Safety of families is No. 1 priority for Congress

, Jul 26, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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To take it on we need to increase federal resources to prosecute meth producers. I’ll fight in Washington to add more federal prosecutors in Oregon and increase the capability of the Drug Enforcement Agency to investigate and arrest drug dealers.

We have to step up enforcement, but locking up drug dealers and shutting down meth labs is only part of the puzzle. I’ll also push for investment in proven meth drug treatment programs at the local, state and federal levels and strengthen sentences for property crime and identify theft.

We can only expect law enforcement to effectively protect our communities is if we give them the financial support they need. In order to do that we need to restore the severe cuts in funding for Oregon law enforcement that leaders in Washington have made over the last eight years.

Instead of forcing our highly capable law enforcement officers to do more with less, our proposal will add 50,000 more police officers on America’s streets to stem the tide of violent crime.

Another issue we can take on at the federal level is the threat sex offenders pose to our kids on the streets and online.

Too many communities in Oregon and across the country lack the necessary funding to supervise some of the most dangerous sex predators. In Washington, I’ll fight for more federal funds for states help local law enforcement protect children from sex offenders and more officers.

I’ll work to expand the National Sex Offender Registry to include e-mail addresses, web sites, and social networking site usernames to stop sex offenders from communicating with our children online.

Keeping our kids and families safe requires effort from all members of the community. I hope that you’ll stand with John Kroger and me in calling on our federal government to give law enforcement the support they need.

Jeff Merkley is Speaker of the Oregon House, U.S. Senate Candidate, and a longtime resident of East Multnomah County.

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