Invest to Protect Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3184 To establish a grant program to provide assistance to local law enforcement agencies, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 10, 2023 Mr. GOTTHEIMER (for himself, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. D’ESPOSITO, Mr. TRONE, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. RYAN, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. SORENSEN, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. BACON, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. SPANBERGER, Ms. HOYLE of Oregon, Mr. COSTA, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. CASE, Mr. SWALWELL, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. GOLDEN of Maine, Mr. NICKEL, Mrs. GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Ms. PEREZ, Ms. WILD, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. LAWLER, Mr. KEAN of New Jersey, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. TONY GONZALES of Texas, Mr. MOYLAN, Mr. MAG- AZINER, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. KILMER, and Mr. VASQUEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To establish a grant program to provide assistance to local law enforcement agencies, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3184 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Invest to Protect Act 2 of 2023’’. 3 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM. 4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 5 (1) DE-ESCALATION TRAINING.—The term ‘‘de- 6 escalation training’’ means training relating to tak- 7 ing action or communicating verbally or non-verbally 8 during a potential force encounter in an attempt to 9 stabilize the situation and reduce the immediacy of 10 the threat so that more time, options, and resources 11 can be called upon to resolve the situation without 12 the use of force or with a reduction in the force nec- 13 essary. 14 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 15 the Director of the Office. 16 (3) ELIGIBLE LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 17 ‘‘eligible local government’’ means— 18 (A) a county, municipality, town, township, 19 village, parish, borough, or other unit of general 20 government below the State level that employs 21 fewer than 200 law enforcement officers; and 22 (B) a Tribal government that employs 23 fewer than 200 law enforcement officers. 24 (4) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 25 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the meaning given the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3184 IH term ‘‘career law enforcement officer’’ in section 1 1709 of title I the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 2 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10389). 3 (5) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of- 4 fice of Community Oriented Policing Services of the 5 Department of Justice. 6 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 7 the Office a grant program to— 8 (1) provide training and access to mental health 9 resources to local law enforcement officers; and 10 (2) improve the recruitment and retention of 11 local law enforcement officers. 12 (c) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 120 days after the 13 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall award 14 grants to eligible local governments as a part of the grant 15 program established under subsection (b). 16 (d) APPLICATIONS.— 17 (1) BARRIERS.—The Attorney General shall de- 18 termine what barriers exist to establishing a stream- 19 lined application process for grants under this sec- 20 tion. 21 (2) REPORT.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the At- 24 torney General shall submit to Congress a re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3184 IH port that includes a plan to execute a stream- 1 lined application process for grants under this 2 section under which an eligible local government 3 seeking a grant under this section can reason- 4 ably complete the application in not more than 5 2 hours. 6 (B) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan re- 7 quired under subparagraph (A) may include a 8 plan for— 9 (i) proactively providing eligible local 10 governments seeking a grant under this 11 section with information on the data such 12 eligible local governments will need to pre- 13 pare before beginning the grant applica- 14 tion; and 15 (ii) ensuring technical assistance is 16 available for eligible local governments 17 seeking a grant under this section before 18 and during the grant application process, 19 including through dedicated liaisons within 20 the Office. 21 (3) APPLICATIONS.—In selecting eligible local 22 governments to receive grants under this section, the 23 Director shall use the streamlined application proc- 24 ess described in paragraph (2)(A). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3184 IH (e) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible local govern- 1 ment that receives a grant under this section may use 2 amounts from the grant only for— 3 (1) de-escalation training for law enforcement 4 officers; 5 (2) victim-centered training for law enforcement 6 officers in handling situations of domestic violence; 7 (3) evidence-based law enforcement safety 8 training, including training for— 9 (A) active shooter situations; 10 (B) the safe handling of illicit drugs and 11 precursor chemicals; 12 (C) rescue situations; 13 (D) high speed or pursuit driving; 14 (E) recognizing and countering ambush at- 15 tacks; 16 (F) contact with individuals with mental 17 health needs; 18 (G) contact with individuals with substance 19 use disorders; 20 (H) contact with veterans; 21 (I) contact with individuals with disabil- 22 ities; 23 (J) contact with vulnerable youth; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3184 IH (K) contact with individuals who are vic- 1 tims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or 2 trafficking; or 3 (L) contact with individuals experiencing 4 homelessness or living in poverty; 5 (4) the offsetting of overtime costs associated 6 with scheduling issues relating to the participation 7 of a law enforcement officer in the training de- 8 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (3); 9 (5) a signing bonus for a law enforcement offi- 10 cer in an amount determined by the eligible local 11 government; 12 (6) a retention bonus for a law enforcement of- 13 ficer— 14 (A) in an amount determined by the eligi- 15 ble local government that does