U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) on Monday announced that he had introduced a bill that would provide an additional avenue for schools to ensure student safety.

The congressman’s “Securing American Classrooms Act of 2022” would utilize nearly $1 billion in unspent COVID-19 pandemic relief funds to provide grants for partnerships between schools and local law enforcement agencies in an effort to enhance school safety and provide jobs for veterans.

According to a release, the bill’s provisions would ensure that grant awardees hire at least one veteran as a school resource officer.

In a statement announcing his legislation, Moore asserted that the unspent pandemic relief funds would be best utilized to bolster school safety.

“Instead of tolerating the same old, same old Washington status quo and letting unspent COVID funding sit unused in our treasury, my bill puts that money to use creating jobs for veterans in law enforcement and helping secure our schools,” said Moore.

The congressman slammed progressives over their calls to strip funding from police agencies and stressed the importance of providing funding for schools to enhance student safety.

“The Democrat plan to defund the police and take guns away from law-abiding citizens trying to protect themselves is counterproductive and dangerous, and we can better protect our schoolchildren by giving schools the resources to increase security measures and encourage strong partnerships between schools and law enforcement,” he concluded.