
Last Chance to Submit TOP COP Nominations
Get your TOP COP nominations in by January 21
With so many examples of outstanding police work that occurred in 2024, do not let this chance slip by to nominate an officer(s) for this prestigious award. We count on you, our members, to help us get the word about TOP COPS out and obtain nominations for officers nationwide. Join us in honoring America’s Finest by nominating a case by January 21. The nomination form can be faxed to (703) 684-0515 . If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact NAPO’s Director of Events, Elizabeth Loranger, at eloranger@napo.org or (703) 549–0775.
2025 will mark the 32nd year that NAPO has hosted the TOP COPS Awards®. The TOP COP Awards® Dinner will take place May 12, 2025, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, again coinciding with National Police Week.
Social Security Fairness Act Signed into Law
On January 5, 2025, President Biden signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), which restores the Social Security benefits of millions of public servants by fully repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). This historic victory is the culmination of over 30 years of NAPO efforts to repeal the GPO and WEP.
“After more than two decades of working to address the unfairness of the WEP and the GPO, I am proud to see these provisions finally repealed,” said Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), the sponsor of this important legislation. “With the Social Security Fairness Act now signed, law enforcement officers and their families can rest assured that the retirement benefits they earned through years protecting and serving their communities will no longer be unfairly reduced. I want to thank the National Association of Police Organizations for your years of tireless advocacy on this issue


NAPO at the White House, January 5, 2025. On Left: NAPO President Mick McHale, Executive Director Bill Johnson, Senator Susan Collins, & NJSBPA President Peter Andreyev. On Right: MPPOA Dep. Dir. David Titus, Johnson, McHale, Andreyev, former-Rep. Abigail Spanberger, & OPBA Board Member George Sakellakis
NAPO thanks Senator Collins and former-Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), for their longstanding efforts to restore the retirement security of our nation’s public servants. Without their steadfast partnership and leadership, this victory would not be possible.
At this time, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is evaluating how to implement H.R. 82 and will provide more information on their website, ssa.gov, as soon as it is available. If you are already entitled, you do not need to take any action at this time. If you are receiving a public pension and are now interested in filing for benefits, you may file online at ssa.gov or schedule an appointment. NAPO is working with the Social Security Administration on quick implementation of H.R. 82 and will update our members on the status of the restoration of their Social Security benefits.
Please see our Frequently Asked Questions for more information and monitor NAPO’s website, www.napo.org, and Facebook page: National Association of Police Organizations, and follow us on X at NAPOpolice for breaking news and updates.
If you have any questions about the Social Security Fairness Act and its implementation, please contact NAPO’s Director of Governmental Affairs, Andy Edmiston, at aedmiston@napo.org or (703) 549-0775.
NAPO Priorities: 118th Congress in Review
While the 118th Congress was challenging, NAPO was successful in moving several of our legislative and policy priorities forward, including achieving a significant victory with the enactment of the Social Security Fairness Act. As the 119th Congress begins, we will take a moment to reflect on and highlight the wins and achievements accomplished over the past two years.
NAPO Priority Legislation Signed into Law
Social Security Fairness Act. This Act restores the Social Security benefits of millions of public servants by fully repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act. This Act was included as part of the Fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2670) and will help to close the impending funding shortfall facing the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) by providing an additional $444 million over the next ten years. It also provides $232 million for the newly created Pentagon and Shanksville Fund to cover active-duty Department of Defense military or civilians, along with other Federal employees, who responded to the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania sites on September 11, 2001.
Joint Resolution Disapproving of the Action of the District of Columbia Council in Approving the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022. This Joint Resolution revoked the District of Columbia’s (D.C) Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, which would have lowered penalties for the crimes most impacting the City and its residents, including carjacking, illegal firearm possession, and robbery, and it would have eliminated almost all mandatory minimum sentences at a time when D.C.’s violent crime rate is soaring. It also would have significantly changed the law of self-defense for law enforcement officers and considerably constrain an officer’s ability to protect themselves and the public when confronted with imminent death.
