National Police Week
Floor Speech
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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Speaker, during National Police Week, we honor our men and women in blue for their courage, dedication, and commitment to preserving law and order in our communities. We also remember the fallen, those who made the ultimate selfless sacrifice in the line of duty.
On this National Police Week, Congress has the unique opportunity to not just say we back the blue but to actually take a stand against a misguided law that severely hinders the ability of police officers in this very city from protecting and serving the American people.
The D.C. City Council's so-called police reform bill--the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Amendment Act-- creates very serious undue burdens on the Metropolitan Police Department. Amidst the raging crime crisis terrorizing the streets here in our Nation's Capital, this law, which for 2 years has been in effect under emergency legislative powers, puts criminals first and MPD officers last.
MPD officers overwhelmingly oppose the D.C. Council's anti-police law, and they are making it known with their feet. Since this legislation has been in place, the MPD has lost more than 1,100 officers and currently operates at a 500-officer deficit. As officers are leaving the force in droves, faster than they can be replaced, the Metropolitan Police Department has drastically shrunk to a historic half-century low.
Due to my commitment to our Constitution and passion for restoring law and order in our Nation's Capital, I introduced a resolution, H.J. Res. 42, to repeal the D.C. Council's harmful law.
Last month this body passed my commonsense measure by a bipartisan vote garnering the support of 14 House Democrats. By passing my resolution, the House firmly rejected the council's anti-police law, reaffirming our support of heroic law enforcement officers and underscored the importance of protecting Americans' safety here in Washington.
It is now up to the Senate to act before it is too late.
Thankfully, today Senators will vote on H.J. Res. 42 as Senator J.D. Vance is leading the fight to repeal the D.C. Council's anti-police law. During this vote Senators will face a very simple question: On National Police Week do they stand with the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department, or do they embolden violent criminals who continue to torment and attack Americans in our Nation's Capital?
Earlier this year when Congress was confronted with a similar question as we considered my previous D.C.-related resolution, H.J. Res. 26, to block the D.C. Council's soft-on-crime Revised Criminal Code Act, we had 31 Democrats in both the House and the Senate join our effort to strike down this radical law that would eliminate minimum sentences and reduce maximum penalties for numerous violent criminal offenses.
I now call on these same 31 Senate Democrats to join our fight, yet again, by passing H.J. Res. 42 because failure to do so will only drive out more Metropolitan Police Department officers and deter officers from joining the force, meaning Washington will have fewer police officers on the streets to combat the dangerous crime crisis plaguing our Nation's Capital.
While D.C.'s local leadership shamelessly refuses to admit there is a crime crisis in Washington, the data reveals that the crime crisis is not only real, but that it is getting worse. Compared to last year, violent crime is up 13 percent as the city has already faced more than 80 homicides in just the first 4\1/2\ months of 2023. Property crime has increased by a whopping 30 percent, and total crime overall is up 27 percent.
Clearly, the crime crisis in our Nation's Capital is dire, which is why residents, small businesses, visitors, and the brave officers of the Metropolitan Police Department are counting on Congress to act. They are depending on us to use our authority outlined in Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution to prevent our Nation's Capital from becoming the next New York City, Chicago, or San Francisco. They are calling on us to support MPD officers, help them restore law and order, and improve public safety in Washington.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the Senate to put people over politics. Join our effort to repeal the D.C. Council's antipolice law and send this commonsense bill, H.J. Res. 42, to the President's desk.
I implore President Biden to abandon his senseless veto threat so we can take another crucial step in bolstering the ranks of the Metropolitan Police Department and boosting public safety in D.C.
We shoulder the responsibility and the authority to make our Nation's Capital a safer place for all Americans, and we cannot take this duty lightly. It is time for the Senate to take a stand in not only protecting Americans in Washington but in protecting MPD officers who risk their lives to defend law and order in D.C.
On this National Police Week, fulfilling our constitutional duty to strike down a law that will continue to severely damage the Metropolitan Police Department is the least we can do to show that we do, in fact, always back the blue.
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