Title: Expressing support for the Nation's law enforcement officers.
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
This resolution offers sincere thanks and appreciation for the nation's law enforcement officers. It also recognizes the sacrifices of law enforcement officers and rejects efforts to defund and dismantle law enforcement agencies.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1071 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1071

     Expressing support for the Nation's law enforcement officers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2020

Mr. Buck (for himself, Mr. Budd, Mr. Norman, Mr. Biggs, Mr. Steube, Mr. 
 Gibbs, Mr. Gianforte, Mr. Harris, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Keller, Mr. Roy, Mr. 
     Gaetz, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. 
   McClintock, Mr. Marshall, Mr. LaMalfa, Mrs. Lesko, Mr. Brooks of 
     Alabama, Mr. Babin, and Mr. Lamborn) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing support for the Nation's law enforcement officers.

Whereas law enforcement officers protect the American people from criminals who 
        seek to perpetrate violence and harm innocent lives regardless of the 
        political circumstances of the day;
Whereas America's law enforcement community also seeks to assist the communities 
        they serve through a variety of nontraditional means, including 
        nonarrest pathways that connect individuals with treatment and recovery 
        programs to overcome addiction, and juvenile diversion programs to 
        prevent minors from entering the criminal justice system;
Whereas supporting law enforcement officers with the equipment, training, and 
        funding necessary to serve our communities and keep our streets safe has 
        long been a bipartisan issue, dating back to President Clinton and then-
        Senator Biden joining their Republican colleagues to pass the Violent 
        Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994;
Whereas law enforcement officers willingly face dangerous circumstances and the 
        threat of serious bodily injury or death on a daily basis to ensure the 
        safety of all Americans;
Whereas the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum reports that as of 
        December 31, 2019, 1,627 law enforcement officers had died in the line 
        of duty during the past decade, a rate of one law enforcement death 
        every 54 hours;
Whereas the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum's 2020 Mid-Year Law 
        Enforcement Officers Fatalities Report detailed that 65 law enforcement 
        officers have been killed in the line of duty this year, including 27 
        officers who were killed in firearms-related incidents;
Whereas peaceful protests sparked by the death of George Floyd have been 
        hijacked by violent extremists and progressive groups seeking to sow 
        discord, damage property, loot businesses, and inflict harm against 
        civilians and law enforcement officers;
Whereas law enforcement officers have been run over, shot, hit with objects, and 
        stabbed attempting to maintain peace and the rule of law during the 
        violent protests following George Floyd's death;
Whereas the New York Post reported on June 8, 2020, that more than 700 Federal, 
        State, and local law enforcement officers have been injured during 
        protests resulting from George Floyd's death;
Whereas progressive politicians and interest groups have responded to this 
        violence with calls to defund law enforcement agencies across the 
        Nation;
Whereas defunding or otherwise handcuffing law enforcement officers will make 
        officers less likely to intervene in dangerous situations and will 
        result in law enforcement pulling back from the neighborhoods they are 
        entrusted to protect;
Whereas violent crime increases when law enforcement is forced to withdraw from 
        neighborhoods;
Whereas, on May 31, 2020, 18 people were murdered in Chicago;
Whereas over the course of the full weekend, 85 Chicagoans were shot, 24 
        fatally, as residents experienced the deadliest weekend in the city's 
        history as police withdrew from the neighborhoods to deal with violent 
        rioting;
Whereas, for the month of June 2020, New York City reported steep increases in 
        violent crime, including a 130.3-percent increase in shooting incidents, 
        a 30-percent spike in murders, and a 118.2-percent rise in burglaries as 
        police faced a stiff round of budget cuts and reduced support from local 
        officials;
Whereas Minneapolis has seen a 55-percent increase in homicides this year as 
        Minneapolis City Council officials continue pushing to dismantle the 
        city's police department while hiring private security details for their 
        own personal protection; and
Whereas efforts to defund police departments will cause irreparable and lasting 
        damage to the Nation: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) offers its sincere thanks and appreciation to the 
        Nation's law enforcement officers who protect and serve our 
        communities;
            (2) recognizes the great sacrifice our law enforcement 
        officers make to keep the Nation safe; and
            (3) rejects the misguided and dangerous efforts to defund 
        and dismantle the Nation's law enforcement agencies.
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