Commission Upset by KC Star Report
Posted By J.T. on July 28, 2009
STATEMENT FROM THE CASS COUNTY COMMISSION- (Yesterday) morning the KC Star reported that tucked into the “voluminous congressional plan for US military spending” for the next year is $160 million intended to help Mexico’s police buy American-made police radios.
The KC Star also reports that the defense bill is $636 billion. It was approved last week by the House defense appropriations sub-committee and it does not disclose the specific purpose of the radio project nor the dozen lawmakers who asked the chairman to include it.
The KC Star further reports that the radio-buying program is not technically a congressionally directed “earmark” but it was classified as “program support.” This means that requesting lawmakers did not have to publicly claim it as a “pet” project.
The Cass County Commission has been discussing the unfunded mandate handed down by the federal government to improve interoperable communications between fire, police, and emergency services around the metro area. We are deeply concerned that we would fund the Mexican police before addressing this unfunded mandates for our state-side and local officials.
This is very disturbing. We are looking at a major cost to upgrade our emergency communications in Cass County and we know that other counties in the metro are faced with the same problem. Now, we read that we are going to aid another nation first, before addressing our local needs. We are deeply disappointed that Congressional leaders would spend tax-dollars in this manner.
We are asking citizens to call their congressional leaders and tell them about the KC Star report and urge them to put our local police, fire, and emergency services first. We are simply asking the federal government to fund the mandates they give local governments. This is a public service issue, it is a homeland security issue, and it is a people issue. The Cass County Commission is very concerned about the federal government using tax dollars for this type of “program support” when we are not funding the federal mandates that exist for our local emergency and law enforcement servants.
Brian L. Baker
Associate Commissioner
Cass County
Don’t look for Ike to do anything.
[...] unfunded FCC mandate to update all emergency responder radio systems. The County Commission also expressed concern about a Congressional sub-committee that tucked $160 million into the defense budg…. The Congressman’s office immediately did research and discovered what the sub-committee [...]