Letter to Hon. Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia - Comer, Republicans Express Concerns over D.C. Mayor's Failure to Address Surging Violent Crime

Letter

Dear Mayor Bowser:

On Wednesday, September 15, 37-year-old Tarshaqua Chappell was shot and killed while driving in Southeast Washington, D.C. Ms. Chappell's death is part of a larger trend in the District: Over the past several months, the city has deteriorated to a point reminiscent of the 1990s. As violent crime and homelessness have increased at an unchecked rate throughout the city, your administration seems to have given up trying to prevent the District from falling into a state of chaos. The message coming from your office regarding the future role of, and funding for, the city's police is contributing to the decline. As the committee of jurisdiction for all matters involving the District of Columbia, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Republicans request information regarding this dangerous trend in the nation's capital.

Violent crime plagues the city, and the number of homicides this year is expected to meet or exceed the 16-year high of 2020. The violence is spread across all areas of the District, and
scooter-related shootings are on the rise, as well. In May, a mother and her five-year-old
daughter were both shot walking home from the park by someone riding a scooter.

Additionally, the emergence of vast homeless communities--where drug use and
violence often go unchecked--will only exacerbate and add to the crime in the city. Earlier this
year, residents of Mount Vernon Square wrote to the U.S. Park Police requesting homeless
encampments be removed, pointing to various criminal and sanitary violations from the inhabitants. The request to remove the encampment was denied, and the District's homeless
population grows. Tent cities are scattered throughout the District for any tourist or commuter to
see. As the Washington Post reports:

There are tents on K Street and Virginia Avenue overpasses. There are tents
near the Federal Reserve along the entrance to the E Street Expressway.
There are tents in front of Gonzaga College High School on North Capitol
Street. A tent city welcomes visitors to the Kennedy Center -- dozens of
temporary shelters are now a permanent part of the vista for those looking
west across the Potomac.

The number of chronically homeless in the District has risen over 20 percent from last year.
Tent communities are becoming more permanent, with some now outfitted with toilets, tables for
donations, and trash receptables littered with the city's logo on them. The Post describes a
future in which Washington will "reserv[e] acres of Rock Creek Park for encampments,
segregating them from residential areas with chain-link fences." By ignoring this growing
issue, your administration is contributing to these people's suffering, not alleviating it.

Further, the District is compounding the crime and homelessness issues with mixed
messages coming from the D.C. government and the groups influencing it. In July, the D.C.
Council announced it would hold a roundtable on gun violence. But Black Lives Matter D.C.
accused the Council of using "the community's righteous anger" to "gain momentum for an
arbitrary number of new police and a bigger budget." You expressed a desire to decrease
funding for the police only a few weeks ago, and your budget allows the Metropolitan Police
Department (MPD) to hire only 170 new officers12 instead of the normal 280 to keep up with
attrition. This has led to "the smallest police force [the District] has had in more than two
decades."

In order to better understand the dire conditions of the District of Columbia, please
provide a briefing to Committee staff regarding the status of the funding of the MPD no later
than October 8, 2021. To arrange the briefing or ask any questions about this request, please
contact Committee staff tat (202) 225-5074.

The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight Committee of the
U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate "any matter" at "any time"
under House Rule X.

Thank you for your cooperation with this inquiry.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress