Following Discussions with Montana Law Enforcement, Tester Presses Biden Department of Justice to Better Fund Rural Law Enforcement
And Address Public Safety Concerns
By Denise Rivette
U.S. Senator Jon Tester took concerns he heard from Flathead law enforcement officials at a Kalispell roundtable directly to the Biden Administration today by writing a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland at the Department of Justice (DOJ). In the letter, he urges officials to do more to fund rural law enforcement and cut burdensome red tape to address public safety concerns.
During the meeting in Kalispell, Senator Tester heard from local law enforcement about the challenges they face in their communities, such as crime prevention and the fentanyl epidemic, and the tools they need to face them. A big need is to cut back the unnecessary red tape that prevents their use of federal grants such as COPS Hiring.
“Smaller law enforcement agencies and those in rural areas face unique challenges as they work hard every day on the critically important mission of keeping communities safe. I believe the DOJ must do more to cut unnecessary red tape that is making it too difficult for smaller departments to access federal resources,” wrote Tester. “Like most law enforcement agencies, these folks are facing tightening budgets, chronic understaffing, and a growing fentanyl epidemic.”
In particular, Tester highlighted the unnecessary red tape that has prevented rural law enforcement from utilizing the COPS Hiring Program: “They specifically raised concerns about the difficulty of participating in the COPS Hiring Program. This program is meant to provide funding directly to state and local law enforcement agencies to help them hire more officers. However, because it requires a lengthy and technical application that can take months to complete and comes with overburdensome reporting requirements, some departments are opting not to apply at all.” Carbon County Sheriff’s Office participates in the COPS program.
Tester concluded the letter by calling on DOJ to do more to support rural law enforcement: “Across Montana and in rural America, our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day to keep their communities safe. I urge the DOJ to do everything it can to ensure they have the funding and tools they need to do their job.”
Last month, as part of their continued efforts to secure America’s borders and combat the deadly flow of fentanyl into Montana, Senator Tester and Senator Steve Daines successfully included their bipartisan Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act as part of a critical national security package that passed the U.S. Senate. Their bipartisan legislation would impose economic sanctions on those engaged in the international trafficking of illicit fentanyl, precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl, or other related opioids, and declare international trafficking of fentanyl as a national emergency.
Tester has also called on Congress to fully fund technology used to scan for fentanyl and other contraband at the southern border as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Homeland Security Appropriations bill after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Troy Miller said that scanners used to spot smuggled fentanyl at the southern border are currently sitting unused in warehouses without the funding needed to install them.