Republicans celebrate National Police Week with pro-law enforcement bills
Ryan King
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Congressional Republicans are set to consider multiple bills to bolster support for law enforcement in observation of National Police Week.
Monday is Peace Officers Memorial Day, on which the nation remembers officers who fell in the line of duty. The House Rules Committee is set to take up three bills Monday as Republicans pay tribute to law enforcement and needle progressives on police funding.
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Here are the bills currently making the rounds on the hill.
Back the blue
Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) proposed a continuing resolution “expressing support for local law enforcement officers and condemning efforts to defund or dismantle local law enforcement agencies.”
The measure is an implicit rebuke of members aligned with the so-called Squad, such as Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who have signaled support for slashing funding for police amid concerns of racial bias. The defund the police movement gained traction in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd back in 2020.
Since then, Republicans have used the movement as a cudgel against Democrats, who have underscored that very few of their members actually support defunding the police. A handful of Democrats pushed for amendments to Buck’s resolution to turn the tables on the GOP, including by highlighting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Buck’s bill is titled, “Expressing support for local law enforcement officers and condemning efforts to defund or dismantle local law enforcement agencies.” The Rules Committee is slated to consider the resolution Monday.
POLICE Act of 2023
Under a proposal from Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), assaulting a law enforcement officer could trigger deportation for immigrants. The measure attracted over a dozen amendment attempts, including one that carves out an exception for those who served in the National Guard or in the U.S. Armed Forces.
“To make the assault of a law enforcement officer a deportable offense, and for other purposes,” the bill simply states.
It is also known as the Protect Our Law Enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement Act of 2023. The Rules Committee is set to consider it Monday.
Retired officer firearm purchase
Legislation from Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) instructs the General Services Administration to set up a program permitting officers to purchase “a retired handgun from the Federal agency that issued the handgun to such officer.”
Typically, retired firearms are ordered to be scrapped. The bill is titled the Federal Law Enforcement Officer Service Weapon Purchase Act. It was also on the docket for the Rules Committee to consider Monday.
D.C. police reform
Republicans in the Senate are eyeing legislation this week to undercut a Washington, D.C., City Council bill that imposed more stringent discipline standards on police officers, according to Roll Call.
Last month, the House advanced a measure to nix the city’s Comprehensive Policing And Justice Reform Amendment Act. President Joe Biden’s White House has already made it clear he will veto such a proposal if it makes it to his desk.
The D.C. law banned the use of chokeholds, mandated body camera footage of shootings be divulged to the public within five days, imposes restrictions on the use of chemicals for crowd control, and more.
Under the Home Rule Act, Congress can pass a resolution to overturn a district law. Congress deployed that power recently to spike a D.C. crime reform bill, but the city later withdrew it when Biden opted not to veto the overturn.
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Many Democrats have joined Republicans in paying tribute to police. Biden even countered calls to defund the police in an ode to them.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1658087334573666306?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
“Let’s be very clear. The answer is not to defund the police,” Biden said. “It is to provide you with the resources and training to be the partners and protectors of the communities that are in need.”