not exceed 20 16 percent of the salary of the law enforcement of- 17 ficer; and 18 (B) who— 19 (i) has been employed at the law en- 20 forcement agency for not fewer than 5 21 years; and 22 (ii) has not been found by an internal 23 investigation to have engaged in serious 24 misconduct; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3184 IH (7) a stipend for the graduate education of law 1 enforcement officers in the area of mental health, 2 public health, or social work, which shall not exceed 3 the lesser of— 4 (A) $10,000; or 5 (B) the amount the law enforcement offi- 6 cer pays towards such graduate education; and 7 (8) providing access to patient-centered behav- 8 ioral health services for law enforcement officers, 9 which may include resources for risk assessments, 10 evidence-based, trauma-informed care to treat post- 11 traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder, 12 peer support and counselor services and family sup- 13 ports, and the promotion of improved access to high 14 quality mental health care through telehealth. 15 (f) DISCLOSURE OF OFFICER RECRUITMENT AND 16 RETENTION BONUSES.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 18 the date on which an eligible local government that 19 receives a grant under this section awards a signing 20 or retention bonus described in paragraph (5) or (6) 21 of subsection (e), the eligible local government shall 22 disclose to the Director and make publicly available 23 on a website of the eligible local government the 24 amount of such bonus. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3184 IH (2) REPORT.—The Attorney General shall sub- 1 mit to the appropriate congressional committees an 2 annual report that includes each signing or retention 3 bonus disclosed under paragraph (1) during the pre- 4 ceding year. 5 (g) GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY.—All grants awarded 6 by the Director under this section shall be subject to the 7 following accountability provisions: 8 (1) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.— 9 (A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 10 term ‘‘unresolved audit finding’’ means a find- 11 ing in the final audit report of the Inspector 12 General of the Department of Justice that the 13 audited grantee has used grant funds for an 14 unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallow- 15 able cost that is not closed or resolved within 16 12 months from the date when the final audit 17 report is issued. 18 (B) AUDITS.—Beginning in the first fiscal 19 year beginning after the date of enactment of 20 this subsection, and in each fiscal year there- 21 after, the Inspector General of the Department 22 of Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of 23 grants under this section to prevent waste, 24 fraud, and abuse of funds by grantees. The In- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3184 IH spector General of the Department of Justice 1 shall determine the appropriate number of 2 grantees to be audited each year. 3 (C) MANDATORY EXCLUSION.—A recipient 4 of grant funds under this section that is found 5 to have an unresolved audit finding shall not be 6 eligible to receive grant funds under this section 7 during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after 8 the end of the 12-month period described in 9 subparagraph (A). 10 (D) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under 11 this section, the Director shall give priority to 12 eligible local governments that did not have an 13 unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal 14 years before submitting an application for a 15 grant under this section. 16 (E) REIMBURSEMENT.—If an eligible local 17 government is awarded grant funds under this 18 section during the 2-fiscal-year period during 19 which the eligible local government is barred 20 from receiving grants under subparagraph (C), 21 the Attorney General shall— 22 (i) deposit an amount equal to the 23 amount of the grant funds that were im- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3184 IH properly awarded to the grantee into the 1 General Fund of the Treasury; and 2 (ii) seek to recoup the costs of the re- 3 payment to the fund from the grant recipi- 4 ent that was erroneously awarded grant 5 funds. 6 (2) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—Beginning in the 7 fiscal year during which audits commence under 8 paragraph (1)(B), the Attorney General shall submit 9 to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Com- 10 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 11 Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 12 Appropriations of the House of Representatives an 13 annual certification— 14 (A) indicating whether— 15 (i) all audits issued by the Office of 16 the Inspector General of the Department 17 of Justice under paragraph (1) have been 18 completed and reviewed by the appropriate 19 Assistant Attorney General or Director; 20 (ii) all mandatory exclusions required 21 under paragraph (1)(C) have been issued; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3184 IH (iii) all reimbursements required 1 under paragraph (1)(E) have been made; 2 and 3 (B) that includes a list of any grant recipi- 4 ents excluded under paragraph (1) from the 5 previous year. 6 (h) PREVENTING DUPLICATIVE GRANTS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before the Director awards 8 a grant to an eligible local government under this 9 section, the Attorney General shall compare poten- 10 tial grant awards with other grants awarded by the 11 Attorney General to determine if grant awards are 12 or have been awarded for a similar purpose. 13 (2) REPORT.—If the Attorney General awards 14 grants to the same applicant for a similar purpose, 15 the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee 16 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 17 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a 18 report that includes— 19 (A) a list of all such grants awarded, in- 20 cluding the total dollar amount of any such 21 grants awarded; and 22 (B) the reason the Attorney General 23 awarded multiple grants to the same applicant 24 for a similar purpose. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3184 IH (i) FUNDING.—In carrying out this section, the Di- 1 rector— 2 (1) shall use amounts otherwise made available 3 to the Office; and 4 (2) may use not more than $50,000,000 of such 5 amounts for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3184.IH H3184 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS