119-hr309

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 309 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 309

 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide funding for the 
 National Law Enforcement Museum, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 9, 2025

 Mr. Nehls (for himself, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Stauber, Mr. Costa, Ms. 
 Brownley, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. 
Mace, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Babin, Mr. Ciscomani, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Amodei of 
Nevada, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Mr. Ryan, Ms. Craig, Mr. 
 Garbarino, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Neguse, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. 
Fitzpatrick, Ms. Titus, Mrs. Hinson, Mr. Graves, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Bacon, 
 Mr. LaLota, Mrs. Fischbach, and Mr. Gottheimer) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
 Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide funding for the 
 National Law Enforcement Museum, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``National Law Enforcement Officers 
Remembrance, Support and Community Outreach Act.''

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 The Congress finds the following:

    (1) The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and the 
 National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, DC represent the 
 only law enforcement campus in the United States and serves a 
 critical national mission of honoring and remembering those law 
 enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty, 
 educating the public about the important role of law 
 enforcement in a democratic society and working to reduce the 
 number of line of duty deaths and injuries among law 
 enforcement.

    (2) It is in the national interest to ensure that the 
 unique education and outreach programs of the National Law 
 Enforcement Museum be maintained and enhanced.

    (3) In 1984, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan 
 signed into law a joint resolution to authorize the Law 
 Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Inc., to establish a 
 National Law Enforcement Heroes Memorial (Public Law 98-534) in 
 Washington, DC.

    (4) Dedicated on October 15, 1991, the National Law 
 Enforcement Officers Memorial honors Federal, tribal, State, 
 and local law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate 
 sacrifice for the safety and protection of our Nation and its 
 people. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is 
 centered in the 400 block of E Street, NW, Washington, DC and 
 is the nation's monument to law enforcement officers who have 
 died in the line of duty. The Memorial was built entirely with 
 private funds.

    (5) In 2000, Congress passed and President William J. 
 Clinton signed into law the National Law Enforcement Museum Act 
 (Public Law 106-492), which authorized the National Law 
 Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Inc. to build and operate 
 the National Law Enforcement Museum on Federal land in the 
 District of Columbia to honor and commemorate the service and 
 sacrifice of law enforcement officers in the United States.

    (6) In April 2016, construction began on the National Law 
 Enforcement Museum in the District of Columbia across the 
 street from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in 
 Judiciary Square. In October of 2018 the National Law 
 Enforcement Museum was completed and formally opened. No 
 Federal funds were used to build the Museum.

    (7) The National Law Enforcement Museum's mission is--
        (A) to honor and commemorate the extraordinary 
 service and sacrifice of America's law enforcement 
 officers;
        (B) to serve as an important bridge between law 
 enforcement's past and present, between the heroes of 
 yesteryear and those who have followed in their 
 footsteps, and between America's peace officers and the 
 public they serve; and
            (C) to increase public understanding and support 
 for law enforcement and to promote law enforcement 
 safety.

    (8) The programs of the National Law Enforcement Museum 
 play a critical role in educating the public about the vital 
 importance of law enforcement in a democratic society, the 
 critical role law enforcement plays in protecting and serving 
 the public, and the sacrifices law enforcement officers have 
 made to serve in this role.

    (9) The community education and outreach programs, 
 activities, and special exhibits within the National Law 
 Enforcement Museum help bring local law enforcement agencies 
 closer to the communities they serve, and help to foster a 
 better understanding between law enforcement and communities.

    (10) The National Law Enforcement Museum's Officer Safety 
 and Wellness education and outreach programs and activities 
 help provide local, State and Federal law enforcement agencies 
 with critical information on best practices to reduce the 
 number of line of duty deaths and injuries and provide 
 communities and the public with education concerning the 
 sacrifices made. These programs, activities, and special 
 exhibits are vitally important at a time when annual line of 
 duty deaths among law enforcement officers remain at an 
 historically high level.

    (11) Since the establishment in 1991 of the National Law 
 Enforcement Officers Memorial, and the dedication of the 
 National Law Enforcement Museum in 2018, the National Law 
 Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the National Law 
 Enforcement Museum have worked cooperatively with local, State 
 and Federal law enforcement agencies to properly honor the 
 sacrifices made by law enforcement, and provide key programming 
 to reduce the number of law enforcement fatalities and 
 injuries, and foster better understanding between law 
 enforcement and the communities they serve.

    (12) Law enforcement agencies around the country are 
 dedicated to continuous improvement and innovation in officer 
 and community safety, and to building trust through community-
 based engagement and interventions.

