Don’t Miss Out! Register Today for
NAPO’s Annual Lobby Day & Legislative 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!
President Trump Signs Executive Orders
Closing De Minimis Loophole
On April 2, President Trump signed two Executive Orders that effectively close the de minimis loophole: Further Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China as Applied to Low-Value Imports and Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits.
The first Executive Order eliminates duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value imports from China starting May 2, 2025, a significant step to countering the illicit flow of fentanyl and synthetic opioids into our country through the international mail system. U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimates about
two-thirds of de minimis shipments, or nearly a billion parcels, enter the United States from China duty-free and virtually uninspected.
The President’s second executive action makes imports from all countries that are subject to reciprocal tariffs (virtually all countries) ineligible for de minimis once adequate systems are in place to efficiently process and collect duty revenue. However, the order seemingly ties de minimis treatment to the reciprocal tariffs, so if the Administration decides to lift the reciprocal tariffs, then U.S. imports from most countries would be eligible for de minimis once again.
President Trump took additional action related to China on April 9, signing another Executive Order to increase duties and fees on low-value shipments sent to the United States through the international postal network from China or Hong Kong. This was done in response to China’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods and to limit the ability of China to circumvent the reciprocal tariffs imposed on its imports.
These Executive Orders are not permanent and there has recently been discussion from the President and his Administration officials that a trade deal with China could soon happen, which could impact the current pause on de minimis treatment for most international mail packages.
NAPO, unilaterally and as part of the Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole, has been urging President Trump to use his executive authority to immediately close the de minimis loophole for all commercial packages coming from any country to the United States. We greatly appreciate these actions taken by the President and view them as important first steps. As the Administration considers its next actions on tariffs, we urge it to consider closing the de minimis loophole permanently for all countries to prevent smuggling under de minimis from simply shifting from China to another country.
Swiftly closing the de minimis loophole is the most efficient and effective way to shut the door on a major pathway for fentanyl and related 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.
NAPO Participates in Invest to Protect Press Conference
On April 9, NAPO Director of Governmental Affairs, Andy Edmiston, participated in a press conference calling on Congress to act on the Invest to Protect Act (H.R. 2711 / S. 768). Edmiston was joined by the bill’s sponsors, Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and John Rutherford (R-FL) and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), whom she thanked for leading this effort to ensure all law enforcement agencies – large, small, urban, and rural – have the support and resources necessary to effectively serve and protect our communities.
The Department of Justice’s law enforcement grant programs provide invaluable resources, training, and assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies. However, small and rural agencies across the country are getting left behind due to the onerous Federal grant process. The broad grant program created by the Invest to Protect Act is specifically for small agencies, which make up the vast majority of our nation’s police and sheriffs’ departments. The grant application process will be streamlined, and the funding will go directly to the agencies to help them recruit and retain desperately needed officers, invest in training, and provide their officers with vital mental health resources.
Police departments across the country are understaffed, under-resourced and struggling to hire and retain good, qualified officers. They need the Invest to Protect Act. NAPO is proud to have worked with Representatives Gottheimer and Rutherford and Senators Cortez Masto and Charles Grassley (R-IA) on this important legislation.
NAPO Meets with DOJ Staff
NAPO met with separately with staff from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Public Affairs and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General to discuss our priorities and how we can best work collaboratively with the Department. Specifically, we highlighted the importance of the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program, the need for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to remain independent within the DOJ and to be robustly funded, the vital state and local law enforcement assistance programs housed under the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), and our desire to work with the Department, particularly the Civil Rights Division, on current and pending consent decrees.
We look forward to continuing the close relationship we have had with the DOJ, particularly under the first Trump Administration, and to working with the Department and its leadership to meet the needs of our nation’s rank-and-file law enforcement and the communities they serve.
NAPO on the Hill: National Police Week Priorities
NAPO, together with our national law enforcement coalition, continues to push our National Police Week agenda, working with the Senate Judiciary Committee on the pro-law enforcement legislation to be moved during National Police Week 2025 to honor the law enforcement profession.
We discussed the possibility of moving legislation including the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, the Reauthorizing Support and Treatment for Officers in Crisis Act, the Strong Communities Act, the Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act, and the Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act. Many of these are bills that have been joint law enforcement priorities for years, but Congress has failed to pass them.
The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act recognizes exposure-related cancers as line of duty injuries and would cover them under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program for death and disability benefits.
The Reauthorizing Support and Treatment for Officers in Crisis Act reauthorizes 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.
The Strong Communities Act allows 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.
The Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act allows for grant funds under the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program to be used for purchasing containment devices for first responders and training first responders on the use of containment devices to prevent secondary exposure to fentanyl and other potentially lethal substances.
The Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act covers retired law enforcement officers who are killed or permanently injured due to their previous work in the line of duty under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program.
The House has scheduled the LEOSA Reform Act and the Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act for floor action during Police Week, both of which are NAPO priorities and passed the House last Congress. We continue to push for the House to take up additional NAPO legislative priorities as part of its Police Week agenda.
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 April 22 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, twelve 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, Pennsylvania, 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.
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.
As violence against officers continues to rise, Blue Alerts are an essential resource to keeping our officers safe. 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.
NAPO Priority Lifesaving Gear for Police Act Reintroduced
NAPO worked with Congressmen Pete Stauber (R-MN) and Don Bacon (R-NE) on the reintroduction of the Lifesaving Gear for Police Act (H.R. 2654), which would prohibit the enforcement of any executive actions that limit state and local law enforcement’s ability to access surplus military equipment.
The Department of Defense 1033 program, and similar grant programs at the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security that assist state and local law enforcement in acquiring surplus military equipment, have been vital resources in allowing agencies acquire items used in search and rescue operations, disaster response, and active shooter and hostage situations that they otherwise would not be able to afford.
State and local law enforcement’s access to this lifesaving gear has unfortunately been politicized. In January 2015, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13688, which greatly limited state and local law enforcement’s access to surplus military equipment. In August 2017, NAPO worked with President Trump in his first administration on the issuance of Executive Order 13809 to restore state and local law enforcement’s access to this much-needed equipment. Unfortunately, President Biden reinstituted President Obama’s Executive Order 13688 in May 2022, and expanded it to not only include equipment acquired through the 1033 program, but also equipment purchased through grants through the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
NAPO once again worked with President Trump to repeal President Biden’s executive order in January and return state and local law enforcement’s unfettered access to surplus equipment through the Department of Defense’s 1033 program or the DOJ’s Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program.
The political back and forth on these programs have put law enforcement officers and the communities they serve at unnecessary risk. We cannot chance another Administration coming in and reinstituting restrictions on this vital equipment, which is why we worked with Reps. Stauber and Bacon to reintroduce the Lifesaving Gear for Police Act. With this bill, it would take an act of Congress to put controls on state and local law enforcement’s ability to acquire surplus military equipment through the federal government.
NAPO Supports Bill to Provide Education Benefits to
Help Officer Recruitment & Retention
NAPO once again endorsed the Strong Communities Act, sponsored by Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and John Cornyn (R-TX). 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 precincts of law enforcement agencies in the communities in which they live.
The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program has assisted more than 13,000 jurisdictions with over $14 billion in funding to hire more than 135,000 community police officers across the United States since its inception in 1994. A big part of the success of this program is its reliance on local police agencies in defining what their communities need.
There has been a growing effort within police departments to hire more officers from the communities being served. The requirement that candidates have a four-year college degree can be a hindrance to achieving that goal. The Strong Communities Act would help agencies remove that obstacle and aid in the recruitment of much needed community police officers.
Allowing agencies to use COPS Hiring Program funds to offer education benefits for recruits who pledge to serve as officers within their communities, agencies will be providing opportunities for members of the community to not only become officers but also to promote within the department. This will improve community relations and lead to increased respect for officers on the street.
Importantly, the Strong Communities Act maintains and augments the original intent of the COPS Hiring Program, which is to help state, local, and tribal agencies hire, rehire, and retain qualified officers that meet the needs of their communities. We are working with Senators Peters and Cornyn to move this important bill through the Senate.
NAPO-Backed Public Safety Officer Concussion &
TBI Health Act Reintroduced
NAPO worked closely with Senator John Cornyn’s (R-TX) staff to develop the Public Safety Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injury Health Act (S. 1409), which the Senator reintroduced with Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). With the increase in physical attacks on law enforcement officers, NAPO feels it is vital that the impacts of concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) be studied, and best practices be disseminated to public safety agencies, officers and their families, and medical personnel to help recognize, prevent, and treat such injuries in officers.
Traumatic brain injuries are any type of jolt that results in a change to brain function. These injuries can lead to serious issues, including difficulties with memory, concentration, and communication. Concussions are considered a mild TBI, which is usually temporary but can take months to heal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains a website regarding TBIs under their injury prevention and control division. As part of this website, the agency provides data on TBIs, where to get help, research and reports, and specific resources for health care providers. The Public Safety Concussions and TBI Health Act would require the CDC to collect and make publicly available information on traumatic brain injuries specifically for public safety officers and provide recommendations and protocols for identifying, treating, and diagnosing concussions. It would also have the CDC disseminate information to mental health professionals on the connection between concussions and traumatic brain injuries with acute stress disorders and suicidal inclinations.