House Passes Legislation Requiring Identification Of Federal Police

Press Release

Today the House passed legislation which included a measure requiring any "member of the armed forces (including the National Guard) or federal law enforcement personnel" who "respond to a civil disturbance" to "visibly display" identifying information for the individual and their agency or organization. The legislative text, contained in Section 1064 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), mirrored Rep. Don Beyer's Law Enforcement Identification Act, introduced in June with Senators Murphy and Schumer after unidentified officers were seen patrolling civil rights protests in the nation's capital. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan introduced a similar amendment, which upon adoption added the measure to the House version of the NDAA.

"With this vote the House of Representatives sent a bipartisan message that it will not tolerate secret police in the United States of America," said Beyer. "Federal officers who police constitutionally-protected peaceful protests must be accountable to the people they serve, and that means officers must be identified. Any community which is patrolled by armed officers is entitled to know who they are, who gives them orders, and what their use of force guidelines are. I am heartened that the House passed this legislation today, and look forward to it becoming law very soon."

The legislation passed in the House today was the conference version of the NDAA, agreed to on a bipartisan basis in the House and Senate. While the President has threatened to veto the bill, it has ample support both chambers and is likely to become law.

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