OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Community Violence Intervention in the Build Back Better Plan

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 24, 2021
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. HORSFORD. Madam Speaker, I rise today as a champion for the Build Back Better Act's $5 billion investment in community violence intervention.

Last year, our country witnessed the largest spike in murder rates since national recordkeeping began in 1960. In my home city of Las Vegas, murders are up nearly 70 percent this year already.

This violence doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens when people don't have hope or faith that there are better paths forward, to make money to resolve a conflict, or to feel safe.

For decades, politicians in this Chamber have stoked fear about urban crime to divide us while refusing to invest in real solutions. I lost my father to gun violence, so this is not about politics for me. We need to focus on stopping the bloodshed before it starts.

This summer, I introduced the Break the Cycle of Violence Act along with my colleagues proposing $5 billion in funding that is now part of the Build Back Better Act. This money will invest in proven, community- based violence intervention programs to build safer communities.

This is about saving lives, and our constituents are counting on us to get this done.

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