I'm grateful to all the local law enforcement officers who serve our region and am working in Congress to ensure they have the necessary funding to safely do their jobs.
As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee, I oversee more than $70 billion in annual federal spending.
That means I am in a unique position to help equip NEPA's police and first responders with the funding and technology they need to keep our communities safe.
Congressionally directed earmarks I’ve brought back to Northeast Pennsylvania include $2 million for the Lackawanna County Gun and Gang Reduction and Intelligence Project (GGRIP).
GGRIP specifically targets gang, drug and illegal gun activity by enhancing law enforcement’s ability to share intelligence and successfully prosecute violent offenders.
Specifically, the funding I secured for the GGRIP initiative is being used to:
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Identify, disrupt and prosecute individuals involved in gang and illegal gun activity through aggressive investigation and patrol efforts.
- Act as a hub for intelligence analysis between law enforcement agencies.
- Offer gang, drug and illegal gun training to law enforcement partners.
- Allow for more effective electronic surveillance monitoring of violent offenders.
Additional federal funding to help law enforcement I brought back to the district includes:
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$2.5 million for the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office for the creation of a county-wide emergency first responder unit in Luzerne County.
- $2.1 million to the City of Wilkes-Barre’s Community Policing Technology and Equipment Initiative.
- $3.5 million to the Scranton Police Department for training and technology upgrades.
- $3 million for a new Moosic Fire & Police Facility.
- $3 million for Archbald Borough’s multi-jurisdictional, Fire and Police Emergency Operations Center.
- $1 million for Monroe County’s shared West End Emergency Services facility.
The Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
As a hunter and gun owner, I believe in a law-abiding individual's right to own a firearm. I also know we have a responsibility to help keep our schools, streets and communities safe. The gun debate isn't a choice between reducing violence and protecting the Second Amendment. It's about the willingness of a responsible majority to do both.
As the Vice Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, I'm interested in advancing common-sense solutions that protect our Constitutional rights while keeping guns out of the wrong hands and saving lives.
The House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force is a bipartisan group of lawmakers that formed in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and has been instrumental in passing a number of gun violence prevention measures, including the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun violence prevention legislation passed in the last 30 years.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act provides funding for red flag laws, creates protections for victims of domestic violence, implements penalties for gun trafficking and straw purchasing, enhances background checks for people under 21, and invests in community violence intervention initiatives.
