05/15/2009 GAAS:242:09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |
Gov. Schwarzenegger Urges Quick Release of ARRA Police Service Funds to Save Jobs, Protect Public Safety
Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger today sent the following letter to United States Attorney
General Eric Holder, urging the expedited release of Community Oriented
Policing Services Hiring Recovery Program funds available through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These funds will go toward salary expenses for
law enforcement officers - officers who are receiving pink slips from their
city and county employers due to the global economic crisis.
Full text of the
letter:
May 15, 2009
The
Honorable Eric Holder
Attorney
General of the United States
U.
S. Department of Justice
950
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington,
DC 20530
Dear Mr. Attorney General,
Law enforcement agencies all over the country are on the
leading edge of the national financial crisis. As I write, hundreds of sworn
officers in California are receiving pink slips due to budget cuts in their
cities and counties. These brave men and women, who risk their lives to
uphold the law, are finding themselves joining California's millions of
unemployed citizens. It is just this type of situation that the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was designed to alleviate, and I applaud
the administration's commitment to expeditiously and transparently use funds
for programs that I am confident will restore our economic strength. I
write today with a focus on two programs that are aimed at restoring our
public's safety, an issue that I have made a top priority for my
administration.
I urge you to expedite the release of Community Oriented
Policing Services Hiring Recovery Program funds to California as soon as
possible. These grants will go directly toward salary expenses for
officers, allowing them to keep their jobs and protect our communities.
Also, please consider all Edward Byrne Memorial Grant applications with our
grave circumstances in mind. Many of our cities and counties statewide
are depending on these ARRA programs to maintain basic public safety operations
in their communities.
Your strong support of California proposals and quick
release of these funds will assist law enforcement substantially in their
urgent time of need and in turn enhance the security and resilience of
California's communities.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
/la
cc: The Honorable Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General
of California
