Grassley Addresses Law Enforcement Leaders, Highlights Congressional Efforts to Support Officers

Grassley Addresses Law Enforcement Leaders, Highlights Congressional Efforts to Support Officers

WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today addressed law enforcement leaders during the National Association of Police Organizations' (NAPO) annual Police Week Legislative Luncheon.

During Police Week, Grassley has led 65 of his Senate colleagues in a resolution honoring America's brave law enforcement officers, and helped shepherd six bipartisan, pro-police bills through the Judiciary Committee.

Download photos HERE.

Prepared Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
NAPO's Legislative Day on Capitol Hill
Thursday, May 14, 2026

Thank you for inviting me today.

Since 1962, American presidents have proclaimed the second week of May as National Police Week.

This is a week of reflection, of gratitude and of tribute to the men and women of law enforcement. I'm honored to join you.

Every American owes a debt to the men and women who answer the call to serve.

Police officers do hard, often thankless work.

They don't do it for money, and they don't do it because of the lifestyle.

They run to danger when others flee. They stand watch on weekends, on holidays, in poor weather and in times of crisis.

They ask their families to sacrifice alongside them.

They miss family reunions, children's sporting events and milestones like anniversaries, funerals and birthdays.

They ask their loved ones to stand strong and wait for their return when they leave the door every morning to face the unknown.

Some officers walk out the door and don't come home. They make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. We owe them and their families a debt of gratitude that we can never repay.

This week, we remember and honor 193 officers who've fallen in the line of duty.

Sergeant Joseph Morgan from Des Moines, Iowa is one of them.

Their families and loved ones are in our prayers.

But as we gather in reflection of past sacrifice, we owe it to the memories of the fallen to look ahead, and to work towards building the better future that they gave their lives for.

That's what I want to talk about today.

As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, public safety is at the forefront of our committee's work.

Americans deserve safe communities. They deserve to be protected from violence. Their children should be protected from the scourge of drugs, or from exploitation by predators. And their hard-earned money should be safe from fraudsters and thieves.

As legislators, advancing the cause of public safety requires approaching it from multiple angles.

It requires just criminal laws that penalize violence and disorder.

It requires equipping law enforcement agencies with the leadership, training and resources they need to investigate and prevent crime.

It requires supporting the health, safety and morale of our public safety officials, to keep them sharp and focused on their protective mission.

As Chairman, I've led our committee as we tackle each of these issues, and I want to update you on our recent work.

In the last few months, we've worked hard to advance legislation that strengthens our criminal laws.

Earlier this year, we reported the James T. Woods Act out of Committee with a strong bipartisan vote.

This package gives law enforcement and prosecutors the tools to fight child exploitation from heinous groups like the 764 network. It also strengthens the laws penalizing child sex abuse material and modernizes the sentencing laws.

We've also worked closely with our law enforcement partners to advance the bipartisan Combatting Illicit Xylazine Act through the Committee.

This bill classifies xylazine as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act and has been a top priority of both the Biden and the Trump administrations.

It's supported by more than 18 major law enforcement organizations representing over one million officers.

Today, we advanced one of my bills that will increase the penalties for those who smuggle contraband cell phones into prisons, and place corrections officers and our communities in danger.

We've also recently advanced other critical, bipartisan legislation that will keep Americans safe, including bills to improve federal prosecution of carjacking, and to target criminals who commit robberies at ATMs.

We're also advancing legislation and confirming nominees to equip our law enforcement agencies with leadership, training and resources to protect their communities.

This Congress, our committee has advanced and confirmed scores of federal law enforcement officials to lead agencies and public safety components.

By next week, we'll have confirmed 20 senior law enforcement and Justice Department officials, 44 U.S. Attorneys, and 8 U.S. Marshals.

We've also confirmed a new Assistant Attorney General to lead the National Fraud Enforcement Division of the Justice Department.

We've also confirmed 37 federal judges to faithfully and justly apply the law.

Many of these nominees have received support from law enforcement organizations and officials, and we're grateful for your engagement.

Today, we also advanced several bills to equip law enforcement with resources. One will dedicate federal grant funds to support forensic DNA analysis to help solve cold cases.

Another bill tasks the Justice Department with developing a training curricula framework for commander-level public safety personnel.

Another bill will give the U.S. Marshals the authority to assist Tribal law enforcement in executing arrest warrants and searching for missing children.

Finally, we considered legislation just this morning that will help support the health, safety and wellbeing of our public safety officers.

One of my bills directs the Justice Department to develop treatment programs for public safety personnel who suffer from PTSD or acute stress disorders.

As we all know, our country has lost too many of our brothers and sisters in blue to suicide. Some tragedies have been in my home state of Iowa.

We owe it to the memories of the fallen to provide our public servants with the treatment and help they need.

We also advanced a bill to improve the Public Safety Officers' Benefit program, to speed up benefit determinations and reduce the current claims backlog.

These are just a few examples of how the Senate Judiciary Committee and the U.S. Senate is working to protect our communities and support our law enforcement officers.

When I meet with my constituents in Iowa, I often hear that the U.S. Congress never gets anything done.

I hear that Republicans and Democrats are always fighting, and that we never come together to solve problems.

The examples I just gave are proof that this isn't true, and that we can come together for the common good.

And I can say from firsthand knowledge that support and engagement from our law enforcement partners is a critical part of that process.

I want to leave you with this message. We in Congress support you.

On behalf of a grateful country, we thank you for your service.

We join you in honoring the sacrifices of those who fell in the line of duty.

And we're working to make the world a better, safer place for Americans and the people who keep them safe.

God bless you all.

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