Today, Rep. María Elvira Salazar (FL-27) and Chris Pappas (NH-01) sent a bipartisan letter with 17 other House colleagues to House leaders Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Leader Kevin McCarthy urging them to schedule thirteen pro-law enforcement bills for a vote on the House floor.
"There is no doubt that crime is on the rise and our neighborhoods, unfortunately, tend to be significantly less safe than they were just two years ago," stated Rep. Salazar. "As the daughter of Cuban exiles, I firmly believe in the need for a strict and fair rule of law. That is why I am calling on House leaders to act in a bipartisan way to respond to growing concerns over crime and provide police with the support necessary to keep us all safe."
Five of the thirteen bills including H.R. 5788, H.R. 6375, H.R. 3172, H.R. 6132, H.R. 7203, and H.R. 7826 are cosponsored by Rep. Salazar.
Background:
- According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, homicide rates have increased 48% during the first quarter of 2022 compared to the last quarter of 2021.
- The National Fraternal Order of Police reports that 141 officers have been shot as of June 2022, including 21 that have been killed increases of 38% and 6% respectively compared to the same time frame in 2020.
- The FBI counted 73 officers intentionally killed in the line of duty in 2021, an increase of approximately 59% over 2020 and the most of any year since 1995.
- And at least 16 major American cities set homicide records in 2021, many of which surpassed record numbers in 2020.
In addition to Rep. Salazar and Pappas, the letter was also signed by Representatives Malinowski (NJ-7); McKinley (WV-1); Bacon (NE-2); Panetta (CA-20); Lamb (PA-17); Kuster (NH-2); Gottheimer (NJ-5); Craig (MN-2); O'Halleran (AZ-1) Fitzpatrick (PA-1); Spanberger (VA-7); Strickland (WA-10); Phillips (MN-3); Lee (NV-3); Slotkin (MI-8); and Sherill (NJ-11).
Original source can be found here.
