William R. Richardson: “there is an implication here that the Members of Congress, and there are many on both sides of the aisle, that are the…”

“there is an implication here that the Members of Congress, and there are many on both sides of the aisle, that are the most grass roots representatives matching any local officials in their communities, and let me just say that I will match my access and knowledge of what my constituents want over 2,000 town meetings in 12 years, and I think this is matched by many here. The implication being: that it is local officials that know what is best. Let me say that what worries me about the Republican plan is that there are no guarantees that even one police officer is going to be hired. We already have a plan underway. Let us not mess with it. We have grants for over 17,000 new officers in cities and small towns across the country. Half of all the police departments in the country have applied for a cops grant. Law enforcement and the American people want more police, and my colleagues are trying to dismantle it. The only thing that this bill guarantees is fewer new police on the streets of America. There will be fewer police to build partnerships with communities, fewer police to work with residents to reduce and control crime, and fewer police to keep our streets safe for law-abiding citizens. What we are also doing is taking a walk on accountability to the American taxpayer. This is super pork of the highest order. No strings attached. Do whatever you want with this money. That is basically what we are saying.”