July 2, 2008

Keeping Our Communities Safe

This week John McCain outlined his plan for keeping communities across America safe from crime.   This effort begins with supporting state and local law enforcement.

• Recognizing our law enforcement community serves on the front lines of America’s struggle against crime, John McCain believes the federal government has the responsibility to support the community by providing the tools and technology that law enforcement needs and through consistency in the law by appointing federal judges who will follow the Constitution.

The Federal Government Should Provide State and Local Law Enforcement With The Support It is Uniquely Able to Provide:

• John McCain will strengthen our laws against predators by aggressively pursuing internet predators, fully implementing the Adam Walsh Act including lifetime registration for child sexual offenders, and funding the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces (ICACs) that employ many sheriffs’ deputies across the nation to track purveyors of child pornography.

• John McCain has made the protection of our children a priority and recently introduced legislation to require convicted sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses and instant message identifiers with the National Sex Offender Registry and legislation endorsed by the National Sheriffs’ Association to increase penalties on commercial internet web sites that fail to notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children when child pornography is found.

• John McCain will appoint judges who follow the Constitution rather than those who engage in judicial activism.  In doing so, John McCain will provide law enforcement with the certainty and confidence required to make critical decisions knowing that their actions will be judged fairly by the courts in the context of recognized precedent and accepted principles of law.

• John McCain has fought to provide first responders with a national interoperable communications system by proposing the SAVE LIVES Act to more than double the amount of spectrum for radio and data communications for first responders and provide additional funding for communications equipment.

The Federal Government Should Shoulder The Responsibility For Detaining, Prosecuting and Deporting Illegal Aliens Who Commit Crimes And Secure The Border To Prevent Their Reentry

• John McCain will expand the criminal alien program to require that the federal government assume a greater portion of the costs of detaining and deporting criminal aliens by providing state and local officials with access to the information to identify those in state or local custody to prevent the release of these criminal aliens back onto American streets.

• John McCain’s Administration will facilitate training and seek cross-designation of state and local prosecutors to handle the legal proceedings required to expedite deportation.

• John McCain will continue to support the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) funding to state and locals to defray the cost local governments incur for imprisonment of criminal aliens.

• John McCain will require federal prosecutors to seek the highest priority for criminal aliens in immigration proceedings.  Currently the courts do not give priority to criminal aliens in these proceedings.

This Week’s Note From Jo Ann:

Here are more key talking points on the need to lessen our dependence on foreign sources of oil.  Our e-mails and phone calls are telling us how strongly Americans feel about this issue.  Help spread the word on the aggressive steps John McCain will take to increase our sources of energy and secure our nation. 

Click here for the complete archive of the Co-Chairman's Talking Points