime reduction, school safety and homeland security."

In addition, funding for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG) is slated for major cuts under both the House and Senate bill, although no information was available at press time regarding the final funding level for this program.