WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) yesterday reintroduced the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act to increase access to funding for small law enforcement agencies in Iowa and across the country. The bipartisan legislation would set aside $250 million to help local police invest in training, mental health support, recruitment and retention.
 
“I share the concerns of many Iowans who have told me that low recruitment and retention rates of local officers in the police force are impacting their communities,” Grassley said. “It’s clear more needs to be done to reverse this troubling trend. Our local law enforcement does essential work to protect us, and we ought to be uncompromising in our support for them.”
 
“Our law enforcement agencies keep Nevadans safe and I’ve always fought to deliver the resources they need,” Cortez Masto said. “From our rural communities to our Tribal nations, this funding will support small police departments doing critical work across the country.”
 
Background
More than 90% of all police departments nationally employ fewer than 200 full-time officers. These small departments often struggle to compete with larger ones for access to critical resources.
 
The Invest to Protect Act would establish a grant program through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to provide $50 million per year for five years to help local law enforcement agencies with fewer than 200 officers make meaningful investments in their officers and communities. The bill also requires a grant application process that can be completed within 2 hours so that small agencies without dedicated grant-writing staff can access the funding. The legislation is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, and the National Sheriffs’ Association.
 
The legislation is also cosponsored by Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and John Rutherford (R-Fla.).
 
The full text of the legislation is available HERE. 
 
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