Register Today for NAPO’s Annual Lobby Day & Legislative Awards Luncheon
Don’t miss the opportunity to join NAPO on May 14th for our Annual Lobby Day & Legislative Awards Luncheon on Capitol Hill. This is a great opportunity to lobby Congressional Representatives and Senators on behalf of your members concerning the issues which affect law enforcement. Prior to lobbying Capitol Hill, plan to attend NAPO’s Legislative Breakfast for an update on NAPO’s legislative priorities, results to date from the 119th Congress, and to receive handouts to use during your Hill visits.
Please Register online or complete the attached registration form and return to NAPO at aedmiston@napo.org or eloranger@napo.org by MAY 1, 2025.
If you want assistance setting up your Capitol Hill meetings, contact NAPO’s Director of Government Affairs, Andy Edmiston, no later 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 Awards 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!
House Judiciary Approves LEOSA Reform Act,
Improving Officer Safety Through Data Act
In a victory for NAPO, the House Judiciary Committee approved two NAPO priority bills, the LEOSA Reform Act (H.R. 2243) and the Improving Law Enforcement Safety and Wellness Through Data Act (H.R. 2240), on March 25, sending them to the full House for consideration.
The LEOSA Reform Act would address specific issues that well-qualified active and retired law enforcement officers are facing when exercising their right to protect themselves and others under the law. This important 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, amongst other provisions. Importantly, it will reform qualifications standards to alleviate undue burdens for those carrying under LEOSA.
NAPO is proud to have worked with members of Congress to enact the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) in 2004 to allow well-qualified off-duty and retired officers to carry their firearms for the protection of themselves, their families and our nation’s communities. With the rise in targeted violence against law enforcement officers and violent crimes in our communities, allowing all qualified officers and retirees, who have sworn to serve and protect our communities, to be armed in accordance with LEOSA would allow them to respond more efficiently and effectively in emergencies for the safety of themselves and those around them. The LEOSA Reform Act will go a long way to ensuring all qualified off-duty and retired officers across the country can legally carry their firearm under the law.
The Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act requires the Department of Justice to collect data on the actual and threatened use of force against officers, and not only in situations involving firearms, to get the greater picture of the threat our officers face. It requires a report on the stresses and mental health toll violent assaults have on officers and the extent to which mental health and wellness programs provided are meeting the needs of officers. This bill will be an important first step to ensuring we are collecting the data necessary to fully understand assaults against officers and getting agencies the support and resources necessary to protect the health and safety of the men and women who so valiantly serve and protect our communities.
These two bills passed last Congress with bipartisan votes and they are part of our larger National Police Week legislative strategy. We look forward to seeing them on the House floor for a vote before or during this year’s Police Week.
NAPO Meets with White House Staff
NAPO Executive Director Bill Johnson and Governmental Affairs Director Andy Edmiston met with White House staff to discuss our priority issues, the 32nd Annual TOP COPS Awards ®, and how we can best support the Administration’s efforts on behalf of our nation’s law enforcement officers. We thanked the staff for the executive orders the President has signed so far that impact law enforcement, including the Executive Order on Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety, which directs the Attorney General to pursue Federal jurisdiction and the death penalty in cases involving the “murder of a law enforcement officer”. We emphasized that increasing protections for officers against violent assaults has long been a priority of ours.
We also highlighted the importance of the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program to the families of the men and women who serve as law enforcement officers, the need to ensure officer rights are protected, the resources and tools needed to aid law enforcement’s fight against fentanyl, and the importance of officers having access to confidential peer mentoring services.
We look forward to further developing this relationship with the White House and enhancing our open line of communication to ensure that rank-and-files voices continue to be heard by the Administration.
NAPO-Backed Bill to End Sanctuary Cities Reintroduced
NAPO once again pledged its support for the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act, reintroduced by Senator Ted Cruz, which will enable federal and local law enforcement officers to work together to protect our communities and take crucial steps towards eliminating sanctuary jurisdictions, which pose real threats to the American people.
Our nation’s immigration system relies on local law enforcement complying with immigration detainers – requests from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for local law enforcement to hold an illegal immigrant temporarily – to give federal law enforcement an opportunity to take the individual into custody. Sanctuary cities forbid their local law enforcement from fully cooperating with federal immigration officials, which has led to the release of violent criminals back into our communities.
