Dozens of House Democrats call on leaders to increase police funding

More than three dozen House Democrats on Tuesday sent a letter to their leaders urging them to increase funding to police departments amid a rise in crime in the U.S. 

The letter, first obtained by Punchbowl News, was sent to the offices of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) 

In the letter, the group of lawmakers shared their concerns about the rising crime rate in the country over the past two years and ask for bipartisan legislation to increase police funding in an effort to combat the issue. 

“That is why we have consistently advocated for commonsense, bipartisan legislation to increase investment in local police departments to boost the numbers, retention, training, and accountability of law enforcement officers on the beat,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. 

The lawmakers also shared their disapproval with an effort to package police funding with fiscal 2023 appropriations, noting that the move might not be feasible, will prevent lawmakers from showing their support for law enforcement and could limit bipartisan support for the measure.

The Democrats also suggested a series of bills that House leadership should take up. 

“The House Judiciary Committee has made clear to several members that it has no intention of bringing any law enforcement bills through the markup process,” the letter reads. “Therefore, we implore you to please use your power to bring these bills to the Floor for up or down votes, as you did recently with the Protecting Our Kids Act bill, so that every member can be on the record and their constituents can know where they stand.”

The letter also asked Clyburn, Pelosi and Hoyer to meet with them next week to have a discussion on the matter, saying this is a need “to make our communities safer from criminals.” 

The letter was signed by 32 lawmakers, including Reps. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.). 

Law enforcement funding has become a hot topic in the past few months as crime has risen in the U.S. 

Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) told Axios on Thursday that she will fund police departments in the state if she is elected governor in November. 

“When we make smart investments in our law enforcement, we get better officer recruitment, we get better retention, we get better interaction with the community and we get a safer Georgia,” Abrams told the media outlet.