Since coming to the Senate in 2001, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson has worked to provide adequate federal funding for Nebraska’s law enforcement efforts. He has consistently supported the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program, the Edward Byrne Memorial Grants program, the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant program, the COPS in Schools program, and other important federal law enforcement assistance efforts, because he knows that these programs provide needed resources to Nebraska’s law enforcement community to fight crime, hire additional officers, prevent drug trafficking and protect our neighborhoods.
COPS on the Street
In annual budget recommendations, the Bush Administration repeatedly proposed the consolidation of the Byrne grant program, the COPS program, the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program, and the COPS in Schools program into the Justice Assistance Grants Program, a move which would result in a sharp reduction in overall total funding for these programs. Senator Nelson has fought these consolidation efforts and supported adequate funding levels for each program because he recognizes the benefits which each provides to Nebraska’s law enforcement community. In 2007, Senator Nelson joined several of his colleagues in fighting for funding for the COPS hiring program, successfully securing $110 million in the fiscal year 2008 Senate appropriations bill. While that amount was ultimately reduced to $20 million in the final package, it was a significant step forward as no funding had been included for this program in the previous 2 years. Finally, in the 2009 funding bills Nelson helped draft and supported, adequate funding was provided for law enforcement.
Nebraska uses the COPS program extensively. Since 2001, COPS has invested $8.2 million in Nebraska adding 92 officers in 30 jurisdictions including the cities of Bellevue, Elkhorn, Hay Springs, Hemingford, Kearney, La Vista, Lincoln, Omaha, Osmond, Papillion, Scribner, Waterloo, Wayne, UNL Police, Santee and Omaha Tribes and Sheriff’s Departments in the following counties, Boyd, Buffalo, Cass, Dawson, Douglas, Fillmore, Greeley, Hall, Knox, Nemaha, Otoe, Phelps, Sarpy, and Sherman.
Fighting Meth
Senator Nelson also recognizes the soaring increase in methamphetamine production and distribution in America’s rural areas, and he knows the impact that those criminal activities can have in our rural communities and on our families. Senator Nelson has been a leading champion and supporter of crucial resources for Nebraska’s anti-drug task forces. Funded primarily via the Byrne grant program, these task forces are incredibly effective in fighting drugs, and in rural Nebraska are the only line of defense because most rural law enforcement organizations lack the resources and manpower to fight meth without assistance prided by the task forces. In Nebraska, we have ten task forces which in 2007 made nearly 4,000 arrests and seized nearly 450 pounds of methamphetamine, in addition to 440 pounds of cocaine and nearly 7,800 pounds of marijuana.
Nelson has also steered federal resources to the Nebraska State Patrol’s anti-meth efforts.
First Responders
The challenges faced by state and local law enforcement officials have increased substantially in the aftermath of 9/11, and Senator Nelson has been active in fighting for funds to assist Nebraska’s first responders. He has fought efforts to deprive less populous states of their fair share of homeland security funding, and he has supported increased funding for all first responders.
Updated: May 2009