{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://lalota.house.gov/media/press-releases/lalota-presents-nearly-1-million-federal-funding-law-enforcement-south-fork", "LaLota Presents Nearly $1 Million in Federal Funding for Law Enforcement on the South Fork", "2026-08-25", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "NY", "Nick LaLota", "L000598", "lalota.house.gov", "lalota", "https://lalota.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "HAUPPAUGE, NY - On Tuesday, August 25th, Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Suffolk County) presented two checks totaling nearly $1 million to Law Enforcement agencies on the South Fork.\n\nThe $782,100 LaLota presented to the Southampton Town Police Department will upgrade technology within its Mobile Command Van to expand the department\u2019s monitoring capabilities and communications during emergencies. The $206,751 he presented to the Village of Sag Harbor Police Department will support vehicle enhancements to give Officers reliable vehicles to carry out their duties.\n\nLaLota secured the funding for these municipalities through the Fiscal Year 2026 Community Project Funding Appropriations process, a discretionary process that allows Members of Congress to direct federal funding toward critical local projects.\n\n\u201cDelivering nearly $1 million in federal funding to the Southampton and Sag Harbor Police Departments strengthens public safety while sparing local taxpayers the expense, which is exactly how I\u2019m making sure Long Islanders send less money to Washington and get more in return,\u201d said Congressman Nick LaLota. \u201cWhether it\u2019s quadrupling the SALT cap to cut the average Long Island family\u2019s federal taxes by about $3,000 or bringing home $27.1 million for public safety, water quality and infrastructure projects across Long Island, I\u2019m focused on my mission to make sure Long Islanders keep and get back more of their hard-earned tax dollars, while seeing those dollars put to work in their communities.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy district is completely within the First Congressional District, so every dollar that the Congressman brings home to us, to our local towns and communities, is a dollar saved by our taxpayers. Many people mistake these beautiful, bucolic communities on the east end as a place for the rich and famous, but those aren't the people who typically live here. The people who do certainly need this kind of support,\u201d said Senator Anthony Palumbo.\n\n\u201cToday's a major victory for our taxpayers. Long Island families send a tremendous amount of hard-earned money to the federal government, and today it's about bringing that money back home to New York where it belongs. These federal dollars directly lower the burden on local property owners. Instead of funding these vital upgrades through town taxes, we're utilizing federal money to protect our community,\u201d said Town of Southampton Supervisor Maria Moore.\n\n\u201cI want to thank the congressman for his continued support of the Southampton Town Police Department and public safety in general. And I thank him for allowing us to move forward with this project. Our command van is 25 years old. It's in very sound mechanical condition, and there is no reason to get rid of something that is old but working fine. So, what we plan to do is refurbish it and get equipment where we can serve the community better,\u201d said Town of Southampton Police Chief James Kiernan.\n\n\u201cThese federal funds are important to us. They help bridge the gap so the taxpayers are not overburdened. And I just wanted to thank Congressman LaLota for understanding that and for showing support in Washington for the local municipalities and Law Enforcement,\u201d said Village of Sag Harbor Mayor Thomas Gardella.\n\n\u201cMaintaining a safe and reliable fleet is also one of the larger recurring expenses faced by a small municipal Police department. This funding will allow us to replace aging vehicles with modern, reliable Police vehicles while significantly reducing the financial burden that would otherwise fall directly on the taxpayers of the Village of Sag Harbor. And while Sag Harbor may be a small community, demands placed on our department are anything but small,\u201d said Village of Sag Harbor Police Chief Robert Drake.\n\nBackground:\n\nThe funding is part of LaLota\u2019s broader effort to bring federal resources back to Suffolk County.", 1, "2026-09-01T09:48:49Z", "2026-09-01T09:49:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://lalota.house.gov/media/press-releases/lalota-presents-nearly-1-million-federal-funding-law-enforcement-south-fork"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.464136177673936, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}