Ric Keller: “I am proud to be the lead Republican original cosponsor of this legislation which will reauthorize the COPS program and…”

“I am proud to be the lead Republican original cosponsor of this legislation which will reauthorize the COPS program and put 50,000 more cops on our streets. The COPS program is responsible for putting nearly 120,000 cops on the streets nationwide, including 774 cops in central Florida. Violent crime is on the rise, and we need this legislation now more than ever. For example, in my hometown of Orlando, Florida, the murder rate is up 122 percent. I recently met with all of central Florida's chiefs of police and sheriffs, and 100 percent of them support the COPS program. This legislation is also endorsed by the National Sheriffs Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Is the COPS program successful? Absolutely. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft described the COPS program as a 'miraculous sort of success.' A 2005 GAO study concluded that the COPS program successfully played a role in the decline in violent crime in the 1990s. And more than 95 percent of law enforcement officers hired by a COPS grant are still on the street today. Now, some might say that putting cops on the street is not a priority worth funding with Federal dollars. Well, I would rather put cops on the street than build bridges to nowhere or give subsidies to spinach growers. Let's be practical. There are children in Orlando, Florida, growing up in neighborhoods where 49 people were killed last year.”