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The Leader’s Floor Lookout: Week of May 15, 2023

Washington, May 14, 2023
Here’s what to watch for on the House Floor this week:
 
Deporting Illegal Immigrants that Assault Police

As Biden’s border crisis worsens with the end of Title 42, law enforcement on the front lines are suffering the consequences.

In March, a female border patrol agent was violently assaulted by an illegal immigrant while making an arrest, injuring her face and hands. In November, the FBI arrested two migrants who pushed, dragged, and punched a border patrol agent as they were attempting to cross the border illegally.

This kind of violence and disregard for the laws of the United States cannot be tolerated. 

U.S. Border Patrol agents and police officers around the country work tirelessly to keep our borders and communities safe – the least we can do is hold accountable those who seek to harm them.


Rep. Andrew Garbarino’s legislation, H.R. 2494, the Protect Our Law Enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement Act of 2023 (POLICE Act of 2023), makes assaulting a police officer a deportable offense. 

This should be bipartisan: if you come illegally into the United States and assault a police officer, you shouldn’t be allowed to stay. House Republicans are standing up for our law enforcement – will Democrats?


Allowing Federal Law Enforcement to Purchase Service Weapons

Right now, federal regulations require that service weapons be destroyed after they are retired from official use – making it impossible for police officers to purchase retired weapons.

The result is a massive waste of taxpayer dollars, as these weapons are paid for both when they go into circulation and when they are retired. 

Between fiscal years 2010 to 2017, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review found that federal law enforcement agencies reported spending at least $38.8 million on firearms.

H.R. 3091, the Federal Law Enforcement Officer Service Weapon Purchase Act, sponsored by Rep. Russell Fry, directs the General Services Administration to allow law enforcement officers to buy retired service weapons.

Let's stop wasting millions of taxpayer dollars, offset the cost of buying new firearms, and invest in other law enforcement needs.


Supporting Law Enforcement and Condemning Defund the Police Movements

Democrats are putting woke activism above the safety of our men and women in uniform.

In 2022, 64 officers were shot and killed in the line of duty, and crime continues to skyrocket across the country.

At least 16 cities broke their homicide records in 2021, including Atlanta, Austin, Philadelphia, and Portland. In D.C. compared with May of last year, motor vehicle theft is up 112 percent, sex abuse is up 48 percent, robbery is up 15 percent, and homicide is up 8 percent; all crime is up 27 percent. According to D.C. police chief Robert Contee, the average homicide suspect has been arrested 11 times before being arrested for murder.

Meanwhile, Democrats like Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Rashida Tlaib called for defunding the police instead of defending the men and women who risk their lives to protect American citizens every day.


 



But when it came to their own security rather than the security of American communities, the same radical Democrats who touted 'defund the police' spent hundreds of thousands to ensure they felt safe – something that's not an option for most Americans. 
 

It's common sense: supporting local law enforcement keeps communities safe. It’s no coincidence that the rising crime across the country sparked with the ‘Defund the Police’ movement. 

We should be encouraging respect for law enforcement, not villainizing them. 

H. Con. Res. 40, introduced by Rep. Ken Buck, expresses support for local law enforcement officers and condemns efforts to defund or dismantle local law enforcement agencies.

Now, Democrats like to claim they support police – as we honor National Police Week this week, it’s time for them to prove it by joining House Republicans in condemning movements to defund the police and standing up for our men and women in blue.