{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bacon.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2835", "Bacon, Panetta Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Hire, Train, and Retain New Prosecutors", "2025-12-11", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Don Bacon", "B001298", "bacon.house.gov", "bacon", "https://bacon.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "Washington, DC \u2013 Representatives Don Bacon (NE-02) and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), reintroduced the bipartisan, bicameral, Helping Improve Recruitment and Retention Efforts for Prosecutors Act (HIRRE Prosecutors Act) of 2025. The legislation would allow local governments to better support, hire, train, and retain local prosecutors critical to protecting local public safety. The HIRRE Prosecutors Act would create a competitive federal grant program to better assist district attorneys in prosecuting cases and protecting the rule of law, with the staff and resources they need to get the job done. Rep. Joe Neguse (CO-02) is also co-leading this effort.\n\nSince the COVID-19 pandemic, many local prosecutors\u2019 offices have seen increased turnover. Some states have seen turnover rates as high as 43.5% in a single year, struggling to both retain and fill the staff critical to upholding the law. Unlike police departments, local prosecutors receive little to no federal assistance. The HIRRE Prosecutors Act would address that gap through a new program modeled on the successful, decades-old COPS Hiring Program, which would invest $10 million annually in the hiring, training, and retention of prosecutors and staff.\n\n\u201cOur local officials lack essential resources to effectively prosecute offenders. This legislation would provide support through the Department of Justice, helping to stabilize police departments and strengthen local attorney offices responsible for prosecuting cases,\u201dsaid Rep. Bacon. \u201cFor those facing staffing and resource shortages in Nebraska, the added support from this bill would help ensure that cases are handled efficiently and fairly. Specifically, the HIRRE Prosecutors Act would establish a program offering competitive grants to district attorneys\u2019 offices, with the goal of reinforcing public trust in the legal process.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor far too long, our local district attorneys\u2019 offices haven\u2019t had the resources they need to compete with private, better-paying law firms for top talent,\u201d said Rep. Panetta. \u201cThe HIRRE Prosecutors Act would create a first-of-its-kind federal grant program to invest in the legal talent needed to work as prosecutors and hold people accountable. With these types of grants, the federal government can play its part to help our local prosecutors\u2019 offices properly seek truth and justice and help enhance public safety.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m proud to join Rep. Panetta in support of this historic program that provides support for our state, territorial, local, and tribal prosecutors, who work each and every day to protect the public,\u201d said Rep. Neguse. \u201cThis bill, the HIRRE Prosecutors Act, will ensure that communities across the nation, especially folks in our rural and mountain communities, can recruit and retain qualified attorneys.\u201d\n\n\u201cSince the pandemic, district attorney offices have faced significant recruitment and retention challenges, which has been exacerbated by a lack of federal support needed to address workforce shortages\u201d said Brian R. Marvel, President of the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC). \u201cThe HIRRE Prosecutors Act is a critical step to remedy this \u2013 establishing a grant program that mirrors the support currently given to local law enforcement through the COPS Hiring Program to ensure that district attorneys\u2019 offices have the resources they need to prosecute cases and uphold the rule of law in our communities. Thank you, Congressman Panetta, for your leadership and commitment to supporting local district attorneys across the country.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bacon.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2835"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8495110087096691, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}