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WASHINGTON REPORT – JAN. 31, 2025
Jan 31, 2025

The Social Security Administration (SSA) posted on its website a detailed update and frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), including what it does, who it impacts, and what retirees can expect. Click here for the FAQ. NAPO would like to highlight the last FAQ question: “What challenges does SSA face implementing the Social Security Fairness Act?”. The bottom line is it may take up to a year to adjust and pay all the retroactive benefits to those impacted by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). 

On Jan. 29, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines (12-10) to approve Pam Bondi’s nomination to be the next U.S. Attorney General. NAPO supports Attorney General Bondi. The Senate will vote on her confirmation next. On Jan. 30, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Kash Patel, President Trump’s nominee for Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). NAPO sent a letter endorsing Mr. Patel to the Senate Judiciary Committee as we believe his distinguished career in public service gives him a unique perspective that will only benefit him as FBI Director. 

NAPO Director of Governmental Affairs Andy Edmiston attended the official bill signing ceremony for the Laken Riley Act at the White House Jan. 29. This Act mandates illegal immigrants arrested for the assault of a law enforcement officer, any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person, burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting be detained for deportation and authorizes state attorneys general to sue the federal government for alleged failures of immigration enforcement. The Act is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was murdered while out on a run Feb. 22, 2024. Her killer is an illegal immigrant, who was initially detained by Customs and Border Protection officers, then paroled and released for further processing. He was later allegedly arrested in New York City and released again before killing Ms. Riley. 

As House and Senate Republican lawmakers begin considering the tax reconciliation package to extend and expand the 2017 tax cuts, NAPO sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) outlining our tax-related priorities which include supporting: President Trump’s campaign proposal to make overtime pay tax-free; Elimination or Significant Reform of the SALT Deduction Cap. NAPO has opposed the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deduction since it was instituted in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The SALT deduction helped ensure state and local first responders receive the support they need as public safety budgets across the country are largely drawn from state and local property, sales, and income taxes; Reinstating Deductions for Public Safety Work-Related Out-of-Pocket Expenses; Increasing the Healthcare Enhancement for Local Public Safety (HELPS) Retirees provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 from $3,000 to $6,000 for more affordable healthcare options; and Creating a Tax Credit for Retailers Who Sell Firearms Storage Devices. NAPO opposes the unrelated business income tax (UBIT) on state and local governmental pension plans, which was considered as an offset for the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) reintroduced two of NAPO’s priority bills, the Protect and Serve Act (S. 167) and the Justice for Fallen Law Enforcement Act (S. 166). The Protect & Serve Act would add new federal criminal provisions for assault, attempted killing, or killing of law enforcement officers, giving federal prosecutors tools to hold accountable those who attack law enforcement. The Justice for Fallen Law Enforcement Act would create a criminal penalty of life imprisonment or the death penalty for murder of a federal, state, and local enforcement officer. It also adds a criminal penalty of 20 years in prison for assault resulting in serious injury to a federal, state, and local law enforcement officer.

Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) reintroduced NAPO priority legislation, the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, which recognizes exposure-related cancers as line of duty injuries and would cover them under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program for death and disability benefits.

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) reintroduced the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act, which would make permanent the current classwide scheduling of all fentanyl-related substances as Schedule 1 drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, better enabling law enforcement to combat and deter fentanyl in our nation. NAPO sent a letter of support for the HALT Fentanyl Act and joined nine national law enforcement organizations in a letter of support to House Leadership. The House is expected to vote on this bill as early as next week.

NAPO also supports these reintroduced bills: Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act, Protecting Law Enforcement from Secondary Exposure Act, Import Security and Fairness Act, and Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues (SOFA) Act.

For more details on these legislative issues, please click here for the January 31, 2025 Washington Report


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