view pdfRegister Today for NAPO’s Annual Lobby Day & Legislative Luncheon
Don’t miss the opportunity tojoin NAPO on May 14th for our Annual Lobby Day & LegislativeLuncheon on Capitol Hill. This is a great opportunity to lobby CongressionalRepresentatives, Senators, and their staffs, on behalf of your membersconcerning the issues which affect law enforcement officers and their families,their safety, working conditions, and retirement. Prior to lobbying CapitolHill, plan to attend NAPO’s Legislative Breakfast for an update on NAPO’slegislative priorities, results to date from the 119th Congress, andto receive handouts to use during your Hill visits.
Please Register online or complete the attached registration form and return toNAPO at aedmiston@napo.orgor eloranger@napo.org by MAY 1, 2026.
If you want assistance setting up your Capitol Hill meetings, contact NAPO’sDirector of Government Affairs, Andy Edmiston, nolater than May 1 at aedmiston@napo.org or (703) 549-0775.
The registration fee of $150.00 per person includes the Legislative Update Breakfast, handouts for your Congressional visits, and the Legislative Luncheon. Advanced Registration is required. Please contact Elizabeth Loranger, NAPO’s Director of Events, at (800) 322-6278 or eloranger@napo.org if you have any questions regarding registration or hotel arrangements.
May 14th will be here before you know it. Register today!
NAPO Submits Comments on Proposed Rule to Improve PBM Fee Transparency
NAPO submitted written comments on the proposed rule from the Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration on “Improving Transparency into Pharmacy Benefit Manager Fee Disclosure”. The rule stems from President Trump’s Executive Orders “Making America Healthy Again by Empowering Patients with Clear, Accurate, and Actionable Healthcare Pricing Information” and “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First” that are aimed at increasing transparency and lowering drug prices, which are critical steps toward a more accountable and affordable healthcare system.
The proposed transparency rule reflects NAPO’s feedback to the Administration on its efforts to improve group health plan fiduciary transparency into the direct and indirect compensation received by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). While this rule is a significant step in the right direction, we believe there is an opportunity for it to go further and require transparency across the entire group health plan, not just the pharmaceutical portion.
Out-of-pocket health care costs are skyrocketing for Americans, and many are faced with unexpected and unaffordable medical payments for treatments and prescription drugs. Something must be done about the rising costs of healthcare, and the struggle Americans go through when trying to get affordable care for themselves and their loved ones. With better transparency, and unfettered access to plan data, we will be able to deliver higher quality healthcare, reduce unnecessary costs, and reinvest those savings in ways that truly matter—such as higher wages, expanded benefits, and long-term job growth.
We are encouraging the Employee Benefits Security Administration to expand its proposed fiduciary transparency requirements to the entire group health plan. Doing so will better equip plan sponsors to manage costs, protect plan assets, and deliver high-quality, affordable benefits to the law enforcement officers and families we represent.
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Bill to Combat Illicit Xylazine
In a win for NAPO, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, S. 545, sponsored by Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), on March 26, advancing it to the full Senate. NAPO sent a letter to the Committee on March 16 urging their support and quick approval of the bill.
Xylazine, a common pharmaceutical drug used in veterinary care, is increasingly contributing to the opioid crisis that plagues our nation’s communities. A drug that is meant for sedation and anesthesia in horses and cows has followed the trend of fentanyl and is being used as an additive to illicit drugs. Xylazine is now found in more than a third of all fentanyl powder tested by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – up from 12 percent in 2021 to over 37 percent at the end of 2024.
This drug has serious and deadly consequences and there is currently no approved drug to reverse its effects on humans. The Combating Illicit Xylazine Act would classify xylazine as a Schedule III drug, invoking penalties on those who choose to illegally use and distribute the drug, giving law enforcement the tools necessary to fight the spread of this deadly poison in our communities. We are urging the Senate to take up and pass the bill as soon as possible.
House Committee Approves FirstNet Reauthorization Bill
The House Energy and Commerce Committee amended and approved the First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act (H.R. 7386), sponsored by Representatives Neal Dunn (R-FL) and Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), which would reauthorize the FirstNet Authority. During the runup to the Committee markup, NAPO sent a letter to Committee leadership outlining our priorities for reauthorization and our primary concerns with the legislation.