Recruit and Retain Act. This Act boosts recruitment opportunities for state and local law enforcement agencies by expanding the Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program to help agencies that are understaffed and struggling to attract new applicants. It also creates a new program to encourage partnerships between schools and police departments to foster a stronger local pipeline for law enforcement careers.
Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act. This Act imposes sanctions on foreign persons involved in fentanyl trafficking and codify existing sanctions targeting illicit drug trafficking established under President Trump’s Executive Order 14509. That EO authorizes the Department of the Treasury to seize assets and block transactions of any foreign persons who engage in or support those who engage in illicit drug trafficking.
DETECT Fentanyl and Xylazine Act. This Act creates a new statutory responsibility for the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to carry out research and development to improve the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of drug detection equipment and reference libraries used by federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to identify unknown substances.
Project Safe Childhood Act. This Act reauthorizes and updates the Project Safe Childhood initiative to modernize how online child exploitation crimes are investigated and prosecuted and it makes improvements to how federal prosecutors and federal, state, and local law enforcement work together and use new technology to go after predators. It reauthorizes the program for five years at $62 million per year.
NAPO Priority Legislation Passed by the House or the Senate
Joint Resolution Disapproving of the Action of the District of Columbia Council in Approving the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act of 2022. Passed the House on April 19, 2023, passed by the Senate on May 16, 2023, and then vetoed by the President on May 25, 2023. This Joint Resolution would have revoked the District of Columbia’s (D.C.) Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act, which stripped the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department of their right to bargain over accountability or disciplinary issues, amongst many other concerning provisions.
Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) Fentanyl Act. Passed by the House on May 25, 2023. This bill would make permanent the current classwide scheduling of all fentanyl-related substances as Schedule 1 drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, giving law enforcement the tools and resources necessary to combat and deter fentanyl in our nation’s communities.
Project Safe Neighborhoods Reauthorization Act of 2023. Passed by the Senate on July 26, 2023. This bill would reauthorize the Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) Program for five years, ensuring that state and local law enforcement can continue to fight gang and firearms-related violent crimes in our cities and our communities in the most efficient and effective manner. It also expands the allowable uses of the grant funding to include overtime costs for officers and the hiring of crime analysts and law enforcement assistants to aid agencies participating in the program.
Strong Communities Act. Passed by the Senate on July 26, 2023. This bill would allow for COPS Hiring Program funds to be used to pay for local law enforcement recruits to attend schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve in the communities in which they live.
American Law Enforcement Sustaining Aid and Vital Emergency Resources (SAVER) Act. Passed by the Senate on November 29, 2023. This bill would establish baseline standards for trauma kits purchased through the Department of Justice’s Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) Program, helping to ensure all officers have access to effective trauma kits that can save lives.
Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. Passed by the House on December 11, 2023. This bill would require hospitals, insurance companies, labs, imaging providers, and ambulatory surgical centers to publicly list the prices they charge patients, empowering patients to make educated choices on the treatment and services available. It would also provide for transparency in prescription drug costs to ensure patients and employer-sponsored health plans know the true cost of drugs and can get the best deal available.
Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety Through Data Act. Passed by the House on May 15, 2024. This billwould build on existing reporting requirements and fill data gaps to increase our understanding of the circumstances precipitating and involving ambush-style attacks against law enforcement. It would also require a report on the stresses and mental health toll these assaults have on officers and the extent to which mental health and wellness programs provided are meeting the needs of officers.
LEOSA Reform Act. Passed by the House on May 16, 2024. This bill would expand the areas qualified current or retired officers are allowed to carry a firearm, including on a Gun Free School Zone; on state, local and private property otherwise open to the public; and in certain federal facilities. 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 would reform qualifications standards to alleviate undue burdens for those carrying under LEOSA.
SHIELD Act. Passed the Senate on July 10, 2024. This bill would narrowly establish federal criminal liability for individuals who share private, explicit images without consent. While more than 40 states have enacted statutes in this area, federal intervention is necessary to provide complete and consistent coverage across state lines.
