Elo Realignment and Strategic Engagement Reform Act of 2026

Floor Speech

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Mr. EVANS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time. I also thank my bipartisan partner on this, Representative Goldman, for his efforts on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan bill, the ELO Realignment and Strategic Engagement Reform Act.

This bill consolidates the functions of two existing Department of Homeland Security offices tasked with public safety coordination into one centralized point of contact. DHS' Office of Intelligence and Analysis, also known as I&A, is the only entity in the U.S. intelligence community responsible for delivering intelligence directly to State and local law enforcement agencies.

As a former cop for over a decade in the Denver metro area, I know there is nothing more critical to law enforcement operations than open communication between local, State, and Federal agencies. Information sharing between the men and women on the front lines and Federal intelligence counterparts ensures that bad actors, often tied to international criminal organizations like cartels and terrorist groups, are removed from our streets as quickly as possible.

From my own experience, I know that State and local law enforcement often face national and international threats: terrorists, cartels, cyberattacks, and foreign enemy regimes. This bill supports State and local law enforcement when they encounter those national or those international threats.

Unfortunately, in my home State of Colorado, Denver Democrats are often more concerned about finding ways to weaken law enforcement operations and attacking our brave officers rather than prioritizing public safety. Defund-the-police antics create public safety conflicts and confusion for law enforcement officers who are trying to serve and protect their communities.

This bill ensures that State and local agencies can easily and frequently access the resources they require from their Federal partners when they are facing threats that require Federal backing.

By reorganizing the ELO Office and realigning its essential functions within I&A's partner engagement directorate, this bill streamlines coordination between law enforcement agencies, enhances information- sharing mechanisms, and reduces duplicative actions.

This ensures responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and it makes sure that State and local law enforcement agencies have the information that they need when they are facing those national or international threats.

Time and again, we wait for tragedies to remind us that we have to incentivize interagency collaboration. This bill takes the fight to the streets, and it makes sure that we are preventively getting these resources to our State and local law enforcement agencies, because no single law enforcement agency can effectively address the full spectrum of threats without that combined resource.

Madam Speaker, I strongly urge support for this bipartisan piece of legislation and support for the millions of State and local law enforcement officers across our country.

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