    (13) Since 2020, there has been a significant increase in 
 the number of law enforcement officers resigning or retiring. 
 According to the Police Executive Research Forum, over the past 
 three years there has been an almost 24-percent increase in the 
 number of law enforcement officers retiring, and more than 47-
 percent increase in the number of law enforcement officers 
 resigning.

    (14) A number of law enforcement agencies across the 
 country remain under-staffed, and many law enforcement agencies 
 have been forced to declare personnel emergencies and require 
 mandatory overtime.

    (15) The resulting deficit in confidence and support 
 jeopardizes public safety. There is a critical need to enhance 
 public understanding and appreciation of law enforcement, and 
 to improve the safety and wellness of officers who serve our 
 communities. Fostering a more informed and positive 
 relationship between law enforcement and the public is 
 essential for societal safety and cohesion. A sustained 
 national effort to restore confidence and understanding in law 
 enforcement is urgently needed.

SEC. 3. SUPPORT FOR THE NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM.

 During the first seven fiscal years beginning after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall award a 
grant to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund for the 
expenses associated with operating and enhancing the community 
outreach, public education, and officer safety and wellness programs of 
the National Law Enforcement Museum, including programs to:

    (1) Memorialize law enforcement heroes who die in the line 
 of duty and compile statistics on law enforcement fatalities 
 and injuries.

    (2) Honor and commemorate the extraordinary service and 
 sacrifice of America's law enforcement officers.

    (3) Develop and make available accurate, relevant, and 
 accessible resources to promote the understanding of law 
 enforcement history and officer safety and wellness training, 
 which include digital resources and other types of resources, 
 such as print resources and traveling exhibitions.

    (4) Increase technical resources to better engage the 
 public in person and via online platforms to educate and inform 
 the public about community policing and officer safety and 
 wellness.

    (5) Create, expand and disseminate scholarly work through 
 research, curricula, in-house and traveling exhibitions, 
 publications, and other outreach initiatives.

    (6) Expand the collection acquisition and collection 
 processes, including staffing, conservation, processing, and 
 digitization.

    (7) Augment law enforcement history and officer safety and 
 wellness education activities, including the development, 
 dissemination, and implementation of principles of sound 
 pedagogy for teaching about law enforcement history and officer 
 safety and wellness.

    (8) Promote professional development including local, 
 regional, and national workshops; teacher trainings; and 
 partnerships with appropriate entities to better educate and 
 inform the public about law enforcement history and officer 
 safety and wellness education.

    (9) Engage with local and independent educational agencies 
 and expand teacher engagement to cultivate and support the 
 development of leaders in the teaching of law enforcement 
 history and officer safety and wellness education.

    (10) Engage with State and local education leaders to 
 encourage the adoption of resources supported under this Act 
 into curricula across diverse disciplines.

    (11) Create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to 
 scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated 
 innovations for museum and officer safety and wellness 
 improvement, and rigorously evaluate such innovations.

    (12) Provide for the free admission to National Law 
 Enforcement Museum for active and retired law enforcement 
 officers and family members of fallen officers; and dedicated 
 free admission hours for the general public at least once a 
 week.

    (13) Develop online Law Enforcement History and Officer 
 Safety and Wellness Education Resources for the general public 
 and scholarly research.

SEC. 4. PROGRESS REPORTS; CERTIFICATIONS.

    (a) Progress Report.--For each of the first seven fiscal years the 
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund shall submit a report 
to the Secretary of the Interior that--

    (1) documents, consistent with the funding provided from 
 the Department, the progress in delivering public education, 
 community outreach and officer safety and wellness programming; 
 and

    (2) provides a formal accounting of total amounts of 
 Federal funds expended during the fiscal year.

    (b) Submission to Congress.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
share this report with Congress every fiscal year and make the report 
available on the U.S. Department of Interior website.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
 the Secretary of the Interior to carry out this section 
 $6,000,000 for each of the first 7 fiscal years beginning after 
 the date of the enactment of this Act.

    (2) Exception.--If in any fiscal year the amount 
 appropriated pursuant to the authorization under paragraph

    (1) is not the full amount provided by such paragraph, the 
 Secretary may transfer such sums as may be necessary from the 
 National Park Service, up to the amount specified in paragraph

    (1) , to carry out this section.

SEC. 6. CONTINUATION OF ACTIVITIES.

 To the extent that the National Law Enforcement Museum is engaged 
in an activity described on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary may use the funds appropriated under 

section 5 to continue 
that activity.
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