Washington, DC – During National Police Week, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) announced that his bipartisan legislation with Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) to reauthorize the Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis (STOIC) Act was unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. The STOIC Act provides grant funding for law enforcement family-support services and establishes suicide-prevention programs and mental health services for law enforcement officers. The legislation now heads to the full Senate.
“Police officers are the first on the scene to help other people through some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Officers see a lot, and they need access to mental health care to manage the toll of being on the frontlines every day,” said Whitehouse, a former Rhode Island Attorney General and U.S. Attorney. “Our bipartisan STOIC Act has delivered resources to help first responders and their loved ones in the years since we passed it, and I urge my colleagues to swiftly support its reauthorization.”
Whitehouse and Hawley first introduced the STOIC Act in 2019, and it was signed into law later that year. Without action, the authorization for funding these programs will expire later this year. Full text of the reauthorization can be found here.
On Wednesday, Whitehouse met with officers from the Pawtucket Police Department in his Washington office to mark Police Week.
