Washington, DC - Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, applauded the passage of two FOP-supported measures in the U.S. House of Representatives—H.R. 5768, the “Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods (VICTIM) Act,” and H.R. 6448, the “Invest to Protect Act.”
“The FOP played a key role in developing these bills, which were nearly passed in July prior to the recess,” Yoes said. “After running into some opposition, our allies on the Hill worked to win consensus with language that we could still support.”
The House passed H.R. 5768 on a 250-178 vote, and it will now be transmitted to the Senate. To improve the clearance rates for cases of homicides, non-fatal shootings, and other crimes of violence, the bill would provide grants to agencies to train, hire, or retain additional detectives, investigators, or other police personnel to investigate, solve, and respond to these crimes. The grants can also be used to improve training for agency personnel to address the needs of victims and family members impacted by these crimes. The bill now goes to the Senate for further action.
“By providing those important resources to law enforcement agencies across the country, we can improve the chances that murders, sexual assaults, kidnappings, and non-fatal shootings get cleared,” Yoes explained. “This means ensuring punishment for the perpetrators, securing justice for the victims and their families, and providing peace of mind for the communities our members work so hard to protect.”
The House also passed H.R. 6448, the “Invest to Protect Act,” on a 360-64 vote. The bill establishes a grant program to help smaller law enforcement agencies recruit and retain law enforcement officers and expand supporting mental health resources for officers. The bill also contains a robust training component including training in de-escalation, domestic violence response, and response calls to vulnerable populations like those involving persons with disabilities, mental health issues, or substance abuse disorders. Earlier this year, the Senate passed a companion bill, S. 3860, which we believe will be informally reconciled with the House bill to get the bill to the President to be signed into law.
“Law enforcement is facing a real crisis in terms of retaining good, experienced officers and recruiting our best and brightest to join the ranks of law enforcement,” Yoes said. “This legislation provides needed training for officers as well as resources to recruit and retain officers in smaller departments.”
“On behalf of our membership, I would like to thank the bill’s sponsors, Representatives Val Demings and Don Bacon on the ‘VICTIM Act,’ and Representatives Josh Gottheimer and John Rutherford on the ‘Invest to Protect Act,’” Yoes said. “I look forward to working with them to get the bills to the President’s desk.”