CRIMINAL HISTORY ACCESS ACT OF 2026

On 2026-05-12, Representative Deborah K. Ross (D-NC-2) delivered a floor speech titled "CRIMINAL HISTORY ACCESS ACT OF 2026" in the House.

CRIMINAL HISTORY ACCESS ACT OF 2026

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 80 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)] [House] [Pages H3370-H3372] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] CRIMINAL HISTORY ACCESS ACT OF 2026 Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8352) to authorize peace officer standards and training agencies to access criminal history records, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 8352 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 ``Criminal History Access Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION. (a) Attorney General Duties.--Section 534 of title 28, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)(4), by amending to read as follows: ``(4) exchange such records and information with, and for the official use of, authorized officials of the Federal Government, including the United States Sentencing Commission, the States, including State sentencing commissions and peace officer standards and training agencies, Indian tribes, cities, and penal and other institutions; and''; (2) in subsection (e)-- (A) by striking ``section, the term'' and inserting the following: ``section-- ``(1) the term''; (B) by striking ``(1) railroad'' and inserting the following: ``(A) railroad''; (C) by striking ``(2) police'' and inserting the following: ``(B) police''; (D) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (E) by adding at the end the following: ``(2) the term `peace officer standards and training agency' means an agency of a State with the statutory authority under State law to set standards for the hiring, training, ethical conduct, and retention of the law enforcement officers of the State through certification, licensing, or other similar qualification process; and ``(3) the term `State' means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the [[Page H3371]] United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any territory or possession of the United States.''. (b) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall amend part 20 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, as necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Schmidt) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kansas. General Leave Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 8352. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Kansas? There was no objection. Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 8352 is a commonsense and bipartisan bill that fixes a critical flaw in the Federal statute. State peace officer standards and training agencies, or POSTs, are responsible for certifying, licensing, and overseeing law enforcement officers in their respective jurisdictions. All 50 States have some form of a POST agency, although they go by different names. More than 50,000 individuals apply each year for law enforcement positions across the United States, and local, county, State, and Tribal agencies submit these applicants to their respective State POST agencies for certification. It is our expectation that each of those men and women would be a person of integrity and capable of upholding the position of public trust, but we shouldn't just take an applicant's word for it. As President Reagan might have said: ``Trust, but verify.'' Applicants voluntarily consent in writing to these background checks when applying for employment to perform the duties of a law enforcement officer, but current Federal law does not give POST agencies full access to criminal history records contained within the FBI's CJIS system. This can result in POST agencies having incomplete records when deciding whether to certify a candidate for employment as law enforcement. This unnecessary barrier has resulted in candidates with disqualifying convictions slipping through the cracks. My own State of Kansas is currently dealing with an issue of an officer with a disqualifying conviction who was hired by an agency without performing the mandatory background criminal history check. Since Kansas C-POST does not have the authority to run its own criminal histories, it has to rely on the hiring agency's verification that the applicant has met all the minimum requirements. That officer has been working for more than 18 months with a disqualifying conviction. Giving POST agencies this access is a commonsense step that strengthens accountability and helps keep communities safe by preventing individuals with disqualifying criminal history records from entering or remaining in the profession. I thank Chairman Jordan and my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee for unanimously supporting this bill during our committee markup last month. I thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross), for her leadership in making this a bipartisan partnership and effort, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8352, the bipartisan Criminal History Access Act of 2026. I applaud my colleague, Mr. Schmidt, for introducing this important bill and for working together to get it through the Judiciary Committee. Every State has its own standards for determining who may serve as a State or local law enforcement officer. Those standards are set and administered by a State board or agency. These peace officer standards and training agencies, or POST agencies, are often also empowered to certify individuals who may be hired as law enforcement officers, train the potential officers, or assist with vetting other local law enforcement personnel. This bill would authorize State POST agencies to directly access Federal criminal history records when vetting and certifying law enforcement trainees and officers. POST agencies are essentially the gatekeepers to the law enforcement profession. Their job is to keep bad actors out. Over 50,000 people apply for law enforcement positions across the country every year, and applicants already sign off on disclosure of their criminal history records as part of that process. The problem is that current Federal law blocks most POST agencies from accessing those records, so they end up relying on whatever the hiring department shares with them. When disqualifying information gets left out, POST agencies never see it, and someone who shouldn't be certified may get certified. This bill fixes this by amending 28 U.S.C. 534 to add POST agencies to the list of entities authorized to receive Federal criminal history records, the same access that law enforcement agencies already have. This is a simple, no-cost fix to close this gap. Again, I thank Congressman Schmidt for working with me in a bipartisan manner to bring this issue to the committee's attention and to propose a commonsense solution. I thank the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training for their technical expertise and assistance with this legislation, which is also supported by the Major County Sheriffs of America, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1700 Mr. SCHMIDT. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. ROSS. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. This bill would provide a limited and logical extension of the authority to share criminal history records so that those who help screen law enforcement officers have the information they need to maintain hiring standards. As we observe National Police Week, I am pleased to support this legislation that strengthens our law enforcement agencies and improves public safety by ensuring that applicants are appropriately screened. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan legislation, and I congratulate Congressman Schmidt on a fine bill. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. SCHMIDT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, this week across America we honor the brave men and women in law enforcement who work every day to protect and serve the American public. In particular, we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, whom we recognized in a resolution on this floor just a few minutes ago. A few weeks ago, I was honored to speak to the 355th Basic Training Class of the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center which provides basic training and continuation education for most of the law enforcement officers in our State. The auditorium at the training center where the graduation ceremony is held is appropriately named Integrity Auditorium. Each graduate is presented with a challenge coin that bears the phrase: ``Integrity is the basis for community trust.'' This bill is about ensuring that all law enforcement officers across our country are held to that standard of integrity and that disqualifying prior criminal convictions are properly disclosed to the appropriate State licensing agencies. I want to t

Referenced legislation: HR8352, HR8352