[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 1, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H3051-H3052]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             POLICE REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) is 
recognized for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the 
minority leader.
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about the very 
important topic of police reform and qualified immunity.
  Last week, I joined my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in 
voting in favor of the Justice in Policing Act, a bill that the 
National Fraternal Order of Police said, ``we believe, after good-faith 
discussions, will create a law that will have a positive impact on law 
enforcement and policing in our country.''
  My Republican colleagues who voted in favor of this bill did so 
because we must move the legislative process and negotiations forward 
so we can begin to repair the social contract again between our police 
officers around the nation and the communities that they serve.
  That being said, we believe that the qualified immunity provision in 
the bill, as it is currently drafted, must be fixed so that we can 
ensure that we protect our hero police officers both from physical harm 
and potentially frivolous lawsuits.
  Qualified immunity is a judicially created doctrine that grants 
government officials who are performing discretionary functions 
immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official 
violated clearly established statutory or constitutional rights that a 
reasonable person would have been aware of.
  Madam Speaker, to put it simply, qualified immunity states that if an 
officer acts in good faith and is doing what he or she believes is in 
line with their responsibilities of being a police officer, then they 
are protected from personal liability.
  While I believe that qualified immunity is a very important doctrine, 
it should be reformed but not abolished. There must be reforms that 
address personal responsibility, accountability, and transparency in 
law enforcement, no doubt. However, the Justice in Policing Act 
includes a provision on qualified immunity that must be amended in 
conference committee prior to final passage. I, for one, will be 
insisting on that prior to any bill being sent to the President's desk.
  Madam Speaker, as it currently stands, this provision would specify 
that a defendant is not immune from lawsuits just because they were 
acting in a way that they thought was reasonable or lawful at the time 
or because they were not violating a clearly established law.
  The overwhelming majority of our Nation's police officers conduct 
themselves responsibly, appropriately, and within the confines of the 
law. Madam Speaker, I know this because I was one myself. We must 
reform qualified immunity to allow our police officers to act in a way 
they need to to perform their jobs while also removing protections that 
would shield those who illegally deny citizens of the rights given to 
them by the United States Constitution.
  Having served as a lifelong Federal law enforcement agent and a 
Federal prosecutor, I will be playing an active role in bridging this 
gap and bringing

[[Page H3052]]

our law enforcement officials in our communities together, as will my 
Republican colleagues who voted in favor, as we move to conference 
committee to merge the Senate and House proposals into one bill that 
works for everybody and protects our police officers.
  I will insist that the final package be written in a way that both 
protects citizens' constitutional and civil rights and preserves the 
noble profession of law enforcement--the profession that I have 
dedicated the majority of my adult life to, the profession that my 
great-uncle Phil sacrificed his life and paid the ultimate price for 
having been killed in the line of duty as an NYPD police officer.
  Madam Speaker, this moment calls on all of us to come together and 
repair this social contract so that we as Americans can start to heal. 
I firmly believe that we are all capable of rising to this challenge 
because my own community in Bucks and Montgomery Counties in 
Pennsylvania has been a model when it comes to police-community 
relations.
  We need to apply the community model of my amazing colleagues back 
home in law enforcement, always making improvements based on self-
reflection, listening, understanding, and learning, and show the rest 
of our Nation and the world that we are a country of law and order, a 
country that respects the rights, dignity, and equality of every single 
individual, and a country where police officers are one with the 
communities in which they serve, which is certainly the case back home.
  I am so proud of our law enforcement officers. We have a chance at 
real positive change, Madam Speaker. Let us not miss this moment. We 
can support our law enforcement officers and enact meaningful reform. 
I, for one, will be insisting on both before any final bill goes to the 
President's desk.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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