President’s budget fails to meet district’s needs

(Washington D.C.)- Congresswoman Grace F. Napolitano on Monday rejected President Bush’s budget proposal, saying it would pose severe safety and health problems for the residents of her district.

            Specifically, the Congresswoman objected to the removal of $480 million in funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, program. Police departments in Montebello and Pomona received $250,000 each this year to upgrade essential records and radio systems they need to thwart crime.

            “Tell my police chiefs and elected officials in Montebello and Pomona – and all law enforcement – that this program has no value,” said Napolitano, D-Norwalk. “This is of vital need at a time when we fight both crime and terrorism in our backyards. Here we are, fighting for peanuts while President Bush sends $80 billion to Iraq and cements tax cuts for the rich.”

            A proposed increase in healthcare costs for veterans also could impact the war effort, she noted. “This may drive some veterans into poverty. How are we going to entice youngsters to serve in the military when we treat our veterans so shabbily?”

            Schools and struggling workers also were shortchanged in the budget, she said, citing the president’s proposal to cut $500 million in job training programs and his failure to again live up to the promise of billions of dollars of funding for the No Child Left Behind Act.

            The president also eliminated funding for the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund from his budget, impacting more than 1.2 million Los Angeles County residents who receive their drinking water from the basin.

            In addition, Napolitano vowed to fight the proposed elimination of funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, a Department of Justice program that reimburses governments for the costs incurred incarcerating illegal aliens.

            “Local and state government should not be forced to foot the bill for this administration’s failure to comprehensively reform immigration policy,” she said.
 

(####)

Home | Press List