SUBMIT AN ARTICLE
BACK TO OVERVIEW
First
Session
Updated: January 2021
As we begin the 117th Congress, These measures seek to enhance the performance and
effectiveness of federal law enforcement officers, protect law enforcement pay
and benefits, enhance recruitment and retention, improve officer safety, and
strengthen homeland security and the criminal justice system.
The
"Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) Reform Act”—This legislation would
address many of the issues confronting federal law enforcement officers under
LEOSA, including: (1) revise the Gun Free Schools Act to include an exemption
for LEOSA; (2) allow for carrying of a firearm on property otherwise open to
the public and national parks; (3) allow ammunition magazines of any capacity;
and (4) provide multiple options for retired officers to meet the qualification
standards required by LEOSA.
The
"First Responder Fair RETIRE Act”—Intended to protect the retirement status for those federal
law enforcement officers who are seriously injured or disabled in the line of
duty, this bill preserves a disabled officer’s 6(c)/LEO status even when the
nature or extent of an injury prevents the individual from returning to federal
service in a covered law enforcement position.
The
"Probation Officer Protection Act”—This legislation would provide arrest authority to U.S.
Probation Officers for any third party who assaults, resists, intimidates, or
interferes with a Probation Officer in the performance of their official
duties.
The
"RAS Clarity Act”—This bill corrects the erroneous, extralegal determination
by OPM in 2016 concerning the divisibility of a FERS retirement annuity
supplement (RAS) between a retiree and his/her former spouse. Specifically, the
bill clarifies current law, puts an immediate stop to OPM’s collection efforts
against retirees, and requires the agency to repay every dollar it has
improperly seized.
The"Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila Federal Law Enforcement Protection
Act"—This
legislation, named after the Hero ICE Agents attacked by a Mexican drug cartel
in 2011, corrects the federal appellate decision that effectively eliminated
the murder conviction for two cartel members responsible for the death of Agent
Zapata by finding that 18 U.S.C. 1114 does not apply extraterritorially.
The
"Law Enforcement Officers Equity Act”—This bill would amend the
definition of "law enforcement officer” for retirement purposes to extend
6(c)/LEO retirement to all law enforcement employees who currently do not
receive it.
The
"CI Realignment Act”—This legislation would transfer the functions, personnel,
assets, and obligations of the Internal Revenue Service's "Criminal
Investigation Division" to a newly-created "Bureau of Criminal
Investigation" within the Treasury Department. This reorganization would
subject CI to administration by a Senior Executive Federal Law Enforcement
Official as opposed to civilian leadership.
In
addition to advocating for passage of these important measures, FLEOA will
continue to vigorously oppose any legislative attempt to strip federal law
enforcement officers of their rights to due process, diminish the ability of
agencies to continue to recruit and retain the highest caliber law enforcement
personnel, or otherwise negatively impact the mission of federal law
enforcement.
FLEOA
is the largest nonpartisan, nonprofit professional association exclusively
representing nearly 29,000 active and retired federal law enforcement officers
from over 65 different agencies.