Congressman McNerney’s Bill to Help Veterans Get Law Enforcement Jobs

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09) announced he has introduced H.R. 4769, the Veterans Involved in Police Services (VIPS) Act, which would re-establish the Department of Justice (DOJ) Troops to COPS program.

The Troops to COPS program encourages the hiring of recently returned military veterans as law enforcement officers by making federal funds available for local police agencies to hire new officers.

“I am committed to making sure our service members can find jobs when they leave active duty and return to the civilian workforce, “said Rep. McNerney. “The Troops to COPS program is a win-win for our veterans and our law enforcement agencies. Our veterans have received military training that makes them well-qualified for careers in civilian law enforcement. And our police departments will benefit from the skills and experience those veterans bring to the job.”

Starting in 1995, the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program, administered by the DOJ, included the Troops to COPS program. The program ended in 1999. Rep. McNerney’s bill authorizes funding through the COPS Hiring Program to reinstate the Troops to COPS program.

Here is a look at the bill:

H.R.4769 — Veterans Involved in Police Services Act of 2014 (Introduced in House – IH)

HR 4769 IH

113th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 4769

To amend part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize grant funds to be used for the Troops-to-Cops Program.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 29, 2014

Mr. MCNERNEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize grant funds to be used for the Troops-to-Cops Program.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Veterans Involved in Police Services Act of 2014′.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF TROOPS-TO-COPS PROGRAM.

Section 1701(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(b)) is amended–

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (17) as subparagraphs (A) through (Q), respectively, and by moving the margins of such subparagraphs (as so redesignated) two ems to the right;

(2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated by paragraph (1) of this section), by striking `The purposes for which’ and inserting `(1) IN GENERAL- The purposes for which’;

(3) in subparagraph (Q) (as so redesignated by paragraph (1) of this section), by striking `paragraphs (1) through (16)’ and inserting `subparagraphs (A) through (P)’; and

(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(2) TROOPS-TO-COPS PROGRAM-

`(A) IN GENERAL- For grants made during the 3-year period beginning on the date of enactment of the Veterans Involved in Police Services Act of 2014, in addition to the purposes described in paragraph (1), grants made under subsection (a) may be used to hire former members of the Armed Forces (and to pay the full salary of such former members) to serve as career law enforcement officers for deployment in community-oriented policing, particularly in jurisdictions in which the violent crime rate is higher than the national violent crime rate, according to the uniform crime report compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

`(B) DEFINITION- In this paragraph, `former member of the Armed Forces’ means a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who has been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States.’.