Homeland Security

Protecting Our Homeland and Making Our Communities Safer. Steny Hoyer has always been a strong supporter of first responders protecting our communities and has worked to ensure that law enforcement officials, firefighters and emergency response personnel have the equipment and training they need in the event of an emergency. Hoyer strongly supports the "Cops on the Beat" program that has led to the hiring of hundreds of new police officers in the Fifth Congressional District. He also strongly supports the Community Oriented Policing (COPS) program, which provides law enforcement officials in our area with the real time equipment, technology, and personnel that they need to keep their departments running safely and efficiently. As a co-chair of the Congressional Fire Caucus, Hoyer helped establish and fund the Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program, which helps local fire departments buy equipment and provide adequate training. In 2003, he helped establish the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Firefighters Program to help fire departments hire new firefighters, recruit and retain volunteer firefighters, and provide relief to stations currently operating short of staff. He has also worked to secure funding for state and local preparedness, to prepare for the possibility of a biological or chemical attack.

Steny Hoyer is also tough on crime. He wrote the "Three Strikes, You're Out" law that takes repeat, violent offenders off the streets for life - without parole. He supported the Violence Against Women Act, which provides additional funding and resources to prosecute domestic abuse cases. And, he secured the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) designation for the Washington/Baltimore corridor and $12 million to coordinate and fund efforts to combat drug trafficking in our communities. This program has resulted in a crack down on drug trafficking in the area and led to several high-profile drug seizures and arrests.