Recruit and Retain Act
Sponsored By: Senator Fischer, Deb [R-NE]
Became Law
Summary
Expand COPS grants for recruiting and hiring. This law lets Community Oriented Policing Services grants cover application-related fees to help agencies hire or rehire officers, creates an education–to–policing pipeline program, caps administrative costs, and requires guidance and a federal study to shape future recruitment policy.
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- Law enforcement agencies: Grants can pay fees such as background checks, psychological exams, and testing to lower hiring barriers and support hiring or rehiring. Administrative costs for those grants are capped at 2 percent.
- Students, schools, and communities: A new Pipeline Partnership Program funds partnerships between law enforcement and schools or colleges to run mentoring, internships, job fairs, apprenticeships, work-based learning, and community engagement to boost recruitment. Funding for that program is capped at $3 million per fiscal year.
- Underserved and understaffed agencies plus oversight: The Attorney General must issue streamlined procedures within 180 days to clarify eligibility for agencies operating below their budgeted strength and limit paperwork while ensuring grants do not replace local funds. The Comptroller General must study recruitment and attrition across Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement and report recommendations to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees within 540 days.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
National study on police recruiting and attrition
The Comptroller General must study police recruiting and attrition across Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies. The report covers why people join and leave, changes over time, effects on public safety, the impact of electronic media, and barriers with recommendations. The study must include a representative mix by region, size, and rural, suburban, and urban areas and protect agency privacy. The report is due no later than 540 days after enactment and must be sent to Congress and posted online.
Grants cut police applicant fees, build pipeline
The law lets police agencies use hiring grants to pay applicant fees like background checks, tests, and psychological exams when applications have fallen. No more than 2% of a hiring grant may be used for administrative costs. Agencies below their budgeted officer count are covered, and DOJ must issue rules within 180 days that clarify eligibility, require an attestation that funds do not replace State or local money, and reduce paperwork. It also creates a Pipeline Partnership Program with schools and colleges (including HBCUs, HSIs, and Tribal colleges) to fund student programs, mentoring, job fairs, site visits, job shadowing, apprenticeships, and skills-based internships. Up to $3 million each year supports this pipeline program.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Fischer, Deb [R-NE]
NE • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov