[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 21, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E530-E531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         RECRUIT AND RETAIN ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 14, 2024

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise to speak in support of S. 546, 
the ``Recruit and Retain Act''.
  As a member of the Law Enforcement Caucus and the Ranking Member of 
the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Surveillance, I am 
pleased to support this bill.
  This legislation will help law enforcement agencies in tangible ways 
by providing them with tools to help address the high rates of 
attrition that have plagued these agencies for years.
  Our Nation's law enforcement agencies are facing an unprecedented 
staffing crisis.
  Hiring efforts have been unable to keep pace with the high rates of 
attrition that we are seeing in police departments from coast to coast, 
and everywhere in between.

[[Page E531]]

  According to a report last year by the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
and the Office of Community Oriented Policing, factors such as 
community frustration with the policing profession, and concerns about 
officer safety and well-being, have contributed to this staffing 
crisis.
  It is unsurprising, then, that a 2023 survey of police departments 
showed resignations continuing to increase every year since 2019, with 
responding agencies reporting nearly 50 percent more resignations in 
2022 than in 2019.
  In my district in Houston, Texas, the problem goes back even further.
  We recently learned that staffing shortages resulted in over 264,000 
cases--including 4,000 sexual assault cases--were never submitted for 
investigation, due to staffing shortages.
  We cannot allow this to continue.
  Our communities deserve more.
  Victims deserve more.
  The Recruit and Retain Act will attempt to remedy this problem by 
authorizing law enforcement agencies to use COPS grants to reduce the 
numerous fees that law enforcement applicants must pay.
  We will not get qualified men and women in uniform if they cannot 
afford to even apply to a police department.
  The Recruit and Retain Act also will encourage voluntary partnerships 
between agencies and local elementary schools, secondary schools, and 
institutions of higher learning, including historically black colleges 
and universities, for students interested in careers in law 
enforcement.
  Partnership activities will include dedicated programming for 
students; work-based learning opportunities; mentoring; community 
liaisons; career and jobs fairs; job shadowing; and internships.
  These activities will help law enforcement agencies recruit talented 
applicants who reflect and respect the communities they serve.
  This, in turn, will help earn back the trust of those communities--
making all of us safer.
  I would prefer for this bill to include the minimum qualification and 
training standards that the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would 
require.
  I also think we must do more to address the mental health challenges 
that officers inevitably face, due to the harrowing nature of their 
work.
  We cannot expect qualified officers to remain in such a dangerous 
profession if we do not give them the resources they need to address 
the toll that police work takes on them.
  We cannot wait any longer to address the law enforcement staffing 
crisis.
  We must act now to help police departments across the country recruit 
and retain the officers they need to keep our communities safe.
  I invite my colleagues across the aisle to join me in this effort to 
support local and state law enforcement.

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