NEW ORLEANS — As gun violence spikes across the country, the White House rolls out a plan to try and stop it. It involves money from the federal government and a working relationship with cities.
They’re scenes that play out routinely across the country, including the city of New Orleans. President Biden calls the problem of gun violence in America a public health epidemic.
“This is not a political issue. This is about keeping the American people safe and that is the President’s focus,” said Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Jean-Pierre said a new plan from the Biden administration is aimed at gun violence.
“The money is there,” said Jean-Pierre.
That money is through the American Rescue Plan allowing cities to hire new officers, create new enforcement efforts, invest in technology and even create community violence intervention programs.
“We don’t have a comprehensive piece of legislation that has been passed out of Congress, so this is the President’s way of making sure that we get to a place where we’re getting guns off the streets and that we’re keeping our communities safe,” said Jean-Pierre.
In New Orleans, according to the city council’s crime dashboard, deadly shootings are up 16 percent compared to this time last year, non-deadly shootings are up 68 percent.
The White House is now working directly with 15 cities on program implementation. Baton Rouge is one of them. New Orleans is not.
A city hall spokesperson released a statement to Eyewitness News saying New Orleans was not selected to participate but will monitor the progress:
“We are excited about President Biden’s announcement today. We appreciate this administration’s understanding of our needs on the ground, as we have relayed them to the federal government. We are awaiting further details on the President’s programs and policy changes related to the American Rescue Plan,and look forward to putting every resource available towards addressing violent crime,” reads the statement. “New Orleans was not selected to participate in the initial cohort of cities who will receive additional technical assistance on violence intervention programs, but we will closely monitor the progress of that initiative for elements that can be implemented here.”
Jean-Pierre says those 15 cities have been proactive and strategic in spending the money but opens the door to New Orleans as well.
“We are happy to work with the mayor of New Orleans on this as well so that’s why there’s a focus on them because we’ve been working directly with these 15,” said Jean-Pierre.
According to the city council’s budget review committee, New Orleans should get about $387.5 million dollars in recovery money. How to spend it was part of the discussion Wednesday morning during a committee meeting. Councilman Joe Giarrusso says every dime should have a purpose.
“You can use the money more strategically and creatively, rather than just filling revenue shortfalls,” said Giarrusso.