During National Police Week, May 10–16, PORAC, along with its partners Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs (WACOPS) and Oregon Coalition of Police and Sheriffs (ORCOPS),  traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with key legislators, congressional staff, influential committees, and national law enforcement and labor organizations to strengthen partnerships, discuss policies that support the profession and ensure the voices of West Coast law enforcement are heard on Capitol Hill.

PORAC advocated for increased funding for state and local law enforcement programs in the FY27 budget and discussed key legislation aimed at improving recruitment and retention, including measures addressing access to childcare (H.R. 3304/S. 2337), affordable housing (H.R. 2094/S. 978) and Medicare gap protection (H.R. 6157).

Leadership also highlighted the impact of artificial intelligence on the profession, discussing both its advantages and risks, and emphasized that any legislation addressing AI in policing should include strong guardrails to ensure new technologies are implemented through meaningful labor–management collaboration. PORAC also continued advancing its calls for consent decree reform, urging Congress to adopt commonsense changes that preserve civil rights protections, prevent misuse and reduce unnecessary costs to taxpayers.

Additional priorities discussed included the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act (S. 545/H.R. 1266), the LEOSA Reform Act (H.R. 2243/S. 679), and the Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansbro Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program Expansion Act (H.R. 7718/S. 3897).