Washington Watch: Legislative Update
For the Week of 18 June 2018
I.Legislative News and Activity
II.This Week in Congress
III.Update on Top Legislative Priorities
IV.Support the National FOP PAC
V.Follow the FOP on Twitter!
I. LEGISLATIVE NEWS AND ACTIVITY
National President Chuck Canterbury represented the FOP at the U.S. Department of Justice forum sponsored by Bureau of Justice Assistance on improving police community relations through faith-based initiatives and community actions.
Senior Advisor to the National President Jim Pasco:
- Spoke with Jennifer Korn, Special Assistant to the President of the United States, regarding border security and officer safety;
- Spoke with Steven H. Cook, Associate Deputy Attorney General, regarding the future of Office of Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS);
- Spoke with Thomas E. Brandon, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regarding firearm initiatives and interstate cigarette smuggling.
Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson represented the FOP at a briefing hosted by Steven H. Cook, Associate Deputy Attorney General. U.S. Attorney General Jefferson B. Sessions III, Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio and Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy Elizabeth A. Williams all spoke at the briefing.
Senior Legislative Liaison Richardson met with staff with the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations to discuss their agenda for rest of the session.
Senior Legislative Liaison Richardson and Legislative Liaison Mike Martin:
- Met with staff in the office of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Federal officer issues;
- Met with Judiciary Committee staff for Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) on S. 2794/H.R. 5698, the “Protect and Serve Act.”
Legislative Liaison Martin spoke with staff in the office of Representative Andre D. Carson (D-IN) regarding Federal officer issues.
II. THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS
Action in the House
The House considered and passed H.R. 5687, the “Securing Opioids and Unused Narcotics with Deliberate Disposable and Packaging Act,” on a 356-3 vote. This bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
The House considered and passed H.R. 5676, the “Stop Excessive Narcotics in our Retirement Communities Protection Act,” on a 239-142 vote. This bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
The House considered and passed H.R. 6082, the “Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act,” on a 357-57 vote. This bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
Action in House Committees
The Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing entitled “Examining The Need for New Federal Judges.”
The Committee on Financial Services held a hearing entitled “Illicit Use of Virtual Current and the Law Enforcement Response.”
Action in Senate Committees
The Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs’ subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance held a hearing entitled “Combating Money Laundering and Other Forms of Illicit Finance: How Criminal Organizations Launder Money and Innovative Techniques for Fighting Them.”
III. UPDATE ON TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
For the complete list of cosponsors for all of our top legislative priorities, or to find out if your Representative and Senators are cosponsors of specific bills, check out https://www.congress.gov/
A. Support H.R. 1205/S. 915, the "Social Security Fairness Act"
We have 185 co-sponsors on H.R. 1205.
We have 25 co-sponsors on S. 915.
B. Support the H.R. 964/S. 424, the "Law Enforcement Officers' Equity Act"
We have 42 co-sponsors H.R. 964.
We have 6 co-sponsors on S. 424.
C. Support H.R. 4846/ S. 2845, the “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act”
Two additional lawmakers have co-sponsored H.R. 4846, bringing the total to 46.
No lawmaker has co-sponsored S. 2845.
IV. Support the National FOP PAC
It is crucial to our political agenda we keep our PAC competitive with other organizations.
If you want more information on the PAC or want to sign up for a $5.00 monthly recurring contribution, please email scott.marks@fop.net or call (202)547-8189.
