[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 19, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CRIMINAL HISTORY ACCESS ACT OF 2026

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. LUCY McBATH

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 12, 2026

  Mrs. McBATH. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8352, the 
Criminal History Access Act of 2026. This legislation would improve the 
vetting of state and local law enforcement officers, and I thank 
Congressman Schmidt and Congresswoman Ross for working together to 
craft a straightforward. bipartisan bill.
  The public counts on our law enforcement agencies to set a high 
standard for who may become a law enforcement officer. Each state uses 
a peace officer standards and training agency, or POST agency, to help 
set the standards and training requirements that a person must meet in 
order to be eligible to be hired and determine whether candidates 
actually meet those requirements. Under current law, law enforcement 
agencies can access the criminal history records of those who apply to 
be law enforcement officers, but POST agencies cannot. This means that 
POST agencies must rely on the hiring agency to pass along information 
about a person's criminal history which might disqualify them from 
service. This creates an opportunity for mistakes. Those who work on 
this issue regularly have told us that candidates with disqualifying 
criminal histories have been hired as law enforcement officers when 
they should not have.
  This bill would provide another check against this problem by 
allowing POST agencies to access criminal history records, which they 
can use as they assist in vetting and certifying state and local law 
enforcement officers.
  This bill is supported by several law enforcement focused 
organizations, including the International Association of Directors of 
Law Enforcement Standards and Training, the Major County Sheriffs 
Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and 
Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies.
  I support this targeted bill to improve the vetting of law 
enforcement officers which will in turn promote trust and improve 
public safety.