We have lost more federal, state and local law enforcement officers from 9/11-related illnesses over the past 20 years than we lost on Sept. 11, 2001. Those numbers are only expected to rise as 9/11 responders and survivors are still battling serious health crises resulting from exposure to the toxins at Ground Zero. NAPO fought hard for the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in 2010 and its reauthorization in 2015. In 2015, Congress reauthorized the WTCHP until 2090. Unfortunately, this has proven to not be enough as the reauthorization imposed yearly spending caps tied to inflation only as measured by the Consumer Price Index and not the historically higher, and faster rising, medical cost inflation. This week, NAPO took the lead on a joint law enforcement letter – with national, state, and local law enforcement organizations, including many NAPO member organizations – urging Congress to provide an additional $3 billion for WTCHP; On Sept. 7, NAPO sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urging them to bring the Social Security Fairness Act up for a vote as soon as possible. With the House only scheduled to be in session until Sept. 30 and then out through the November elections, our time to move on this important bill is quickly running out; NAPO, together with other national law enforcement organizations, met with staff of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise and majority and minority staff for the House Energy and Commerce Committee to discuss protecting law enforcement’s lawful access to digital information and evidence. The law enforcement community support data privacy, especially for our officers, and we agree that laws that govern data privacy and access to digital evidence should be updated. However, any update should remove unnecessary barriers to accessing digital evidence and crime-related information and consider public safety concerns on a par with the interests of industry and individual privacy; NAPO pledged its support for the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Reauthorization Act, which has brought together federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to target violent gang and gun crimes in our communities since its inception in 2001; and NAPO also supports the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act (S. 4628), which would address ambiguities and conflicting application of existing criminal statutes by clarifying congressional intent, giving law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to deter and punish violent crimes. Register today for NAPO’s 2022 Fall Seminar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which will focus on the mid-term national elections, and what the outcome means for control of the Congress and NAPO’s legislative priorities.

For more details, click on the Sept. 16, 2022 Washington Report below.