President Signs Executive Order to End Cashless Bail

On August 25, President Trump signed an Executive Order, Taking Steps to End Cashless Bail to Protect Americans, which ends the use of cashless bail in Washington, D.C. and ensures Federal policies and resources are not used to support cashless bail policies in jurisdictions across the nation.

States and localities have increasingly embraced bail reform and these efforts have been supported by millions of dollars in federal grant monies to help states and municipalities enact pre-trial release programs. These programs, which allow accused criminals to await their trial at home, rather than in jail, often serve repeat, dangerous criminals, with little oversight. This puts our officers and public safety at risk and has turned our justice system into a revolving door for violent offenders.

“The National Association of Police Organizations represents approximately 250,000 active, sworn law enforcement officers across the country and we have long been advocating against rash bail reform policies that harm public safety and do not reflect the input of the law enforcement community, which plays an integral role in the system,” stated NAPO President Mick McHale. “We applaud the President for continuing to have the backs of the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to serve and protect our communities and we look forward to working with the Administration on its implementation.”

NAPO will continue to work with the Administration to ensure state and local law enforcement officers across the country have access to the support and resources necessary to effectively serve and protect our communities.

NAPO Supports Inclusion of National Police Week Bill
Package in FY 2026 NDAA

NAPO continues our efforts to move the package of the eight bipartisan bills that were unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 15 in honor of National Police Week: Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act (S. 237), Improving Police Critical Aid for Responding to Emergencies (CARE) Act (S. 1595), Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act (S. 1563), the Strong Communities Act (S. 1316), the Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act (S. 180), the Reauthorizing STOIC Act (S. 419), the Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act (S. 911), and the PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act (S. 539).

We are supporting an effort by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Richard Durbin (D-IL) to attach the package of bills as an amendment to the Senate Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), S. Amdt. 3272, and joined in a joint law enforcement letter endorsing the amendment. The Senate is currently debating and voting on the NDAA, and we are urging Senators to vote in favor of this amendment.

If the amendment is approved as part of the final Senate version of the FY 2026 NDAA, we will have to work to ensure it survives the conference negotiations with the House, which passed its version of the NDAA on September 10. Congress cannot support law enforcement only during National Police Week – they must follow through on that support all year round and remember the sacrifices officers make day in and day out in the protection of our communities.

NAPO Supports Bill to Repeal D.C.’s Police Reform Law

NAPO pledged our support for the Common-Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability Now in DC (CLEAN DC) Act, H.R. 5107, sponsored by Congressman Andrew Clyde (R-GA). This bill would repeal the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act (CPJRAA), which was enacted by the Council of the District of Columbia on January 19, 2023. We supported Congressman Clyde’s nearly successful effort to repeal this law back in 2023, but it was vetoed by President Biden despite passing Congress in a bipartisan manner.

The CPJRAA has negatively impacted the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the City it serves. It stripped the men and women of the MPD of their right to bargain over accountability or disciplinary issues, creating substandard collective bargaining rights for the officers and setting them apart from their fellow public servants in the District, who are allowed to bargain over disciplinary issues.

Further, the CPJRAA undermines officers’ Constitutional rights, including the right to due process, a right we give to all citizens. Without guidelines and procedures to protect officers’ due process, officers are too often subjected to the whim of their departments or local politics during internal investigations and administrative hearings. The CPJRAA also violates officers’ right to privacy by disclosing officer disciplinary records, without regard to personal identifiable information, which risks putting officers and their families in harm’s way.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee marked up and approved the bill on September 10, sending it to the House floor for future consideration.

The CPJRAA has exacerbated the hiring and retention crisis the MPD continues to face, has negatively impacted officer morale, and sets a dangerous example for other cities. NAPO stands by Congressman Clyde’s efforts and looks forward to seeing this important bill signed into law.

National Blue Alert Advisory Committee Meets

The Blue Alert Advisory Group, of which NAPO is an original member, in conjunction with the Justice Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, convened on September 9 to discuss the Network’s continued work to establish Blue Alert systems in all 50 states. The COPS Acting Director Cory Randolph led the meeting.

Currently, eleven states and Washington, D.C. do not have Blue Alert networks. Getting Blue Alert plans up and running in all 50 states is a priority for NAPO as it ensures the National Blue Alert Network we fought so hard to get enacted as part of the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act works efficiently and effectively to protect officers from harm. The Act was named after NAPO members NYPD Officers Ramos and Liu, who were assassinated while sitting in their police cruiser on December 20, 2014.

The states that currently do not have active Blue Alert Networks are Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Legislation to create a Blue Alert plan is pending in Massachusetts, with NAPO member organization, the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, leading the push for the bill.

During the meeting, the Advisory Committee discussed the release of the COPS Office’s 2025 National Blue Alert Report to Congress, the Blue Alerts issued since the Advisory Committee last met, and the latest data on officers shot in the line of duty. Three Blue Alerts were issued over the past four months in Missouri, Alabama, and Texas that all resulted in the successful capture of the assailants.

As of September 9, in 2025, 229 officers have been shot in the line of duty, 31 of whom were killed. Of those shot, 66 officers were shot in 50 separate ambush attacks, a rise compared to the number of ambushes in 2024. Officers continue to face an increasingly dangerous environment as they work to serve and protect our communities, making the National Blue Alert Network a vital officer safety tool.

NAPO, together with the COPS Office, stand ready to work with stakeholders in these remaining states to help enact such legislation. If you are interested in receiving information and resources on how to establish a Blue Alert plan or you wish to participate in the state-level working group, please contact the NAPO Office at (703) 549-0775 or info@www.napo.org.

Best practices and other Blue Alert resources collected from around nation, including examples of legislation, policies, forms, and a directory of state Blue Alert officials can be found on the National Blue Alert Network website.

Public Safety Organizations Urge Congress to Expand Law Enforcement’s Counter-Drone Authority

NAPO joined fifteen national public safety associations in a letter calling on Congress to pass comprehensive legislation to give state and local agencies the authority to detect, track, identify, and mitigate drones that threaten public safety.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act on September 3, but this bill would only extend counter-unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) authorities to a select group of state and local law enforcement agencies participating in a limited pilot program. While we appreciate the Committee expanding counter-UAS authority to some state and local agencies, we are concerned that it is being done through such a narrow pilot program.  State and local law enforcement agencies across the country are hampered in their ability to protect public safety from all threats without this authority.

We are urging Congress to deliver lasting, scalable authority that empowers public safety agencies across all 50 states – not just a handful of test sites.

FY 2026 Federal Appropriations Update

The House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) spending measure on September 10. Funding for NAPO’s priority grant programs remain relatively stable compared with how these programs have been funded over the past several fiscal years, with no significant cuts to NAPO’s priority grant programs. This is a big win for us as the Republican-led Congress and the Administration work to substantially reduce federal spending.

The end of the fiscal year is swiftly approaching. Congress is set to take a one-week recess the week of September 22 in honor of Rosh Hashana, leaving only seven legislative days to fund the federal government before September 30. House and Senate appropriators are preparing to conference over the three appropriations bills both Chambers have managed to pass: the FY 2026 Agriculture, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs spending measures. With nine remaining bills that have not passed either chamber, Congress will have to pass a continuing resolution to buy lawmakers more time to make a deal. House Republican leaders are considering bringing a stop-gap spending bill to the floor as soon as next week to extend current spending levels through late November or early December.

It is yet to be seen if a straight-forward continuing resolution will be enough to fend off a government shutdown as Democrats are considering not voting for the measure if Republicans do not negotiate it with them in a bipartisan manner. Democrat votes will be necessary for any stop-gap bill to pass the Senate. A government shutdown would put a pause on all grant-making authorities and federal programs.

The House CJS spending measure makes no mention of the Administration’s move to merge the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) into the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), a move NAPO has serious concerns with. The Department of Justice started the process of merging COPS and the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) into OJP this week. Maintaining an independent COPS Office is a top priority for NAPO and we are urging Congressional appropriators to include language into the final CJS appropriations bill prohibiting the integration of the COPS Office into OJP. NAPO’s letters to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and to Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding our concerns with the merger can be found here and here.

NAPO continues to monitor our priority grant programs as the appropriations process moves forward.

Social Security Update: Tax Implications of
WEP & GPO Rebate Checks

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), every individual who was impacted by the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) has received the refund check that was due to them for the 2024 tax year, and current benefit amounts have been updated to reflect the repeal of these two provisions. 

The passage of the Social Security Fairness Act and the repeal of the WEP and GPO was a significant victory for NAPO, improving the retirement security of many of our members. Now that the refund checks have been issued, we want to remind retirees that Social Security benefits, including the refund checks, are considered taxable income like all Social Security benefits unless you earn less than $25,000 per year ($32,000 if filing jointly). The increased monthly benefit payments may also place you in a higher tax bracket.

As we enter the final quarter of the year, we do not want any retirees to be surprised by the taxes they could owe for 2025. Please consult a tax professional to answer any questions or get specifics regarding your tax liabilities.

DHS Announced New Reimbursement Program for Agencies Participating in 287(g) Program

On September 2, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new reimbursement program for state and local law enforcement agencies participating in the 287(g) immigration enforcement program.

The 287(g) Program provides participating law enforcement agencies with training, tools, and resources to enforce federal immigration laws while performing routine police duties. Starting October 1, 2025, participating agencies will have these new reimbursement opportunities to incentivize involvement in the program:

• ICE will fully reimburse participating agencies for the annual salary and benefits of each eligible trained 287(g) officer, including overtime coverage up to 25% of the officer’s annual salary.
• Law enforcement agencies will be eligible for quarterly monetary performance awards based on the successful location of illegal aliens provided by ICE and overall assistance to further ICE’s mission:
  • 90% – 100% – $1,000 per eligible task force officer
  • 80% – 89% – $750 per eligible task force officer
  • 70% – 79% – $500 per eligible task force officer

Find out more about the 287(g) Program here.