[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3580-S3582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         RECRUIT AND RETAIN ACT

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 86, S. 
546.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 546) to amend the Omnibus Crime control and Safe 
     Streets Act of 1968 to authorize law enforcement agencies to 
     use COPS grants for recruitment activities, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 
amendment, as follows:
  (The part of the bill intended to be stricken is in boldfaced 
brackets, and the part of the bill intended to be inserted is in 
italic.)

                                 S. 546

       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 ``Recruit and Retain Act''.

     SEC. 2. IMPROVING COPS GRANTS FOR POLICE HIRING PURPOSES.

       (a) Grant Use Expansion.--Section 1701(b) of title I of the 
     Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
     10381(b)) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (23) as 
     paragraphs (6) through (24), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
       ``(5) to support hiring activities by law enforcement 
     agencies experiencing declines in officer recruitment 
     applications by reducing application-related fees, such as 
     fees for background checks, psychological evaluations, and 
     testing[.]''.
       (b) Technical Amendment.--Section 1701(b)(23) of title I of 
     the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
     U.S.C. 10381(b)(23)) is amended by striking ``(21)'' and 
     inserting ``(22)''.

     SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

       Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsections (i) through (n) as 
     subsections (j) through (o), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the following:
       ``(i) Administrative Costs.--Not more than 2 percent of a 
     grant made for the hiring or rehiring of additional career 
     law enforcement officers may be used for costs incurred to 
     administer such grant.''.

     SEC. 4. PIPELINE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

       Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amended by 
     inserting after subsection (o) the following:
       ``(p) COPS Pipeline Partnership Program.--
       ``(1) Eligible entity defined.--In this subsection, the 
     term `eligible entity' means a law enforcement agency in 
     partnership with not less than 1 educational institution, 
     which may include 1 or any combination of the following:
       ``(A) An elementary school.
       ``(B) A secondary school.
       ``(C) An institution of higher education.
       ``(D) A Hispanic-serving institution.
       ``(E) A historically Black college or university.
       ``(F) A Tribal college.
       ``(2) Grants.--The Attorney General shall award competitive 
     grants to eligible entities for recruiting activities that--
       ``(A) support substantial student engagement for the 
     exploration of potential future career opportunities in law 
     enforcement;
       ``(B) strengthen recruitment by law enforcement agencies 
     experiencing a decline in recruits, or high rates of 
     resignations or retirements;
       ``(C) enhance community interactions between local youth 
     and law enforcement agencies that are designed to increase 
     recruiting; and
       ``(D) otherwise improve the outcomes of local law 
     enforcement recruitment through activities such as dedicated 
     programming for students, work-based learning opportunities, 
     project-based learning, mentoring, community liaisons, career 
     or job fairs, work site visits, job shadowing, 
     apprenticeships, or skills-based internships.
       ``(3) Funding.--Of the amounts made available to carry out 
     this part for a fiscal year, the Attorney General may use not 
     more than $3,000,000 to carry out this subsection.''.

     SEC. 5. COPS GRANT GUIDANCE FOR AGENCIES OPERATING BELOW 
                   BUDGETED STRENGTH.

       Section 1704 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10384) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Guidance for Understaffed Law Enforcement Agencies.--
       ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
       ``(A) Covered applicant.--The term `covered applicant' 
     means an applicant for a hiring grant under this part seeking 
     funding for a law enforcement agency operating below the 
     budgeted strength of the law enforcement agency.
       ``(B) Budgeted strength.--The term `budgeted strength' 
     means the employment of the maximum number of sworn law 
     enforcement officers the budget of a law enforcement agency 
     allows the agency to employ.

[[Page S3581]]

       ``(2) Procedures.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 
     establish consistent procedures for covered applicants, 
     including guidance that--
       ``(A) clarifies that covered applicants remain eligible for 
     funding under this part; and
       ``(B) enables covered applicants to attest that the funding 
     from a grant awarded under this part is not being used by the 
     law enforcement agency to supplant State or local funds, as 
     described in subsection (a).
       ``(3) Paperwork reduction.--In developing the procedures 
     and guidance under paragraph (2), the Attorney General shall 
     take measures to reduce paperwork requirements for grants to 
     covered applicants.''.

     SEC. 6. STUDY ON POLICE RECRUITMENT.

       (a) Study.--
       (1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall conduct a study to consider the comprehensive 
     effects of recruitment and attrition rates on Federal, State, 
     Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the United 
     States, to identify--
       (A) the primary reasons that law enforcement officers--
       (i) join law enforcement agencies; and
       (ii) resign or retire from law enforcement agencies;
       (B) how the reasons described in subparagraph (A) may have 
     changed over time;
       (C) the effects of recruitment and attrition on public 
     safety;
       (D) the effects of electronic media on recruitment efforts;
       (E) barriers to the recruitment and retention of Federal, 
     State, and local law enforcement officers; and
       (F) recommendations for potential ways to address barriers 
     to the recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers, 
     including the barriers identified in subparagraph (E).
       (2) Representative cross-section.--
       (A) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall endeavor to ensure accurate representation of 
     law enforcement agencies in the study conducted pursuant to 
     paragraph (1) by surveying a broad cross-section of law 
     enforcement agencies--
       (i) from various regions of the United States;
       (ii) of different sizes; and
       (iii) from rural, suburban, and urban jurisdictions.
       (B) Methods description.--The study conducted pursuant to 
     paragraph (1) shall include in the report under subsection 
     (b) a description of the methods used to identify a 
     representative sample of law enforcement agencies.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 540 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall--
       (1) submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
     and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives a report containing the study conducted under 
     subsection (a); and
       (2) make the report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly 
     available online.
       (c) Confidentiality.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall ensure that the study conducted under subsection 
     (a) protects the privacy of participating law enforcement 
     agencies.

