I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6375 
To permit COPS grants to be used for the purpose of increasing the 
compensation and hiring of law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 12, 2022 
Mr. RICE of South Carolina (for himself, Ms. SPANBERGER, Ms. HERRERA 
BEUTLER, Mr. GOLDEN, Mr. CHABOT, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. 
OWENS, Mr. KIND, Mr. KATKO, Mr. CUELLAR, and Mrs. KIM of Cali-
fornia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To permit COPS grants to be used for the purpose of in-
creasing the compensation and hiring of law enforcement 
officers, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘COPS on the Beat 
Grant Program Reauthorization and Parity Act of 2022’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The President’s Task Force on 21st Cen-
tury Policing highlighted the importance of hiring 
law enforcement officers who reflect the diversity 
and values of the community, and who have both the 
mindset and the skills needed to engage with the 
community. 
(2) Diverse workforces can be more effective, 
creative, and resilient than homogenous workforces, 
and teams with broader perspectives result in better 
decision-making and problem-solving practices. Re-
cruiting a diverse pool of candidates includes quali-
fied individuals from different races, genders, 
ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. 
(3) Effective law enforcement recruitment prac-
tices can help engender trust, develop good relations 
with their communities, and ensure that the officers 
they hire can best serve those communities. Recruit-
ment efforts should start in the community, and law 
enforcement agencies should consider developing 
youth programs to attract younger generations. This 
could 
include 
Explorer 
programs, 
internships 
through local schools, cadet academies, university 
partnerships, and youth mentorship programs that 
foster relationships between young adults and de-
partments. Not only do these programs develop en-
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thusiasm for a law enforcement career, they can also 
build relationships between law enforcement agencies 
and the communities they serve. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the COPS Office is uniquely suited to empower 
local law enforcement agencies to fulfill recommendations 
related to law enforcement hiring practices, including 
agencies being reflective of the communities they serve, 
both demographically and in values and vision, and pos-
sessing the mindset and skills needed to engage with the 
community. 
SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF COPS ON THE BEAT GRANT 
PROGRAMS. 
(a) REAUTHORIZATION
OF COPS ON
THE BEAT 
GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 1001(a)(11)(A) of title I of 
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(34 U.S.C. 10261(a)(11)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘for 
each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009’’ and inserting 
‘‘for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2031’’. 
SEC. 4. RURAL COMMUNITY ACCESS TO COPS GRANTS. 
(a) USES OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Section 1701(b) of 
title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(b)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 
(23) as paragraphs (4) through (24), respectively; 
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(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) in the case of any State or unit of local 
government that has a median household income of 
less than 70 percent of the national median house-
hold income and qualifies for a reduced contribution 
under subsection (g)(2), to increase wages of career 
law enforcement officers to not more than 80 per-
cent of the national median household income;’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (23), as redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘through (21)’’ and inserting ‘‘through 
(22)’’. 
(b) 
PREFERENTIAL
CONSIDERATION.—Section 
1701(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(c)) is amended— 
(1) by striking paragraph (1); and 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 
paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively. 
(c) COST SHARE.—Section 1701(g) of title I of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
U.S.C. 10381(g)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(g) MATCHING FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the portion of the costs of a program, 
project, or activity provided by a grant under sub-
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section (a) may not exceed 75 percent, unless the 
Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the re-
quirement under this subsection of a non-Federal 
contribution to the costs of a program, project, or 
activity. In relation to a grant for a period exceeding 
1 year for hiring or rehiring or increasing the com-
pensation of career law enforcement officers, the 
Federal share shall decrease from year to year for 
up to 5 years, looking toward the continuation of the 
increased hiring and compensation level using State 
or local sources of funding following the conclusion 
of Federal support, as provided in an approved plan 
pursuant to section 1702(c)(8). 
