Cornyn Praises Senate Passage of Bill Encouraging Law Enforcement to Hire Vets

Today on the Senate Floor as National Police Week continues, I praised the Senate’s passage of the American Law Enforcement Heroes Act, bipartisan legislation I introduced with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (TX-23) to incentivize law enforcement agencies to hire military veterans. Excerpts of my remarks are below, and video of my remarks can be found here.

Last night the Senate passed a piece of legislation, bipartisan legislation, called the American Law Enforcement Heroes Act, and it's a great example of legislation that everyone can agree on and get behind. The main goal is to connect veterans, those who served in our military and have a passion for public service, to opportunities in state and local law enforcement.

That way those who have voluntarily put themselves in harm's way to keep the peace and promote American interests abroad and defend our homeland can continue the record of public service at home.

By prioritizing existing federal funds for state and local law enforcement agencies to hire veterans, we can better serve them as they transition into civilian life, which we know can be a challenging transition. But that's exactly what the American Law Enforcement Heroes Act, that we passed yesterday, does.

Let me express my gratitude to the Senior Senator from Minnesota, Senator Klobuchar, as well as the Senior Senators from Connecticut and California, all Democratic colleagues, for being my original cosponsors on the bill. And I'm grateful to my Republican colleagues, including Senator Cruz, the Junior Senator from North Carolina, and the Senior Senators from Iowa, Utah, and Nevada, for working with us on this legislation.

I look forward to this bill becoming a law, hopefully this week, as we continue to celebrate Police Week and honor the service of the men and women in blue who keep our communities safe, and making it clear that this Congress cares not only about our veterans, but also our law enforcement officials as well.