Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, on Tuesday questioned expert witnesses at a hearing on “Reimagining Public Safety in the COVID-19 Era.”
Congressman Cohen asked Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner about his city’s use of the $350 billion authorized for police funding in the American Rescue Plan, noting that no Republican members of Congress voted for the measure. Houston received $45 million of that funding to augment its efforts, Turner said.
Congressman Cohen said in part:
“A comprehensive approach to combatting crime is essential and that includes not only increasing funding for police and law enforcement in our communities and sometimes that’s balancing funds and balancing some programs.”
Congressman Cohen has introduced legislation to combat violent crime, including the Safer Streets Act of 2022, which would provide increased funding to law enforcement entities and community violence prevention organizations in certain jurisdictions to comprehensively address increased violent crime rates within their communities.
See Congressman Cohen’s line of questioning here.
Besides Mayor Turner, Tuesday's hearing witnesses were:
- Mr. Thomas Abt, Chairman, Violent Crime Working Group;
- Ms. Madeline Brame, Chairwoman, NYS Victims Rights Reform Council;
- The Honorable Nicholas W. Brown, U.S. Attorney, Western District of Washington;
- The Honorable Satana Deberry, District Attorney, Durham County, North Carolina;
- Mr. Edgardo “Eddie” Garcia, Chief of Police, Dallas Police Department;
- Mr. Charles Fain Lehman, Fellow, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; and
- Ms. Jerika L Richardson, Senior Vice President, Equitable Justice & Strategic Initiatives, National Urban League.
