[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 18, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2933-S2935]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           POLICE ACT OF 2016

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I am delighted to be here on the floor 
with the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the ranking 
member, our colleague from Vermont, whom I have worked with on so many 
issues, to ask unanimous consent to take up a bill that I talked about 
a little earlier this morning called the POLICE Act. This bill uses 
existing funding to support local law enforcement but specifically to 
make sure funding is available for active-shooter training.
  For example, in San Marcos, TX, at Texas State University, they have 
trained 80,000 local law enforcement officials in active-shooter 
training. The

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time I remember most poignantly when this was put to good use and saved 
lives was at Fort Hood, TX, when MAJ Nidal Hasan stood up and killed I 
think about 13 people and then wounded about 30 more. There were two 
law enforcement officials who crashed the site, put themselves in 
harm's way, but thanks to the great training they had, they were able 
to disable Major Hasan before he was able to do any more damage. So 
this is very important training.
  We want to make sure there are funds available--using existing 
funding streams but available for active-shooter training wherever it 
might be provided around the country.
  Mr. President, as I mentioned earlier today, this week is National 
Police Week--a time to honor those men and women who have fallen in the 
line of duty.
  One way we can better support our Nation's law enforcement officers 
is by helping them get the training they need to keep themselves and 
the communities they protect safe.
  The POLICE Act is a bill that would do exactly that.
  This bipartisan legislation would allow existing grant money 
available for police training to be used for active shooter training--a 
commonsense way to put these funds to good use in a way that does not 
and will not spend additional Federal money.
  Right now, current law will not allow local police departments and 
first responders to use a substantial amount of grant funding through 
the Justice Department for this kind of critical training. Our bill 
would change that.
  With all the threats they face every day on the job, we have an 
obligation to equip as many officers as possible with the skills and 
training they need to respond to an active shooter situation.
  I would like to thank Senator Leahy for working with me on this 
legislation. I also would like to thank Chairman Grassley for his 
effort in getting this bill passed out of committee last week. I 
express my gratitude to Senator Grassley and Senator Leahy.

  At this time, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 464, S. 2840.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2840) to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize COPS grantees to use 
     grant funds for active shooter training, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. CORNYN. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third 
time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read 
the third time.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the matter.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, the bill having 
been read the third time, the question is, Shall the bill pass?
  The bill (S. 2840) was passed, as follows:

                                S. 2840

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Our Lives by 
     Initiating COPS Expansion Act of 2016'' or the ``POLICE Act 
     of 2016''.

     SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USE OF COPS FUNDS.

       Section 1701(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(b)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (16), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) by redesignating paragraph (17) as paragraph (18);
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (16) the following:
       ``(17) to participate in nationally recognized active 
     shooter training programs that offer senario-based, 
     integrated response courses designed to counter active 
     shooter threats or acts of terrorism against individuals or 
     facilities; and''; and
       (4) in paragraph (18), as redesignated, by striking 
     ``(16)'' and inserting ``(17)''.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. CORNYN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I had a chance to speak on this earlier. I 
would defer to my colleague, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, 
or Senator Leahy from Vermont, my principal cosponsor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, this week is National Police Week, and many 
of us have paused to thank our Nation's law enforcement officers for 
their important work. But it is not enough for us to simply pay tribute 
to these men and women. We must also provide them with the training and 
the resources they need to remain safe while they protect our 
communities.
  That is why I pushed for years to enact legislation to reauthorize 
the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program, which President Obama 
signed into law on Monday. I authored this legislation with Senator 
Graham because every single law enforcement officer deserves to be 
protected by a lifesaving vest. Since its inception in 1998, this 
program has provided more than 1.2 million vests to more than 13,000 
law enforcement agencies. The reauthorization signed into law this week 
ensures that hundreds of thousands more officers will be similarly 
protected. I have personally met with officers who were saved by vests 
purchased through this program. They will confirm that these vests are 
worth every penny.
  Today the Senate passed the Protecting Our Lives by Initiating COPS 
Expansion Act, or the POLICE Act. This legislation will provide law 
enforcement officers with training to handle active shooter situations. 
The bill is supported by the Fraternal Order of Police, International 
Association of Chiefs of Police, National District Attorneys 
Association, Major County Sheriffs Association, and the Sergeants 
Benevolent Association. I was proud to join Senator Cornyn as the lead 
Democratic sponsor of this legislation.
  I thank Senator Cornyn for this. We have worked together on many law 
enforcement things over the years, and I think both Senator Cornyn and 
I have tried to demonstrate that law enforcement should not be a 
partisan matter, and we have done this in a bipartisan fashion.
  So many officers have heroically responded to active shooter 
situations. This week the President bestowed upon several officers the 
Medal of Valor for their response to active shooters, including three 
California officers who confronted a gunman during a rampage at a 
community college that left five people dead in 2013; a New York 
officer who arrested, at a crowded hospital, a gunman who already had 
killed another officer; and a New York sheriff's deputy who confronted 
and subdued a gunman who had wounded others and posed a threat to 
students at a nearby school.
  But I think we cannot rely on heroism alone. Senator Cornyn mentioned 
the training that helped end an active-shooter incident in Texas. 
Unfortunately, active-shooter incidents have become all too common, 
occurring in shopping malls and schools, the workplace, anywhere people 
gather. No State is immune, including my own State of Vermont. All of 
our Nation's officers should receive training on how to handle such 
situations so they can respond effectively to protect the public and to 
protect themselves. The POLICE Act will help make such training 
available.
  However, the burden of protecting the public from active shooters 
should not fall solely on the shoulders of our law enforcement 
officers. Congress must do more to prevent active shooter situations. 
That means preventing criminals and those who seek to cause harm from 
acquiring firearms in the first place. That is why the Senate should 
pass the Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act that I sponsored with 
Senator Collins, which would provide law enforcement the tools they 
need to investigate and deter straw purchasers and gun traffickers. 
Congress must not become so numb to tragedy after tragedy that we fail 
to fulfill our duty to legislate, even when the issue involves 
firearms.
  As I said, Senator Cornyn and I have made it very clear that 
supporting our Nation's law enforcement officers in reducing gun 
violence is not a partisan issue. While we are making progress, much 
more remains to be done. I stand ready to work with anyone--Republican 
or Democrat--on commonsense

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ways to keep our law enforcement officers and communities safe.
  I applaud the Senate for passing this, I urge the House to quickly 
pass it, and I know the President will sign it.
  I yield the floor.

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