[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 142 (Friday, August 29, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE FEDERAL POLICE CAMERA AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 
                                  2025

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 29, 2025

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I, along with Representative Donald S. Beyer 
Jr., introduce the Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act of 
2025. This bill would require federal law enforcement officers to wear 
body cameras and marked federal law enforcement vehicles to have 
dashboard cameras. It would also require the Government Accountability 
Office to conduct a study on federal law enforcement officers' 
training, vehicle pursuits, use of force and interaction with the 
public. In the 116th and 117th Congresses, the House passed this bill 
as part of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
  Cameras can increase transparency, strengthen public trust and even 
deter criminal behavior. With the surge of federal law enforcement 
officers in the District of Columbia this month, this bill has become 
even more important.
  We first introduced this bill after Bijan Ghaisar was fatally shot on 
November 17, 2017, in his car by U.S. Park Police officers in Fairfax 
County, Virginia, after a vehicle pursuit on the George Washington 
Memorial Parkway. Video of this shooting only became available through 
a camera in a Fairfax County Police Department patrol car that was 
providing backup. Had it not been for that footage, which was recorded 
and released by that local police department, the public would not have 
had access to the circumstances surrounding Mr. Ghaisar's death. 
Moreover, the footage revealed concerns about the Park Police's pursuit 
and engagement policies.
  Body and dashboard cameras for federal law enforcement officers are 
particularly important for the officers stationed in D.C., where the 
Park Police and the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division have full 
local police powers. Many other federal law enforcement agencies also 
have local police powers near their respective agency buildings in D.C.
  In 2022, President Biden issued an executive order (E.O.) requiring 
federal law enforcement agencies to use body cameras. President Trump 
rescinded this E.O.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

                          ____________________