Reauthorizing Support and Treatment for Officers in Crisis Act. Passed the Senate on August 1, 2024. This bill would reauthorize the Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis (STOIC) Act, which provides essential grant funding for law enforcement support services, including the establishment of suicide-prevention programs and mental health services and supports for law enforcement officers and their families.
TAKE IT DOWN Act. Passed the Senate on December 3, 2024. This bill would establish federal liability for those who generate and distribute deepfake intimate and explicit images, giving law enforcement needed tools to bring justice to the victims of these crimes.
Invest to Protect Act. Passed the Senate on December 17, 2024. This bill would create a broad grant program through the Department of Justice (DOJ) specifically for small state, local or tribal law enforcement agencies that will give them resources to help them train their officers, implement or expand body-worn camera programs, provide mental health resources for their officers, and retain and hire officers. A small agency is defined as one that employs fewer than 200 law enforcement officers.
NAPO is already working on getting these important bills reintroduced in the new 119th Congress and it is our priority to see them all signed into law this Congress.
Additional NAPO Victories
Federal Court Upholds New Jersey’s Daniel’s Law. On November 27, 2024, a federal court judge ruled that New Jersey’s Daniel’s Law is constitutional. NAPO member organization, the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, pushed for the enactment of Daniel’s Law, which prohibits the disclosure of the residential addresses of active and retired state court judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers on websites controlled by New Jersey state, county, and local government agencies.
NAPO filed an amicus brief in support of Daniel’s Law, urging the Court to reject the argument that Daniel’s Law is unconstitutional on its face. We view the protection of officers’ private information as a vital officer safety measure as officers and their families have been doxed and violently targeted due to their work. This is a significant victory in the fight to safeguard the lives of officers and their families and highlights the importance of protections like Daniel’s Law.
Defeated Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act. NAPO’s efforts to defeat the Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act (FANFSA) culminated in the Senate on April 19, 2024. In a 31-61 vote, the Senate resoundingly rejected Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) amendment to attach the House-passed FANFSA to FISA Reauthorization. The enactment of FANFSA would have produced significant public safety consequences by restricting law enforcement access to critical investigative information that is utilized every day to combat serious crimes.
NAPO’s Legislative Scorecard for the 118th Congress
Find out how your representatives and senators voted on NAPO’s priority legislation by reviewing NAPO’s Legislative Scorecard for the 118th Congress (2023-2024), which is available on our website under Washington Report. The results include all recorded votes that impacted NAPO’s members during the 118th Congress. The Legislative Scorecard includes a description of the votes analyzed and NAPO’s stance on each of the votes as well as spreadsheets detailing how Members of Congress voted on each of our priority bills.
In addition to the roll call votes, NAPO had several legislative victories that were passed by voice vote or by unanimous consent, which does not record how each individual senator voted for the legislation. The purpose of this document is to only track yea/nay votes in order that we can attribute support or opposition to senators on NAPO’s priority legislation and analyze their support for our positions in a meaningful way.
To get a fuller picture of individual representative’s and senator’s support for our issues, please see our Sponsor/Cosponsor spreadsheet. This is a useful tool to check if your Members of Congress supported pieces of legislation that have been introduced that will impact our members.
119th Congress Kicks Off
The 119th Congress kicked off to a start on January 3, 2025. While much drama was expected around the election of the Speaker of the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was able to hold on to the position in just one round of votes. House Republicans hold only a one vote majority until April when three additional members of Congress will be appointed to fill in vacancies caused by the resignation of Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Representatives Mike Waltz (R-FL) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) being tapped to join the Trump Administration. In the Senate, Republicans hold a three-seat majority.
Congress is starting with a strong focus on immigration, with the House passing the Laken Riley Act and the House passing the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act. The Laken Riley Act would mandate that illegal immigrants arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting be detained by the Department of Homeland Security and it authorizes state attorneys general to sue the federal government for alleged failures of immigration enforcement. The Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act would make illegal immigrants who commit sex offenses, as defined by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, inadmissible and deportable. The House is set to take up the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act, the NAPO-supported Protect Our Law Enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement (POLICE) Act, and the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act in the coming weeks. All of these bills passed the House but stalled in the Senate in the 118th Congress.
