Houlahan Leads Passage Of Bipartisan Public Safety Laws

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Chester County Democrat, led an effort to pass a public safety package in response to a nationwide effort to reduce crime.

The four bills included in the package would fund the police, improve mental health services, reduce the cycle of violence, and help police forces solve violent crimes.

These four bills are headed to the Senate:

• Invest to Protect Act – funds the police with grants to help small, local law enforcement agencies retain and recruit officers. At the same time, this bill invests in strong guardrails and accountability measures, including training for de-escalation, responding to substance use disorders, supporting survivors of domestic violence, and promoting a duty of care.
• Mental Health Justice Act - helps send unarmed mental health professionals to respond to mental health crises in our neighborhoods: crucial action to save lives from potentially fatal encounters with armed police officers.
• Break the Cycle of Violence Act - invests in effective, evidence-based community violence intervention initiatives. This builds on the life-saving progress we forged with similar investments in our American Rescue Plan.

• Victim Act - bolsters the ability of police forces to solve homicides, sexual assaults, shootings, and other violent crimes: a necessary

Houlahan said she was focused primarly on getting the Invest To Protect Act, which passed 360-64 with every Democrat and Republican from Pennsylvania voting in favor.
“There is nothing more bipartisan than keeping our communities and country safe,” Houlahan said in a prepared statement.
“Of the four bills included, I was specifically excited to see the Invest to Protect Act pass. When I brought up the legislation to a police department in our community earlier this year, the reaction was incredibly enthusiastic.”
Houlahan said she looks forward to calling that same police department and others to share our progress.”

In June, Houlahan wrote a local op-ed urging community members to reach out to their senators to support the Invest to Protect Act, one of the bills passed that will help smaller police departments—like those in Chester and Berks Counties—better compete for resources.