Police departments across the country are struggling to fill their ranks, and Minnesota is no exception.

On Monday, U.S. Congresswoman Kelly Morrison, D-Wayzata, announced her advocacy for a new bill called the "Pathway to Policing Act." 

Morrison is getting support from both sides of the aisle — including Congressman Brad Finstad, R-New Ulm — as well as officers on the ground. 

The legislation would authorize $50 million in annual funding over the next five years, going to both state and local police to recruit and train new police officers.  

On average, police agencies across the country face a nearly 10% staffing deficit, and more than half say they've reduced services due to staffing shortages.

"When we let these staffing shortages go unaddressed, we risk the safety of our communities and we also risk the safety of our officers," Morrison said in a news conference on Monday.

The federal law would emulate a program that's worked at the local level, bringing close to 20 officers to the Bloomington Police Department. Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt also says her team is the largest it's ever been, which is why they want to take this movement to the federal level.

"We simply can't continue to recruit the way we did 20, 30 years ago," Witt said. "We're looking for those nontraditional ways that can bring people into this field, and the Pathways program is a way we can do that."

The law would also fund a nationwide recruitment campaign focusing on people with unconventional career or education backgrounds. That would be another $50 million annually over the next five years for the U.S. Department of Justice.