Working across the aisle again, GOP U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley has teamed up with U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, to fund the police.
The two legislators introduced a bill this week that wouldoffer education benefits to police officers and their dependents.
would provide financial assistance for officers who wanted to continue their education, provided that the officer has been on the job for eight years and also commits to serving for four more years. Eligible officers could also transfer unused benefits to dependents.
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“Congress must ensure that states have the resources they need to attract and retain high-quality police officers,”Hawley said in a statement.
Kelly, the son of two retired police officers, said the bill would support police by providing academic and career opportunities “so they can reach their full potential while serving their communities.”
In speaking of the need to keep police officers on the force, the senators cited a which shows that law enforcement agencies saw 50% more resignations in 2022 than in 2019, and total sworn officer staffing has dropped nearly 5% over the past three years.
This year, Hawley has been no stranger to pairing with opposing partisans, not even some decidedly liberal ones.
He has joined U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren on two pieces of legislation that aim to curb credit-card interest rates and free up airport terminal gates. He also supported an amendment by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, to add sick days to union railroad workers’contracts.