I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7119 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require a policy on use 
of force and deescalation by law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 15, 2026 
Mrs. RAMIREZ (for herself, Mr. MAGAZINER, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, 
Ms. NORTON, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Ms. ELFRETH, 
Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. GOLD-
MAN of New York, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mrs. FOUSHEE, 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. NEGUSE, Mrs. BEATTY, 
and Mr. LARSON of Connecticut) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require 
a policy on use of force and deescalation by law enforce-
ment 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 ‘‘DHS Use of Force 
Oversight Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DHS POLICY ON USE OF FORCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle H of Title VII of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 890E. USE OF FORCE POLICY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall implement 
a Department-wide policy on the use of force by law en-
forcement officers and agents of the Department to ensure 
such officers and agents— 
‘‘(1) use only the amount of force that is objec-
tively reasonable in light of the totality of the cir-
cumstances; 
‘‘(2) when feasible, prior to the application of 
force, attempt to identify themselves and issue a 
verbal warning to comply with such officer or 
agent’s instructions; 
‘‘(3) seek to employ tactics and techniques 
that— 
‘‘(A) effectively bring an incident under 
control, while promoting the safety of such offi-
cers or agents and the public; and 
‘‘(B) minimize the risk of unintended in-
jury or serious property damage; and 
‘‘(4) are prohibited from using chokeholds and 
carotid restraints as a means to control non-compli-
ant persons resisting arrest. 
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‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Department-wide policy 
under subsection (a) shall— 
‘‘(1) specify in a clear and consistent manner 
that deescalation is preferred; 
‘‘(2) require law enforcement officers or agents 
of the Department to complete initial and recurrent 
training in the full range of use of force tactics and 
techniques, including deescalation; 
‘‘(3) require the head of each component of the 
Department with such officers or agents to— 
‘‘(A) designate an individual, having sub-
ject matter expertise relating to the use of 
force, training, and the application of use of 
force tactics and techniques, including deescala-
tion, to be responsible for ensuring compliance 
with such policy; and 
‘‘(B) maintain a use of force review council 
or committee, the members of which shall have 
subject matter expertise described in subpara-
graph (A) to perform internal analysis of use of 
force incidents to— 
‘‘(i) inform training, tactics, and tech-
niques, and develop recommendations for 
improvements to such policy; and 
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‘‘(ii) identify trends and lessons 
learned to be shared within each such com-
ponent and across the Department. 
‘‘(c) REPORTING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 
out the following: 
‘‘(A) Issue requirements for the head of 
each component of the Department to collect 
and maintain consistent data relating to the use 
of force within each such component necessary 
to publish the reports required under subpara-
graph (B). 
‘‘(B) Publish, every six months, a report 
on the website of the Department that includes 
data relating to each incident during the pre-
vious six-month period in which force was used 
by a law enforcement officer or agent of the 
Department in any of the following cir-
cumstances: 
‘‘(i) Such use of force caused any in-
jury or death to— 
‘‘(I) such an officer or agent; or 
‘‘(II) a person. 
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‘‘(ii) Such use of force included deadly 
force against a person, including when a 
firearm is discharged at a person. 
‘‘(iii) Such use of force included a 
less-than-lethal device or canine that was 
intentionally deployed against a person. 
‘‘(iv) Such use of force involved a ve-
hicle, weapon, or physical tactic or tech-
nique that delivers a kinetic impact to a 
person. 
‘‘(v) Such use of force included dis-
abling fire against a maritime vessel or air-
craft. 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—Each report re-
quired under paragraph (1)(B) shall also include— 
‘‘(A) data that— 
‘‘(i) is disaggregated by Department 
component; and 
‘‘(ii) describes— 
‘‘(I) specific information on the 
region or jurisdiction in which each 
use of force incident included in such 
report occurred; and 
‘‘(II) 
the 
circumstances 
sur-
rounding each such incident; and 
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‘‘(B) a specification of whether a law en-
forcement officer or agent of the Department or 
other person was injured or killed in each such 
incident. 
‘‘(3) SUMMARIES.—In conjunction with each re-
port required under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary 
shall publish a summary of any analyses under sub-
section (b)(3)(B) with respect to which, during the 
previous six-month period, final action was taken, 
including a summary of any findings resulting from 
any such analyses, including any findings relating to 
whether the uses of force contemplated by any such 
analyses complied with Federal law and Depart-
ment-wide policy under subsection (a). 
‘‘(4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 24 
hours after any use of force incident by a law en-
forcement officer or agent of the Department that 
results in the hospitalization or death of such an of-
ficer or agent or a person, the Secretary shall brief 
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 
and inform the public with respect to the facts 
ascertained relating to such incident. 
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‘‘(5) PRIVACY PROTECTION.—Any information 
published or made available pursuant to this sub-
section shall be published or made available in a 
manner that protects individual privacy. 
‘‘(d) OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The Inspec-
tor General of the Department shall, on an ongoing basis, 
review compliance with subsections (a) and (b).’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
890D the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 890E. Use of force policy.’’. 
Æ 
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