# 119-hr-198: SERVE Our Communities Act

119-hr-198, SERVE Our Communities Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] (R-NY); status introduced (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-198
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-198
- Congress: 119
- Title: SERVE Our Communities Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-03
- Sponsor: Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] (R-NY)
- Cosponsors: 6
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Reduce repeat violent offenses and fund reentry services.** This bill creates a new federal grant program to pay for mentoring, transitional services, and training to help people reenter the community after incarceration. To qualify for grants, states and local governments must allow courts to consider the danger an individual poses when setting bail or pretrial release and show they took steps in the previous year to prevent violent reoffending. - People leaving prison can get federally funded mentoring, training, and transitional supports aimed at lowering repeat violent crimes. - State and local governments can receive grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to run those programs. - To be eligible, jurisdictions must permit courts to weigh community danger in bail decisions and must have taken steps last year such as changing bail laws, expanding hiring or retention of law enforcement or prosecutors, or running public education to improve police-community relations. *Authorizes $10.0 million per year from 2026 through 2031 for the new grant program, increasing federal spending.*

## Cosponsors (6)

- Rep. LaLota, Nick [R-NY-1] (R-NY), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Garbarino, Andrew R. [R-NY-2] (R-NY), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Malliotakis, Nicole [R-NY-11] (R-NY), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Langworthy, Nicholas A. [R-NY-23] (R-NY), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] (R-NY), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Public safety grants for states and cities: benefit, low. If enacted, the government would create a grant program run by the Attorney General through the Bureau of Justice Assistance. It would offer grants to states and local governments. The bill would authorize $10 million each year from FY2026 through FY2031. To qualify, a state or city would need to l…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6766: Essential Caregivers Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2548: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-198 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/198)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1229)
- [119-hr-6766: Essential Caregivers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6766)
- [119-hr-2548: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2548)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-198 (as of 2025-12-21).