WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-34) applauded last week's House passage of the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Act, which makes critical investments in law enforcement, as well as science education and global climate change research programs.Passed by a vote of 259 to 157, the legislation (HR 2847) funds a wide-variety of programs administered by federal agencies that include the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Nationally, the legislation invests in important justice programs to help local and state governments keep their streets and citizens safe, including an additional $252 million above 2009 levels for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) that, when combined with funding from the Recovery Act, will allow local municipalities to hire more than 7,000 new police officers. Roybal-Allard secured $2,625,000 in the House-passed version of the FY 2010 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Act for projects to benefit constituents and communities in her 34th Congressional District: •$250,000 for the Hollenbeck Police Activities League Youth Crime Prevention Program to expand crime prevention training and leadership development programs for youth ages 9-18 and their parents in the communities of Boyle Heights; •$500,000 for the Chrysalis Ex-Offender and Homeless Job Training Initiative for a training program to help ex-offenders re-enter the workforce; •$375,000 for the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program for Infants and Toddlers to recruit, train and supervise court appointed special advocates to address the needs of infants and toddlers in the Los Angeles foster care system; •$500,000 for the City of Los Angeles' Community Law Enforcement and Recovery Program to decrease gang-related crime in the Boyle Heights community of Los Angeles; •$200,000 for the U.S. Soccer Foundation's Champions of Change: Youth Soccer Gang Prevention Initiative to fund a pilot program in the 34th Congressional District that uses soccer as a tool for keeping at-risk children and teenagers from joining gangs; and •$800,000 for the Phoenix House Strengthening Family and Mental Health Services for Underserved Youth in Los Angeles County to expand substance abuse recovery management services, which include outpatient, mental health, family, and vocational services. The measure now awaits passage in the U.S. Senate.

********** Published: July 3, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 11