{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://kean.house.gov/media/press-releases/kean-pappas-and-letlow-introduce-legislation-provide-new-infrastructure-local", "Kean, Pappas and Letlow Introduce Legislation  to Provide New Infrastructure for Local Law Enforcement Agencies", "2023-11-07", "2023", "2023-11", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Thomas H. Kean, Jr.", "K000398", "kean.house.gov", "kean", "https://kean.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Contact: Dan Scharfenberger\n\n(November 7, 2023) WASHINGTON D.C. - Representatives Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07), Chris Pappas (NH-01) and Julia Letlow (LA-05) introduced H.R.6198, the Building Up Infrastructure for Local Departments Act of 2023, or the \u201cBUILD Act,\u201d a bill to support infrastructure investment in small law enforcement agencies and small fire departments.\n\nAccording to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, many local law enforcement agencies similarly operate in buildings that have become inadequate for actual departmental functions.\n\n\"Supporting funding for local law enforcement and firefighters is paramount to safeguarding the heart of our communities,\u201d said Congressman Kean. \u201cWe must invest in these courageous professionals who risk their lives to protect us daily, respond to emergencies, and keep our neighborhoods secure. I am proud to co-sponsor the BUILD Act. We owe it to our first responders to provide adequate funding so they can do their jobs effectively.\"\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s clear from the conversations I\u2019ve had with our law enforcement, fire fighters, and town representatives that this legislation would help our communities and departments fund much needed public infrastructure upgrades,\u201d said Congressman Pappas. \u201cOur public safety agencies must have access to the funds they need to upgrade their facilities to modern standards, supporting our officers as well as community safety. I will continue to work alongside our communities, and with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, to advocate for the resources they need to promote public safety and keep us safe.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur local law enforcement, first responders, and firefighters are the lifeline of the safety and well-being of our communities,\u201d said Congresswoman Letlow. \u201cIt is critical that the brave men and women who put themselves in harm\u2019s way in service to our communities have the proper resources they need to keep us safe. I\u2019m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the bipartisan BUILD Act, to ensure our rural public safety agencies have the adequate investments to continue their critical work for our communities.\u201d\n\nThe BUILD Act would:\n\n\u00b7 Authorize a new BUILD grant program at the Department of Justice to modify, upgrade, or construct facilities for small local law enforcement agencies.\n\n\u00b7 Authorize a new BUILD-FIRE grant program at FEMA to modify, upgrade, or construct facilities for small fire departments.\n\n\u00b7 Authorize up to $250m for the DOJ program and $250m for the FEMA program each year for FY24-26, subject to appropriations.\n\n\u00b7 Defines small police and fire departments as those serving jurisdictions of <150,000.\n\n\u00b7 Requires a GAO study of the sufficiency of the existing capital infrastructure of small public safety agencies over the near term and long term.\n\n\u00b7 Requires the Attorney General to conduct LEMAS supplemental studies of the met and unmet construction and renovation needs of a national sample of police departments.\n\n\u00b7 Required the Secretary of Homeland Security to study the met and unmet construction and renovation needs of a national sample of fire departments.\n\nCongressman Kean serves on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.\n\nYou can read more about this bill HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:01:09Z"]], "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://kean.house.gov/media/press-releases/kean-pappas-and-letlow-introduce-legislation-provide-new-infrastructure-local"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7482902146875858, "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"}