DeLauro Votes to Fund the Police

September 22, 2022
Press Release

Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today voted in support of several bills to ensure that police departments across the nation have the resources necessary to operate with efficiency and better community safety.

"Violent crime is impacting every community in this country," said Chair DeLauro. "That is why we are acting on needed legislation, like the Invest to Protect Act, which funds local police departments by investing in tools to prevent crime and improve training. I am fighting to making communities safer and give our trusted local law enforcement the tools they need to prevent crime, protect our communities, and improve public safety."

DeLauro and House Democrats passed a package of four public safety and policing bills to enhance public safety and support local law enforcement, including:

  • HR 6448, Invest to Protect Act, which creates a new grant program for small police departments for police officer training and access to mental health resources as well as for improving recruitment and retention, authorizing $60 million a year through FY 2027;
  • HR 5768, Violent Incident Clearance & Technological Methods Act, which creates a new grant program within the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs to help police departments clear (i.e., close) open cases involving homicides, rapes, sexual assaults, kidnaping and non-fatal shootings, authorizing $100 million a year through FY 2032;
  • HR 8542, Mental Health Justice Act, which creates a new HHS grant program to send mental health professionals instead of police officers to respond to certain types of mental health emergencies, authorizing a total of $250 million through FY 2027; and
  • HR 4118, Break the Cycle of Violence Act, which creates new grant programs in the Health and Human Services (HHS) and Labor departments to support community-based violence intervention initiatives, authorizing a total of $6.5 billion through Fiscal Year (FY) 2029.

"We want our communities to be safer," continued DeLauro. "Police are our first responders. They put their lives on the line time and time again. They need to have our respect and they need to have our support. I promise I will always support funding the police."