During a speech in Pennsylvania on Thursday, President Biden was scheduled to outline a $37 billion crime-fighting plan that would hire more local police officers in the wake of an uptick in violence and the recent mass shootings.
The rollout may be delayed after it was revealed the 79-year-old Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and will have to isolate and be monitored.
“Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
The president was set to announce the details of the Safer America Plan during a visit to Wilkes-Barre as Democrats attempt to hold on to their majorities in the House and Senate in the face of Republican attacks that they are soft on crime and the party that wants to defund the police.
President Biden’s crime-fighting plan would allocate $13 billion to help local police departments hire and train 100,000 police officers. AP Photo/Evan VucciIncluded in the $87 billion that Biden will ask Congress for as part of his fiscal year 2023 budget proposal is $13 billion over the next five years to help communities hire and train 100,000 police officers, as well as $3 billion designated to clear court backlogs to resolve murder cases and develop task forces to combat gun violence.
The proposal also includes a $15 billion grant program — dubbed Accelerating Justice System Reform — that states can tap into to create strategies for preventing violent crime and to help lessen the burden on police departments in non-violent situations by developing a public health response.
Another $5 billion would fund programs designed to stop crime before it occurs.
President Biden’s scheduled press conference in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was put on hold after he tested positive for COVID-19. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty ImagesBiden’s plan also calls for tougher penalties for trafficking fentanyl and to combat organized retail theft.
“President Biden knows what works to make our communities safer: investing in community policing and crime prevention,” the White House said in a statement on Thursday.
“We need to fund police who walk the beat, know the neighborhood, are accountable to those they are sworn to serve, and build community trust and safety,” it said.
