President Biden's sweeping $2 trillion jobs and infrastructure plan also aims to deploy more than $5 billion to support community-based violence prevention programs, reported NPR.
Gun violence prevention advocates are heralding the proposed
funding, which is included in the measure Biden introduced in
Pittsburgh on Wednesday, saying it would be a historic investment in urban
communities.
"This could truly be transformative to the
neighborhoods and the communities where these dollars are invested in,"
said Greg Jackson of the group Community Justice Action Fund. "We feel
really confident that once these dollars are applied, and these programs — many
of which have been working for decades — are properly resourced, they'll be
able to turn the tide on this cycle of violence."
During his campaign, Biden had promised to devote $900 million
over eight years to fund evidence-based community violence prevention efforts
in 40 cities across the country. As a candidate, he described gun violence as a
public health epidemic. Black and brown gun violence prevention advocates
pressed Biden to do more.
Susan Rice, director of the White House Domestic Policy
Council, told NPR that the administration decided to increase its funding
commitment for these programs "because the epidemic of violence, in our
cities particularly, is horrific and growing."
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