It has been nearly a year and a half since our last update on President Barack Obama's campaign pledge to fully fund the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which helps local agencies pay for more police officers. At the time, we rated the promise In the Works, since the economic stimulus package approved by President Obama in February 2009 included $1 billion for COPS hiring grants. The House had also authorized $1.8 billion a year over the next five tears for the COPS grant program, including $1.25 billion for hiring, and the rest for prosecutors, crime-fighting technology and aid to high-crime communities.

Since then, Congress has passed the 2010 budget and the White House submitted its proposal for 2011, so we wanted to revisit the promise.

Let's start with 2010. In his budget request for the year, Obama asked for $761 million. Congress was generous, however, and appropriated $791.6 million, with $298 million specifically marked for COPS Hiring Grants to hire or retain approximately 1,400 police officers.

In his budget request for 2011, Obama asked for $690 million, about a $100 million decrease from 2010. On June 29, 2010, however, the House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee allocated a little over $729 million. The Senate Committee on Appropriations was not as generous -- the program received only $586 million. At some point in the future, the House and the Senate leaders will have to meet and reconcile the final amount.

For some perspective, in 2007, Congress appropriated $542 million for the program. In 2008, it was $587 million, and in 2009, COPS received $551 million. That was despite President Bush's attempts to drastically reduce funding -- in 2008, he asked for a 94 percent cut, citing a General Accounting Office report that questioned the cost-effectiveness of the program in reducing crime.

On the campaign trail, Obama said that he would fully fund the COPS program. The 2009 stimulus package included $1 billion for COPS hiring grants. The 2010 budget provided $791 million for the program, a significant increase over previous years. Obama only asked for $690 million for 2011, but that is still above the 2007, 2008, and 2009 funding levels. Still, it appears as though the White House is facing a roadblock in the Senate, which has only appropriated $586 million. We'd like to see how the budget process plays out before we issue a final ruling, so for now, this promise stays In the Works.