[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 153 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8093-H8096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1430


                             General Leave

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 4118.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation is experiencing an epidemic of violence, 
particularly gun violence, that is ravaging communities large and small 
across the United States. Research shows that

[[Page H8094]]

violence begets more violence. It is a vicious cycle.
  H.R. 4118, the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, would provide grant 
funding for community violence intervention programs and youth 
workforce development programs to help prevent gun violence and other 
violent crimes, and to provide critical support services to people and 
communities who are in dire need of help.
  In addition to saving countless lives, it would also save billions of 
dollars. It is estimated that gun violence costs this Nation a 
staggering $280 billion every single year.
  This legislation would help establish evidence-based community 
violence intervention, or CVI programs, staffed by specialists with 
ties to their communities. These programs connect people at risk of 
committing violence, and those at risk of being victimized by violence, 
with intensive counseling and support services.
  Because we know that access to job training, apprenticeship, and 
other workforce development programs are effective tools in reducing 
community violence, the bill would also support workforce development 
programs for youth in communities that are disproportionately impacted 
by violence.
  Experience tells us that these programs work, reducing rates of 
homicide and other gun violence by as much as 50 percent. We must 
invest in these remarkably effective programs so that we can finally 
break the cycle of violence, which has shattered so many communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative  Steve Horsford for introducing 
this important legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz), my friend and colleague, a member 
of the Judiciary Committee.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, it is head-spinning that House Democrats 
either want to defund the police, as Judiciary member Cori Bush does, 
or they want to Federalize the police, as Judiciary Chairman Jerry 
Nadler does. I am against both, here is why.
  In my community, the voters in one of the reddest counties in Florida 
voted to raise their own taxes to fund school resource officers. 
Protecting our schools was that important, and we understood that that 
was the responsibility of our community.
  Now, as places like Detroit, Chicago, almost every major metropolitan 
area in California, defund their police as some virtue signal, as some 
way to sacrifice the safety of their constituents on the altar of 
wokeism, now they want my Florida constituents to subsidize the bad 
decisions that they make at the State and local level, both 
constitutionally and practically.
  The police power is not a power of the Federal Government, it is a 
power of our State and local governments. When we excessively entangle 
ourselves in that, we do to law enforcement what we shamefully did to 
education.
  In our schools all across this land there was innovation, creativity, 
school projects, different ways to learn. Then the Republicans and 
Democrats joined with President Bush in passing the No Child Left 
Behind Act, and we got Common Core, in this theory that we had to have 
every kid on the same page, in the same book, on the same day, and we 
lost what was so special about it. We don't want to do that now to law 
enforcement. You see, this entire package of legislation today is 
intended to do just that.
  They don't want to fund the police. They want to edict the police to 
the Federal dollar. That comes with a more efficient way to ensure 
centralized decisionmaking, not the localized decisionmaking that our 
Constitution promises, and that has offered great promise to this 
country for generations.
  Do not buy this theory that this legislation is intended to help law 
enforcement. The best thing we could do for law enforcement is get out 
of their way, have their back, and call out the politicians like those 
in Congress who keep trying to defund the police and devalue the 
commitment they make to our communities.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I didn't know that the Federal Government 
funding police was against the Republican Party position.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. 
Horsford), the sponsor of this legislation.
  Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, today, we have the opportunity to pass 
landmark legislation to make our communities across America safe, to 
reduce crime and save lives.
  I am elated that the legislation I authored, the Break the Cycle of 
Violence Act, is receiving a floor vote today and will pass.
  I give special thanks to my colleagues, Representatives Robin Kelly, 
Lucy McBath, Lisa Blunt Rochester, and   Joe Neguse for working around 
the clock with me on this legislation, and Chairwoman Beatty for her 
strong leadership.
  Crime and violence don't happen in a vacuum. It happens when people 
lose hope and don't see opportunity in their lives or readily available 
in their communities. For decades, politicians in this Chamber have 
stoked fear about urban crime to divide us, while refusing to invest in 
real solutions.
  Let me be clear, my father was shot and killed when I was a teenager. 
So this is not about politics for me; it is personal. That is why we 
have to focus on preventing crime before it ever starts. That is what 
the Break the Cycle of Violence Act will do.

