U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer was in the Hudson Valley Wednesday to call on the U.S. Department of Justice to pay millions of dollars in owed money to local police departments for their assistance to the Westchester County Drug Enforcement Administration task force.

According to Schumer, the department needs to pay its share of the $16 million owed for local contributions to the task force, which works in step with the federal government, but bureaucratic delays over years have slowed those payments.

“Our Hudson Valley cops risk their lives every day to protect their communities, and have gone above and beyond to assist federal law enforcement officials in busting organized drug trafficking rings to keep our entire region safe. The least we can do is pay them for the important work they have done, and provide them with partnership funding needed to continue to safeguard our communities," Schumer said. "I understand that processing these cases takes time, and we have to get it right, but they've waited up to four years in some cases, which strains budgets, and makes planning difficult as a result of not knowing when they will receive funding they are owed."

Schumer, joined by local law enforcement officials, said the local police officers have worked to remove drugs, such as oxycodone and fentanyl from the streets, and that the delay has caused undue financial strain on these departments, hindering their ability to continue this kind of work.

"The brave men and women of the Rockland County Sheriff's Office, and the other Task Force agencies have put their lives on the line to protect our communities and deserve an equitable share of seized assets for their time and effort," said Rockland County Sheriff Lou Falco. "It's unacceptable we've waited for up to four years, and enough is enough. I stand with Senator Schumer in demanding immediate action to retrieve our share of the $16 million owed by the feds to multiple HV departments, including in Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Westchester. The bureaucratic delays must be cut through, and our local agencies should receive the share of funds they've earned."