Joe Biden

Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 6448 - Invest to Protect Act of 2022

September 22, 2022

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House)
(Rep. Gottheimer, D-NJ, and 87 cosponsors)

The Administration supports passage of H.R. 6448, the Invest to Protect Act of 2022.

Too often, small departments lack sufficient resources for the training, equipment, and systems they need for effective and accountable community policing. The Invest to Protect Act of 2022 would authorize $300 million in grants for law enforcement agencies with fewer than 125 officers, through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The grants would support officer recruitment and retention; evidence-based training on de-escalation, use of force, duty of care, duty to intervene, victim-centered responses for domestic violence calls, responding to calls for service from people with substance use or mental health conditions, veterans, people with disabilities, vulnerable youth, people experiencing homelessness, and persons who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or trafficking; data collection for police practices on officer and community safety; and officer wellness initiatives in such small departments. The bill would require the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General to audit grant recipients in order to ensure that the funds are used for authorized expenditures only. The Invest to Protect Act will result in a streamlined grant application process to make it easier for jurisdictions to access the funds.

The Administration calls on Congress to pass this commonsense bipartisan legislation that would invest in smaller local law enforcement agencies to promote safe communities and strengthen relationships between officers and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect.

Joseph R. Biden, Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 6448 - Invest to Protect Act of 2022 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/359210

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