Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. RUTHERFORD. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will offer an amendment to H.R. 7309, which will increase skills development for individuals seeking careers in law enforcement, especially in these States that we have seen increasing violent crime.

My amendment would modify the list of employment and workforce development activities that States must carry out with State set-aside funding under the Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs.

This amendment requires that States that have experienced an increase in violent crime over the previous year use those State set-aside funds to provide training services for individuals seeking a career in law enforcement. Those funds must also support training services for law enforcement involved in border protection in relevant States.

After 2 years of my colleagues across the aisle calling to defund the police, we are seeing cities in America in crisis. Police agency budgets have been slashed, making it impossible to hire, equip, and train officers. These calls have demoralized and delegitimized officers, causing high attrition rates and making it nearly impossible to hire new officers.

Criminals have noticed, and violent crime is rising because of it. Just look at the news any night. It has made the already dangerous job of law enforcement even more dangerous and unsafe. And in 2021, an officer was attacked and killed every five days in America.

Madam Speaker, all our communities are less safe because of it. This Police Week, instead of focusing on supporting law enforcement's hiring and retention and making our communities safer, my colleagues are forcing a partisan, flawed approach to labor force development. But my amendment will help build the workforce that we really need to focus on, and that is peace officers.

At a time when law enforcement retirements are up 45 percent nationwide, and some cities still can't fill up to 17 percent of their open positions, we desperately need to invest in retraining law enforcement officers.

As a former law enforcement officer myself, I know firsthand the importance of developing a strong pipeline of law enforcement cadets. We are far from that now so we must direct our Federal workforce investments to career fields that directly and positively impact the safety of our communities across America.

If we adopt the motion to recommit, we will instruct the Committee on Education and Labor to consider my amendment to invest in the next generation of our law enforcement officers.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source