[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1830
                       STOP BODY CAMERA PAYWALLS

  (Ms. TLAIB asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, we all know the public deserves full 
transparency when it comes to holding police accountable for 
misconduct. Instead, States and cities all across our country have 
started adopting new laws to charge the public hundreds of dollars in 
fees to view or access police body camera footage.
  These videos are public records and are essential for accountability 
and justice for victims of police violence. Putting this footage that 
should be publicly available behind a paywall makes achieving 
accountability much more difficult for our residents, especially those 
who won't be able to afford it, and they tend to be the ones more 
frequently abused by police.
  That is why I am introducing the Stop Body Camera Paywalls Act to 
prevent any State or unit of local government that creates a paywall 
for access to these public records from receiving Federal law 
enforcement grants.
  Again, we must make sure that we have transparency, especially when 
it comes to Federal law enforcement grants. This bill is a necessary 
step in a wider effort to end police impunity for abuses and ensure the 
utmost transparency, accountability, and justice for our communities.

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