House Passes Problem Solvers Caucus Endorsed Bipartisan “Invest to Protect Act”

September 22, 2022
Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, the Problem Solvers Caucus-endorsed bill, H.R. 6448, passed the House. The bipartisan Invest to Protect Act, a bill designed to invest in good policing, will help small law enforcement departments across the country get the resources and training they need to keep themselves and our families safe.

The vast majority of law enforcement agencies in the United States are small, with 96 percent of U.S. police departments having under 125 sworn officers. The Invest to Protect Act will create new targeted investments for small departments to obtain needed support, resources, and training while allowing them to utilize funds for meaningful investments in their officers and communities.

Earlier this year, as the country recognized National Police Week, lead House sponsor and Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair Rep.  Josh Gottheimer and Co-Chair Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick brought the bipartisan, bicameral bill to the Caucus for endorsement, which garnered the support of more than 75 percent of the Problem Solvers Caucus.

 The Invest to Protect Act will provide targeted, critical federal investments to small, local law enforcement agencies to:

  1.  Fund officer safety, de-escalation, and domestic violence response training, without putting a strain on department budgets or reducing the number of officers on duty;
  2. Expand departments to recruit and bring in new, good officers, and offer retention bonuses to help communities keep their best officers;
  3. Provide resources to departments to offer mental health services for their officers

The law enforcement community widely supports the bill, including the National Fraternal Order of Police and the National Association of Police Organizations.

Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus Members who are sponsors of the bill include Reps. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), Don Bacon (NE-2), Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-7), Salud Carbajal (PA-7), Ed Case (HI-1), Jim Costa (CA-16), Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Andrew Garbarino (NY-2), Jared Golden (ME-2), Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16), Jennifer González-Colón (PR-AL), Josh Harder (CA-10), Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-3), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-6), Dusty Johnson (SD-AL), David Joyce (OH-14), John Katko (NY-24), Dan Kildee (MI-5), Conor Lamb (PA-17), Susie Lee (NV-3), Elaine Luria (VA-2), Tom Malinowski (NJ-7), Peter Meijer (MI-3), Dan Meuser (PA-9), Tom O’Halleran (AZ-1), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Chris Pappas (NH-1), Dean Phillips (MN-3), Tom Rice (SC-7), Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Kurt Schrader (OR-5), Darren Soto (FL-9), Abigail Spanberger (VA-7), Elissa Slotkin (MI-8), Bryan Steil (WI-1), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Thomas Suozzi (NY-3), Fred Upton (MI-6), and David Valadao (CA-21).