Washington Post – Oct. 28, 2022

Posted by: jgomori Posted date: October 28, 2022

On Oct. 27, NAPO participated in virtual discussion with representatives from the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the Civil Rights Division, and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office to discuss the President’s police reform executive order, particularly Section 14, entitled, “Promoting Comprehensive and Collaborative Responses to Persons in Behavioral or Mental Health Crisis”; During the Congressional recess, NAPO is continuing to meet with the staff of members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Corrections Act (H.R. 4965), to garner strong support for the bill. This bill would provide additional funding to the 9/11 World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), which will face a budget shortfall starting in 2025, causing the program to have to limit spending and reduce services for new enrollees as soon as next year; On Oct. 25, New York Supreme Court Judge Ralph Porzio sided with a group of New York City sanitation workers who were fired for refusing to comply with the City’s COVID vaccine mandate, ruling they should get their jobs back and receive retroactive pay; NAPO is reaching out to Members to garner additional cosponsors to show House leadership there is widespread support for the Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act (S. 4003/H.R. 8637). With Congress returning from a six-week recess Nov. 14, there is little time left in the year to move legislation. NAPO is working with Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) to push the bill, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent Aug. 1, across the finish line. It is a bipartisan bill that is supported by nearly 50 national law enforcement and mental health organizations and advocacy groups that should easily move through the House; Don’t let your TOP COPS nominations get lost in the year-end shuffle! Nominate an officer for NAPO’s 30th Annual TOP COP Awards before the Jan. 11, 2023 deadline; Please join us at NAPO’s 34th Annual Police, Fire, EMS, & Municipal Employee Pension & Benefits Seminar, Jan. 29 – 31, 2023, at Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For more on these and other legislative initiatives, please click on the Oct. 28, 2022 Washington Report below.

 Oct. 28, 2022 Washington Report