[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H3370-H3372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CRIMINAL HISTORY ACCESS ACT OF 2026
Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 8352) to authorize peace officer standards and training
agencies to access criminal history records, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 8352
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 ``Criminal History Access Act
of 2026''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.
(a) Attorney General Duties.--Section 534 of title 28,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(4), by amending to read as follows:
``(4) exchange such records and information with, and for
the official use of, authorized officials of the Federal
Government, including the United States Sentencing
Commission, the States, including State sentencing
commissions and peace officer standards and training
agencies, Indian tribes, cities, and penal and other
institutions; and'';
(2) in subsection (e)--
(A) by striking ``section, the term'' and inserting the
following: ``section--
``(1) the term'';
(B) by striking ``(1) railroad'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) railroad'';
(C) by striking ``(2) police'' and inserting the following:
``(B) police'';
(D) by striking the period at the end and inserting a
semicolon; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) the term `peace officer standards and training
agency' means an agency of a State with the statutory
authority under State law to set standards for the hiring,
training, ethical conduct, and retention of the law
enforcement officers of the State through certification,
licensing, or other similar qualification process; and
``(3) the term `State' means each of the several States of
the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, the
[[Page H3371]]
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any
territory or possession of the United States.''.
(b) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall amend part
20 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, as necessary to
carry out the provisions of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Kansas (Mr. Schmidt) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kansas.
General Leave
Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 8352.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Kansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 8352 is a commonsense and bipartisan bill that
fixes a critical flaw in the Federal statute.
State peace officer standards and training agencies, or POSTs, are
responsible for certifying, licensing, and overseeing law enforcement
officers in their respective jurisdictions. All 50 States have some
form of a POST agency, although they go by different names.
More than 50,000 individuals apply each year for law enforcement
positions across the United States, and local, county, State, and
Tribal agencies submit these applicants to their respective State POST
agencies for certification.
It is our expectation that each of those men and women would be a
person of integrity and capable of upholding the position of public
trust, but we shouldn't just take an applicant's word for it. As
President Reagan might have said: ``Trust, but verify.''
Applicants voluntarily consent in writing to these background checks
when applying for employment to perform the duties of a law enforcement
officer, but current Federal law does not give POST agencies full
access to criminal history records contained within the FBI's CJIS
system. This can result in POST agencies having incomplete records when
deciding whether to certify a candidate for employment as law
enforcement.
This unnecessary barrier has resulted in candidates with
disqualifying convictions slipping through the cracks.
My own State of Kansas is currently dealing with an issue of an
officer with a disqualifying conviction who was hired by an agency
without performing the mandatory background criminal history check.
Since Kansas C-POST does not have the authority to run its own criminal
histories, it has to rely on the hiring agency's verification that the
applicant has met all the minimum requirements. That officer has been
working for more than 18 months with a disqualifying conviction.
Giving POST agencies this access is a commonsense step that
strengthens accountability and helps keep communities safe by
preventing individuals with disqualifying criminal history records from
entering or remaining in the profession.
I thank Chairman Jordan and my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee
for unanimously supporting this bill during our committee markup last
month. I thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms.
Ross), for her leadership in making this a bipartisan partnership and
effort, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8352, the bipartisan
Criminal History Access Act of 2026. I applaud my colleague, Mr.
Schmidt, for introducing this important bill and for working together
to get it through the Judiciary Committee.
Every State has its own standards for determining who may serve as a
State or local law enforcement officer. Those standards are set and
administered by a State board or agency. These peace officer standards
and training agencies, or POST agencies, are often also empowered to
certify individuals who may be hired as law enforcement officers, train
the potential officers, or assist with vetting other local law
enforcement personnel.
This bill would authorize State POST agencies to directly access
Federal criminal history records when vetting and certifying law
enforcement trainees and officers.
POST agencies are essentially the gatekeepers to the law enforcement
profession. Their job is to keep bad actors out. Over 50,000 people
apply for law enforcement positions across the country every year, and
applicants already sign off on disclosure of their criminal history
records as part of that process.
The problem is that current Federal law blocks most POST agencies
from accessing those records, so they end up relying on whatever the
hiring department shares with them. When disqualifying information gets
left out, POST agencies never see it, and someone who shouldn't be
certified may get certified.
This bill fixes this by amending 28 U.S.C. 534 to add POST agencies
to the list of entities authorized to receive Federal criminal history
records, the same access that law enforcement agencies already have.
This is a simple, no-cost fix to close this gap.
Again, I thank Congressman Schmidt for working with me in a
bipartisan manner to bring this issue to the committee's attention and
to propose a commonsense solution.
I thank the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement
Standards and Training for their technical expertise and assistance
with this legislation, which is also supported by the Major County
Sheriffs of America, the International Association of Chiefs of Police,
and the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1700
Mr. SCHMIDT. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Ms. ROSS. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am
prepared to close.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
This bill would provide a limited and logical extension of the
authority to share criminal history records so that those who help
screen law enforcement officers have the information they need to
maintain hiring standards.
As we observe National Police Week, I am pleased to support this
legislation that strengthens our law enforcement agencies and improves
public safety by ensuring that applicants are appropriately screened.
I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan
legislation, and I congratulate Congressman Schmidt on a fine bill.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SCHMIDT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, this week across America we honor the brave men and
women in law enforcement who work every day to protect and serve the
American public. In particular, we honor those who made the ultimate
sacrifice, whom we recognized in a resolution on this floor just a few
minutes ago.
A few weeks ago, I was honored to speak to the 355th Basic Training
Class of the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center which provides
basic training and continuation education for most of the law
enforcement officers in our State.
The auditorium at the training center where the graduation ceremony
is held is appropriately named Integrity Auditorium. Each graduate is
presented with a challenge coin that bears the phrase: ``Integrity is
the basis for community trust.''
This bill is about ensuring that all law enforcement officers across
our country are held to that standard of integrity and that
disqualifying prior criminal convictions are properly disclosed to the
appropriate State licensing agencies.
I want to thank the International Association of Directors of Law
Enforcement Standards and Training for bringing this issue to our
attention. I want to thank my colleague and friend Ms. Ross of North
Carolina for joining me in introducing this important bipartisan bill.
[[Page H3372]]
Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this
legislation, and, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Miller of Illinois). The question is on
the motion offered by the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Schmidt) that the
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 8352, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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