Andrew Harnik / AP Photo
GOP members of the House of Representatives convened a hearing on violent crime in D.C. yet again Thursday, echoing sentiments expressed in multiple previous hearings on the topic. Republicans lambasted local officials for what they painted as a lax posture toward crime, and condemned what they see as the U.S. Attorney for D.C’s prosecutorial failures.
Opening the hearing with a dramatic compilation of local TV news clips, the Republican members of the House of Representatives subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance portrayed D.C. as a city overrun with violent crime. They characterized the D.C. Council’s police reform efforts as moves that strained cops’ ability to control crime, and accused local legislators of trying to “defund the police.”
“No section of this city can be considered safe anymore,” said Andy Biggs (R-Arizona), chair of the subcomittee. “The Washington, D.C. city council has passed laws that emboldened criminals and hamstruang the police.”
In 2020, despite calls to defund the police from residents and activists, the council approved a budget that year that included a 1.6% increase in police department funding – giving MPD a total of $568 million. (Mayor Bowser’s budget initially proposed a 3% increase.)
Democrats on the committee, meanwhile, called the hearing a distraction, designed to “mislead the American people.” Much of the conversation mirrored the discussions held in previous congressional hearings on the...
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