Senate, House Leaders Introduce Bill to Empower and Protect Probation Officers
Washington, D.C.—Senators Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., along with Representatives Dave Reichert, R-Wash., and Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., introduced a bill today to protect probation officers and enhance their ability to do their job by giving them authority to arrest a third party who forcibly interferes with an officer’s performance of his or her official duties.
Under current law, a probation officer may arrest a probationer or individual on supervised release if the officer has probable cause to believe the offender has violated a condition of his or her probation or release. However, current law does not address a probation officer’s arrest authority in situations where a third party attempts to physically obstruct the officer or cause the officer physical harm. When a probation officer encounters an uncooperative or violent third party, the officer may be forced to retreat because the officer lacks authority to restrain the third party, exposing the officer to greater risk of harm and allowing the third party to evade capture.
“This legislation will give probation officers important tools to protect themselves against hostile individuals who attempt to harm them or otherwise interfere with their ability to carry out their important mission,” Senator Hatch said. “At the same time, this legislation will free up resources for local police forces, who will no longer need to accompany probation officers as frequently in order to provide backup. Many states give state probation officers authority to arrest third parties who forcibly interfere with an officer’s performance of his or her official duties. It makes sense to give federal probation officers the same authority.”
“When probation officers visit offenders and conduct searches, they are frequently confronted by hostile third parties who interfere with their ability to do their jobs, sometimes with violence,” said Senator Feinstein. “In 2014, there were at least five instances where probation officers had to call outside law enforcement to arrest these individuals. Our bill would simply give probation officers the authority to arrest third parties to protect their safety.”
“Every day probation officers put themselves in situations where they are not only vulnerable to physical threats from their parolees, but also from their parolees’ friends, family, and the individuals they surround themselves with,” Rep. Reichert said. “Current law handicaps these officers from having the necessary authority to ensure their own safety as well as the safety of the people they are trying to protect. This bipartisan, commonsense bill would update the law to give our probation officers the tools to continue to do their job safely and with confidence.”
“Probation officers are asked to put themselves in precarious situations every day but are limited in their ability to respond when third parties interfere with their job,” Rep. Pascrell said. “When a third party interferes with parole officers’ official duties, they often have limited recourse to deescalate the situation, which puts their safety and the safety of those around them at risk. Thankfully, this bipartisan bill would solve the problem by extending probation officers a right they deserve: the right to protect themselves and the public.”
Nathan R. Catura, National President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), praised the introduction of the bicameral bill. "For far too long, the authority of U.S. Probation Officers has been fatally flawed and puts at risk these law enforcement professionals that often deal with the most violent criminals,” Catura said. “That is why FLEOA greatly appreciates the leadership shown by Senators Hatch and Feinstein and Reps. Reichert and Pascrell in support of these brave men and women and in seeking to close this potentially fatal loophole in their authority.”
You can find a complete summary of the bill here.
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Hatch-Coons Trade Secrets Bill Passes House, Heads to President’s Desk
Senate unanimously passed Hatch-Coons Defend Trade Secrets Act earlier this month, White House expected to sign bill in coming weeks
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today applaud passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act in the House of Representatives. The Senate bill, introduced by Senators Hatch and Coons, passed unanimously on April 4. The President has expressed support for the legislation and is expected to sign the bill into law soon.
“I’m pleased the House has followed the Senate’s lead and passed the Hatch-Coons Defend Trade Secrets Act,” said Senator Hatch. “Enacting this bill into law will help address the critical problem of trade secret theft, which stifles innovation and costs American companies billions of dollars annually. I hope our success in acting to protect trade secrets will serve as a spring board for additional Congressional action to safeguard other forms of intellectual property.”
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Hatch, Schatz Introduce Bill Increasing Access to High Quality Health Care in Remote Regions
Washington, D.C.—Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) issued the following statements after introducing the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act, which will increase access to high-quality health care in hard-to-reach regions.
“In states with large rural populations like Utah, it’s vital that we do everything we can to ensure that patients have access to quality health care—no matter where they live,” Senator Hatch said. “By using technology to connect patients and providers, this bill will benefit Utahns living in rural areas by helping them receive the care they need. I’m grateful for the valuable input Utah’s health leaders have provided in crafting this proposal, and I hope the Senate will act quickly to advance this critical legislation.”
“Technology has the potential to transform how we train doctors and deliver health care,” said Senator Schatz. “Our bill would help connect primary care providers in underserved areas with specialists at academic hubs, making it easier for medical professionals to access the continuing education they need and provide health care to more people.”
