118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1144 

AN ACT 

To establish a grant program to provide assistance to local 

law enforcement agencies, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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†S 1144 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Invest to Protect Act 

3 of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

6 (1) DE-ESCALATION TRAINING.—The term ‘‘de7 escalation training’’ means training relating to tak8 ing action or communicating verbally or non-verbally 

9 during a potential force encounter in an attempt to 

10 stabilize the situation and reduce the immediacy of 

11 the threat so that more time, options, and resources 

12 can be called upon to resolve the situation without 

13 the use of force or with a reduction in the force nec14 essary. 

15 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

16 the Director of the Office. 

17 (3) ELIGIBLE LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

18 ‘‘eligible local government’’ means— 

19 (A) a county, municipality, town, township, 

20 village, parish, borough, or other unit of general 

21 government below the State level that employs 

22 fewer than 175 law enforcement officers; and 

23 (B) a Tribal government that employs 

24 fewer than 175 law enforcement officers. 

25 (4) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 

26 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the meaning given the 
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1 term ‘‘career law enforcement officer’’ in section 

2 1709 of title I the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

3 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10389). 

4 (5) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of5 fice of Community Oriented Policing Services of the 

6 Department of Justice. 

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

8 the Office a grant program to— 

9 (1) provide training and access to mental health 

10 resources to local law enforcement officers; and 

11 (2) improve the recruitment and retention of 

12 local law enforcement officers. 

13 (c) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 120 days after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall award 

15 grants to eligible local governments as a part of the grant 

16 program established under subsection (b). 

17 (d) APPLICATIONS.— 

18 (1) BARRIERS.—The Attorney General shall de19 termine what barriers exist to establishing a stream20 lined application process for grants under this sec21 tion. 

22 (2) REPORT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the At25 torney General shall submit to Congress a re-
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1 port that includes a plan to execute a stream2 lined application process for grants under this 

3 section under which an eligible local government 

4 seeking a grant under this section can reason5 ably complete the application in not more than 

6 2 hours. 

7 (B) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan re8 quired under subparagraph (A) may include a 

9 plan for— 

10 (i) proactively providing eligible local 

11 governments seeking a grant under this 

12 section with information on the data eligi13 ble local governments will need to prepare 

14 before beginning the grant application; and 

15 (ii) ensuring technical assistance is 

16 available for eligible local governments 

17 seeking a grant under this section before 

18 and during the grant application process, 

19 including through dedicated liaisons within 

20 the Office. 

21 (3) APPLICATIONS.—In selecting eligible local 

22 governments to receive grants under this section, the 

23 Director shall use the streamlined application proc24 ess described in paragraph (2)(A). 
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1 (e) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible local govern2 ment that receives a grant under this section may use 

3 amounts from the grant only for— 

4 (1) de-escalation training for law enforcement 

5 officers; 

6 (2) victim-centered training for law enforcement 

7 officers in handling situations of domestic violence; 

8 (3) evidence-based law enforcement safety 

9 training for— 

10 (A) active shooter situations; 

11 (B) the safe handling of illicit drugs and 

12 precursor chemicals; 

13 (C) rescue situations; 

14 (D) recognizing and countering ambush at15 tacks; or 

16 (E) response to calls for service involv17 ing— 

18 (i) persons with mental health needs; 

19 (ii) persons with substance use dis20 orders; 

21 (iii) veterans; 

22 (iv) persons with disabilities; 

23 (v) vulnerable youth; 
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1 (vi) persons who are victims of domes2 tic violence, sexual assault, or trafficking; 

3 or 

4 (vii) persons experiencing homeless5 ness or living in poverty; 

6 (4) the offsetting of overtime costs associated 

7 with scheduling issues relating to the participation 

8 of a law enforcement officer in the training de9 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (3), (9), and (10); 

10 (5) a signing bonus for a law enforcement offi11 cer in an amount determined by the eligible local 

12 government; 

13 (6) a retention bonus for a law enforcement of14 ficer— 

15 (A) in an amount determined by the eligi16 ble local government that does not exceed 20 

17 percent of the salary of the law enforcement of18 ficer; and 

19 (B) who— 

20 (i) has been employed at the law en21 forcement agency for not fewer than 5 

22 years; 

23 (ii) has not been found by an internal 

24 investigation to have engaged in serious 

25 misconduct; and 
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1 (iii) commits to remain employed by 

2 the law enforcement agency for not less 

3 than 3 years after the date of receipt of 

4 the bonus; 

5 (7) a stipend for the graduate education of law 

6 enforcement officers in the area of mental health, 

7 public health, or social work, which shall not exceed 

8 the lesser of— 

9 (A) $10,000; or 

10 (B) the amount the law enforcement offi11 cer pays towards such graduate education; 

12 (8) providing access to patient-centered behav13 ioral health services for law enforcement officers, 

14 which may include resources for risk assessments, 

15 evidence-based, trauma-informed care to treat post16 traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder, 

17 peer support and counselor services and family sup18 ports, and the promotion of improved access to high 

19 quality mental health care through telehealth; 

20 (9) the implementation of evidence-based best 

21 practices and training on the use of lethal and non22 lethal force; 

23 (10) the implementation of evidence-based best 

24 practices and training on the duty of care and the 

25 duty to intervene; and 
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1 (11) data collection for police practices relating 

2 to officer and community safety. 

