A Conservative Tenet

One of the tenets of conservatism that I follow is that smaller government is better. The following is part of the Taking Back Our Streets Act that Republicans proposed in 1994 as it attempted to implement its Contract With America.

Does this sound like smaller government to you?

Law Enforcement Block Grants (Title IV)

The bill authorizes a total of $10 million over five years ($2 million
in each of FY 1996-2000) for local governments to fund law
enforcement programs. These block grants replace the police,
prevention and drug courts titles of the recently-enacted crime bill.
Under the bill, money may be used to (1) hire, train or employ law
enforcement officers; (2) pay overtime to police officers; (3) purchase
equipment and technology directly related to basic law enforcement
purposes; (4) enhance school security measures (e.g., police patrols
around school grounds, metal detectors, fences, closed circuit
cameras, gun hotlines, etc.); (5) establish citizen neighborhood watch
programs; and/or (6) fund programs that advance moral standards
and the values of citizenship and involve local law enforcement
officials .

To qualify for these grants, a unit of local government must show
that it will (1) establish a trust fund in which block grant money is to
be deposited; (2) use the money within two years; (3) spend the
money in accordance with the guidelines in this section; (4) use
approved accounting, audit and fiscal procedures; (5) make any
requested records available to the Bureau of Justice Assistance and
the comptroller of the U.S. for review; and (6) submit the required
progress reports. Each state that applies is to automatically receive
0.25 percent of the funds as well as additional funds based on its
number of reported violent crimes in 1993 compared to the rest of
the country. States are to distribute the funds among local units of
government based on their population and the number of reported
violent crimes in 1993 compared to the rest of the local
governmental units in the state .

If a unit of local government does not spend all of its grant money
within two years of receipt, it must repay the unused portion to the
Bureau of Justice Assistance within three months. The bill also
stipulates that (1) this grant money is intended to supplement, not
supplant, state funds; (2) grantees may not use more than 2.5
percent of their grant for administrative costs; and (3) grantees must
hold one public hearing on the proposed use of their grant. The bill
also sets out procedures to be used if a local government violates any
portion of this title .

As noted above, The bill repeals sections of the recently-enacted
crime control act that provide specific funds for drug courts,
recreational programs, community justice programs and other social
prevention spending. Bill sponsors argue that providing money
directly to local law enforcers and letting them decide how to spend
the funds (as the Taking Back Our Streets Act does) is preferable to
the current law approach of authorizing specific amounts of money
for programs approved by Washington bureaucrats.

As I asked earlier today,  how does purchasing equipment for local police departments fit into the federal role as defined by the U.S. Constitution?  Yes, I think police departments need equipment.  Yes, I think government should provide it.  No, I do not believe the federal government should be the level that does so.

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