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HR 8832
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Supporting Women COPS Act of 2026

To establish a Task Force on Women in Law Enforcement to study and develop national hiring standards for law enforcement officers, and for other purposes.

Introduced May 14, 2026

Latest action (May 14, 2026) Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Issues
Criminal Justice

Summary

The bill would establish a Task Force on Women in Law Enforcement composed of federal officials, mayors, female police executives and officers, and community representatives to study state hiring standards and develop national recommendations for law enforcement officer hiring, female retention, and advancement to leadership roles. The task force would develop hiring standards focused on physical fitness, critical thinking, and communication skills that do not disadvantage applicants based on sex, and address barriers to female officer retention such as postpartum fitness requirements and childcare responsibilities. The task force would submit findings and recommendations to Congress within 18 months of enactment. States that adopt the task force recommendations would receive an additional 5 percent in federal law enforcement grant funding. The Attorney General would be authorized to provide technical assistance to help states implement the recommendations.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Actions (2)

  1. May 14, 2026 Introduced in House
  2. May 14, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 14, 2026

Ms. Ross (for herself, Mrs. Foushee, and Mrs. Sykes) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish a Task Force on Women in Law Enforcement to study and develop national hiring standards for law enforcement officers, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Supporting Women with Career Opportunities in Policing Services Act of 2026” or the “Supporting Women COPS Act of 2026”.

SEC. 2. TASK FORCE ON WOMEN IN LAW ENFORCEMENT.

(a) Establishment.—There is established a Task Force on Women in Law Enforcement (referred to in this section as the “Task Force”) to study State hiring standards for law enforcement officers, develop national hiring standards for law enforcement officers, and develop recommendations for female officer retention and promotion.

(b) Composition.—The Task Force shall be composed of 12 members, appointed by the Attorney General as follows:

(1) One representative from the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

(2) Two mayors.

(3) Three female police executives, one of whom serves as the head of a municipal law enforcement agency, one of whom serves as the head of a State law enforcement agency, and one of whom serves as the head of a sheriff’s department.

(4) Two female law enforcement officers with the rank of lieutenant or below.

(5) Two representatives from community-based organizations.

(6) One representative from a law enforcement accreditation or standards and training organization.

(7) One representative from a national law enforcement organization representing women.

(c) Duties of the Task Force.—The duties of the Task Force are as follows:

(1) To develop recommendations for national hiring standards for law enforcement officers, including standards for physical fitness, critical thinking, and communication skills, that do not disadvantage applicants based on sex.

(2) To develop recommendations for female officer retention, addressing barriers including physical fitness after childbirth and family responsibilities, such as childcare.

(3) To develop recommendations for female advancement to leadership roles in law enforcement.

(d) Report.—Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Task Force shall submit to Congress a report that details its findings and recommendations.

SEC. 3. INCENTIVIZING STATES TO ADOPT STANDARDS.

(a) In General.—Beginning in the fiscal year that begins after the development of the recommendations under section 2(c), a State that adopts such recommendations shall receive, in addition to the amount that the State otherwise receives under subpart 1 of part E of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.) (commonly known as the “Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program”), an amount that is equal to 5 percent of what such State receives under such subpart, which may be used for the purposes authorized under such subpart.

(b) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out subsection (a) for each fiscal year beginning in the fiscal year that begins after the development of the recommendations under section 2(c).

(c) Technical Assistance.—

(1) In general.—The Attorney General is authorized to provide technical assistance to assist States in adopting the recommendations under section 2(c).

(2) Authorization of appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this subsection. <all>

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