I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3217 
To provide that Federal funds may not be made available to lawless 
jurisdictions, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 13, 2021 
Mr. ROSENDALE (for himself, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, Mr. BABIN, Mr. DUN-
CAN, Mr. MOONEY, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, Mrs. BOEBERT, Mr. 
NORMAN, Mr. BUDD, Mr. PERRY, and Mr. ROY) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide that Federal funds may not be made available 
to lawless jurisdictions, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lawless Cities Ac-
countability Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) It is the policy and purpose of the United 
States Government to protect the lives and property 
of all people in the United States from unlawful acts 
of violence and destruction. Without law and order, 
democracy cannot function, Americans cannot exer-
cise their rights to peaceful expression, assembly, 
and protest, property is destroyed, and innocent citi-
zens are injured or killed. 
(2) Unfortunately, lawlessness has beset some 
of our States and cities. Over the past year, several 
State and local governments have contributed to the 
violence and destruction in their jurisdictions by fail-
ing to enforce the law, disempowering and signifi-
cantly defunding their police departments, and re-
fusing to accept offers of Federal law enforcement 
assistance amidst widespread, sustained violence. As 
a result of these State and local government policies, 
acts of violence and destruction have skyrocketed 
and continue unabated in many of America’s cities. 
(3) By shirking their responsibility to carry out 
law and order, lawless jurisdictions enabled violent 
protestors and rioters to inflict well over $1 billion 
in property damage across the United States. Fed-
eral and State buildings, businesses, and infrastruc-
ture were indiscriminately destroyed by arsonists, 
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vandals, and looters—harming their owners and tax-
payers—who ultimately bear the costs of unchecked 
anarchy in American cities. 
(4) The failure of cities to enforce the rule of 
law has severe consequences and costs lives. In 
2020, homicides in major American cities sky-
rocketed by 33 percent, a trend that continued into 
the first quarter of 2021. In certain cities such as 
Portland and Minneapolis, the surge in death and 
destruction is even starker, with homicides increas-
ing by 733 percent in Portland and 82 percent in 
Minneapolis. The Federal government cannot sit idly 
by as property is damaged and citizens are mur-
dered in lawless jurisdictions. 
(5) After being continually demeaned by radical 
activists and politicians, having police funding 
slashed, being disempowered from enforcing the rule 
of law, and witnessing their cities deteriorate into 
lawless zones, our dedicated law enforcement per-
sonnel are demoralized and leaving the force in 
record numbers. In 2020, the New York Police De-
partment saw 5,300 personnel leave the department, 
a 75 percent increase from the previous year. The 
Minneapolis Police Department saw 105 officers 
leave the department in 2020, more than double 
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their average yearly attrition rate. Compounding the 
challenge of mass retirements and an inordinate 
number of law enforcement personnel on leaves of 
absence, police departments are facing unprece-
dented recruitment challenges, leaving departments 
ill-equipped to handle the dramatic rise in violent 
crime. 
(6) The Federal Government provides States 
and localities with hundreds of billions of dollars 
every year, which fund a wide array of programs, 
such as housing, public transportation, job training, 
and social services. These funds have been collected 
from American taxpayers who entrusted their money 
to the Federal Government to serve our communities 
and our citizens. 
(7) The Federal Government should not allow 
taxpayer dollars to fund jurisdictions that fail to en-
force the rule of law and protect their residents. To 
ensure that Federal funds are neither unduly wasted 
nor spent in a manner that directly violates our Gov-
ernment’s promise to protect life, liberty, and prop-
erty, it is imperative that the Federal Government 
ensure Federal funds and grants do not go to juris-
dictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruc-
tion in America’s cities. This is critical to ensure 
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SEC. 4. DEFINITION. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘lawless jurisdiction’’ means a 
State or political subdivision of a State that— 
(1) forbids a law enforcement agency from in-
tervening to restore order amid widespread or sus-
tained violence or destruction; 
(2) has withdrawn law enforcement protection 
from a geographical area or structure that law en-
forcement officers are lawfully entitled to access, but 
have been officially prevented from accessing or per-
mitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, 
except when law enforcement officers are briefly 
withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve 
safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing un-
lawful incident posing an imminent threat to the 
safety of individuals or law enforcement officers; 
(3) disempowers or defunds law enforcement 
agencies; or 
(4) refuses to accept an offer of law enforce-
ment assistance from the Federal Government amid 
widespread or sustained violence or destruction in 
the jurisdiction, during which the jurisdiction has 
been unable to restore order. 
Æ 
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