[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 128 (Monday, August 1, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3810-S3811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 5188. Mr. SCHUMER (for Ms. Cortez Masto) proposed an amendment to 
the bill S. 3860, to establish a grant program to provide assistance to 
local governments with fewer than 200 law enforcement officers, and for 
other purposes; as follows:

        Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Invest to Protect Act of 
     2022''.

     SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.

       (a) Definitions.--In this Act:
       (1) De-escalation training.--The term ``de-escalation 
     training'' means training relating to taking action or 
     communicating verbally or non-verbally during a potential 
     force encounter in an attempt to stabilize the situation and 
     reduce the immediacy of the threat so that more time, 
     options, and resources can be called upon to resolve the 
     situation without the use of force or with a reduction in the 
     force necessary.
       (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the Office.
       (3) Eligible local government.--The term ``eligible local 
     government'' means--
       (A) a county, municipality, town, township, village, 
     parish, borough, or other unit of general government below 
     the State level that employs fewer than 200 law enforcement 
     officers; and
       (B) a Tribal government that employs fewer than 200 law 
     enforcement officers.
       (4) Law enforcement officer.--The term ``law enforcement 
     officer'' has the meaning given the term ``career law 
     enforcement officer'' in section 1709 of title I the Omnibus 
     Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10389).
       (5) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of 
     Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of 
     Justice.
       (b) Establishment.--There is established within the Office 
     a grant program to--
       (1) provide training and access to mental health resources 
     to local law enforcement officers; and
       (2) improve the recruitment and retention of local law 
     enforcement officers.
       (c) Authority.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Director shall award grants to 
     eligible local governments as a part of the grant program 
     established under subsection (b).
       (d) Applications.--
       (1) Barriers.--The Attorney General shall determine what 
     barriers exist to establishing a streamlined application 
     process for grants under this section.
       (2) Report.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to 
     Congress a report that includes a plan to execute a 
     streamlined application process for grants under this section 
     under which an eligible local government seeking a grant 
     under this section can reasonably complete the application in 
     not more than 2 hours.
       (B) Contents of plan.--The plan required under subparagraph 
     (A) may include a plan for--
       (i) proactively providing eligible local governments 
     seeking a grant under this section with information on the 
     data such eligible local governments will need to prepare 
     before beginning the grant application; and
       (ii) ensuring technical assistance is available for 
     eligible local governments seeking a grant under this section 
     before and during the grant application process, including 
     through dedicated liaisons within the Office.
       (3) Applications.--In selecting eligible local governments 
     to receive grants under this section, the Director shall use 
     the streamlined application process described in paragraph 
     (2)(A).
       (e) Eligible Activities.--An eligible local government that 
     receives a grant under this section may use amounts from the 
     grant only for--
       (1) de-escalation training for law enforcement officers;
       (2) victim-centered training for law enforcement officers 
     in handling situations of domestic violence;
       (3) evidence-based law enforcement safety training, 
     including training for--
       (A) active shooter situations;
       (B) the safe handling of illicit drugs and precursor 
     chemicals;
       (C) rescue situations;
       (D) high speed or pursuit driving;
       (E) recognizing and countering ambush attacks;
       (F) contact with individuals with mental health needs;
       (G) contact with individuals with substance use disorders;
       (H) contact with veterans;
       (I) contact with individuals with disabilities;
       (J) contact with vulnerable youth;
       (K) contact with individuals who are victims of domestic 
     violence, sexual assault, or trafficking; or
       (L) contact with individuals experiencing homelessness or 
     living in poverty;
       (4) the offsetting of overtime costs associated with 
     scheduling issues relating to the participation of a law 
     enforcement officer in the training described in paragraphs 
     (1) through (3);
       (5) a signing bonus for a law enforcement officer in an 
     amount determined by the eligible local government;
       (6) a retention bonus for a law enforcement officer--
       (A) in an amount determined by the eligible local 
     government that does not exceed 20 percent of the salary of 
     the law enforcement officer; and
       (B) who--
       (i) has been employed at the law enforcement agency for not 
     fewer than 5 years; and
       (ii) has not been found by an internal investigation to 
     have engaged in serious misconduct;
       (7) a stipend for the graduate education of law enforcement 
     officers in the area of mental health, public health, or 
     social work, which shall not exceed the lesser of--
       (A) $10,000; or
       (B) the amount the law enforcement officer pays towards 
     such graduate education; and
       (8) providing access to patient-centered behavioral health 
     services for law enforcement officers, which may include 
     resources for risk assessments, evidence-based, trauma-
     informed care to treat post-traumatic stress disorder or 
     acute stress disorder, peer support and counselor services 
     and family supports, and the promotion of improved access to 
     high quality mental health care through telehealth.
       (f) Disclosure of Officer Recruitment and Retention 
     Bonuses.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date on 
     which an eligible local government that receives a grant 
     under this section awards a signing or retention bonus 
     described in paragraph (5) or (6) of subsection (e), the 
     eligible local government shall disclose to the Director and 
     make publicly available on a website of the eligible local 
     government the amount of such bonus.
       (2) Report.--The Attorney General shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees an annual report that 
     includes each signing or retention bonus disclosed under 
     paragraph (1) during the preceding year.

