Strong Communities Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3458 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3458

  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to
  provide that COPS grant funds may be used for local law enforcement
recruits to attend schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve
     in precincts of law enforcement agencies in their communities.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2025

    Mr. Moran (for himself, Ms. Ross, and Mr. Ivey) introduced the
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to
  provide that COPS grant funds may be used for local law enforcement
recruits to attend schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve
     in precincts of law enforcement agencies in their communities.

    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 ``Strong Communities Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. STRONG COMMUNITIES PROGRAM.

    Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
    ``(q) COPS Strong Communities Program.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity'
                means--
                            ``(i) an institution of higher education,
                        as defined in section 101 of the Higher
                        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), that,
                        in coordination or through an agreement with a
                        local law enforcement agency, offers a law
                        enforcement training program; or
                            ``(ii) a local law enforcement agency that
                        offers a law enforcement training program.
                    ``(B) Local law enforcement agency.--The term
                `local law enforcement agency' means an agency of a
                State, unit of local government, or Indian Tribe that
                is authorized by law or by a government agency to
                engage in or supervise the prevention, detection,
                investigation, or prosecution of any violation of
                criminal law.
            ``(2) Grants.--The Attorney General may use amounts
        otherwise appropriated to carry out this section for a fiscal
        year (beginning with fiscal year 2025) to make competitive
        grants to local law enforcement agencies to be used for
        officers and recruits to attend law enforcement training
        programs at eligible entities if the officers and recruits
        agree to serve in law enforcement agencies in their
        communities.
            ``(3) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a grant through a
        local law enforcement agency under this subsection, each
        officer or recruit described in paragraph (2) shall--
                    ``(A) serve as a full-time law enforcement officer
                for a total of not fewer than 4 years during the 8-year
                period beginning on the date on which the officer or
                recruit completes a law enforcement training program
                for which the officer or recruit receives benefits;
                    ``(B) complete the service described in
                subparagraph (A) in a local law enforcement agency
                located within--
                            ``(i) 7 miles of the residence of the
                        officer or recruit where the officer or recruit
                        has resided for not fewer than 5 years; or
                            ``(ii) if the officer or recruit resides in
                        a county with fewer than 150,000 residents,
                        within 20 miles of the residence of the officer
                        or recruit where the officer or recruit has
                        resided for not fewer than 5 years; and
                    ``(C) submit to the eligible entity providing a law
                enforcement training program to the officer or recruit
                evidence of employment of the officer or recruit in the
                form of a certification by the chief administrative
                officer of the local law enforcement agency where the
                officer or recruit is employed.
            ``(4) Repayment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If an officer or recruit does
                not complete the service described in paragraph (3),
                the officer or recruit shall submit to the local law
                enforcement agency an amount equal to any benefits the
                officer or recruit received through the local law
                enforcement agency under this subsection.
                    ``(B) Regulations.--The Attorney General shall
                promulgate regulations that establish categories of
                extenuating circumstances under which an officer or
                recruit may be excused from repayment under
                subparagraph (A).''.

SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY.

    Not less frequently than annually, the Attorney General shall
submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report
that details, with respect to recipients of grants under section
1701(q) of title I of the Omnibus and Crime Control and Safe Streets
Act of 1968, as added by section 2--
            (1) during the 1-year period preceding the date of the
        report--
                    (A) the number and location of those recipients;
                and
                    (B) the number of law enforcement officers and
                recruits each recipient intends to send to law
                enforcement training programs at eligible entities (as
                defined in paragraph (1) of such section 1701(q)) with
                amounts from the grant; and
            (2) during the period between the date of enactment of this
        Act and the date of the report--
                    (A) the number of law enforcement officers or
                recruits who attended the training described in
                paragraph (1)(B) with amounts from the grant and
                returned from the training as employees of the
                recipient; and
                    (B) the number of law enforcement officers or
                recruits described in subparagraph (A) who remain an
                employee of the recipient.
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