Washington, DC – Earlier today President Biden announced his proposed FY2023 budget, which would significantly increase funding for law enforcement. The budget proposal includes $20.6 billion for the next fiscal year for Justice Department discretionary spending – a $2 billion increase over the $18.6 billion enacted for FY22. According to the White House, this budget increase would prioritize “putting more police on the street to engage in accountable community policing, hiring the agents needed to help fight gun crime, and investing in crime prevention and community violence intervention.”

This budget increase follows through on the President’s promise in his State of the Union address to “fund the police.” According to the New York Times, this budget proposal is “far from defunding the police” and it proposes $30 billion in mandatory grants and $3.2 billion in discretionary grants to state and local police departments.

The President’s budget proposal includes $1 billion for the Violence Against Women Act, including $120 million to fix the rape kit backlog, and more than $72 million to prosecute violent crime and $1.7 billion to increase the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to fight illegal gun trafficking.

Statement from DAGA Co-Chairs Nevada AG Aaron Ford and Delaware AG Kathy Jennings:

“We applaud President Biden’s proposed budget that will give our law enforcement officers and organizations the funding they need to keep our communities safe. As Democratic Attorneys General, we’re proud to support these investments that protect our constituents and provide important training for law enforcement officers.”

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