[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Crime

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, a growing share of American citizens 
across the political spectrum say tackling rampant crime must be a top 
priority. And it is certainly no mystery why they feel that way. Just 
take my own hometown. One neighborhood in East Louisville just endured 
more than 30 burglaries in 30 days.
  Last year, Washington, DC, saw 203 homicides. Those victims included 
18 children, a huge increase over the prior year.
  And 2023 is already off to an even worse start. Homicides and 
carjackings are already ahead of last year's pace. Last week, the 
city's crime wave touched Congress directly. A Congresswoman from 
Minnesota, Representative Angie Craig, was attacked in the elevator of 
her own apartment building right here in the District.
  It turns out the Congresswoman's attacker had been arrested and 
convicted no fewer than 12 times before, most recently for assaulting a 
Metropolitan police officer. But there he was, this career criminal, 
just out roaming the streets.
  As the Congresswoman herself put it afterwards:

       We have to get these repeat offenders off the street.

  You are darn right we do. Unfortunately, the radical local government 
here is doing precisely the opposite.
  The DC Council has responded to the crime wave--listen to this--with 
a new bill to make the city even softer on crime. It lowers maximum 
penalties for violent crimes and creates new ways to shorten the 
sentences of incarcerated felons.
  Well, the good news is the Constitution actually gives the U.S. 
Congress final say over issues in our Nation's Capital. And when the 
soft-on-crime local government has become completely incompetent; when 
Members of Congress can't go about their daily lives without being 
attacked; when families cannot come to visit our capital in safety, 
then it is about time the Federal Government provides some adult 
supervision.
  Senate Republicans, led by our colleague from Tennessee Bill Hagerty, 
are leading an effort to use the rightful authority of Congress to 
address this emergency.
  Last week, the Republican House passed their companion bill as well. 
And things have gotten so undeniably bad that more than 30 House 
Democrats crossed the aisle to support it.
  So I hope the Senate Democratic leader will put partisanship aside 
and turn to Senator Hagerty's measure quickly when we reconvene. The 
safety and security of our citizens simply cannot wait.