[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 14, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3046-H3048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECRUIT AND RETAIN ACT
Mr. HUNT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
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.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is 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--
(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--
[[Page H3047]]
(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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Hunt) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. HUNT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
to include extraneous material on S. 546.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. HUNT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the Recruit and Retain Act before
the House today. The Recruit and Retain Act is about helping our men
and women in blue. This legislation passed the Senate by unanimous
consent, and I am proud to sponsor and lead this bill in the House
along with my fellow committee member across the aisle, Representative
Glenn Ivey.
Our police departments are struggling with crisis-level recruiting
shortages.
Here in Washington, for example, the Metropolitan Police Department
has the lowest number of officers it has had in the past 50 years.
Another example, since 2019, the Chicago police force has lost 3,300
officers as of October 2022, and it has only replaced about half of
those departures.
Some small towns that don't have as many resources are even having to
shutter their police departments entirely.
We cannot stand by and let this continue to happen across our
country, and this is why we need the Recruit and Retain Act.
Currently, the DOJ provides grants to State, local, and Tribal
governments to hire law enforcement officers under the COPS Hiring
program. The Recruit and Retain Act would leverage the COPS Hiring
program to ensure the program is responsive to the latest hiring
challenges that law enforcement agencies are experiencing nationwide.
This bill would reduce the cost of onboarding new officers,
specifically fees associated with background checks, psychological
evaluations, and other testing. It will also alleviate administrative
burdens and clarify application guidance to ensure grants are
accessible to all law enforcement agencies. It will create new
opportunities for law enforcement to build trust and interest in law
enforcement careers with local youth.
{time} 1615
Lastly, the bill will require research into the latest data and
uncover new insights into law enforcement recruitment and retention
trends across the country.
This bill does not authorize new funds or create new grant programs,
and it only allows existing COPS grants to be used for recruiting and
retaining police officers.
I am proud to say this bill has been endorsed by the Federal Law
Enforcement Officers Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Major
Cities Chiefs Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, National
Association of Police Organizations, National Sheriffs' Association,
and others.
When our police departments are well funded and maintained, our
communities are safer. Americans are safer. Let's support our cops.
Let's help attract the best and the brightest to the law enforcement
profession. That is so important in the environment our police officers
live and work in every single day in this country.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Recruit and Retain
Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. IVEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 546, the Recruit and Retain
Act. H.R. 3325, the identical House version of the bill that I am co-
leading with Congressman Hunt of Texas, passed the Judiciary Committee
last week.
The Recruit and Retain Act addresses two key goals that are central
to Police Week, recruiting young people who want to become law
enforcement officers for the right reasons, and relieving the financial
burden of recruiting and retaining law enforcement officers by
assisting law enforcement agencies with the costs of the recruitment
and application process.
The Recruit and Retain Act is supported by the Fraternal Order of
Police, National Sheriffs' Association, Major Cities Chiefs
Association, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, National
Association of Police Organizations, Major County Sheriffs of America,
and several other organizations.
Recruiting and retaining highly trained law enforcement professionals
is of the utmost importance. Our ability to attract and develop the
best, brightest, and most compassionate and dedicated men and women of
diverse backgrounds is vital to the health and well-being of our
Nation.
Keeping our residents safe and promoting better community relations
will lead to safer streets and better policing. We must incentivize
hiring and retaining the people who will do the best job of
safeguarding our communities through wise use of the most up-to-date
law enforcement techniques.
For quite some time, law enforcement agencies nationwide have been
facing a challenge in their efforts to maintain an appropriately
staffed police force. Due in part to changing demographics, they have
experienced high rates of resignations and retirements of law
enforcement officers.
The 2021 Police Executive Research Forum Workforce Survey of law
enforcement agencies revealed a 5 percent decrease in the overall
hiring rate, an 18 percent increase in resignations, and a 45 percent
increase in retirements from responding agencies.
The Recruit and Retain Act would establish a new model for the
productive recruitment of future law enforcement officers who want to
join police forces for the right reasons. Enhancing recruitment of
qualified law enforcement officers who are dedicated to the highest
principles of policing may also reduce an agency's attrition and
resignations over the long term.
Through the bill's Pipeline Partnership Program, students will
benefit from age-appropriate teachings about the rule of law, the value
of law in an ordered society, and the centrality of the law enforcement
and judicial systems, including the role that law enforcement officers
play in maintaining these values within our society.
With age-appropriate introductions to the concepts of law and its
importance coming from law enforcement officers and teachers in a
friendly setting, some students may choose to join law enforcement,
while others may become inspired to pursue careers as lawyers or public
servants in other areas of government.
An introduction of law enforcement through schools would, in some
ways, be similar to a Junior ROTC program for older students who may
become interested in law enforcement careers without a contractual
commitment. It could increase the number of candidates entering the law
enforcement recruitment officer pipeline for desirable reasons.
The Pipeline Partnership Program would initially be deployed in a
small number of jurisdictions, similar to a pilot program, and its
positive outcomes could subsequently encourage other jurisdictions to
replicate it.
The Recruit and Retain Act will also reduce the administrative costs
of recruiting and retaining officers by assisting with the expenses of
application fees, such as those for background checks, psychological
evaluations, and testing. Funds would be made available to defray the
costs of hiring applicants and rehiring officers, taking the burden off
of strained law enforcement agencies.
Additionally, our bill directs the Government Accountability Office
to conduct a study to better understand the factors that influence
recruitment and loss of law enforcement agencies. This study will also
recommend practices that will help reduce barriers to addressing these
issues.
[[Page H3048]]
Importantly, the GAO study will assess recruitment, retention, and
retirement factors experienced by law enforcement agencies nationwide
in communities of all sizes, including those in rural areas which, in
some contexts, receive less attention when law enforcement policies are
evaluated and developed.
To facilitate those initiatives, rather than allocate additional
funds, the Recruit and Retain Act would allow jurisdictions that
receive COPS grants to utilize funds from those grants for the purposes
outlined in the bill, with some limits and restrictions.
The bill also includes an annual list of $3 million of COPS grant
funds that can be used to connect students with law enforcement
officers and agencies through the Pipeline Partnership Program.
Although this is a very modest sum, it is sufficient for the creation
of this program in a limited number of States and municipalities to
test this concept.
By implementing these projects in limited locations across the
Nation, the Recruit and Retain Act will help States and localities make
informed decisions about adopting the program and its law enforcement
recruitment procedures.
Madam Speaker, I thank, again, Congressman Hunt for his leadership on
this legislation. It is for these reasons that I support S. 546, and I
urge my colleagues to support this important bill, as well.
In closing, Madam Speaker, the Recruit and Retain Act initiatives,
taken together, will serve as a de facto pilot project for many
localities, large and small, urban and rural, that struggle with law
enforcement recruitment and retention. Law enforcement agencies will be
able to benefit from each other's experience when replicating
initiatives created by this legislation's innovative solutions.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 546,
the Recruit and Retain Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HUNT. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hunt) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, S. 546.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. HUNT. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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