[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 207 (Wednesday, December 1, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H6724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 OPPOSING THE ELIMINATION OF CASH BAIL

  (Mr. CLINE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, increasingly across this Nation and here in 
Washington, the voices of victims are being drowned out by radicals on 
the left seeking to eliminate cash bail. These people would rather see 
criminals walk free on our streets than see the rule of law upheld and 
our communities protected.
  Without appropriate incentives to appear before the court, we run the 
risk of defendants fleeing justice while victims and their families are 
left with nothing but fear and anguish.
  We cannot allow our system to fail them as it did in Waukesha, 
Wisconsin. Prior to plowing into a Christmas parade, convicted felon 
and career criminal, Darrell Brooks, was released on an inappropriately 
low $1,000 bond after being arrested on a slew of charges. That is 
astonishing to me. With his record, Mr. Brooks' bail should have never 
been so low, if awarded at all.
  So the next time my colleagues across the aisle suggest eliminating 
the cash bail system, I ask them to think of this tragedy and of the 
victims. Our bail system keeps criminals off the streets and our 
communities safe.

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