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Washington, DC - CongressmanTom Reed (NY-23) joined the bipartisan 'Defund Cities that Defund the Police Act 'Wednesday, which would prevent jurisdictions that defund the police from receiving certain federal grants and stop specific federal taxpayer dollars from supporting jurisdictions who intentionally make their communities less safe. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), along with Reps. Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), Will Hurd (TX-23), and Jared Golden (ME-02).

"We will continue to stand with the many brave men and women in law enforcement who work tirelessly to keep us safe. Defunding or degrading our police officers is not a legitimate policy proposal; it is simply a dangerous, extremist platform that would put our law enforcement in harm's way and leave our communities more susceptible to crime," said Reed. Instead of taking critical resources away from our police, we should provide law enforcement with more tools, funding, and support to do their jobs effectively. Working together in a bipartisan fashion, we can develop real solutions that will encourage positive reforms, improve training protocols, and facilitate the removal of bad apples in the force."

Over the last two months, Reed has met with local police officers, representatives from the law enforcement community, activists, and community leaders to help inform what policies solutions will leave our communities and police better off.

Patrick Phelan, Chief of the Greece, NY Police Department and President of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police said, "On a daily basis, the brave men and women of law enforcement selflessly give of themselves to protect our communities. Defunding the police is not the answer to societal problems. Meaningful police reform will require investment in training, mental health wellness and essential resources for law enforcement. To truly improve something, you must make an investment. We appreciate Congressman Reed taking the time to hear our voice when very few others have as there has never been a more critical time to make that investment."

Under the Defund Cities that Defund the Police Act, a defunding jurisdiction is defined as a State or political subdivision of a state that abolishes or disbands the police department with no intention of reconstituting the jurisdiction's police department, or significantly reduces the police department's budget without reallocating a portion of that money to any other community policing program, provided that the jurisdiction did not face a significant decrease in revenues in the previous fiscal year. Specifically, defunding jurisdictions would be prohibited from receiving grants under certain Economic Development Assistance Programs, focused on planning and administrative expenses, and grants for training, research, and technical assistance, and the Community Development Block Grant Programs.

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