  It invests $5 billion in funding for anti-violence programs and $1.5 
billion to provide workforce training and job opportunities for youth 
ages 16 to 24. This money will invest in proven, community-based 
violence intervention programs to build safer communities. This is 
about saving lives and preventing crime, and our constituents are 
counting on us to get it done.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand here today as I prepare to cast a vote in favor 
of the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, historic legislation that will 
reduce crime and save lives so that so many people in our community 
don't have to experience the pain that I have.
  Every day, 110 Americans are killed with guns and over 200 are shot 
and wounded.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentleman from Nevada.
  Mr. HORSFORD. Today, gun violence remains the leading cause of 
premature death for Black men as well as the number two cause of 
premature death for Latino men and Black women.
  Mr. Speaker, I am casting my vote for my father; for my constituent, 
Sean'Jerrion Coleman, a youth leader in Las Vegas; and so many other 
Americans throughout the country.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Greg Jackson at Community Justice Action Fund; 
Pastor Troy Martinez in Las Vegas; Erica Ford; Giffords: Courage to 
Fight Gun Violence--some many other groups--Everytown for Gun Safety; 
Brady: United Against Gun Violence; and Moms Demand Action.
  Let's pass H.R. 4118 and break the cycle of violence. This is about 
supporting and funding the communities that need law enforcement.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).
  Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I find myself pretty upset today. My 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle are trying to deceive the 
American people. Democrats are only bringing up these bills today 
because 46 days from a midterm election they want the American people 
to suddenly and miraculously believe that they care about the crime 
crisis plaguing our Nation.
  There were 219 Democrats who voted to defund the police and take away 
resources from law enforcement, including qualified immunity. There 
were 219 Democrats who voted for legislation that effectively destroyed 
the profession that I love so much. You can laugh, Mr. Chair, I wore 
the uniform of local law enforcement, and that smirk upsets me.
  Make no mistake, Democrats are the reason recruitment, retention, and 
morale of law enforcement officers is at an all-time low and crime is 
at an all-time high. The timing of these bills is an insult to the law 
enforcement community and the American people.
  To my Democrat colleagues: Where were you when the protesters came to 
my State of Minnesota and set up

[[Page H8095]]

