Senators have defeated an amendment offered by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) to the Omnibus Appropriations bill (H.R. 1105) by a vote of 37 to 58.
This amendment would provide $10 million in funding to enact the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Act. That bill was passed and signed into law last year. It authorized funding at the Justice Department to go toward resolving unsolved murder cases during the Civil Rights era, among other things.
An amendment summary issued by Mr. Coburn’s office says the bill was never given proper funding.
The bill authorized $13.5 million annually from 2008 until 2017. But while members of Congress were quick to congratulate themselves and take credit for the passage of this bill, they have failed to fulfill the promises made by its passage. There was no funding provided for its enactment in 2008 and the omnibus spending bill before Congress now that would fund the government for 2009—while providing billions of dollars for lawmakers‟ own pet projects—once again leaves the Emmett Till bill unfunded.
Funding for the amendment would come from “the elimination of the Weed and Seed program at the Department of Justice.”
Weed & Seed is a DOJ program that aims to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in neighborhoods across the country. The strategy involves a two-pronged approach: Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors cooperate in “weeding out” criminals and community-based organizations collaborate to “seed” prevention, intervention, and treatment services as well as neighborhood restoration programs. The omnibus appropriates $25,000,000 for the program for Fiscal Year 2009.
While Weed & Seed’s goals may be laudable, few studies are available to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program.
Opponents of the amendment argue that it would hold up passage of the Omnibus this week since the House would have to take additional action because of the modification in funding. They also say that the package already provides funding for the Justice Department Civil Rights Division which is intended to be used for these issues.
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