[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 14, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Crime

  Mr. President, now on an entirely different matter, when you combine 
the border crisis and the violent crime crisis, law and order ranks as 
the American people's No. 2 priority, second only to the inflation 
crisis.
  While Democrats' economic policies have waged war on working 
families' financial security, their soft-on-crime policies have eroded 
America's physical security. Cities, towns, and neighborhoods across 
the country are reeling from a wave of violent crime. Just last weekend 
my State, Kentucky, experienced a spate of murders and attempted 
murders that rattled residents and literally overwhelmed the police.
  Lexington saw four separate shooting incidents on Saturday night 
alone, leaving nine hurt, some with life-threatening injuries. A 
Lexington Police Department veteran described it as ``a pretty much 
unprecedented night in my 20 years.'' Officers were so tied up that 
they were unable to respond to other crimes and disorder.
  Louisville also saw a flurry of violence: the second highest number 
of homicides in one weekend this year; six people murdered in just 3 
days.
  Both cities documented record homicide numbers last year, and 
Lexington is on track to do so again. For Louisville, this is the third 
consecutive year of triple-digit killings.
  Now, of course, this crisis isn't just hitting Kentucky. These trends 
are nationwide.
  For years, the far left has impugned the motives and honor of police 
officers and taken aim at their funding.
  For years, top liberal donors have poured money into campaigns of 
radical district attorneys from big cities whose whole stated agenda is 
to not prosecute crimes.
  For years, Democratic elites have pushed for letting violent 
criminals out of prison. Democrats just nominated and confirmed a 
Supreme Court Justice who argued as a DC district judge that COVID 
justified--listen to this--letting every single prisoner in Washington, 
DC, custody out of jail and back on the streets.
  This has been an intentional, strategic campaign from the far left, 
and now Americans are being robbed, carjacked, assaulted, and murdered. 
Their families are being poisoned with illegal drugs.
  Just weeks ago, Senator Rubio gave the Senate a vote to increase 
funding for fighting crime and keeping dangerous criminals locked up. 
Every Senate Republican supported this; every Democrat joined on party 
lines to block it.
  Later today, our colleagues from Tennessee will hold a press 
conference to discuss the horrifying case of Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-
old mom and teacher in Memphis, whom a career criminal forced into an 
SUV and murdered while she was out for her morning run. The suspect had 
multiple violent crimes on his rap sheet dating back to age 14 and had 
just been let out of prison early for a prior kidnapping.
  So there are far too many tragic stories like Eliza Fletcher's being 
written every day and every week all across our country.
  Entire neighborhoods have become unwalkable. In many places, public 
transit has become nearly unusable.
  A few months ago, the Washington Post profiled 1 day in the life of a 
female immigrant busdriver in Denver who gets screamed at and 
threatened by lunatics on a daily basis.
  Just yesterday, a 49-year-old was stabbed in the back while riding 
the subway in New York City after he asked another passenger to just 
quiet down.
  Our Democratic friends like to talk about fairness and compassion. 
There is nothing fair or compassionate about letting cities descend 
into violence and chaos. There is nothing fair or compassionate about 
legislating like career criminals deserve fifth and sixth chances more 
than young mothers deserve the right to go out for a morning jog and 
come home alive.
  Stable prices, reliable energy, secure borders, and basic public 
safety are four of the most basic duties that any government in a 
civilized country owes its citizens. These things are the absolute 
minimum that American families ought to be able to count on--the bare 
minimum--and the Democrats' one-party government cannot deliver it.