PORAC is pleased to report that the Fiscal Year 2017 omnibus spending bill passed by Congress today generally maintains—and in some cases increases—funding for programs that support the efforts of law enforcement. During the March fly-in meetings with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., PORAC members strongly urged congressional representatives to preserve funding for critical programs such as Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the Edward Byrne – Justice Assistance Grants (Byrne JAG), among others.

Recognizing the importance of these funding streams to PORAC and the law enforcement community as a whole, Congress included in the bill $221.5 million for the COPS program (an increase of $9.5 million over last year’s level), of which $10 million is slated for Anti-Heroin Task Forces, and $403 million for the Byrne JAG program.

PORAC thanks lawmakers for their efforts to support law enforcement through this funding bill, and will continue to encourage Congress to support these programs in the budget negotiations for fiscal year 2018.