WASHINGTON, DC – Late last night, the President signed into law a spending package that includes several key wins for Ohio that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) helped secure. Brown helped secure these wins as part of the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill.

“This bill makes critical investments that our state needs to do everything from bolstering our infrastructure and economic growth, to making investments that improve public safety for Ohioans while also allowing law enforcement officers to better and more safely serve their communities, to supporting our NASA Glenn facilities in Cleveland and Sandusky. These projects and programs help advance our state and help make it a better place to live.”

The wins for Ohio include:

  • Critical funding for NASA programs in Ohio, including:
    • $1.4 billion for NASA’s Orion project. An Orion module is being tested at NASA Glenn’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky.
    • $22.6 billion for NASA, including $784 million for aeronautics research. A portion of that funding will go to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
  • Key investments for law enforcement programs, including:
    • $335 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program. The COPS program invests in local law enforcement by helping police departments bolster their community policing efforts and hire new officers. The COPS program was designed to advance public safety by addressing the full-time officer needs of state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
    • $545 million for Byrne JAG, which provides grant funding for local law enforcement agencies to fund various programs including, drug treatment and enforcement programs, crime prevention and education programs, and crime victim and witness programs. The funding is administered through DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.
    • $22.5 million for the Body-Worn Camera Partnership Program. Body cameras have been found to reduce the use of force by officers by as much as 60 percent, reduce citizen complaints by as much as 88 percent, assist in resolving complaints against the police, and reduce the likelihood of false complaints against the police.
    • $22.7 million for DOJ Office of Justice Program (OJP) Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program. Brown led bipartisan efforts to secure funding for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program, a program through the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) that provides funding for local and state law enforcement to acquire bulletproof vests for officers. In April, Brown led a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee asking for full funding for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program.
  • Census Funding: $7.558 billion for the Census Bureau, including $6.696 billion for the decennial census.
  • Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program funding: Brown secured $146 million for this program, is a public-private partnership consisting of MEP centers throughout all 50 states. Brown has been a strong supporter of the MEP, which provides approximately $5 million a year to Ohio’s seven MEP centers. These centers help small and medium-sized manufacturers increase sales and achieve cost-savings.
  • Second Chance Act grant funding: Senator Brown secured $90 million for this program enacted in 2008. The Second Chance Act has provided funding for programs that have proven to reduce recidivism, help former inmates reintegrate successfully into society, and save prison costs for states. In 2011, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Brown fought to reinstate funding for the Second Chance Act after it had been eliminated earlier in the federal appropriations process. This year, Brown applauded the Senate passage of the First Step Act, which included provisions from Brown’s 2008 Second Chance Act.
  • Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): Brown helped secure $500 million for VAWA. This vital program saves lives and provides substantial benefits to those who are victims of abuse and children who witness instances of abuse against family members. The programs is critical for effective community responses to domestic violence and sexual assault.
  • VAWA Transitional Housing program: Brown helped secure $36.5 million to assist domestic violence victims obtain a safe place to rebuild their lives.
  • Office of Justice DNA Initiative: Brown helped secure $136 million to fund the DNA initiative. This program assists states and local governments with the timely DNA processing of victims of crime and the DNA of criminal offenders. Brown introduced bipartisan legislation with Sen. Portman last year, the Justice Served Act of 2018, which would provide funds to prosecute the rape kit backlog and justice for victims of heinous crimes like sexual assault by resolving cold cases and exonerating those wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit.
  • DOJ Community Teams to Reduce Sexual Assault Kit Backlogs: Brown helped secure $48 million that would support the creation of a coordinated community response, with a victim-based approach, to high numbers of submitted Sexual Assault Kits in the future.
  • DOJ Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP): Brown helped to secure $35.5 million in funds that support adult and child victims secure counseling, medical and legal counseling and other forms of support for victims in underserved communities.
  • National Institute of Justice Human Trafficking Initiatives: Brown helped secure $37 million that would fund expanded research into human trafficking victims and perpetrators. Brown has long been an advocate on this issue and reintroduced bipartisan legislation this year to crack down on addiction-driven human trafficking. His Protecting Rights of Those Exploited by Coercive Trafficking (PROTECT) Act would specifically address the use of drugs to facilitate human trafficking and protect vulnerable victims of trafficking.
  • The John R. Justice Act prosecutor and defender loan repayment program: Brown helped secure $2 million for the creation of a student loan program for attorneys who serve as state or local criminal prosecutors or public defenders for at least 3 years. The program would help bolster the ranks of attorneys in the criminal justice system.

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