Crime bill 2000: the debate begins.The 1994 Crime Bill, which funds and governs the majority of criminal justice programs, is up for reauthorization in 2000. Both the Republicans and the Democrats in Congress are staking their positions for this upcoming debate. A key aspect of this issue will be the future of the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. This fund was created by the 1994 act to cover costs of crime reduction programs from fiscal year 1995 through fiscal year 2000. Funding for that period was authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: at $30.2 billion. However, during the past five years, Congress has only appropriated $2.377 billion in fiscal year 1995; $4.085 billion in fiscal year 1996; $4.683 billion in fiscal year 1997; $5.5 billion in fiscal year 1998; and $5.8 billion in fiscal year 1999. The remaining funds will be carried forward into 2000. The Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund is a unique spending vehicle. During the debate over the crime bill in 1994, Congress was divided on how and what anti-crime activities should be funded. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) supported putting more police on the streets while Sen. Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant Hatch (born March 22, 1934) is a Republican United States Senator from Utah, serving since 1977. Hatch is a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, where he serves on the subcommittees on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure and Taxation and IRS (R-Utah) wanted more money for prisons. Eventually, a compromise was reached by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.), who proposed an amendment that created the fund, which was to be comprised of savings realized by eliminating more than 250,000 federal jobs as a part of the National Performance Review, better known as "reinventing government." While specific spending must be authorized, unused funding cannot be spent for anything other than crime reduction programs. More specifically, the appropriations committees In the United States government, the Appropriations Committee can refer to either:
From the 1930s to the 1960s, U.S. law enforcement relied on a professional policing model. ; Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG) were federal assistance block grant programs provided by the United States Department of Justice to local governments, which would then use the funds to support public safety or crime prevention efforts. ; Byrne State and Local Block Grants; the Violence Against Women Grants; the Drug-Free Prisons and Jails Act; and many others. Each year, since the creation of the fund, we have seen the give and take of the appropriations process; the fiscal year 2000 budget is no exception. In the administration's proposed budget, the VOI/TIS grant program was not funded. Other programs, such as the JAIBG, were significantly reduced. However, during the early stages of the budget debate, Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle have indicated that these programs are likely to be restored, at least for this year. The question now is: Where do we go from here? Many of these programs have become essential to the operations of local, state and federal criminal justice programs, specifically in the corrections field. We have become accustomed to basing our operations on a federal program that very well could come to an end in 2000. While this is not a new situation, it should prompt us all to think about the consistency of funding that we count on to operate. The Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund has been using "savings" from the downsizing (1) Converting mainframe and mini-based systems to client/server LANs. (2) To reduce equipment and associated costs by switching to a less-expensive system. (jargon) downsizing of government. This has represented a relatively painless pain·less adj. Free from complication or pain: a painless operation. pain  less·ly adv. way to fund popular anti-crime
programs. Back in 1994, it was easy to make a case for increased
spending for criminal justice. Next year's debate will not be as
easy. There is an acknowledgment acknowledgment, in law, formal declaration or admission by a person who executed an instrument (e.g., a will or a deed) that the instrument is his. The acknowledgment is made before a court, a notary public, or any other authorized person. that crime rates are declining. We have
a record number of persons incarcerated incarcerated /in·car·cer·at·ed/ (in-kahr´ser-at?ed) imprisoned; constricted; subjected to incarceration. in·car·cer·at·ed adj. Confined or trapped, as a hernia. . However, the public does not understand or appreciate the costs of the current approach. At the same time, there are more and more people who are questioning the need and validity of diverting public resources into incarcerating so many people. Now, more than ever before, public safety must compete with such issues as education, social security, health care and national defense. No longer can we expect an uninterrupted flow of federal dollars into criminal justice. Clearly, we are in for challenging times in 2000. James Turpin is ACA's legislative liaison. |
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