During the markup, Rep. McClellan offered an amendment, which lawmakers consider a compromise between those calling for wholesale change to how FirstNet is run and those who are calling for a permanent reauthorization of the public safety broadband network without amendment. While NAPO appreciates the step in the right direction, the amended bill approved by the Committee does not fully address our concerns.
Currently, FirstNet is an independent agency within the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The original bill would have made all FirstNet actions subject to NTIA approval except for a predetermined list of actions that NTIA would decide do not need prior approval. Rep. McClellan’s amendment would allow FirstNet to determine its own strategic priorities and budget as well as deploy emergency resources without NTIA approval, which is important, but it also increases NTIA’s authority over the FirstNet Board, limiting its independence.
The amendment also expands the FirstNet Authority Board to ensure active-duty public safety professionals have a stronger voice and representation, which NAPO supports.
The amended bill would still increase the administrative burdens on FirstNet and make it a less independent body, which we believe could be detrimental to the responsiveness and effectiveness of the network. We will continue to work with the bill’s sponsors to ensure FirstNet maintains a significant level of autonomy with a strong Board that has the authority to make decisions to protect and expand the public safety network.
NAPO on the Hill: National Police Week Priorities
Together with our national law enforcement partners, NAPO continues to push a slate of pro-law enforcement bills for Congress to move during this year’s National Police Week. We met with majority and minority staff of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and put forward our list of legislation that would protect officers, enhance recruitment and retention efforts, and improve resources for officer mental health and wellness.
Specifically, we discussed the need for legislation to enhance officer safety by increasing penalties for the murder, attempted murder, or assault of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, the LEOSA Reform Act, legislation to address officer mental health and wellness, and the Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansbro Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program Expansion Act, amongst others.
There are two bills being considered that would enhance resources available for officer mental health and wellness programs: the Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act and the Fighting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Act. The Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act, which passed the House last year during National Police Week, would build on existing reporting requirements to increase our understanding of the circumstances precipitating and involving ambush-style attacks against law enforcement. The Fighting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Act would direct the Justice Department to develop treatment programs for police, fire, emergency medical and 911 personnel who suffer from PTSD or acute stress disorders.
The LEOSA Reform Act would ensure the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) is more fairly and broadly implemented. The bill would expand the areas qualified, current or retired, officers are allowed to carry a firearm, including on state, local and private property otherwise open to the public, and in certain federal facilities. Furthermore, it would allow qualified officers and retired officers to carry an ammunition magazine of any capacity that is not prohibited by federal law. Importantly, it will reform qualifications standards to alleviate undue burdens for those carrying under LEOSA.
The Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansbro Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) Program Expansion Act would make vital changes to the PSOB Program to increase transparency and accountability and ensure the Program honors and supports officers and their families who have sacrificed so much in service to their communities.
Once we get agreement from both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on what bills they are willing to take up, we will meet with House and Senate leadership and Senate and members of the House Judiciary Committee to gain support for our efforts to move these important bills during National Police Week.
Don’t Miss Your Chance to Be a Law Enforcement Sponsor of TOP COPS
The deadline to submit your sponsorship is April 16
We hope you will help us this year in honoring America’s Finest at the Thirty-Third Annual TOP COPS Awards®, which will take place on Tuesday, May 12. We will be presenting the TOP COP Awards® at a Reception and Dinner at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
To support our efforts in producing a deserving tribute, we are asking all NAPO members to please consider becoming a Law Enforcement Organization Sponsor. We are offering several sponsorship levels, which are listed on the attached form.
To support this year’s TOP COPS Awards® please return the attached sponsorship form to NAPO by April 16, 2026.
We hope you will be able to join us in Washington, D.C. to honor these outstanding men and women. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact NAPO’s Director of Events, Elizabeth Loranger, at (800) 322-6276 or eloranger@napo.org with any questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing you in May!
President Releases Proposed FY 2027 Budget
On April 3, President Trump released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 despite the fact that the Department of Homeland Security remains shut down and is still not fully funded for fiscal 2026. The budget proposal includes funding requests for NAPO’s priority grant programs within the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security (DOJ, DHS).
