WASHINGTON, DC- In honor of National Police Week Congressman Dave Joyce introduced legislation to better allow Local, State, and Federal law enforcement to receive identifying information and pursue felons and criminals. H.R. 5740, brought to light to Rep. Joyce by constituents and local law enforcement, is part of an ongoing effort by Rep. Joyce to get rid of the waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal government that allows local and state law enforcement to do their job.
“I am happy to introduce this legislation on behalf of my constituents,” said Rep. Dave Joyce. “When a crime is committed, our law enforcement does not need more bureaucratic red tape keeping them during their investigation. This piece of legislation will cut some of that red tape and provide our detectives and law enforcement officers with the necessary information from the state to help locate and prosecute these criminals.”
This piece of legislation came directly from the concerns of constituents, law enforcement, and community leaders of Ohio’s fourteenth district and has been a growing issue across the nation. In multiple instances, local stores have provided video surveillance of a crime and the number of the suspect’s Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card to police and law enforcement. However, because of a technicality in current law, even when law enforcement provides the state agency with a felony arrest warrant and the suspect’s EBT card number, the state is not allowed to provide law enforcement with any identifying information on the suspect. H.R. 5740, the Enhancing Law Enforcement Resources Act helps to fix this loophole in the 2008 farm bill that directly benefits criminals. Read more about one of our local instances here.
“We here in Macedonia, are thankful to Congressman Joyce for helping us make this investigation process for law enforcement a little easier,” said Mayor of Macedonia, Joseph Migliorini. “This legislation is a step in the right direction. We are happy our Congressman listened to us and took our local issue to Washington, DC so investigations across the country will have the tools to succeed.”
The legislation specifically reads, “To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to permit the State agency to disclose personal identifying information of a household member to a law enforcement officer who provides such member’s household electronic benefit transfer card number for the purpose of apprehending such member who is fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or confinement after conviction, for a crime.”
To read the bill, click here.
