Legislative

Our priorities for the 119th Congress include:

• THANK YOU to Members who supported the Social Security Fairness Act to finally Repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision/Government Pension Offset (WEP/GPO).  WEP/GPO unfairly penalized law enforcement retirees and their spouses and needed to be repealed. Again, THANK YOU for the successful work on implementing this legislation where retirees, spouses, widows are already receiving their updated, fair share benefits.

Requests to support and cosponsor:

• Thin Blue Line Act: H.R. 378 (Buchanan, R-FL); S. 83 (Cruz, R-TX)
  ‍This bill increases the penalties for those who murder or attempt to murder law enforcement officers. Federal law establishes sixteen aggravating factors for a jury to consider when hearing a legal case involving the death penalty, including an aggravating factor for attacks on elected officials, judges, and federal law enforcement officers, but attacks on state law enforcement officers are not held to the same standard. The Thin Blue Line Act provides the same level of justice to local law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and first responders.

• HELPER Act: H.R. 2094 (Rutherford, R-FL), S. 978 (Moody, R-FL)
  Establishes a program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide mortgage assistance to law enforcement officers, elementary and secondary school teachers, firefighters, or other first responders. Specifically, these individuals may be eligible for a first-time mortgage on a primary family residence with no down payment. Instead, the mortgage is subject to a one-time, up-front mortgage insurance premium.

• Qualified Immunity Act of 2023: S. 122 (Banks, R-IN)
  To amend the Revised Statutes to codify the defense of qualified immunity, a court-created rule that protects a government official from lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiff's rights, and in the case of any action under section 1979, into law. This bill would provide additional aggravating factors for the imposition of the death penalty based on the status of the victim and extend protection to first responders.

• Auto Theft Prevention Act: H.R. 568 (Sherrill, D-NJ)
  To provide funding to State and local law enforcement agencies to combat auto theft and stolen automobile trafficking, and for other purposes. This legislation will provide federal funding to state and local law enforcement agencies to help them successfully crack down on car thefts and keep our communities safe. Funding through the legislation can be used by law enforcement agencies to hire additional officers, pay overtime compensation, purchase specialized equipment such as automated license plate readers, and participate in auto theft task forces. Almost 500,000 vehicles, worth an estimated $4.5 billion, were stolen nationally in the first half of 2022, representing a 25 percent increase in thefts compared to the first half of 2019 before the pandemic.

• Invest to Protect Act of 2023: H.R.—(Gottheimer D-NJ) S. 768 (Grassley, R-IA, Cortez Masto D-NV)
  Directs the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the Department of Justice to award grants to local and tribal governments that employ fewer than 200 law enforcement officers. Grant funds may be used for various activities, including to provide de-escalation training and improve recruitment and retention.

• Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act HALT Act: H.R. 27 (Griffin, R-VA) PASSED HOUSE; S. 331 (Cassidy R-LA) PASSED SENATE
  To permanently place fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act.

• Law Enforcement Officers Safety (LEOSA) Reform Act: H.R. 2243 (Bacon, R-NE) S. 679 (Kennedy, R-LA)
  The “Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) Reform Act,” which would amend the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) exempting qualified active and retired law enforcement officers from local and State prohibitions on the carriage of concealed firearms.