Rep. Schrier Helps House Pass Bipartisan Bill to Provide Funding for Smaller Police Departments
WASHINGTON, DC – Today the U.S. House passed several law enforcement funding bills, including a bill Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) is a co-sponsor of, the Invest to Protect Act. The Invest to Protect Act will provide funding to small police departments to make sure they are equipped to respond to emergencies and keep their community safe. The bill passed the House 360-64. A video of Rep. Schrier talking about this legislation can be found here.
“I have been meeting with police chiefs, police officers, business leaders, and constituents across the 8th District who are concerned about increasing crime trends. In the law enforcement meetings, I’ve heard about what resources they need to keep themselves and our communities safe. I’m proud to be a co-sponsor of the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act that will make sure smaller police departments, like most of those in the 8th district, can access grants to hire and retain good police officers who know their community, purchase body cameras, and train in de-escalation and domestic violence response,” said Rep. Schrier. “I’m glad this bill passed so we can ensure our police have the resources they need. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community.”
The Invest to Protect Act will provide targeted, critical federal investment to local law enforcement departments with fewer than 125 officers to:
- Provide grants to recruit new officers, offer retention bonuses to help communities keep existing officers
- Make investments in officer safety, de-escalation, and domestic violence response training
- Increase access to body worn cameras, while also investing in cloud storage and security
- Offer mental health services for officers
More than 95% of the nation’s local police departments have 125 officers or fewer.
In addition to the Invest to Protect Act, the House also passed three other bills that will provide grants to local police departments. One is the VICTIM Act, a bipartisan bill cosponsored by Rep. Schrier that will help law enforcement agencies solve firearm-involved crimes, which are especially challenging to trace, and support victims of these crimes. Two other bills that Rep. Schrier voted for today provide grants to states to hire, train and dispatch mental health professionals to 911 calls, and provide federal grants to fund programs interrupting the cycle of violence in communities.
Since being elected, Rep. Schrier has held a series of roundtables with local police departments. And in the last 18 months she has gone on seven ridealongs with police officers.