The budget reiterates the Administration’s proposal to merge the COPS Program into the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), which oversees the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Byrne-JAG, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) Grant Program, the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP), and the PSOB Office, amongst other vital law enforcement assistance programs. It also calls for the integration of the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW), the Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ), and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program into OJP. The purpose is to consolidate all of DOJ’s state and local law enforcement assistance programs and bureaus under one office, to be renamed the Bureau of Justice Grants. NAPO has opposed this consolidation, particularly the merger of COPS and HIDTA into OJP, since it was originally proposed last year and has attempted to work with the Administration to maintain the independence of these vital programs.
The FY 2027 budget requests $426 million for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) Program, with carveouts for programs including $13 million for the VALOR Program and $20 million for the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program. The budget also proposes $30 million for the BVP Grant Program, $37 million for JMHCP, $110 million in total for the STOP School Violence Grant programs, and provides no funding for the BJA Body Worn Camera Grant Program.
For the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program, the President’s budget proposes $303.2 million, of which $256.2 million is allocated for the COPS Hiring Program with a carve out of $10 million for the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) and the Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis (STOIC) Act programs. It also provides $12 million for the POLICE Act program for office active-shooter training. The budget proposal makes no mention of the National Blue Alert Network, which is run by the COPS Office, and zeroes out the COPS anti-meth and anti-heroin task force programs as well as the Collaborative Reform Program.
The President’s FY 2027 budget requests for Byrne JAG and the COPS Program are well below what he requested last fiscal year and significantly lower than what Congress appropriated for them in FY 2026.
For the important Department of Homeland Security grants, the budget proposal requests $351 million for the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) and $415.5 for the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and imposes a new 25 percent non-federal cost match on each program.
NAPO led the charge with Congressional appropriators and staff throughout the Fiscal 2026 appropriations process to protect the independence of the COPS Office and in a significant victory we were able to secure language in the FY 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) spending measure directing the DOJ to maintain the COPS Office as “a distinct organizational grantmaking entity within the Department”. We sent a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees thanking them for safeguarding and continuing an independent COPS Office within the Department and for their longstanding support for our nation’s law enforcement community.
Despite this language, the Administration seems intent on the merger, and we will work with Congressional appropriators again to secure stronger language to ensure COPS and HIDTA remain independent programs.
The President’s Fiscal 2027 Budget represents the President’s fiscal priorities, but it is Congress that decides the final appropriations for Fiscal 2027. NAPO is working with Congress to ensure we secure significant funding levels for all our priority grant programs.
NAPO Announces New Member Benefit:
Smarter by 1 Degree
NAPO is excited to announce that our members can receive an education benefit through our newest sponsor, Smarter by 1 Degree (SB1D). SB1D offers law enforcement a fast, efficient, affordable bachelor's degree. This benefit is offered to NAPO members to provide a supported path to leadership opportunities, career advancement, and long-term success.
The mission at Smarter by 1 Degree is to provide quality education while saving time and money for first responders. Traditional college classes require lectures, expensive textbooks, homework, assignments, discussion posts, and group projects. Smarter by 1 Degree uses strategy, innovation, and technology to deliver the most efficient pathway for earning a bachelor’s degree.
This SB1D education benefit provides your members with:
• An accredited Bachelor of Business Administration Degree
• Total Degree Cost of $7995 (savings of 80% through SB1D)
• Acceptance of Academy training up to 40 college credits
• Tuition reimbursement, military benefits, & FAFSA payments accepted
• Self-paced, online, short video lessons to learn anytime, anywhere
• No homework, no busywork, no textbooks, and no wasted time
• SB1D Benefit extended to family members
To further support rollout, Smarter by 1 Degree provides a complete launch package for your members including:
✔ Flyers – please see attachments that can be shared with your members
✔ Law Enforcement Landing Page
✔ Free Transcript Evaluation to Maximize Credits
✔ Free Consultation to Answer Questions
For more information and to register for a free webinar, head to napo.sb1d.com.
Contact information for Smarter by 1 Degree
Janine Deems, Founder & CEO
Phone: 602-325-330