I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5029 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
provide that COPS grant funds may be used for local law enforcement 
recruits to attend schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve 
in precincts of law enforcement agencies in their communities. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 27, 2023 
Mr. MORAN (for himself, Ms. ROSS, Mr. HUNT, Mr. PFLUGER, and Mr. IVEY) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 to provide that COPS grant funds may 
be used for local law enforcement recruits to attend 
schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve in 
precincts of law enforcement agencies in their commu-
nities. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strong Communities 
Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. STRONG COMMUNITIES PROGRAM. 
Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(o) COPS STRONG COMMUNITIES PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi-
ble entity’ means— 
‘‘(i) an institution of higher education, 
as defined in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), 
that, in coordination or through an agree-
ment with a local law enforcement agency, 
offers a law enforcement training program; 
or 
‘‘(ii) a local law enforcement agency 
that offers a law enforcement training pro-
gram. 
‘‘(B) LOCAL
LAW
ENFORCEMENT
AGEN-
CY.—The term ‘local law enforcement agency’ 
means an agency of a State, unit of local gov-
ernment, or Indian Tribe that is authorized by 
law or by a government agency to engage in or 
supervise the prevention, detection, investiga-
tion, or prosecution of any violation of criminal 
law. 
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‘‘(2) GRANTS.—The Attorney General may use 
amounts otherwise appropriated to carry out this 
section for a fiscal year (beginning with fiscal year 
2023) to make competitive grants to local law en-
forcement agencies to be used for officers and re-
cruits to attend law enforcement training programs 
at eligible entities if the officers and recruits agree 
to serve in law enforcement agencies in their com-
munities. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant 
through a local law enforcement agency under this 
subsection, each officer or recruit described in para-
graph (2) shall— 
‘‘(A) serve as a full-time law enforcement 
officer for a total of not fewer than 4 years dur-
ing the 8-year period beginning on the date on 
which the officer or recruit completes a law en-
forcement training program for which the offi-
cer or recruit receives benefits; 
‘‘(B) complete the service described in sub-
paragraph (A) in a local law enforcement agen-
cy located within— 
‘‘(i) 7 miles of the residence of the of-
ficer or recruit where the officer or recruit 
has resided for not fewer than 5 years; or 
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