Amata Cosponsors Bipartisan Law Enforcement Act
Bill Supports Community Involvement and Honor Programs
Washington, D.C. –Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata has cosponsored the bipartisan National Law Enforcement Remembrance, Support, and Community Outreach Act to increase public input and awareness into law enforcement, strengthen data, support safety, and honor heroic service by law enforcement professionals.
Congresswoman Amata said, “This bill honors and remembers the sacrifice of all those who have serviced in law enforcement, which includes my father, the late Governor Coleman, who served as a Capitol Hill Police officer early in his career after the Army. But it does more than that: It establishes a new program in the DOJ to support outreach into the community and public education awareness programs, which would include helping people identify and report problems such as waste, fraud, and abuse of federal program funds.” She continued, “The nation spent a lot of money during the COVID pandemic and some of it was not used responsibly or appropriately in many instances. This can be another step to help identify and account for wasteful and improper spending of the valuable federal assistance that each state and territory receives, along with other initiatives that support the public service of law enforcement.”
Amata with some of American Samoa's law enforcement officers (file photo)
This bipartisan legislation, led by Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) and Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), would establish a formal program within the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to support and enhance community outreach, public education, and officer safety and wellness programs of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF or “the Fund”), including programs to memorialize and honor law enforcement, compile data on law enforcement fatalities and injuries, increase public understanding of and support for law enforcement, enhance and improve law enforcement officer safety and wellness, and other programs designed to bring law enforcement closer to the communities they serve.
Created by Congress in 1984, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) honors the role of law enforcement in service to society, by recognizing the sacrifices and valor of law enforcement, educating the community, and making it safer for those who serve. The NLEOMF includes both the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and the National Law Enforcement Museum.
This bill has the support of NLEOMF’s board member organizations, including COPS, DuPont, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary, International Brotherhood of Police Officers, International Union of Police Associations/AFL-CIO, Motorola Solutions, National Association of Police Organizations, National Black Police Association, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Policing Institute, National Sheriffs’ Association, National Troopers Coalition, Police Executive Research Forum, Police Unity Tour, United Federation of Police Officers, and Verizon.
This additional effort would be funded within the Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) as appropriated yearly by Congress.
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