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Floor Speech

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Mrs. FISCHER. Madam President, in 1969, the city of Montreal, Canada, discovered what it is like to live in a world without police. For 16 hours on October 7, the city's full police force went on strike. What ensued is now called Montreal's ``Night of Terror.'' The city rang out with gunshots, glass shattering, and flames erupting.

Just 3 hours after the strike began, the first bank was robbed. Robbers stormed nine more before the police returned. Thefts, vandalism, and mob violence took the city by storm. There were 450 break-ins and over 30 armed holdups. A crowd 800 strong overturned a bus and sent vehicles ablaze.

The government sent Provincial police and army officers into the city. But by then, the chaos was already in full force. A sniper shot one officer, killing him. The result of Montreal's ``Night of Terror'' was two dead men, dozens of injuries, over 100 arrests, and close to $3 million in property damage.

Less than a day without police was a nightmare for Montreal.

Here in America, we often take our strong police force for granted. We enjoy the safety and protection of law enforcement, sometimes without even realizing it. But if trends continue, we will inch closer to living the nightmare of a world without police.

In 2022, almost 50 percent more officers resigned than in 2019. Almost 20 percent more officers retired. The number of police officers nationwide decreased by 4,000 between 2020 and 2023.

A study in 2023 found that over the prior 2 years, at least 12 American towns completely dissolved their police departments.

I have been speaking with law enforcement in Nebraska and around the country about growing staffing challenges for years. I greatly respect the State and local control of law enforcement agencies so I always ask them how I can make existing Federal tools more supportive of their work. Based on those conversations, I introduced the Recruit and Retain Act, which the House passed last week.

I am thankful to the Nebraska officers and sheriffs who collaborated with me to craft legislation with bipartisan appeal. As retirements increase and new applications decline, departments are shrinking, burdening the officers who are trying to keep them afloat. Understaffed departments are doing their best to keep up, but they don't always have the resources to hire all the officers that they need.

The Recruit and Retain Act offers them better access to resources to reverse this trend. My legislation improved the Department of Justice's community-oriented policing services, or COPS, a hiring grant program. The bill expands COPS grants for specific onboarding expenses like background checks and psychological evaluations.

It also provides clear guidance to the understaffed agencies applying for this funding, and it alleviates administrative burdens that come with those applications. These changes will allow departments to consider more applicants and hire more officers.

Recruit and Retain also establishes the Pipeline Partnership Program to promote student interest in law enforcement careers. Departments and local schools will work together to launch mentorship opportunities that give young people an inside look at law enforcement work. This will not only create a hiring pipeline for police departments, but it will also strengthen community relationships with law enforcement.

Finally, my bill directs the Government Accountability Office to investigate the causes of recent recruitment challenges and those effects on public safety. We see some of these causes and effects already: Anti-police movements like far-left ``defund the police'' that has demonized our law enforcement. We have seen rising crime levels in places like Portland, in Minneapolis, in New York City after they cut funding for their police departments. Nonetheless, we haven't seen comprehensive studies that evaluate all levels of law enforcement in agencies of all sizes across the country. To address staffing issues, we need to have the data on exactly what is causing these problems and how they are compromising the safety of our communities.

These are practical changes that take our law enforcement a step forward in rebuilding their departments, a goal that will serve officers, will serve local communities, and it will serve our Nation as a whole. Our police and other law enforcement officers do the essential work to keep us safe and secure. Choosing not to support them is to choose chaos, lawlessness--a nightmare.

But by passing my bill, the House and the Senate have both chosen to support our police as they face these staffing challenges. I urge President Biden to do the same by signing the Recruit and Retain Act into law.

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