NAPO is advocating for improvements to the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program after working with officers and families continually seeking NAPO's help with their claims that have been dragging on for 3 to 4 years, some even up to 12 years, with no understanding why PSOB is taking so long to determine their claim. NAPO worked with Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) on the Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansbro Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program Expansion Act, which would:

• Extend PSOB eligibility and partial benefits to officers who are permanently, but not totally, disabled and are unable to perform any gainful work as a public safety officer as a direct result of the injury;
• Require the PSOB Office to complete a death or disability determination within 270 days of receiving a complete claim;
• Expedite claims processing for officers already certified for benefits through the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) or the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF); and
• Direct BJA to implement September 2024 Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations to establish updated program processes and administrative procedures to improve transparency and accountability.

As the Senate was preparing to consider a major affordable housing package, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, NAPO reached out to Senate leadership and the Administration to include the Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder (HELPER) Act in the legislation. NAPO sent a letter to Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren urging inclusion of the HELPER Act to address housing affordability, and the law enforcement recruitment and retention crisis. NAPO is actively supporting Senator Ashley Moody’s (R-FL) efforts to add it as an amendment to the ROAD to Housing Act, reaching out to every Senator urging their support. Votes on amendments are expected early next week.

The fight against “sanctuary city” policies is gaining steam. On March 5, the House Judiciary Committee marked up the Shut Down Sanctuary Cities Act and the Senate Budget Committee is planning a hearing on “Sanctuary Cities: The Cost of Undermining Law and Order” which focuses on Chairman Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) End Sanctuary Cities Act. NAPO supports the elimination of sanctuary jurisdictions, which make it difficult for law enforcement to effectively protect communities from violent criminal aliens. However, NAPO opposes penalizing state and local law enforcement agencies for policies they did not enact. The Shut Down Sanctuary Cities Act would make sanctuary cities ineligible for certain grants through the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, including the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne-JAG) program and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants. NAPO strongly believes legislation ending sanctuary policies must provide legal protections for officers who comply with an immigration detainer.

NAPO sent a letter to the leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee supporting reauthorizing the First Responder Network (FirstNet) Authority and met with staff of Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), who is championing FirstNet reauthorization, to discuss our primary concerns. We are urging lawmakers to maintain the nationwide broadband network dedicated to emergency responders and public safety as an independent agency within the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). NAPO supports the expansion of the FirstNet Authority Board to ensure public safety professionals have a stronger voice and representation.

NAPO pledged our support for the Safe Access to Cash Act (S. 3798), which ensures robberies involving off-site automatic teller machines (ATMs) receive federal penalties equal to those imposed for on-site robberies of banks. 

With the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shut down for more than three weeks, Congress and the Administration are at a standstill over reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On March 5, President Trump announced that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will be stepping down from the position and he is nominating Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to replace her. Noem has received criticism from both sides of the aisle in Congress, but her departure has not altered Democrats stance on funding DHS, as they continue to call for ICE reforms. Republicans say DHS needs to be funded and fully functional to effectively protect the homeland from terrorist threats since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran on Feb. 28

See if your U.S. Representatives and Senators support NAPO’s priority legislation on NAPO's interactive Sponsor/Cosponsor map and the latest “Legislative Positions” document on the NAPO website.

For complete details about these and other legislative issues, click here for the March 6, 2026 Washington Report.