American Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H.R. 1428, the American Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2017. I want to thank the author of the bill, Mr. Hurd, for bringing it forward.

This measure has the laudable goal of recognizing our brave men and women who have served in the armed services, but it also helps to protect our communities through community-oriented policing.

I support H.R. 1428 for several reasons. To begin with, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, also known as the COPS Office, is responsible for advancing community policing by law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources.

The COPS Office promotes community policing with a commitment to building trust and mutual respect between police and the people in the communities they serve by awarding grants to law enforcement agencies for the hiring of law enforcement officers for community policing.

Through the COPS Hiring Program, funds are provided directly to law enforcement agencies to hire or rehire career law enforcement officers to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention activities. To date, more than 129,000 officers for over 13,000 agencies have been funded via the COPS Hiring Program, which was first established 23 years ago under President Bill Clinton in 1994.

The COPS Office began supporting military veterans through the COPS Hiring Program and currently gives additional consideration to law enforcement agencies that commit to hiring our veterans. Although we have not had hearings to discuss the import of providing incentives through this program for the hiring of veterans as new law enforcement officers by State and local law enforcement, we believe the bill is well designed and well intentioned.

The bill prioritizes grant applications of law enforcement agencies that will use grant funds from the COPS Office to hire veterans, thereby giving preference to those agencies when applying for grant funds. The intent is to assist law enforcement agencies in attracting well-qualified, service-oriented people who have already served America through their military service.

Another positive purpose of this legislation is to provide our brave veterans the opportunity to continue to serve their country and respective communities upon completion of their military service. Military service provides vital leadership traits that can be valuable in assisting military veterans in their effort to succeed in law enforcement careers, and we need to take advantage of that.

Veterans with combat experience have obtained skill sets that relate to law enforcement work, such as discipline, loyalty, ethical standards, and integrity; physical fitness; firearms and tactical skills; the ability to respond appropriately under stress; and experience working with diverse populations.

Those who have served in the military often have a desire to continue to serve others, and a career as a law enforcement officer allows veterans to continue serving others through community policing, where we need them so much. A career in law enforcement also provides veterans with long-term stability, gives a sense of accomplishment and pride, and offers a career where their dedication to protecting and serving the public can be applied.

Finally, measures such as H.R. 1428 will help ensure our communities are protected through community-oriented policing.

Accordingly, we support passage of H.R. 1428, the American Law Enforcement Heroes Act.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I close by restating my support for this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1428) to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize COPS grantees to use grant funds to hire veterans as career law enforcement officers, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 1428, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Police officers and military veterans have much in common: Both wear uniforms, both protect and serve, and both face great physical risk in executing their duties. It is understandable, then, that many military servicemen and -women seek employment as police officers upon returning to civilian life.

Similarly, police departments are seeking men and women who are physically and mentally fit to assume these roles, who are used to working in teams, and who have experience making quick decisions under stress. To a police department, a military veteran may be a perfect fit.

In recent years, we have strived for community-oriented approaches to policing. A community-oriented approach requires officers not just to enforce laws, but to wear many other hats, like first aid provider, social worker, counselor, crisis manager, and peacemaker. If there is a problem, we expect the police to solve it. The knowledge, skill, and abilities military veterans bring to police departments enhance the departments' problem-solving mission.

H.R. 1428, the American Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2017, is good legislation introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd). The bill authorizes grantees who receive grants under the Community Oriented Policing Services program at the Department of Justice, commonly known as COPS, to use them for prioritizing the hiring and training of military veterans.

When military veterans return from deployment and enter civilian life, it is important we recognize their sacrifices by assuring they can obtain employment and support their families. This bill helps to ensure veterans can do just that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Hurd for introducing this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd), the chief author of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I again commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd) for his thoughtful legislation and his outstanding leadership on this issue. This is good legislation that will help young military men and women find employment in law enforcement where they can provide great continued service to our country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1428, the American Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2017. This bill will positively affect the way we fight crime in our nation.

The American Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2017 provides for the prioritization of the hiring of veterans to police forces across the nation and will allow public funds granted by the Community Oriented Policing Services program to be allocated towards the hiring and training of veterans entering local police forces.

Our veterans are some of the bravest and most honorable men and women in this nation. They have voluntarily risen to the occasion to protect our nation from foreign threats. These men and women have served in far flung, dangerous places around the globe, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Vietnam to Lebanon. They have risked their lives to fulfill the goal of President Woodrow Wilson: to ``make the world safe for democracy.'' These veterans helped bring freedom and security to oppressed peoples, while protecting and serving all Americans, to protect our unique and comfortable existence.

Our veterans are currently plagued with issues such as mental health issues often stemming from combat experience, drug abuse, unemployment, and homelessness. Veterans are currently more likely to become homeless after serving, more likely to be unemployed, and more likely to fall under the oppression of hard drugs. By implementing the American Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2017, we, as a Congress, will be continuing our commitment to our veterans by helping to provide them with jobs. These jobs will provide a stable income and resources for our veterans to access, in case of debilitating mental health issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Our veterans will be able to continue serving the American people with the particular training and expertise provided by the greatest military in the world. They have had access to education and are highly skilled at a plethora of jobs that municipal police departments can utilize to their advantage. By hiring these men and women, police forces around the nation can make the nation a safer, more secure place.

I give my full support to the American Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2017. This bill not only provides employment for our veterans, who have provided so much for our nation, but also makes our cities safer places to live.

Mr. Speaker, the veteran unemployment rate is currently 5 percent in Texas, higher than the national average of 3.7. While the national average has steadily declined in recent years, the unemployment rate for young veterans ages 18 to 24 has skyrocketed to 13 percent, more than double the rate it was at this time last year.

We need to do more for the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom and our safety. That is why I introduced the American Law

Enforcement Heroes Act: to provide an outlet for these heroes to continue their service right here at home.

My district is home to more than 4,600 Active Duty and 45,000 military veterans who have served or supported Joint Base San Antonio, Laughlin Air Force Base, and Fort Bliss, among others. They often tell me about their struggles to find good jobs once they leave the military.

This bill incentivizes State and local governments to hire veterans as new law enforcement officers by giving preference when applying for grants through DOJ's COPS Office which fund academy and field training along with promoting community collaboration. It is modeled after an expired program called Troops to COPS, which helped about 1,000 veterans in the late 1990s.

We owe our freedom to these men and women and must do a better job facilitating their transition into meaningful civilian careers. Ultimately, we should be doing everything we can to help those who have served our Nation in one uniform continue to do so in another one right here at home.

In commemoration of both National Police Week and Military Appreciation Month, this bill will better serve our veterans and be a win for communities nationwide.

I want to thank Senator John Cornyn, my colleague from Texas, for his leadership on this issue, and I ask my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 1428.