[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 82 (Thursday, May 14, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2314-S2315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

  Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, as we all know, this week is 
National Police Week. This is the time when we honor the brave men and 
women who put their lives on the line every single day to keep our 
families safe.
  This week is especially meaningful because, here in DC, we honored 
North Las Vegas police officer Jason Roscow, who died in the line of 
duty last year, and he will be memorialized on the National Law 
Enforcement Officers Memorial wall.
  Officer Roscow was an Air Force veteran who helped keep the North Las 
Vegas community safe for 17 years. He was described as a friend and a 
mentor to other members of the department. We will forever be grateful 
for his sacrifice, and he will be dearly missed.
  Law enforcement officers like Jason Roscow risk their lives every day 
to protect our communities, and while we recognize that service 
throughout the year, National Police Week is an opportunity to express 
our gratitude.
  For me, supporting law enforcement is personal. My husband is a 
retired law enforcement officer, and I have seen firsthand the 
sacrifices that our officers and their families make so our families 
feel safe at home. That is why I have worked with my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle to champion legislation to support police officers 
across the country.
  In December, my bipartisan law enforcement bill with Senator Mitch 
McConnell of Kentucky was signed into law. This legislation will ensure 
the families of retired law enforcement officers who were killed as a 
result of their service are not denied benefits. The law is called the 
Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act, named after a retired police officer in 
Kentucky who was tragically shot and killed by a man he had arrested a 
decade earlier. Chief Proffitt's family was denied the benefits they 
deserved because he had already retired. That is unacceptable, and that 
is why I am so proud that this bill to correct that mistake was signed 
into law.
  I have also advanced some important law enforcement legislation just 
this week. On Tuesday, my bipartisan bill to fight retail theft passed 
the House of Representatives. As of 2024, organized retail crime cost 
retailers $720,000 for every billion dollars in sales. That is up 50 
percent since 2015. We are seeing criminals become more aggressive and 
violent while they are stealing from our stores. They are putting both 
customers and employees at risk as well. It is dangerous, it is 
damaging the trust between retailers and shoppers, and it has to stop.
  That is why I was thrilled to see momentum on the Combating Organized 
Retail Crime Act, which I introduced with Senator Chuck Grassley of 
Iowa, who has been a great partner. This legislation would create an 
office within the Department of Homeland Security where Federal, State, 
and local law enforcement agencies can coordinate with retail and 
supply chain industry representatives to curb this organized theft. It 
would also help create new tools to help investigators and prosecutors 
crack down on these criminals. This is a critical bill that will not 
only create a safer environment for shoppers but will actually help 
lower costs for consumers. Now that it has passed the House, I urge my 
colleagues in the Senate to take it up for a vote.
  I was also proud to see my Tribal Warrant Fairness Act pass out of 
the Judiciary Committee this week. I have spent my career in the Senate 
working to end the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women 
and children. Tribal communities experience some of the highest rates 
of violence in the United States, especially against women and 
children, and yet Tribal law enforcement agencies just don't have 
access to the same resources other police departments have.
  A glaring example of this is that the U.S. Marshals Service is not 
authorized to help Tribal police departments in locating dangerous 
criminals or finding missing children. It is a cruel and unnecessary 
injustice that both Democrats and Republicans agree needs to change. 
That is what the Tribal Warrant Fairness Act does. It grants the U.S. 
Marshals Service the same authority to assist Tribal law enforcement, 
when they request it, as it has to assist any other law enforcement 
agency.
  Now that this legislation has passed out of the Judiciary Committee, 
it is one step closer to becoming law. I am going to keep pushing to 
get it to the President's desk for signature.
  And then finally, earlier this week, the Senate unanimously passed a 
bill that Senator Lindsey Graham and I worked on and introduced, which 
is the Medal of Sacrifice Act. This bill creates a new Presidential 
award to posthumously honor law enforcement officers and other first 
responders who were killed in the line of duty.

[[Page S2315]]

  Our officers work hard every single day to service our communities, 
to keep them safe, and their sacrifices deserve the highest possible 
recognition. The House has also passed this bill, and I look forward to 
the President signing it into law.
  Our work here is never done when it comes to making sure our law 
enforcement agencies and officers have the resources that they need, 
but during this National Police Week, we made a lot of important 
progress. The legislation we passed this week will make a difference 
not just to our police officers but to communities and families across 
the country. And let me just say, when we made progress, that was 
bipartisan progress in this body.
  I will always proudly stand with the men and women who serve as law 
enforcement officers, and I thank them for their service.

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