During consideration of the 2004 budget resolution, Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) offered an amendment to increase spending on Community Oriented Policing (COPS) programs by $1 billion and provide an additional $1 billion for deficit reduction. The total cost of Biden's amendment, $2 billion, would have been paid for by reducing the amount provided in the budget resolution for tax cuts by an equal amount. In the omnibus budget package recently approved by the Senate, funding for the COPS program was reduced by 83 percent; Biden's amendment to the 2004 budget resolution (a blueprint for future congressional spending) would help to restore future funding for the program. Before tax cuts are enacted, progressives argue, important domestic spending programs should be fully-funded. Progressives supported the Biden amendment as a way to both improve the capabilities of local law enforcement to effectively handle terrorist threats and provide a down-payment on future federal deficits. The Biden amendment was defeated on a 48-52 vote.