In an important win for NAPO, the Senate voted Oct. 9 to include the NAPO-backed amendment sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Richard Durbin (D-IL) – the Law Enforcement and Crime Victims Support Package (S. Amdt. 3272) – in the Fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bills included in the package are: the Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act (S. 1563), the Strong Communities Act (S. 1316), the Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act (S. 180), the Reauthorizing STOIC Act (S. 419), and the PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act (S. 539).
On Oct. 7, NAPO contacted Attorney General Pam Bondi about our significant concerns with the current state of the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program. This action follows Senator Grassley’s June 24th letter to Bondi seeking information and accountability as to why the program is falling short. The NAPO letter and Chairman Grassley’s letter are in response to the September 2024 Government Accountability Office (GAO) damning report on the PSOB Program: Report to Congress, Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB).
NAPO Executive Board member and President of the Portland Police Association Sgt. Aaron Schmautz and NAPO Director of Governmental Affairs Andy Edmiston met with Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon on Oct. 8 to discuss the situation in Portland, Oregon. The Portland Police Bureau is under an Obama-era consent decree, which dictates much of how officers respond to protests, demonstrations, and riots. Since President Trump is signaling he plans to deploy the National Guard to Portland to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the city from Antifa, the need for local and federal partners to be on the same page is more important than ever.
The federal government has been under a partial shutdown since Oct. 1, the end of the 2025 fiscal year, because Congress has not come to a funding agreement for the federal government for Fiscal 2026. The House passed a clean spending measure to fund the government at Fiscal 2025 levels through Nov. 21, but it has not passed the Senate. Democrats are refusing to vote for the continuing resolution unless the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premiums, which will expire at the end of 2025, are extended as part of the funding bill. During the shutdown, federal law enforcement officers are putting their lives on the line without getting paid. Federal funding for task forces has halted, as well as federal grants, resources, and support for state and local law enforcement.
On Sept. 30, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed new rules to enable local and state correctional facilities to jam signals from illegal contraband cellphones. Currently, jamming devices are not allowed in non-federal prisons and have been banned by the FCC for nearly 90 years.
NAPO met with the House Judiciary Committee majority staff to discuss a possible crime bill the Administration has been pushing to address major crime in cities and communities and NAPO policy priorities for that legislative package. NAPO’s focus is on officer protections and safeguards and includes: The Protect & Serve Act or provisions that would increase penalties for violent crimes against officers; LEOSA Reform Act; Additional funding for NAPO priority grant programs; Qualified Immunity Act; Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights; Public Safety Free Speech Act; and Law Enforcement Solidarity Act.
For complete details about these legislative issues, please click here for the Oct. 10, 2025 Washington Report.