GoFundMe pages to raise money and bail out violent criminals who 
assaulted and beat innocent people?
  Where were you when a Member of the California delegation came to 
Minnesota to stir up aggression and hatred toward my brothers and 
sisters in the blue and brown?
  Where were you when officers were being violently assaulted and 
killed each day across this country?
  Where were you when America's police officers and their families were 
begging for support and needed elected officials to have their backs? 
Where were you?
  I will tell you where you were. They were here in this Chamber 
pushing police departments to be defunded. They wanted to defund, 
dismantle, and disarm the police.
  Regardless of how I vote today, I have to tell you that I am furious 
that days before an election, and for political purposes only, these 
bills are being brought up by my colleagues. The American people have 
suffered enough, and at the end of the day the American people and our 
law enforcement community do not appreciate being used as pawns for 
political gain.
  To the American people, I know the crime crisis you and your families 
are facing is very real. I will not stop my work to reinvigorate the 
law enforcement profession, to hold lax prosecutors accountable, and to 
put violent criminals away.
  Mr. Speaker, my time in uniform may be over, but my watch will never 
end.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks 
to the Chair.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a member of the Judiciary Committee.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, if you could ever be fed up--I am fed 
up. Fed up, and fed up with the babbling that we are hearing from 
Republicans on the other side.
  You know, the question should be: Where were you on January 6 when 
law enforcement were bleeding on the steps of the United States 
Capitol, passing out, and dying? Where were you? This is not a 
political circumstance. These are people who are standing here because  
Steve Horsford had a personal experience.
  The Judiciary Committee has consistently supported intervention 
programs dealing with countering violence. This bill, Break the Cycle 
of Violence Act, is needed in America. Stand up with us, Republicans. A 
bill that takes a vital step toward reducing community violence and 
improving public safety by investing in people, their communities, and 
establish evidence-based programs proven to help reduce violence. Our 
law enforcement are begging for this.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentlewoman from Texas.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, our Nation has a crisis of violence, 
particularly gun violence, and it is tearing at our communities.
  I have a husband and a baby shot dead, the mother calling: Where is 
my husband and baby? The baby is found dead.
  The cause of gun violence, $280 billion, $700 annually for every 
American, $488,000 for shootings dealing with medical and criminal 
expenses.
  My brothers and sisters, where are we in standing for America and law 
enforcement and families and children?
  Support H.R. 4118 so that we can divert children away from violence 
and move toward opportunities. I don't know what you are saying. I am 
fed up. Do something about it so that we can fight for justice in this 
country and stand for people who want to be safe in their community.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4118, the ``Break the Cycle of 
Violence Act,'' a bill that takes a vital step towards reducing 
community violence and improving public safety by investing in people, 
their communities, and established, evidence-based programs proven to 
help reduce violence.
  Our nation has a crisis of violence, particularly gun violence, that 
is tearing our communities apart. Violent crime is not a blue or red 
state problem--it ravages large cities, small towns, and even rural 
communities. It causes unspeakable pain to its victims and their 
families--regardless of party affiliation.
  The bill would provide $1.5 billion in workforce development grants 
for youth in communities that are disproportionately impacted by 
violence; and $5 billion in grants over 8 years for evidence-based, 
community violence intervention programs likely to succeed--to develop 
and support:
  community outreach programs, staffed by violence intervention 
specialists with ties to their communities;
  hospital-based violence intervention programs to provide intensive 
counseling, peer support, and social services;
  group violence intervention strategies that provide culturally 
responsive support and services; and
  violence interruption and crisis management initiatives that respond 
to and mediate potentially violent conflicts and provide support 
services where violence has already occurred.
  While the human cost of gun violence is at times overwhelming, the 
economic costs for communities and taxpayers is also stunning. The 
total cost of gun violence is $280 billion--every year--with every 
American bearing $700 of the cost annually as well.
  Because a single gun homicide costs taxpayers $448,000 in medical and 
criminal justice expenses and we know that community violence 
intervention programs have been shown to dramatically reduce rates of 
homicide and other gun violence by as much as 50 percent--and sometimes 
more--this bill will save lives and taxpayer dollars.
  Many violence intervention programs work side-by-side with law 
enforcement to stop violence before it starts and engage in targeted 
enforcement actions. Trained violence interrupters and crisis 
management specialists do the same, while also providing trauma-
informed grief counseling.
  We know these programs work. In communities across the country, from 
New Jersey to Nebraska, from Massachusetts to Missouri, community 
violence intervention programs have reduced incidences of homicide and 
other gun violence by as much as 50 percent, sometimes more.
  Recognizing the critical role that education, training, and viable 
employment play in unlocking economic mobility, long-term stability, 
thereby preventing violence, H.R. 4118 would divert young people away 
from the circumstances that foster gun violence toward opportunities to 
gain useful skills to obtain good jobs that pay a living-wage.
  If we are truly going to break the cycle of violence--we must 
acknowledge that violence is neither red nor blue--support programs 
that address the root causes of violence, and give aid to those who 
need it most--through the community members and leaders who know them 
best.
  I commend Representative Steven Horsford for his work on this 
important bill and urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I would say, if this bill was so important--
we have had over 20 markups in the Judiciary Committee--why didn't this 
bill come up? We have had markups in the last 2 days on one occasion, 
so I don't know why this bill didn't come up.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this is about giving dollars to community organizers. 
This bill is most definitely--$5 billion goes to Health and Human 
Services, $1.5 billion goes to the Department of Labor, zero money goes 
to law enforcement.
  In the last bill, they could at least make that case somewhat. This 
bill you can't. It doesn't give one penny to law enforcement. In fact, 
the legislation explicitly says it can't go to police officers and it 
can't go to police departments.
  But what it does do is this: sets up an Office of Community Violence 
Intervention to administer programs or activities related to violence 
intervention; it sets up a Community Violence Intervention Advisory 
Committee; it sets up a National Community Violence Response Center. 
Three new bureaucracies in the Department of HHS. I mean, wow.

                              {time}  1445

  This is all about taking money, taking American tax dollars from 
communities who did fund their police and setting up three new 
bureaucracies, $5 billion for community organizers.
  If that is what you are for, vote for it, but I sure ain't. I know 
the folks I represent and, I would guess, most Americans aren't for 
that.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Jordan apparently isn't listening. This 
is a package of bills. The last bill, which

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he opposed, appropriated money for police. This bill complements it by 
appropriating money for antiviolence intervention.
  Mr. Speaker, our communities have seen enough violence and bloodshed. 
The Break the Cycle of Violence Act gives us the opportunity to prevent 
violence before it starts and to provide critical support to our most 
impacted communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in support of 
this crucial legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1377, the 
previous question is ordered on the bill.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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