The men and women who patrol and protect our communities deserve our utmost respect and support. In Congress, I’ll focus on safety, recruitment, retention, and ensuring officers can retire with dignity after giving so much of themselves to their communities. Plus, we’ll work to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and those who would commit mass murder in our schools and public spaces.
In Ohio’s 7th Congressional District and beyond, law enforcement officers are a cornerstone of every community, large and small. In today’s world, public safety is something we’ve unfortunately learned that we can’t take for granted. From mass shootings to child trafficking, the opioid crisis, and even domestic terrorism, we lean on the men and women of the law enforcement community to keep our neighborhoods safe.
While this isn’t an exhaustive list, below are some examples of currently introduced legislation and other priorities that I will work on in the next Congress.
Support the Invest to Protect Act
The Invest to Protect Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation that seeks to have the Department of Justice carry out a grant program to assist police departments with fewer than 200 law enforcement officers. From recruitment and training to equipment, retention, and health services, this bill prioritizes our local police departments. It gives them the resources they need to operate more effectively, accountably, and safely.
In Congress, this type of legislation will have my full support.
Support the Eliminate Network Distribution of (END) Child Exploitation Act
Child trafficking is an abomination that requires all of our efforts to end once and for all. Introduced by Representative Anthony Gonzalez (R OH-13), if not passed this Congress, I will take up the mantel to pass it in the next as I fully support this vital legislation. This bill seeks to extend the period that technology companies are required to preserve information about child sexual abuse images they report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The safety of the children of our country is a top priority, and in Congress, I’ll work to codify this critical legislation into law.
Fund Nationwide Officer Recruitment Campaign via DOJ, and Continue to Provide Grants for Local Recruitment
Statistics have shown that across the country, police departments are losing officers to resignations and retirement and are having trouble refilling those positions. We need a dual effort to recruit honest defenders of the public peace by funding a national marketing and recruitment effort through the Department of Justice while continuing to ensure adequate funding of existing grant programs for recruitment in local departments. Through this joint effort, we can help get good men and women in uniform to help keep our communities safe.
Support Common-Sense Mental Health and Gun Legislation to Protect Law Abiding Gun Owners From Criminals and Mass Murderers
We need stronger laws and funding for mental health evaluations/care, weapon training, and firearm storage regulations. We need to make available additional funding to study gun violence, whether intentional or accidental, to better understand how to address the issue. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently reported that firearms are the number one cause of death among American children and adolescents. We must address these preventable deaths of our kids as a people.
I firmly believe that we can preserve the rights of law-abiding citizens, protect our people, and provide a strong deterrent against a tyrannical government and foreign invasion if we work together to deliver common-sense reforms.