HR2711-119

What This Bill Does

The Invest to Protect Act creates a Department of Justice grant program inside the COPS Office for local governments and Tribal governments that employ fewer than 175 law enforcement officers. The grants support de-escalation training, victim-centered domestic violence training, safety training for active shooter, illicit drug, rescue, ambush, mental health, substance use, veteran, disability, youth, domestic violence, trafficking, homelessness, and poverty calls, overtime connected to training, signing bonuses, retention bonuses capped at 20 percent of salary for officers with at least five years of service and clean serious-misconduct records, graduate education stipends up to $10,000 in mental health, public health, or social work, officer behavioral health services, lethal and nonlethal force best practices, duty-to-intervene training, and data collection. The Attorney General must plan a streamlined application process that can be completed in no more than two hours, with technical assistance. Grants are subject to reporting, public bonus disclosures, annual evaluation, DOJ Inspector General audits, exclusions for unresolved audit findings, duplicate-grant review, and annual certifications. The bill authorizes not more than $50 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

Who Benefits and How

Small police departments benefit because agencies with fewer than 175 officers can receive grants for training, recruitment, retention, and behavioral health supports. Tribal law enforcement agencies benefit because eligible Tribal governments are included in the grant program. Local law enforcement officers benefit from de-escalation training, graduate education stipends, mental health services, and retention bonuses. Domestic violence survivors and other vulnerable people benefit if grant-funded training improves officer responses to high-risk calls.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The COPS Office must run a streamlined grant process, award grants, set reporting requirements, and evaluate program efficacy. The Attorney General must submit application-streamlining reports, review duplicate grants, analyze outcomes, and report multiple awards. DOJ Inspector General staff must audit recipients to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. Grant recipients must disclose signing and retention bonuses, report performance data, and risk three-year exclusion for unresolved audit findings.

Key Provisions

• Creates a COPS Office grant program for local and Tribal governments with fewer than 175 law enforcement officers.
• Authorizes uses for de-escalation, domestic violence, safety, vulnerable-population response, overtime, bonuses, graduate education, behavioral health, force, intervention, and data collection.
• Requires a streamlined application process designed to be completed in no more than two hours.
• Authorizes up to $50 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 with audits, reporting, bonus disclosures, and duplicate-grant review.