Federal Funding of First Responders. During consideration of the Homeland Security appropriations bill (H.R. 4567), Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) proposed an amendment to increase funding by $15.8 billion for police, fire fighters, and other local and state emergency personnel. It would also require the Secretary of the Treasury to \"take such action as is necessary\" to offset this additional expense by reducing tax savings under the 2001 tax law for individuals making $1 million or more.
A point of order was raised against Dodd\’s amendment based on Budget Act requirements, and that, in turn, led to a motion to waive the point of order. The Senate rejected the motion — thereby killing the amendment — on September 9, 2004 by a vote of 41 to 53 (Roll Call 170). We have assigned pluses to the nays because federal funding of local law enforcement will lead to more federal control, and the federal government should not be funding local law enforcement in the first place.
