LaLota Highlights Impact of Rising Crime on Small Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Suffolk County) highlighted how rising crime is harming Main Street small businesses and working families during a Small Business Committee hearing.

“The data paints a clear picture: Retail crime has been terrorizing small businesses across the country and putting a strain on local law enforcement. Unfortunately, New York is no exception and our state’s small businesses are further harmed by soft-on-crime progressive District Attorneys who refuse to uphold the rule of law and would rather defund the police than prosecute criminals. Communities on Long Island can’t operate without a thriving Main Street and a fully funded and supported local police force,” said LaLota. “I am proud to have introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the COPS on the Beat Grant Program and support the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act to ensure our small businesses are taken care of. We need to continue to work in a bipartisan manner to address this issue before it becomes a national crisis.”

To watch the full questioning, click HERE.

Background:

During the hearing, LaLota highlighted his recently introduced bipartisan COPS on the Beat Grant Program Reauthorization and Parity Act, which would reauthorize and improve the COPS on the Beat Grant Program to aid local law enforcement in hiring new officers and support efforts to increase and improve community policing and training.

LaLota also highlighted his support for the bipartisan Combating Organized Retail Crime Act which would establish a coordinated multi-agency response and create new tools to tackle evolving trends in organized retail theft, which cost nationwide retailers an estimated $112.1 billion in 2022.

###