Congressional Republicans fought tooth and nail to stop President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which has provided billions of dollars for local law enforcement. Despite congressional Republicans’ desperate attempts to distract and muddy the waters, the one question they should all answer is why did they vote against this critical funding for our police?

Thanks to President Biden and Democrats’ leadership passing the American Rescue Plan, police departments across the county now have access to $350 billion in funding.

Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Biden emphasized that state and local officials in areas experiencing surges in gun violence can use $350 billion in Covid-19 relief funding to hire more law-enforcement personnel, even if it raises the total number beyond its pre-pandemic level.”

Despite congressional Republicans’ universal opposition to this funding, local officials are already accessing American Rescue Plan funds to pay their first responders.

Herald-Tribune: “Bonus payments of $1,000 will go to teachers, principals, first responders and correctional officers in Florida as part of a roughly $100 billion state budget finalized Tuesday and powered by $6.6 billion in federal COVID-19 recovery cash.”

Commercial Appeal: “New guidance from the White House means the city of Memphis may use a windfall of federal money for its ongoing fight against violent crime, including for purposes such as hiring new police officers, Mayor Jim Strickland announced Wednesday.”

Indy Star: “Noblesville police, firefighters to receive $2K bonus; other city employees will get $1K”

NNY360: “Federal COVID-19 funding will pay to rehire Watertown police officers”

It’s clear why one of the nation’s most prominent police unions, which endorsed President Trump, rated many Democrats higher than their Republican counterparts.

Washington Post’s Dana Milbank: “How, then, to explain the latest ‘legislative scorecard’ from the National Association of Police Officers, a group claiming to represent a quarter-million officers who endorsed President Donald Trump’s reelection?… The reason is simple. Democrats, at least at the federal level, have been the ones funding the police. The 2019-2021 scorecard is based on votes on health care, pensions, covid-19 relief, bulletproof vests, victim compensation and policing reform. There’s not yet a scorecard of votes in the new Congress, but police groups favored the American Rescue Plan covid-relief legislation, which Republicans uniformly opposed, and President Biden wants to pump $300 million more into the COPS community policing program, which Republicans have long opposed.”