The American Rescue Plan Act Could Be the Largest Investment in Crime Prevention and Control in U.S. History

     While he was a U.S. senator, President Biden was responsible for some of the most enduring and successful aspects of Bill Clinton's legacy: he oversaw the confirmation of hundreds of Clinton judges, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer to the Supreme Court; shepherded the passage of the FACE Act that cracked down on anti-choice violence; wrote the Violence Against Women Act; and passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, the latter two of which banned assault weapons for 10 years, put 100,000 cops on the streets while launching the COPS Office and giving the DOJ the power to conduct pattern-or-practice investigations, established three strikes laws for violent and sexual offenders, created the first sex offender registries, protected the privacy of abortion providers in DMV databases, protected women with a rape shield defense, mandated the FBI track hate crimes against the disabled, established mandatory minimums for federal crimes, created a domestic violence hotline, increased funding for domestic violence shelters, and more; the Brady Act created background checks for firearm purchases while the 1996 Appropriations Act banned felons and those convicted of domestic violence from owning firearms. This was all in a few years, and it represented the largest overhaul to America's criminal justice system in American history.

     The total cost wound up being $15.8 billion. In terms of funding provided to criminal justice reform and crime prevention and control efforts, President Clinton could soon have a new contender: in his American Rescue Plan Act, President Biden secured $10 billion in funding for his five-pronged approach to prevent and crack down on crime, from increasing community policing to expanding summer employment for youth to cracking down on gun crime and much more. This has included $6.5 billion in funding to state and local governments: $1 billion in bonuses for officers, paramedics, and other first responders; $2 billion for community violence intervention, mental health intervention, and drug treatment; $350 million in job training for formerly incarcerated individuals; $450 million in new equipment for police; $600 million to clear court backlogs and support victims of crime. At the federal level, $1.2 billion went to mental health intervention funding via Medicaid, $1 billion went to prevent domestic violence; and over $1 billion went to other public safety initiatives.

     President Biden's 2022 budget was historic. Aside from including a $130 million boost to the COPS Program, it reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act with numerous reforms and $1 billion in funding for anti-domestic violence and -sexual assault programs. In his 2023 budget, President Biden has proposed a $370 million increase for U.S. attorney's offices; a $425 million increase for the Office of Violence Against Women; $1.13 billion for school mental health; $56 million to address mental health among inmates; $1.325 billion to establish a National Youth Employment Program and bolster other similar programs; $500 million for community violence intervention; a $35 million increase in gun violence research; a $60 million increase in NICS funding; $225 million in new police funding; and $200 million in additional ATF funding. That's an extra $4.4 billion in funding.

     Even the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law had an impact, including $200 million for the Appalachian Regional Commission to treat substance abuse disorder. Meanwhile, President Biden has called on state and local governments to boost ARPA investment in crime control and prevention efforts. The investments already made total $15.8 billion, and the American Rescue Plan Act is on track to deliver another $6.5 billion in crime prevention and control funding, which will bring the law's total to $16.5 billion and make it the largest such investment by dollar amount. That will also bring the total new funding to $22.3 billion. This is just the beginning. Aside from the 2024 and 2025 budgets, this new funding will include billions of dollars in new investments from the Build Back Better Act if and when we pass it.

     In short, the American Rescue Plan Act could be the largest investment in crime prevention and control in U.S. history, and President Biden is on track to invest more in this area than any president in U.S. history. We can, and should, make it our mission to make $40 billion over the next four years, a historic investment to ensure a safer and fairer America for all. Remember one thing, folks: Republicans have been against this all the way.