WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, helped introduce the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act of 2022. This bill will make critical, targeted investments in local police departments and ensure that police officers in smaller communities across the country have the resources and training they need to keep themselves and their communities safe. This bipartisan bill is led by Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and former sheriff Congressman John Rutherford (FL-4). Upton is an original cosponsor. 

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, calls to defund the police are flat out wrong. Our law enforcement folks put their lives on the line every day to protect our families and communities, and deserve our real gratitude,”said Congressman Fred Upton (MI-6). “They need resources for better pay, training, and equipment, like body cameras, to help them properly and safely do their jobs. That’s why I’m proud to help introduce the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act because we must always support and defend our men and women who wear the uniform.”

More than 95% of the nation's local police departments have 200 officers or fewer.

The Invest to Protect Act will provide the following federal investment to small police departments:

1. Investments in officer safety, de-escalation, and domestic violence response training, allowing officers to receive critical training that will make them more effective at their jobs, all without putting a strain on department budgets or reducing the number of officers on duty while others are at training by allowing investment to be used to offset overtime pay.
2. Investment for body worn cameras — to hold everyone accountable — while also providing much-needed resources for data storage and data security.
3. Investment for small departments to recruit new officers — helping expand departments and bringing in new, good officers. This investment can also be used by departments to provide retention bonuses to help keep their existing officers and provide investment for officers pursuing graduate degrees in public health, social work, and mental health.
4. Investment for departments to provide mental health resources for their officers.

The full bill text of the Invest to Protect Act can be found here.

The bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the National Fraternal Order of Police, National Association of Police Organizations, National Sheriffs’ Association, and the National Troopers Coalition.

The bill led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer and John Rutherford is cosponsored by Reps. Cindy Axne; Don Bacon; Sanford Bishop Jr.; Ed Case; Steve Chabot; Jim Costa; Angie Craig; Anthony Delgado; Val Demings; Brian Fitzpatrick; Jared Golden; Jaime Herrera-Beutler; Dusty Johnson; Dave Joyce; John Katko; Susie Lee; Elaine Luria; Peter Meijer; Dan Meuser; Markwayne Mullin; Tom O'Halleran; Jimmy Panetta; Chris Pappas; Dean Phillips; Tom Reed; Kurt Schrader; Mikie Sherrill; Elissa Slotkin; Jason Smith; Abigail Spanberger; Bryan Steil; Tom Suozzi; Fred Upton; David Valadao; Filemon Vela; and Bruce Westerman.

Support for the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act:

“Over the last year, law enforcement officers have faced many challenges and threats to their well-being that has created a dangerous environment for those sworn to protect the public,” said Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police. “These challenges have ranged from violence against officers, an increase of violent rhetoric against them, lagging technology, recruitment and retention issues, and mental health concerns. Particularly, smaller municipalities have seen an increased strain on the men and women in blue as they attempt to uphold the rule of law. The ‘Invest to Protect Act' would be a step in the right direction to combat these issues that plague law enforcement officers in smaller municipalities.  On behalf of the more than 364,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I am proud to offer our support for this incredibly necessary legislation.”

###