The Senate is currently considering the House-passed Laken Riley Act, with one amendment from Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) being adopted so far in debate. Senator Cornyn’s amendment, adopted with a 70-25 vote, added to the list of deportable offenses the assault of a law enforcement officer, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person.
Additionally, in the Senate, confirmation hearings for President-elect Trump’s nominees have begun. The Senate Judiciary Committee held two days of confirmation hearings for Pam Bondi, President Trump’s nominee to be Attorney General, on January 15 and 16. Senator Marco Rubio’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be the next Secretary of State was also held on January 15. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee reviewed Governor Kristi Noem’s nomination for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security during a hearing on January 16. NAPO endorsed all three nominees (Noem letter, Bondi letter, Rubio letter).
NAPO is meeting with Members of Congress, Senators, and their staff to discuss our priorities for the 119th Congress and push to have our key pieces of legislation reintroduced.
NAPO-Backed Bills Reintroduced
As the 119th Congress gets underway, legislation NAPO supported in the 118th Congress is starting to be reintroduced, including the Thin Blue Line Act, the Qualified Immunity Act, the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act, the Prevent Family Fire Act, and the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
Thin Blue Line Act. NAPO priority legislation, the Thin Blue Line Act, was reintroduced by Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). This important bill would increase penalties on those who harm or target for harm public safety officers by making the murder or attempted murder of a local police officer, firefighter, or first responder an aggravating factor in death penalty determinations in federal court. This would be applicable whether they were targeted or murdered on duty, because of the performance of their duty, or because of their status as a public official. The only requirement is that the homicide provide federal jurisdiction.
This bill is critical, as law enforcement officer assaults, particularly ambush assaults, have increased sharply in recent years. According to a May 2024 report from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), 378 officers were shot in the line of duty in 2023, of which 46 officers died from their injuries. 138 of those officers were shot and 20 died in 115 separate ambushes or premeditated, calculated assaults. While the number of officers dying from their injuries may be decreasing, the number of officers being targeted for violence remains persistently high.
Establishing stricter penalties for those who harm or target for harm law enforcement officers will deter violent crime. Any persons contemplating harming an officer must know that they will face serious punishments. NAPO strongly believes that increased penalties make important differences in the attitudes of criminals toward public safety officers and ensure protection for the community.
The Qualified Immunity Act. NAPO continues to the Qualified Immunity Act, reintroduced by Senator Jim Banks (R-IN). Qualified immunity is an important protection for the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities. This legislation recognizes that Courts have repeatedly noted that the doctrine does not shield the inept or willfully blind but does protect law enforcement officers from attempts to impose “after-the-fact” liability for actions that no reasonable official could have known were unlawful at the time. By codifying the Supreme Court’s doctrine of qualified immunity, the Qualified Immunity Act will ensure that actual violations of known rights are addressed, while those officers who perform their duties reasonably are shielded from baseless lawsuits. We thank Senator Banks for his continued efforts to safeguard officers’ legal protections and look forward to working with him to pass this important bill.
Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act. Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Congressman David Kustoff (R-TN) reintroduced the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act. This bill would expand the federal criminal hoax statute to specifically prohibit “swatting” hoaxes through which false information about a crime is reported to law enforcement with the intent of eliciting an emergency response at a target address. It would also impose strict penalties for swatting, including up to 20 years in prison if someone is seriously hurt because of a swatting attack.
Swatting calls are on the rise and are used to harass and intimidate the victims. These calls are not only a serious waste of resources, but they also put the officers and any innocent people at the scene of the fake incident in a dangerous and difficult situation. Stricter penalties act as a deterrent, and we thank Senators Scott, Tuberville, and Rounds and Congressman Kustoff for introducing this important legislation.
Prevent Family Fire Act. Representatives Mike Levin (D-CA), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), and Young Kim (R-CA) reintroduced the Prevent Family Fire Act. This bill would create a new tax credit for retailers to incentivize the sale of safe storage devices for firearms. The tax credit would be equal to 10 percent of the sale price (no more than $400 per device).
Gun safe storage devices are a part of the larger public safety narrative and have been shown to reduce the incidents of firearm theft, unintentionally shootings, and youth suicides. A recent study has shown that safe gun storage would reduce youth gun-related deaths by 32 percent. By using a market-based approach, the Prevent Family Fire Act, can help firearms retailers play a larger role in promoting responsible gun storage and increase the sale of these important devices to gun owners.
TAKE IT DOWN Act. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) reintroduced the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks (TAKE IT DOWN) Act, which would establish federal liability for those who generate and distribute deepfake intimate and explicit images, giving law enforcement needed tools to bring justice to the victims of these crimes. In a world where generative AI is increasingly being used to create deepfakes, it is vital that federal laws be updated to protect individuals against the creation and nonconsensual sharing of these images. These deepfake images, which disproportionately target women and minors, must be recognized as the severe privacy violations that they are.
NAPO Reiterates Concerns with
National Decertification Index
NAPO participated in a virtual meeting on the National Decertification Index led by the White House Domestic Policy Council, the Department of Justice, and the International Association of Directors Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) on January 10, in which an update was given on the status of the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD) for federal law enforcement and the National Decertification Index (NDI) for state and local law enforcement.
NAPO is not satisfied with the due process protections that are currently given to officers before their names are added to the NDI, as were described during the meeting. IADLEST relies on the participating agencies to provide their officers with due process, with the minimal necessary being providing notice and an opportunity to respond. There is not even a suggestion that agencies provide stronger due process than the floor set by IADLEST. It is quite clear that ensuring officers have sufficient due process is not a priority for the NDI.
As the Biden Administration is touting its accomplishments on police reform as it heads out the door, we took exception to the indication that the NDI is a success. We sent a letter to outgoing Attorney General Merrick Garland on January 14, advising him of our on-going concerns and reiterating our long-standing recommendation that the NDI require robust due process procedures that occur prior to officer records being uploaded into the database. These should include, at a minimum, the bedrock guarantees of Anglo-American jurisprudence: sufficient notice, an opportunity to be heard, and review by a neutral fact-finder. The NDI should lead by example and expect more from agencies participating in the database to ensure that an officer’s reputation is not unnecessarily ruined, and job opportunities missed, due to factually inaccurate or insufficient information being uploaded into the database.
We look forward to working with the incoming Trump Administration to ensure that strong due process protections are put in place before an officer is added to the NDI and to protect the constitutional rights of our nation’s law enforcement.
NAPO Joins Coalition Letter to President-Elect Trump Urging Swift Closure of De Minimis Loophole
On January 13, 2025, NAPO joined members of the Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole in a letter to President-Elect Trump to urge him to use the expansive executive authority granted to a president by Congress in the Trade Act of 1930 to close the de minimis trade loophole.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a proposed rule on January 13 to limit the number of packages coming in through the de minimis loophole by excluding imports subject to Sections 301, 232 and 201 trade sanctions from eligibility. The first Trump Administration, also recognizing that de minimis was a major problem, considered similar exclusions. Unfortunately, given the exponential abuse of the de minimis loophole that is occurring today, it is clear that such a narrow approach will not keep out the growing flood of fentanyl-laced pills, cartel-fueling fentanyl precursor chemicals or other illicit goods. As CBP’s proposed rule would only cover a subset of imports from China, it will hardly make a dent in the daily flood of daily de minimis packages that now totally overwhelm government inspectors.
Comprehensive reform is immediately required as more must be done to ensure the de minimis trade exemption will no longer be a gateway for illicit drugs and goods to cross our borders. One of President-Elect Trump’s top commitments is to end the flow of this deadly poison into the United States. Swiftly closing the de minimis loophole will be the most efficient and effective way to shut the door on a major pathway for these drugs into the country and our communities.
We look forward to working with President Trump and his Administration to fight the scourge of fentanyl in our communities from every angle, including by closing the de minimis loophole.