Do not let the opportunity to nominate an officer for outstanding police work in 2024 pass you by. Join NAPO in honoring America’s Finest by nominating a case for NAPO's TOP COPS Awards by Jan. 21, 2025. Click on the nomination form below for more information.
President Biden signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) on Jan. 5, which restores Social Security benefits to millions of public servants by fully repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Now the Social Security Administration (SSA) is evaluating how to implement H.R. 82. If you are already entitled, no action is needed. Those receiving a public pension who are interested in filing for benefits, may file online at ssa.gov or schedule an appointment. NAPO is working with SSA on quick implementation of H.R. 82.
The 119th Congress kicked off Jan. 3, 2025 with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) holding onto the position in just one round of votes. House Republicans have a one vote majority until April when three additional members of Congress will be appointed to fill in vacancies caused by the resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). In the Senate, Republicans hold a three-seat majority.
Congress is starting with a strong focus on immigration, with the House passing the Laken Riley Act and the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act. The Laken Riley Act would mandate illegal immigrants arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting be detained by the Department of Homeland Security and it authorizes state attorneys general to sue the federal government for alleged failures of immigration enforcement. The Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act would make illegal immigrants who commit sex offenses, as defined by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, inadmissible and deportable. The House is set to take up the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act, the NAPO-supported Protect Our Law Enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement (POLICE) Act, and the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act in the coming weeks. All of these bills passed the House, but stalled in the Senate in the 118th Congress.
Confirmation hearings for President-elect Trump’s nominees have begun in the Senate for Pam Bondi, nominee for Attorney General; Senator Marco Rubio nominee for Secretary of State; and Governor Kristi Noem’s nomination for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. NAPO endorsed all three nominees.
Legislation that has been reintroduced and backed by NAPO includes: the Thin Blue Line Act, the Qualified Immunity Act, the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act, the Prevent Family Fire Act, and the TAKE IT DOWN Act. The Thin Blue Line Act, reintroduced in Congress, would increase penalties on those who harm or target for harm public safety officers by making the murder or attempted murder of a local police officer, firefighter, or first responder an aggravating factor in death penalty determinations in federal court. The Qualified Immunity Act, reintroduced by Senator Jim Banks (R-IN), would provide important protection for the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day. Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act, reintroduced in the Senate, would expand the federal criminal hoax statute to prohibit “swatting,” false information about a crime reported to law enforcement with the intent of eliciting an emergency response at a target address. Prevent Family Fire Act was reintroduced in the House. This bill would create a new tax credit for retailers to incentivize the sale of safe storage devices for firearms. The tax credit would be equal to 10 percent of the sale price (no more than $400 per device). TAKE IT DOWN Act , reintroduced in the Senate, would establish federal liability for those who generate and distribute deepfake intimate and explicit images, giving law enforcement needed tools to bring justice to the victims of these crimes.
NAPO joined members of the Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole in a letter to President-Elect Trump urging him to use his executive authority in the Trade Act of 1930 to close the de minimis trade loophole.
To find out how your representatives and senators voted on NAPO’s priority legislation, view NAPO’s Legislative Scorecard for the 118th Congress (2023-2024), on NAPO’s website under Washington Report. NAPO’s Sponsor/Cosponsor spreadsheet in this Washington Report allows you to check if your Members of Congress supported pieces of legislation that will impact our members.
For more about these and other legislative issues, click here for the full Jan. 17, 2025 Washington Report.
