U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and U.S. Representative John Carter (R-TX) released the following statements after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the POLICE Act, legislation that will allow law enforcement and medical personnel to use federal grant funds to train and better prepare for active shooter situations, including training civilians how to respond if confronted by an active shooter:

“We were tragically reminded last week that an active shooter situation can happen anywhere, any time. Allowing local officials to apply existing grant funding to train our law enforcement and first responders will not only better prepare our communities for whatever comes their way, it could help stop future tragedies,” Sen. Cornyn said.“I commend Congressman Carter for his work in getting this legislation through the House, and I hope to see it become law soon.”

“The threat of active shooters is increasingly real, as we have seen more recently in Dallas, Orlando and San Bernardino. Unfortunately, Central Texas has had its own deadly experiences with active shooters,” said Rep. Carter.“I believe our men and women of law enforcement must be the best trained for the threats they encounter. This bill will provide training for more responders, and in turn make our communities even safer. The better trained our Law Enforcement Officers are, the safer we all are, and I will continue to do all I can to support our law enforcement and emergency personnel. I urge the President to sign this important legislation, and I thank Senator Cornyn for garnering the support and leading the way in the Senate.”

Background on the POLICE Act:

The Protecting Our Lives through Initiating COPS Expansion Act would revise the rules of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) to allow first responders to use grants received through the program for active shooter response training. Representative Carter introduced the House of Representatives version of the POLICE Actin February, and it passed the Senate unanimouslyin May. The bill is supported by the National Fraternal Order of Police, the National District Attorneys Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Major County Sheriffs Association, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, and the Department of Justice’s VALOR program.

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