U.S. Rep.

Jason Altmire, D-4th, on Tuesday voted to pass the COPS Reauthorization Act, of which he is a co-sponsor.The bipartisan measure is designed to help local law enforcement agencies hire an additional 50,000 police officers over six years.The House approved the bill.Over the past few years, the Republican-led Congress sharply cut funding for COPS hiring grants from more than $1 billion a year in the late 1990s to $198 million in 2003 and then $10 million in 2005.In 2006, the Republican-led Congress completely eliminated the program."Since its inception, the COPS program has helped local law enforcement agencies hire 117,000 additional police officers across the country, Altmire said."If this bill becomes law," Altmire said, "an estimated 180 new police officers could be put on the beat in the 4th Congressional District to fight crime in our neighborhoods."———

U.S. Rep. <B>Phil English</B>, R-3rd, applauded House passage of the Safe American Roads Act of 2007 that promotes highway safety and mandates Mexican trucks meet specific safety and security requirements before entering the United States.The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by English, passed the House Tuesday."In recent years, the significant shortcomings of the North American Free Trade Agreement's policies have become more and more apparent," said English, who has previously called for the renegotiation of NAFTA."(Tuesday), the House took action and passed a bipartisan bill that will ensure that the Administration cannot use provisions in NAFTA to trump existing federal law at the expense of the safety of the American public."As part NAFTA, all restrictions on cross-border truck service between the United States and Mexico were lifted.However, since the enactment of the 1994 trade pact, increased reports of safety violations by motor carriers residing in Mexico, has led to concerns that NAFTA's removal of the restrictions has hurt the safety of American roads.As a result, trucks entering from Mexico have been limited to commercial zones along the U.S.-Mexico border ranging from three to 20 miles wide.The U.S. Department of Transportation on Fed. 23 announced a pilot program would allow trucks from Mexico to participate in long-haul operations in the United States.Recent congressional hearings, however, have revealed serious safety deficiencies with the plan.The Safe American Roads Act of 2007 ensures that any pilot or demonstration program by the U.S. Department of Transportation would not harm the public safety.———

The state House Republican Policy Committee heard testimony recently on the increasing cases of uninvestigated fraud in the Department of Public Welfare, said Rep. <B>Brian Ellis</B>, R-11th."The lack of oversight into fraudulent cases within the Department of Public Welfare is reprehensible and a misuse of taxpayer dollars" Ellis said.Former officials from the Office of Inspector General testified that procedural changes initiated by the Rendell administration have led to increased welfare fraud and fewer fraud investigations.Two retired employees of the OIG, Mike and Becky Hayes of Cumberland County, described examples of welfare fraud they've seen, such as residents of New Jersey, Ohio, Delaware and New York who have post office boxes in Pennsylvania to collect benefits.The couple also described instances in which applicants were never verified and were provided welfare benefits based on undocumented information.Previously, welfare caseworkers worked hand-in-hand with OIG field investigators to find sources of fraud; however, the policy has since changed to require DPW supervisors or managers to sign off on any investigation referrals.In 2001-02, the last year of the Ridge-Schweiker administration, the OIG received more than 47,000 welfare fraud referrals. By 2005-06, the number dropped to fewer than 23,000 referrals.———

U.S. Rep. <B>Jason Altmire</B>, D-4th, on Monday co-sponsored legislation to freeze all fiscal year 2007 bonuses to senior level Veterans Affairs Department officials until the VA reduces its backlog of benefit cases to fewer than 100,000.The bill was introduced in response to an Associated Press report that more than $3.8 million in bonuses were paid in 2006 to senior officials at the VA while the cash-strapped agency faced a $1 billion shortfall and struggled to treat veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."This is an outrage and an insult to our veterans," said Altmire, an original co-sponsor of the legislation.Currently, the VA's fiscal year 2007 bonuses are scheduled to be paid in September of this year. The bill will prevent the payment of these bonuses until the VA's backlog is significantly reduced.