Congressman Ryan Applauds House Passage of Historic Public Safety Legislation

Press Release

Today, Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-13) voted to pass a public safety package that takes historic steps to fight crime and keep Ohio communities safe by funding our local law enforcement agencies.

"If we want to improve policing and keep Ohioans safe, we need more funding for our local law enforcement agencies," Congressman Ryan said. "I'm proud this legislation today does just that by investing in our brave men and women in uniform to keep them safe on the job, providing them with the training and resources they need to respond to encounters with the public, and helping our officers continue to earn the trust of the communities they serve."

The four bills include:

Our Invest to Protect Act funds the police, with grants to help small, local law enforcement agencies retain and recruit officers. At the same time, this bill invests in strong guardrails and accountability measures, including training for de-escalation, responding to substance use disorders, supporting survivors of domestic violence, and promoting a duty of care.
Our Mental Health Justice Act will help fund mental health professionals to respond to mental health crises in our neighborhoods: crucial action to save lives.
Our Break the Cycle of Violence Act invests in effective, evidence-based community violence intervention initiatives. This builds on the life-saving progress we forged with similar investments in our American Rescue Plan.
Our VICTIM Act will bolster the ability of police forces to solve homicides, sexual assaults, shootings and other violent crimes: a necessary step to ensure justice is served and improve trust in law enforcement.

This package builds on the historic legislation Ryan helped pass this Congress to keep families safe from America's epidemic of gun violence--including through the passage of a landmark gun violence prevention law, which is getting deadly weapons out of dangerous hands. Ryan has also voted to establish an AMBER Alert-style warning during shootings. These measures strongly support our law enforcement heroes, while saving the lives of our children. Meanwhile, extreme Congressional Republicans overwhelmingly voted against these bills.

Congressman Ryan also recently introduced a bipartisan police training bill with Rep. Anthony Gonzalez and Senators Sherrod Brown and Thom Tillis
. The Law Enforcement Scenario-Based Training for Safety De-Escalation Act of 2022 would provide real-life, scenario-based training for law enforcement to increase public safety and help officers better engage with the communities they serve. Congressman Ryan's bill is endorsed by the NAACP, Fraternal Order of Police, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, and the International Union of Police Association.

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