Further complicating the situations, several courts have ruled that local law enforcement officers may be sued for violating the Fourth Amendment if they comply with an immigration detainer, even if the detainer was lawfully issued and the detention would have been legal if carried out by DHS. This means that dangerous criminals cannot be held and must be released. The Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act solves this problem by explicitly stating that local law enforcement officers have legal authority to comply with immigration detainers.
Unfortunately, sanctuary city policies have gotten in the way of any cooperation with federal immigration officials, even when officers or public safety are at risk. This issue was most recently highlighted in Rochester, New York, where the mayor and police chief publicly opposed the actions of their officers in responding to an emergency call for assistance from federal Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents. They intimated that their sanctuary city policies prohibited the officers from coming to the aid of their federal partners, even if their actions maintained public safety and the safety of the HSI agents.
NAPO sent a letter condemning the Rochester mayor and police chief for their reactions to the Rochester Police Officers’ actions and urging them to find the courage to stand up to politics and back their officers who were simply acting to protect public safety and what they believed was the safety of fellow officers.
No matter what side you are on, our immigration system needs federal, state, and local governments and agencies to work cooperatively in order to ensure the rule of law and the safety of immigrants and citizens alike.
DOJ Considers Grantmaking Consolidations to Improve Efficiency
On March 25, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sent a memo to the heads of Department of Justice components to solicit their feedback on the Department’s reorganization plan and reduction in force (RIF), pursuant to the President’s Executive Order 14210, entitled Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative. The first proposal in the memo for feedback is “consolidating grantmaking functions”, which proposes to consolidate the grantmaking work of the Office of Justice Programs, the Office on Violence Against Women, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Office for Access to Justice, and the Office of Tribal Justice.
The prospect of consolidating these five offices is concerning, particularly the possible loss of independence for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). While we understand and support making the Department and its grantmaking authorities more streamlined and efficient, we fear that if the COPS Office is consolidated with the other grantmaking entities within the DOJ, we will lose a significant, dedicated resource. We wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi in response to the memo, advising her of our longstanding and solid support for the program, its importance to our nation’s law enforcement community, and laying out our concerns with it being possibly being consolidated with the work of the other offices.
In addition to the vital grant programs and initiatives housed under the COPS Office – the COPS Hiring Program, the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program, and the National Blue Alert Program, just to name a few – it is the only office within the Department solely dedicated to the needs of state and local law enforcement. COPS leadership and staff have built close relationships with state and local law enforcement agencies and representatives, and it is known for its accessibility and responsiveness to stakeholders and grantees. It is a trusted office within the Department that over the past 30 years has become an essential partner to the law enforcement community.
As the Department continues to consider the best ways to make efficiencies and save taxpayer funding, we look forward to working with its leadership to protect the vital state and local law enforcement assistance grant programs of the COPS Office.
NAPO on the Hill: National Police Week Priorities
NAPO, together with our national law enforcement coalition, continues to push our National Police Week agenda with Congressional leadership. We met with the staff of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and House Law Enforcement Caucus Co-Chairs, Representatives John Rutherford (R-FL) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), to discuss the pro-law enforcement legislation we want to see moved during National Police Week 2025 to honor the law enforcement profession.
With the House Judiciary Committee approving the LEOSA Reform Act and the Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act prior to these meetings, we focused on the need to pass legislation to enhance officer safety by increasing penalties for the murder, attempted murder, or assault of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, whether it be the Protect and Serve Act, the Back the Blue Act, the Justice for Fallen Law Enforcement Act, or the Thin Blue Line Act. The Protect and Serve Act is sponsored by Representatives Rutherford and Gottheimer in the House.
We also discussed the HELPER Act and the Invest to Protect Act, both of which are sponsored by Representatives Rutherford and Gottheimer and are included in our priorities for National Police Week. The HELPER Act creates a new first-time homebuyer loan program for qualified first responders through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that aims to remove the biggest financial barriers for buying a house – the down payment requirement and a monthly insurance premium requirement. The Invest to Protect Act creates a grant program specifically for small law enforcement agencies to help them hire, retain, and train officers as well as provide mental health and peer mentoring services for their officers.
While the LEOSA Reform Act and the Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act are important bills and NAPO priorities, we continue to make the case the Congress must also provide law enforcement the tools, resources, and protections needed to ensure officers can safely and effectively serve and protect our communities. This Police Week, Congress must act in a significant manner to support our nation’s law enforcement.
Our next meetings will be with members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to gain their support for moving our priority bills because without strong Committee support our bills go nowhere.