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The News and Tribune by: Elizabeth Beilman U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth is one of 30 co-sponsors on a bill introduced by Rep. Susan Brooks that addresses mental health among law enforcement officers. The House bill is a companion to a Senate bill introduced by Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana, called the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act. Both were filed in April. The law would require the Department of Justice to work with the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration to identify effective mental health practices that could be adopted by agencies around the country. It would also expand the Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, grants to allow local and state agencies to establish their own pilot programs and peer groups. The Department of Justice would also be directed to review and recommend improvements for crisis hotlines. "Day in and day out, we ask police officers to serve and protect our communities and to be the first line of defense against all sorts of dangers and tragedies," Hollingsworth, R-Jeffersonville, stated in a news release. "Very often, these defenders of justice are the first to interact with some horrific scenes. We owe it to them to provide all the tools and resources necessary to ensure they are able to cope with the experiences they run into on our behalf." Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, is a co-sponsor of the original Senate bill. Hollingsworth joins fellow Indiana U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita as a co-sponsor of the House version. This is the third first responder-related bill Hollingsworth has supported this session. In May, he introduced the POLICE Act, which would allow identifiable law enforcement officers to carry weapons into low-level security federal buildings. He also co-sponsored the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act that would track cancer rates among the nation's firefighters. The House bill awaits a full vote. This article originally appeared in The News and Tribune and was authored by Elizabeth Beilman. |
