N.A.P.O. News

William Johnson

On Friday, December 7, 2007, Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) submitted the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (S. 2123) as an amendment to the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007, H.R. 2419. The amendment, S.Amdt.3830, was one of only forty amendments – out of hundreds offered – that the Senate leadership allowed to be considered. Senators Gregg, Kennedy and Harkin felt strongly that the Collective Bargaining bill had a good chance of passing the Senate as part of the Farm bill.

NAPO spent the next week lobbying Senators to ensure that we had the 60 votes necessary to pass the amendment when it was scheduled to come up for a vote on the morning of Friday, December 14. We were even able to arrange for all of the Senate Democratic Presidential Candidates (Senators Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, and Christopher Dodd) to fly back Thursday night after their debate in Iowa in order to vote Friday morning in favor of the amendment.
However, the night before the scheduled vote, Senators Gregg, Kennedy and Harkin were forced to withdraw their Public Safety Collective Bargaining amendment. Despite all of NAPO’s efforts and overwhelming support for the amendment, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) did everything in his power to ensure that it did not pass. Senator DeMint offered second degree amendments that would have significantly weakened our amendment and he threatened to filibuster it, making a clean passage of the Collective Bargaining amendment impossible.

While it is unfortunate that we did not get the chance to have S.Amdt.3830 voted on, we did discover that the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act has widespread, bipartisan support in the Senate. We feel that if Senator DeMint had not forced it to be withdrawn, there was a strong possibility that it would have passed.
NAPO played a large role in the passage of the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, H.R. 980, in the House of Representatives on July 17, 2007. The fight to pass the collective bargaining bill in the Senate is now more focused and NAPO is putting all of its efforts into ensuring its passage. Next year is a new Congressional session and we are optimistic that we can build on our broad bipartisan support and move the bill successfully in 2008.

House Ways & Means Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Social Security and Economically Vulnerable Beneficiaries

On Wednesday, January 16, 2007, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, Chaired by Representative Michael McNulty (D-NY), held a hearing to examine Social Security provisions affecting public employees and their families who face hardships in retirement or in the event of disability or death. Among the issues the Subcommittee explored was the impact of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) on certain retired state and local government employees.

NAPO attended the hearing and was pleased to hear both Republican and Democratic Committee members pledge a bipartisan effort to address the issues affecting public employees, namely the GPO and WEP. While Committee members did not agree on the issue of fully repealing the two provisions, they did agree that the provisions have to be reformed in order to deal with the problems and concerns facing vulnerable retirees.
The first panel consisted of a witness from the Social Security Administration and one from the Congressional Research Service. The purpose of this panel was to provide background information on Social Security benefits and provisions that affect economically vulnerable beneficiaries, specifically widows and widowers, long-term low income earners, individuals with disabilities, and state and local public employees not covered by Social Security.

The second panel was made up of retired public employees and principals of organizations representing disabled individuals and widows. Of the seven witnesses who participated in the second panel, five testified on the adverse effects of the GPO and WEP on public employees. All five recommended full repeal of the two provisions to the Committee.  

From statements made by Committee members during the hearing, it seems the course of Congressional action in regards to the GPO and WEP will come down to two things: doing what is fair for economically vulnerable Social Security beneficiaries and what is feasible considering the current federal budget situation. It is estimated that totally repealing the GPO and WEP would cost the federal government $80 billion over ten years, while proposals to only reform the provisions would cost approximately $5 billion over ten years. However, NAPO feels it is important for lawmakers to recognize that the $80 billion being saved by the enactment of the GPO and WEP are $80 billion saved at the expense of the economic welfare of retired public employees.  
As we did for the Senate Finance Subcommittee Hearing on the GPO and WEP, NAPO has acquired permission to send in written submissions to the Subcommittee for the record. NAPO is including in our testimony the statements that we received from members for the House Subcommittee hearing in November.

SENATE FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING ON GPO AND WEP

The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy, Chaired by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) held a hearing on the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) on Tuesday, November 6, 2007. The purpose of the hearing was to review current Social Security policies that affect government workers and retirees who participate in a pension system where Social Security taxes are not paid, as well as those workers and retirees who also worked in Social Security covered employment or have spouses who did.