‘‘(2) 
REDUCED
NON-FEDERAL
CONTRIBU-
TION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The portion of the 
costs of a program, project, or activity provided 
by a grant under subsection (a), in any State 
or unit of local government described in sub-
paragraph (B), may not exceed— 
‘‘(i) 90 percent for the first year of 
the grant; 
‘‘(ii) 85 percent for the second year of 
the grant; 
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‘‘(iii) 80 percent for the third year of 
the grant; and 
‘‘(iv) 75 percent for the fourth year of 
the grant. 
‘‘(B) STATE OR UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERN-
MENT DESCRIBED.—A State or unit of local 
government described in this subparagraph is 
any State or unit of local government— 
‘‘(i) with a median household income 
that is not more than 80 percent of the na-
tional median household income; 
‘‘(ii) that does not provide a single 
employee with compensation that is more 
than double the national median household 
income; and 
‘‘(iii) that is a rural State, rural com-
munity, or rural area as such terms are 
defined in section 40002(a) of the Violent 
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 
of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(26)(A)) is 
amended.’’. 
(d) LIMITATION ON HIRING AND REHIRING.—Sec-
tion 1704(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10384(c)) is amended 
to read as follows: 
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‘‘(c) HIRING AND COMPENSATION COST.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Funding provided under 
this part for hiring or rehiring a career law enforce-
ment officer may not exceed $75,000, unless the At-
torney General grants a waiver from this limitation. 
‘‘(2) REDUCED CONTRIBUTION.—In the case of 
a jurisdiction that qualifies for a reduced contribu-
tion under section 1701(g)(2), a career law enforce-
ment officer who is hired or rehired or whose com-
pensation is increased under this part may not re-
ceive from any funding provided under this part 
compensation exceeding 80 percent of the national 
median household income for work performed as an 
on-duty law enforcement officer.’’. 
(e) ALLOCATION
OF
COPS GRANT
PROGRAM 
FUNDS.—Section 1001(a)(11)(B) of title I of the Omni-
bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
U.S.C. 10261(a)(11)(B)) is amended by inserting after 
the second sentence the following: ‘‘If funds remain avail-
able for obligation under this subparagraph in a fiscal year 
after all eligible and qualified grantees have been funded 
from the 50 percent of funding allocated for grants pursu-
ant to applications submitted by units of local government 
or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over areas 
with populations exceeding 150,000 or by public and pri-
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vate entities that serve areas with populations exceeding 
150,000, the remaining funds may be used for grants pur-
suant to applications submitted by units of local govern-
ment or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over 
areas with populations 150,000 or less or by public and 
private entities that serve areas with populations 150,000 
or less.’’. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1709 of title I of the Om-
nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
U.S.C. 10389) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(8) ‘Attorney General’ means the Attorney 
General, acting through the COPS Director.’’. 
SEC. 5. COPS OFFICE. 
(a) COPS PROGRAM.—Section 1701(a) of title I of 
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(34 U.S.C. 10381(a)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLIC-
ING SERVICES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is within the Depart-
ment of Justice, under the general authority of the 
Attorney General, a separate and distinct office to 
be known as the Office of Community Oriented Po-
licing Services (referred to in this subsection as the 
‘COPS Office’). 
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‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The COPS Office shall be 
headed by a Director who shall— 
‘‘(A) be appointed by the Attorney Gen-
eral; and 
‘‘(B) have final authority over grants 
under this part and any other grants, coopera-
tive agreements, and contracts awarded by the 
COPS Office.’’. 
SEC. 6. GAO REPORT. 
In fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2031, the Comp-
troller General of the United States, after consultation 
with the Attorney General, shall submit to Congress and 
make publicly available a report that provides national 
averages and averages for department characteristic sub-
groups including at least size of police and sheriff depart-
ments and urban or rural designations by jurisdiction de-
tailing— 
(1) a measure of how representative the exist-
ing workforce of the average police and sheriff de-
partments is to the community served based on de-
mographics which include at least gender and race; 
(2) the percentage of those employed by the av-
erage police and sheriff departments that live in the 
jurisdiction in which they are currently employed; 
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