Statements of Support
Dr. Barbara McAneny, Immediate Past Chair of the American Medical Association:
“Project ECHO is bridging geographic divides to connect physicians and experts with patients in underserved, rural areas. An exemplary model of using new technologies to improve patient care, Project ECHO has potential to bolster access to specialists, reduce incidence of chronic disease, and rein in costs through reduced travel and fewer ER visits. The AMA believes the ECHO Act would provide policymakers with critical information to expand such models to improve clinical practice,” said Dr. Barbara McAneny, Immediate Past Chair of the American Medical Association.”
Dan Hawkins, Senior VP, Public Policy and Research, National Association of Community Health Centers:
“The Expanding Connectivity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act is a bipartisan and innovative response to the need to connect primary care providers to specialists in rural and underserved areas. Because health centers are all located in medically underserved urban and rural areas or serve medically underserved populations, they regularly become the medical home for patients with complex needs and chronic conditions. This need is often amplified in rural areas which may have higher rates of chronic diseases and less access to specialty providers. By connecting specialists with primary care providers, the Project ECHO model allows for patients to access quality care close to home and creates opportunities for primary care physicians to manage complex needs in their own health centers. We applaud the efforts of Senator Hatch and Senator Schatz to examine the use of, and opportunities to use, technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models, such as Project ECHO, to improve patient care and provider education.”
Dr. Sanjeev Arora, M.D., Founder and Director, Project ECHO, University of New Mexico School of Medicine:
“Medical knowledge is exploding, but it’s often not traveling the last mile to ensure that patients get the right care in the right place at the right time. If we can leverage technology to spread best practices through case-based learning and mentoring of providers, we can move knowledge – instead of patients – to get better care to rural and underserved communities across the country.”
Dr. Vivian Lee, CEO of University of Utah Health Care, Dean of the University of Utah School of Medicine, and Senior Vice President for Health Sciences of the University of Utah, on the ECHO Act:
“As the only academic medical center serving five states in the mountain west region, we provide the care and expertise to improve quality of life for many urban, rural, and frontier populations. The ECHO Act legislation will increase access to high-quality health care for both patients and providers in many hard to reach regions, improving the care of rural populations and expanding the medical knowledge of providers who are closest to them. This legislation will help us, as a regional health system, reach and better care for a number of medically underserved populations.”
Dr. Carrie Byington, MD, and Dr. Will Dere, MD, FACP—Co-Directors, Utah Center for Clinical and Translational Science on Project ECHO:
“We have seen the additional benefit of ECHO for increasing the access of individuals in rural or other underserved areas to clinical trials. We have worked to evaluate new methods of prenatal care and we see opportunities to bring cancer clinical trials and other potentially life-saving trials to our state.”
Kelley Withy, MD, PhD, Director of the Hawaii/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii
“Hawaii launched two ECHO clinics only three months ago and we've already provided over 100 hours of continuing medical education and we have had inquiries to start four more ECHO clinics on important local topics. Healthcare providers love it because they are learning by discussing interventions to help their own patients. It's very gratifying and a win-win all around.”
Background
Rural Health Challenges
Project ECHO Model
Benefits of Project ECHO model for:
The Enhancing Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act:
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Hatch: The Most Important Part of Criminal Justice Reform is Still Missing
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the former chairman and current longest-serving member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a statement on the current Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act:
The changes to the criminal justice bill that have been circulated address some concerns critics have raised, but do not correct what I have consistently said is the most glaring problem—the lack of any meaningful provision to address the deterioration of intent requirements in our criminal laws and regulations. Criminal intent, or mens rea, requirements are a crucial bulwark against unjust prosecution and incarceration of morally innocent actors. Sadly, however, in recent years Congress and federal agencies have neglected such requirements and created thousands of crimes that require no proof of criminal intent or that are unclear as to what level of intent, if any, is necessary.
On at least four occasions in the Judiciary Committee or on the Senate floor, I have made clear that any package of criminal justice reforms that passes the Senate must include meaningful mens rea reform. None of the proposed changes to the bill address this issue.
I continue to believe, as I have said all along, that strengthening mens rea protections is an essential component of criminal justice reform. Any reform effort that fails to tackle mens rea is incomplete.
Senator Hatch’s floor speeches and official statements on the need for mens rea reform:
Senator Hatch’s op-eds on the need for mens rea reform:
Notable Media Coverage of Senator Hatch’s Position on the need for mens rea reform:
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Hatch Meets with Air Force Lt. Gen. Lee Levy on Hill AFB, F-35, other Utah Defense Issues
Washington, D.C.—On Wednesday, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, met with Lt. Gen. Lee Levy II, Commander, Air Force Sustainment Center, U.S. Air Force, to discuss the future of Hill Air Force Base and other defense projects. Following their meeting, General Levy praised Senator Hatch’s efforts to strengthen Hill and solidify Utah’s role in America's national defense.
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