[[Page S3811]]

       (g) Grant Accountability.--All grants awarded by the 
     Director under this section shall be subject to the following 
     accountability provisions:
       (1) Audit requirement.--
       (A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term ``unresolved 
     audit finding'' means a finding in the final audit report of 
     the Inspector General of the Department of Justice that the 
     audited grantee has used grant funds for an unauthorized 
     expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost that is not closed 
     or resolved within 12 months from the date when the final 
     audit report is issued.
       (B) Audits.--Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning 
     after the date of enactment of this subsection, and in each 
     fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of the 
     Department of Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of 
     grants under this section to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse 
     of funds by grantees. The Inspector General of the Department 
     of Justice shall determine the appropriate number of grantees 
     to be audited each year.
       (C) Mandatory exclusion.--A recipient of grant funds under 
     this section that is found to have an unresolved audit 
     finding shall not be eligible to receive grant funds under 
     this section during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after 
     the end of the 12-month period described in subparagraph (A).
       (D) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
     Director shall give priority to eligible local governments 
     that did not have an unresolved audit finding during the 3 
     fiscal years before submitting an application for a grant 
     under this section.
       (E) Reimbursement.--If an eligible local government is 
     awarded grant funds under this section during the 2-fiscal-
     year period during which the eligible local government is 
     barred from receiving grants under subparagraph (C), the 
     Attorney General shall--
       (i) deposit an amount equal to the amount of the grant 
     funds that were improperly awarded to the grantee into the 
     General Fund of the Treasury; and
       (ii) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment to the fund 
     from the grant recipient that was erroneously awarded grant 
     funds.
       (2) Annual certification.--Beginning in the fiscal year 
     during which audits commence under paragraph (1)(B), the 
     Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the 
     Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate 
     and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives an annual 
     certification--
       (A) indicating whether--
       (i) all audits issued by the Office of the Inspector 
     General of the Department of Justice under paragraph (1) have 
     been completed and reviewed by the appropriate Assistant 
     Attorney General or Director;
       (ii) all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph 
     (1)(C) have been issued; and
       (iii) all reimbursements required under paragraph (1)(E) 
     have been made; and
       (B) that includes a list of any grant recipients excluded 
     under paragraph (1) from the previous year.
       (h) Preventing Duplicative Grants.--
       (1) In general.--Before the Director awards a grant to an 
     eligible local government under this section, the Attorney 
     General shall compare potential grant awards with other 
     grants awarded by the Attorney General to determine if grant 
     awards are or have been awarded for a similar purpose.
       (2) Report.--If the Attorney General awards grants to the 
     same applicant for a similar purpose, the Attorney General 
     shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
     and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives a report that includes--
       (A) a list of all such grants awarded, including the total 
     dollar amount of any such grants awarded; and
       (B) the reason the Attorney General awarded multiple grants 
     to the same applicant for a similar purpose.
       (i) Funding.--In carrying out this section, the Director--
       (1) shall use amounts otherwise made available to the 
     Office; and
       (2) may use not more than $50,000,000 of such amounts for 
     each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
                                 ______