President Joe Biden’s budget proposal includes $32 billion in new police funding, Axios reports.
The proposal comes as Democrats try to address concerns about rising crime ahead of the midterm elections.
The proposal includes $20.6 billion for the Justice Department to use for federal law enforcement, crime prevention, and intervention. That marks a $2 billion increase from the $18.6 billion provided last year.
The proposal would also provide $30 billion in new spending for a variety of programs to expand law enforcement and crime prevention. The details of the programs are yet to be released.
Biden and Democrats have increasingly focused on countering a false narrative that Democrats want to “defund” the police.
"We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police,” Biden said in his State of the Union address earlier this month. “It's to fund the police. Fund them. Fund them. Fund them with resources and training."
More federal funding:
The $2 billion in additional discretionary spending for the DOJ would increase resources for federal prosecutors and provide additional resources to local law enforcement.
Biden’s proposal would double the funding for the COPS Hiring community policing program and increase funding for community violence intervention to $500 million.
The proposal also includes funding to pay nearly 300 new deputy marshals and other law enforcement personnel.
The budget would also provide funding for 140 ATF agents working on gun-trafficking strike forces and 160 ATF investigators working on gun-dealer compliance.
What else?:
Biden’s budget proposal includes increases for defense and non-defense spending, including more than $800 billion for the Pentagon.
The plan also includes a billionaire tax targeting about 700 American households with net worths of more than $100 million. The proposal would require the wealthiest Americans to pay at least 20% of their income as tax.
“The President’s budget will reflect three important values: fiscal responsibility, safety and security at home and abroad, and a commitment to building a better America," a White House official told Axios.
