The bans stem from grants issued under the Clinton-era police hiring program known as Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The largest federally funded law enforcement build-up in U.S. history provided money for more than 100,000 officers starting in 1995.
The Obama administration revived the program in its $787 billion stimulus package, allocating $1 billion to hire up to 6,000 officers during the next three years.