Congress passes final FY 2018
spending bill;
NAPO priorities attached
On March 22, less than 24 hours before a federal
government shutdown, Congress passed the final fis-
cal 2018 omnibus spending measure. The bill, which
funds the federal government through Sept. 30, in-
cluded all 12 appropriations bills, plus more than a
few policy riders. In addition to securing significant
funding for our priority grant programs, NAPO got
two of our legislation priorities included in the omnibus bill: the
Fix NICS Act and the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act.
DOJ & DHS Grant Funding
Our continued outreach to members of Congress calling for full
funding for NAPO’s priority grant programs within the Depart-
ments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) paid off.
Congress funded the COPS Hiring Program at $225.5 million, a
significant increase from $194.5 million in FY 2017. The Mentally
Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) also
received a large funding bump, from $12 million in FY17 to $30
million in FY18. This increase means that more departments can
train officers in responding to calls of a person in a mental health
crisis.
The Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program got a
bump in funding to $415.5 million (from $376 million in FY17),
but the extra money will cover several carve-outs from the pro-
gram: $10 million for the VALOR Program, $20 million for Project
Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and $2.5 million for a national training
initiative to improve police response to mental illness.
Other DOJ NAPO priorities were funded at similar levels to
last fiscal year: $22.5 million for the Bulletproof Vest Partner-
ship (BVP) Grant Program; $20 million for the Adam Walsh Act;
$22.5 million to help agencies purchase and maintain body-worn
cameras; and $10 million for active-shooter training through the
COPS Office. The omnibus also included $75 million in DOJ fund-
ing to help states upgrade criminal and mental health records for
the National Criminal Instant Background Check System (NICS).
NAPO’s DHS priority grant programs — the Urban Area Secu-
rity Initiative (UASI) and the State Homeland Security Grant Pro-
gram (SHSGP) — maintained their funding levels at $630 million
and $507 million, respectively.
Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act
In a significant victory for NAPO, the FY18 omnibus spending
bill included the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act, which
NAPO has been pushing as part of our National Police Week bill
package. This act will eliminate the expected family contribu-
tion (EFC) used to determine financial need in the case of a Pell
Grant-eligible student whose parent or guardian died in the line
of duty. Additionally, these children would qualify for the max-
imum Pell Grant award ($5,920 for 2017-2018) if they were less
than 24 years old or enrolled at an institution of higher education
at the time of the parent or guardian’s death.
Fix NICS Act
NAPO lobbied Senate leadership to take up a clean version of
the Fix NICS Act before Congress adjourned for recess on March
23, and the answer was to include it in the final FY18 omnibus
spending bill. The Fix NICS Act is a bipartisan bill introduced by
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) that would enforce current law re-
garding NICS and provide resources and incentives
for federal agencies and states to share information
regarding individuals who are prohibited from pur-
chasing firearms under federal law. The inclusion of
the act is in addition to the $75 million in DOJ fund-
ing to help states upgrade records for NICS.
Current law prohibits felons, domestic violence
perpetrators and other dangerous individuals from purchasing or
possessing a firearm in the United States. The National Instant
Criminal Background Check System (NICS), used to prevent these
individuals from illegally purchasing firearms, relies on states and
federal agencies to share records on such dangerous and violent
individuals. Unfortunately, failures to share such relevant infor-
mation have led to horrific tragedy.
Domestic dispute calls are the most dangerous types of calls,
not only for victims but for responding officers as well. Accord-
ing to an August 2016 report by the Community Oriented Polic-
ing Services (COPS) Office, the greatest number of officer deaths
were for calls for a domestic dispute. In all but one case, the offi-
cer was killed with a firearm.
The Fix NICS Act addresses reporting failures by requiring fed-
eral agencies and states to create NICS implementation plans,
holding them accountable to those plans and incentivizing them
to share all relevant information with NICS. It also reauthorizes
key programs within NICS that help ensure that individuals who
are prohibited from possessing a firearm are not able to obtain
one illegally.
Secure Our Schools
The FY18 omnibus included language and funding for school
safety initiatives through the DOJ’s COPS Office and the Bureau
for Justice Assistance (BJA). The COPS Office is receiving $25 mil-
lion to make grants to states for school safety programs to: en-
hance coordination with local law enforcement; train local law
enforcement officers to prevent student violence; place metal de-
tectors and other deterrent measures in schools; and acquire and
install technology for expedited notification of local law enforce-
ment during an emergency.
BJA received $50 million for school safety programs that: train
school personnel and students on preventing student violence;
develop and operate anonymous reporting systems for threats
of school violence, as well as school threat assessment and inter-
vention teams that coordinate local law enforcement and school
personnel; and establish specialized training for school officials
in responding to mental health crises.
The omnibus also authorized the COPS Office and BJA to re-
ceive $33 million and $67 million, respectively, over the next 10
fiscal years (2019-2028) for these grant programs.
The FY18 omnibus contained several victories for NAPO and
our members. This likely will be the last big piece of legislation
passed prior to the November midterm elections, given that Con-
gress does not want to tackle any controversial issues. NAPO will
continue to push our legislative priorities with the assumption
that helping state and local law enforcement officers is noncon-
troversial. We also remain focused on ensuring that our funding
victories in the FY18 omnibus continue into the FY 2019 appro-
priations process, which is just getting underway. d
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