[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 133 (Thursday, July 29, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H4257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BIDEN'S CRIME CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Rose) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROSE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention 
to the alarming spike in crime happening across major cities in our 
Nation.
  Right now American families are being forced to face an explosion of 
violent crime in their streets and in their neighborhoods. After the 
riots of the past year which saw the destruction of both public and 
private property, and as we undergo one of the worst crime waves in 
modern history, citizens are deservedly concerned about their safety 
and well-being.
  One of the essential functions of our government is to provide 
security to all citizens. Yet the Biden administration, after months of 
refusing to acknowledge the crime wave, finally addressed it by 
claiming that crime is down. That misleading claim couldn't be further 
from the truth. Crime is actually skyrocketing, and it is plaguing 
cities across the Nation.
  Homicides are up 533 percent--yes, 533 percent--in Portland, 50 
percent in Minneapolis, 35 percent in Philadelphia, and 24 percent in 
Los Angeles compared to the same time in 2020.
  On top of that, ambush-style attacks on police officers this year 
have increased 91 percent compared to this time last year. When 
Democrats defund the police, lawlessness is guaranteed to follow, 
complete with more crimes of all kinds, including murder. Left 
unchecked, such lawlessness will eventually destroy our Republic.
  So how did a nation of law and order become a nation of lawlessness 
and chaos in such a short period of time?
  Make no mistake, the socialist agenda of President Biden and far-left 
Democrats in Congress is to blame. Radical policies like defunding the 
police, abolishing prisons, and eliminating cash bail have contributed 
to the surging crime wave.
  We cannot tolerate vandalism or violence, and we surely cannot 
normalize a culture of violence by failing to fully prosecute those who 
are working to dismantle our cities. Tennesseans cannot bear much more 
of Biden's crime crisis. The solution to countering the crime wave is 
clear: we must fund and support our law enforcement agencies across the 
country.

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