[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 131 (Wednesday, July 30, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3174. Ms. KLOBUCHAR submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by her to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS CONTINUING
SERVICE.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act''.
(b) Grant Program.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``PART PP--CIVIL LAW ENFORCEMENT TASK GRANTS
``SEC. 3061. DEFINITIONS.
``In this part:
``(1) Civilian law enforcement task.--The term `civilian
law enforcement task'--
``(A) includes--
``(i) assisting in homicide investigations;
``(ii) assisting in carjacking investigations;
``(iii) assisting in financial crimes investigations;
``(iv) assisting in compliance with reporting requirements;
``(v) reviewing camera footage;
``(vi) crime scene analysis;
``(vii) forensics analysis; and
``(viii) providing expertise in computers, computer
networks, information technology, or the internet; and
``(B) does not include the ability to make arrests or use
force under the color of law.
``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means a
State, local, Tribal, or territorial law enforcement agency
that certifies that retired law enforcement personnel hired
using amounts from a grant under this part--
``(A) have appropriate and reasonably current training and
experience to effectively carry out the tasks described in
section 3062(a); or
``(B) will participate in appropriate continuing education
programs to satisfy subparagraph (A).
``SEC. 3062. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.
``(a) In General.--The Attorney General may award grants to
eligible entities for the purpose of hiring retired personnel
from law enforcement agencies to--
``(1) train civilian employees of the eligible entity on
civilian law enforcement tasks that can be performed on
behalf of a law enforcement agency; and
``(2) perform civilian law enforcement tasks on behalf of
the eligible entity.
``(b) Disciplinary Records.--
``(1) In general.--An eligible entity receiving a grant
under subsection (a) shall make a good faith effort to
determine whether a retired law enforcement officer seeking
to be hired by the eligible entity using amounts from a grant
under this part has a disciplinary record or an internal
investigation record by--
``(A) conducting a search of the National Decertification
Index; or
``(B) requesting the personnel record of the retired law
enforcement officer from each law enforcement agency that
employed the retired law enforcement officer.
``(2) Hiring determinations.--Before making any hiring
determination, the highest ranking law enforcement officer of
an eligible entity receiving a grant under subsection (a) or
a designee of that law enforcement officer shall review any
findings of misconduct that arise as a result of a search or
request conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).
``SEC. 3063. ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISIONS.
``(a) In General.--A grant awarded under this part shall be
subject to the accountability requirements of this section.
``(b) Audit Requirement.--
``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `unresolved
audit finding' means a finding in a final audit report of the
Inspector General of the Department of Justice that an
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.
``(2) Audits.--Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning
after the date of enactment of the Retired Law Enforcement
Officers Continuing Service Act, and in each fiscal year
thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of
Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of grants under
this part 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.
``(3) Mandatory exclusion.--A recipient of grant funds
under this part that is found to have an unresolved audit
finding shall not be eligible to receive grant funds under
this part during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after the
end of the 12-month period described in paragraph (1).
``(4) Priority.--In awarding grants under this part, the
Attorney General shall give priority to eligible entities
that did not have an unresolved audit finding during the 3
fiscal years before submitting an application for a grant
under this part.
``(c) Annual Certification.--Beginning in the fiscal year
during which audits commence under subsection (b)(2), 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--
``(1) indicating whether--
``(A) all audits issued by the Office of the Inspector
General of the Department of Justice under subsection (b)
have been completed and reviewed by the appropriate Assistant
Attorney General or Director; and
``(B) all mandatory exclusions required under subsection
(b)(3) have been issued; and
``(2) that includes a list of any grant recipients excluded
under subsection (b)(3) from the previous year.
``(d) Preventing Duplicative Grants.--
``(1) In general.--Before the Attorney General awards a
grant to an eligible entity under this part, 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.''.
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