Both Senator Feinstein’s and Representative Berman’s versions of the "Social Security Fairness Act" have a record high number of cosponsors (S. 206 has 34 cosponsors, while H.R. 82 has 331). These bills will totally repeal the GPO and WEP.

NAPO attended the hearing and is submitting written testimony to Chairman Kerry and the Subcommittee to ensure that they fully recognize how the GPO and WEP adversely affect law enforcement officers and their families. Please visit NAPO’s website, www.napo.org, for more information and updates.

SENATOR BIDEN INTRODUCES 2007 CRIME BILL

On October 25, 2007, Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) introduced the "Crime Control and Prevention Act of 2007," S. 2237, an omnibus crime bill similar in scope to the Senator’s "Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994" that was signed into law by President Clinton in 1994.

The 2007 Biden Crime Bill builds upon the same three-part approach the Senator used in 1994 and which proved to be an effective recipe for reducing crime: prevention programs, dedicated federal support to community-oriented policing, and tough-but-fair prison sentences. The bill also places a focus on new challenges America’s law enforcement community is facing, including computer hacking, on-line child exploitation, and terrorism prevention.

NAPO has again given Senator Biden our support for this legislation and his efforts to provide a comprehensive approach to crime control. We are proud to join the Senator in the fight to ensure that the programs and resources that have proved to be effective in protecting our children and our neighborhoods receive the full support of the federal government.

For more information on the specifics of this omnibus crime control bill, please contact NAPO’s Director of Governmental Affairs, Andy Mournighan, at (703) 579-0775 or amournighan@napo.org.

BILLS OF INTEREST TO LAW ENFORCEMENT

 The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2007

On November 1, 2007, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security approved a bill, H.R. 3992, that would reauthorize and expand the grant programs under the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA).

In addition to expanding existing grants under the Act, H.R. 3992 would authorize an additional $35 million annually in fiscal 2008-2013 for four new grant programs focusing on: treatment of female prisoners who are mentally ill; coordination of the treatment of mentally ill prisoners; screening, identification and assessment of mentally ill inmates; and coordination of post-release services.

The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act encourages mental health and criminal justice systems to work together in devising new, more effective ways to assist the mentally ill. Demands for grants available through this program have far exceeded their availability. In 2006, for example, only 27 (11%) received funding out of 250 submitted grant applications from states and communities.

Programs funded through this Act benefit communities in many ways. They reduce burdens on criminal justice and correctional systems by diverting non-violent offenders with serious mental illness to needed treatment. They foster improved collaboration between the criminal justice and mental health systems to enable people with serious mental illness to successfully reenter their communities. Additionally, and perhaps most important to law enforcement, these programs increase public safety and reduce recidivism.

While NAPO was able to secure $10 million in funding for MIOTCRA in the fiscal 2008 C-J-S appropriations bill – double what the program has received over the past several years – it is still woefully under-funded. NAPO is working to ensure that MIOTRCA receives the federal support necessary to fully meet the demands and needs of states and communities.

The 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act of 2007

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation on October 30, 2007, that would grant internet phone companies the legal right to access the nation’s existing emergency 911 infrastructure. The bill, H.R. 3403, applies to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers such as

Vonage, Skype or Lingo. Currently, many customers of such VoIP services can dial 911 in case of emergency; however, not all VoIP users have access to enhanced 911 services that transmit a caller’s physical location and other important information to law enforcement.

The bill would require the Federal Communications Commission to issue regulations granting VoIP companies access to the nation’s traditional 911 infrastructure, which is handled by Bell telephone companies. Landline calls and wireless calls are already connected to this infrastructure, which makes it relatively easy for 911 operators to trace calls or route the calls to the nearest public safety personnel. H.R. 3403 amends the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 to give this same access to VoIP services.

The bill would also give state and local entities the authority to impose and collect 911-related fees from VoIP providers.

The Senate companion bill, S. 428, was passed by the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in April of this year.

SAVE THE DATE!
PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE FOLLOWING
NAPO EVENTS DURING NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

Monday, May 12th, 2008
NAPO Executive Board Meeting
The 15th Annual TOP COPS Awards® Ceremony
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
NAPO’s Legal Rights & Legislative Seminar:
Focus on Use of Deadly Force by Law Enforcement
While in town for Police Week, please stop by and see NAPO’s new offices!