3 (f) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT RECIPI4 ENTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 

6 reasonable reporting requirements specifically relat7 ing to a grant awarded under this section for eligible 

8 local governments that receive such a grant in order 

9 to assist with the evaluation by the Office of the pro10 gram established under this section. 

11 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing require12 ments under paragraph (1), the Director shall con13 sider the capacity of law enforcement agencies with 

14 fewer than 175 officers to collect and report infor15 mation. 

16 (g) DISCLOSURE OF OFFICER RECRUITMENT AND

17 RETENTION BONUSES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

19 the date on which an eligible local government that 

20 receives a grant under this section awards a signing 

21 or retention bonus described in paragraph (5) or (6) 

22 of subsection (e), the eligible local government shall 

23 disclose to the Director and make publicly available 

24 on a website of the eligible local government the 

25 amount of the bonus. 
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1 (2) REPORT.—The Attorney General shall sub2 mit to the appropriate congressional committees an 

3 annual report that includes each signing or retention 

4 bonus disclosed under paragraph (1) during the pre5 ceding year. 

6 (h) GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—All grants awarded by the 

8 Director under this section shall be subject to the 

9 accountability provisions described in this sub10 section. 

11 (2) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.— 

12 (A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

13 term ‘‘unresolved audit finding’’ means a find14 ing in the final audit report of the Inspector 

15 General of the Department of Justice that the 

16 audited grantee has used grant funds for an 

17 unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallow18 able cost that is not closed or resolved within 

19 12 months from the date when the final audit 

20 report is issued. 

21 (B) AUDITS.—Beginning in the first fiscal 

22 year beginning after the date of enactment of 

23 this subsection, and in each fiscal year there24 after, the Inspector General of the Department 

25 of Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of 
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1 grants under this section to prevent waste, 

2 fraud, and abuse of funds by grantees. The In3 spector General of the Department of Justice 

4 shall determine the appropriate number of 

5 grantees to be audited each year. 

6 (C) MANDATORY EXCLUSION.—A recipient 

7 of grant funds under this section that is found 

8 to have an unresolved audit finding shall not be 

9 eligible to receive grant funds under this section 

10 during the first 3 fiscal years beginning after 

11 the end of the 12-month period described in 

12 subparagraph (A). 

13 (D) REIMBURSEMENT.—If an eligible local 

14 government is awarded grant funds under this 

15 section during the 3-fiscal-year period during 

16 which the eligible local government is barred 

17 from receiving grants under subparagraph (C), 

18 the Attorney General shall— 

19 (i) deposit an amount equal to the 

20 amount of the grant funds that were im21 properly awarded to the grantee into the 

22 General Fund of the Treasury; and 

23 (ii) seek to recoup the costs of the re24 payment to the fund from the grant recipi-
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1 ent that was erroneously awarded grant 

2 funds. 

3 (3) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—Beginning in the 

4 fiscal year during which audits commence under 

5 paragraph (2)(B), the Attorney General shall submit 

6 to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Com7 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

8 Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 

9 Appropriations of the House of Representatives an 

10 annual certification— 

11 (A) indicating whether— 

12 (i) all audits issued by the Office of 

13 the Inspector General of the Department 

14 of Justice under paragraph (2) have been 

15 completed and reviewed by the appropriate 

16 Assistant Attorney General or Director; 

17 (ii) all mandatory exclusions required 

18 under paragraph (2)(C) have been issued; 

19 and 

20 (iii) all reimbursements required 

21 under paragraph (2)(D) have been made; 

22 and 

23 (B) that includes a list of any grant recipi24 ents excluded under paragraph (2) from the 

25 previous year. 
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1 (i) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—Not less frequently 

2 than annually, the Attorney General shall analyze the in3 formation provided by eligible local governments pursuant 

4 to the reporting requirements established under subsection 

5 (f)(1) to evaluate the efficacy of programs funded by the 

6 grant program under this section. 

7 (j) PREVENTING DUPLICATIVE GRANTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before the Director awards 

9 a grant to an eligible local government under this 

10 section, the Attorney General shall compare poten11 tial grant awards with other grants awarded by the 

12 Attorney General to determine if grant awards are 

13 or have been awarded for a similar purpose. 

14 (2) REPORT.—If the Attorney General awards 

15 grants to the same applicant for a similar purpose, 

16 whether through the grant program under this sec17 tion or another grant program administered by the 

18 Department of Justice, the Attorney General shall 

19 submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

20 Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

21 House of Representatives a report that includes— 

22 (A) a list of all such grants awarded, in23 cluding the total dollar amount of any such 

24 grants awarded; and 
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1 (B) the reason the Attorney General 

2 awarded multiple grants to the same applicant 

3 for a similar purpose. 

4 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 not more than $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

7 through 2029. 

Passed the Senate December 17 (legislative day, December 16), 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1144 

AN ACT 

To establish a grant program to provide assistance 

purposes. to local law enforcement agencies, and for other