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I further ask unanimous consent that the committee-
reported amendment be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. I know of no further debate on the bill, as 
amended.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read 
the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall the bill pass?
  The bill (S. 546), as amended, was passed, as follows:

                                 S. 546

       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 ``Recruit and Retain Act''.

     SEC. 2. IMPROVING COPS GRANTS FOR POLICE HIRING PURPOSES.

       (a) Grant Use Expansion.--Section 1701(b) of title I of the 
     Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
     10381(b)) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (23) as 
     paragraphs (6) through (24), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
       ``(5) to support hiring activities by law enforcement 
     agencies experiencing declines in officer recruitment 
     applications by reducing application-related fees, such as 
     fees for background checks, psychological evaluations, and 
     testing;''.
       (b) Technical Amendment.--Section 1701(b)(23) of title I of 
     the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
     U.S.C. 10381(b)(23)) is amended by striking ``(21)'' and 
     inserting ``(22)''.

     SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

       Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsections (i) through (n) as 
     subsections (j) through (o), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the following:
       ``(i) Administrative Costs.--Not more than 2 percent of a 
     grant made for the hiring or rehiring of additional career 
     law enforcement officers may be used for costs incurred to 
     administer such grant.''.

     SEC. 4. PIPELINE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

       Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amended by 
     inserting after subsection (o) the following:
       ``(p) COPS Pipeline Partnership Program.--
       ``(1) Eligible entity defined.--In this subsection, the 
     term `eligible entity' means a law enforcement agency in 
     partnership with not less than 1 educational institution, 
     which may include 1 or any combination of the following:
       ``(A) An elementary school.
       ``(B) A secondary school.
       ``(C) An institution of higher education.
       ``(D) A Hispanic-serving institution.
       ``(E) A historically Black college or university.
       ``(F) A Tribal college.
       ``(2) Grants.--The Attorney General shall award competitive 
     grants to eligible entities for recruiting activities that--
       ``(A) support substantial student engagement for the 
     exploration of potential future career opportunities in law 
     enforcement;
       ``(B) strengthen recruitment by law enforcement agencies 
     experiencing a decline in recruits, or high rates of 
     resignations or retirements;
       ``(C) enhance community interactions between local youth 
     and law enforcement agencies that are designed to increase 
     recruiting; and
       ``(D) otherwise improve the outcomes of local law 
     enforcement recruitment through activities such as dedicated 
     programming for students, work-based learning opportunities, 
     project-based learning, mentoring, community liaisons, career 
     or job fairs, work site visits, job shadowing, 
     apprenticeships, or skills-based internships.
       ``(3) Funding.--Of the amounts made available to carry out 
     this part for a fiscal year, the Attorney General may use not 
     more than $3,000,000 to carry out this subsection.''.

     SEC. 5. COPS GRANT GUIDANCE FOR AGENCIES OPERATING BELOW 
                   BUDGETED STRENGTH.

       Section 1704 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10384) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Guidance for Understaffed Law Enforcement Agencies.--
       ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
       ``(A) Covered applicant.--The term `covered applicant' 
     means an applicant for a hiring grant under this part seeking 
     funding for a law enforcement agency operating below the 
     budgeted strength of the law enforcement agency.
       ``(B) Budgeted strength.--The term `budgeted strength' 
     means the employment of the maximum number of sworn law 
     enforcement officers the budget of a law enforcement agency 
     allows the agency to employ.
       ``(2) Procedures.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 
     establish consistent procedures for covered applicants, 
     including guidance that--
       ``(A) clarifies that covered applicants remain eligible for 
     funding under this part; and
       ``(B) enables covered applicants to attest that the funding 
     from a grant awarded under this part is not being used by the 
     law enforcement agency to supplant State or local funds, as 
     described in subsection (a).
       ``(3) Paperwork reduction.--In developing the procedures 
     and guidance under paragraph (2), the Attorney General shall 
     take measures to reduce paperwork requirements for grants to 
     covered applicants.''.

     SEC. 6. STUDY ON POLICE RECRUITMENT.

       (a) Study.--
       (1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall conduct a study to consider the comprehensive 
     effects of recruitment and attrition rates on Federal, State, 
     Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the United 
     States, to identify--
       (A) the primary reasons that law enforcement officers--
       (i) join law enforcement agencies; and
       (ii) resign or retire from law enforcement agencies;
       (B) how the reasons described in subparagraph (A) may have 
     changed over time;
       (C) the effects of recruitment and attrition on public 
     safety;
       (D) the effects of electronic media on recruitment efforts;
       (E) barriers to the recruitment and retention of Federal, 
     State, and local law enforcement officers; and
       (F) recommendations for potential ways to address barriers 
     to the recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers, 
     including the barriers identified in subparagraph (E).
       (2) Representative cross-section.--
       (A) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall endeavor to ensure accurate representation of 
     law enforcement agencies in the study conducted pursuant to 
     paragraph (1) by surveying a broad cross-section of law 
     enforcement agencies--

[[Page S3582]]

       (i) from various regions of the United States;
       (ii) of different sizes; and
       (iii) from rural, suburban, and urban jurisdictions.
       (B) Methods description.--The study conducted pursuant to 
     paragraph (1) shall include in the report under subsection 
     (b) a description of the methods used to identify a 
     representative sample of law enforcement agencies.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 540 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall--
       (1) submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
     and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives a report containing the study conducted under 
     subsection (a); and
       (2) make the report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly 
     available online.
       (c) Confidentiality.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall ensure that the study conducted under subsection 
     (a) protects the privacy of participating law enforcement 
     agencies.

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider 
be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action 
or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________