Submit your TOP COP Nominations today! Please take the time to nominate examples of outstanding police work for this prestigious award. NAPO counts on you, our members, to help us get the word about TOP COPS out and obtain nominations for officers nationwide. The nomination form can be found on our website, and it must be postmarked or faxed to (703) 684-0515 by Jan. 12, 2024.

Congress avoided a government shutdown Nov. 15 by passing a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government into the new year by wide bipartisan margins. The CR broke up the funding extension into two separate deadlines: funding for agencies covered by the Agriculture, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD bills will run out on Jan. 19, 2024 and funding for agencies covered by the remaining eight bills, including the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill, expires Feb. 2. This is considered a “laddered” CR, and it is the first time Congress has funded the government in this manner. The House passed the CR Nov. 14 with a 336-95 vote, with most conservative Republicans voting against the measure because it did not include any funding cuts. Out of anger that Speaker Mike Johnson passed not only a “clean” CR with no cuts but with the support of most Democrats, members of the House Freedom Caucus joined Democrats and moderate Republicans in opposing consideration of the CJS spending measure, which the House was scheduled to take up after it passed the CR.

After spending almost a year doing outreach, meetings, and letters and garnering a record 300 bipartisan cosponsors in just 10 months, in a victory for NAPO, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security is holding a field hearing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Nov. 20 on “Social Security’s Disservice to Public Servants: How the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset Mistreat Government Workers”.  NAPO President Mick McHale submitted a statement for the record urging action on the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), which would totally repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

There is a loophole in U.S. trade law, known as Section 321 de minimis, that is facilitating the importation of millions of pounds of fentanyl and other illicit drugs to the U.S. market. Just as we are supporting the FEND Off Fentanyl Act to fight off fentanyl before it crosses our borders, we back the closing of this loophole. NAPO sent a letter to President Biden Nov.  9 urging him to take immediate action under his executive authority to close the de minimis loophole. We stand ready to work with the Administration to ensure much-needed reforms are made to resolve this massive and growing problem that is literally endangering and killing our citizens.

Before leaving for Thanksgiving recess, the Senate voted Nov. 15 to formally start conference negotiations over the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (H.R. 2670).  NAPO has two significant priorities that were passed as part of the Senate version of the NDAA:  the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2023 (Section 1087) and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act (Title LXVIII). NAPO sent a letter to the leadership of both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and copied House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-MA) urging the retention of these vital provisions in the final Conference Report of H.R. 2670.

Register today and join NAPO Jan. 28 – 30, 2024 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for NAPO’s 35th Annual Police, Fire, EMS & Municipal Employee Pension & Benefits Seminar. Take an active role in improving the future of your fund by registering today. You will find information regarding registration, hotel reservations and the full agenda on NAPO’s website: www.NAPO.org/PB24. Early bird registration ends on Dec. 1.

NAPO’s updated “Sponsor/Cosponsor” spreadsheet is available on NAPO’s website along with the latest “Legislative Positions” document. 

For more about these and other legislative news, please click here for the Nov. 17, 2023 Washington Report.