H.R. 6448 — Introduced in House

I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6448 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 20, 2022Mr. Gottheimer (for himself, Ms. Spanberger, Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Sherrill, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Case, Mrs. Luria, Mr. Costa, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Golden, Mr. O'Halleran, Mr. Delgado, Mrs. Axne, Ms. Craig, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Vela, Mrs. Lee of Nevada, Mr. Schrader, Mrs. Murphy of Florida, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Upton, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Reed, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Meijer, Mr. Meuser, Mr. Smith of Missouri, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Katko, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Ms. Herrera Beutler, Mr. Westerman, and Mr. Steil) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To direct the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of Justice to carry out a grant program to provide assistance to police departments with fewer than 200 law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Invest to Protect Act of 2022. 2. Grant program (a) Establishment There is established a grant program— (1) to provide training, body cameras, and access to mental health resources to local law enforcement officers; and (2) to improve recruitment and retention of local law enforcement officers. (b) Authority Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of Justice shall make a grant to an eligible local government. (c) Eligible Activities Amounts from a grant made under this section may be used only for— (1) de-escalation training for law enforcement officers; (2) training for law enforcement officers in handling situations of domestic violence; (3) law enforcement officer safety training; (4) the offsetting of overtime costs associated with scheduling issues when a law enforcement officer is participating in such training; (5) the purchasing, storage, operation, and securing of body cameras, in accordance with guidelines established by the eligible local government or by the Attorney General under subsection (d) of this section, until the eligible local government establishes such guidelines; (6) a signing bonus for a law enforcement officer in an amount determined by the eligible local government; (7) a retention bonus for a law enforcement officer in an amount determined by the eligible local government; (8) a stipend to be used for graduate education in the area of mental health, public health, or social work in an amount not greater than the lesser of— (A) $10,000; or (B) the amount the law enforcement officer has paid towards such education; or (9) providing access for law enforcement officers to evidence-based mental health services, treatments, and therapies. (d) Body camera guidelines Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish guidelines to be used by an eligible local government until such eligible local government establishes guidelines regarding purchasing, storage, operation, and securing of body cameras based on existing industry best-practices. (e) Disclosure of officer recruitment and retention bonuses An eligible local government shall disclose to the Attorney General and make publicly available on a website of the eligible local government the amount of any officer recruitment and retention bonus given under subsection (b)(3) of this section. (f) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. (g) Definitions In this Act: (1) De-escalation training The term de-escalation training means a process or tactic used to prevent, reduce, or manage behaviors associated with conflict (including verbal or physical agitation, aggression, violence, or similar behaviors) during an interaction between two or more individuals. (2) Eligible local government The term eligible local government means— (A) a county, municipality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government below the State level that employs fewer than 200 law enforcement officers; or (B) a tribal government that employs fewer than 200 law enforcement officers. (3) Law enforcement officer The term law enforcement officer has the meaning given that term in section 2503 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10533).