[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 84 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 218--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT 
                     OFFICERS OF THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. VANCE (for himself and Mr. Cassidy) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 218

       Whereas more than 800,000 law enforcement officers in the 
     United States risk their lives daily to serve and protect 
     their communities;
       Whereas there are more than 23,000 fallen law enforcement 
     officers honored on the walls of the National Law Enforcement 
     Officers Memorial, dating back to 1786, when the first law 
     enforcement officer in the United States died in the line of 
     duty;
       Whereas, during the 2 years preceding the date of adoption 
     of this resolution, more than 800 law enforcement officers 
     died in the United States in the line of duty, the highest 
     number of such deaths over a 2-year period in the history of 
     the United States;
       Whereas some politicians and interest groups have responded 
     to the risks faced by law enforcement officers with calls to 
     ``defund'' or even ``abolish'' law enforcement agencies 
     across the United States;
       Whereas defunding law enforcement agencies or otherwise 
     demoralizing law enforcement officers will make it more 
     difficult for officers to intervene in dangerous situations 
     and high-risk neighborhoods;
       Whereas a law enforcement officer will typically encounter 
     between 400 and 600 traumatic events during the career of the 
     officer, compared with 3 or 4 traumatic events encountered by 
     the average citizen;
       Whereas the unusually high number of traumatic events 
     experienced by law enforcement officers has contributed to a 
     54 percent higher suicide rate among officers than among 
     individuals in other jobs;
       Whereas the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the Department 
     of Justice has confirmed that there is no statistically 
     significant difference between the rates at which major 
     racial and ethnic groups are stopped in police-initiated 
     interactions;
       Whereas the innovative and dedicated efforts of law 
     enforcement officers have successfully brought down crime 
     rates from historic highs;
       Whereas the ``defund and defame the police'' movement that 
     began in 2020 has--
       (1) coincided with a dramatic rise in homicides and other 
     violent crimes in cities and towns across the United States; 
     and
       (2) caused the retention and recruitment of sworn law 
     enforcement officers to drop to a dangerously low level, with 
     current numbers showing fewer law enforcement officers per 
     resident than at any other time during the 25-year period 
     preceding the date of adoption of this resolution;
       Whereas, in 2020--
       (1) 60,105 law enforcement officers were assaulted by 
     criminals, resulting in 18,633 injuries; and
       (2) the number of arrests made by law enforcement officers 
     throughout the United States dropped to 7,630,000, a 24 
     percent reduction from 2019 and the fewest number of such 
     arrests in 25 years;
       Whereas 72 percent of law enforcement officers surveyed are 
     less willing to stop and question suspicious individuals than 
     they were before 2020;
       Whereas the rhetoric associated with the ``defund and 
     defame the police'' movement has created an increasingly 
     dangerous environment for law enforcement officers in which, 
     in 2022 alone, 331 officers were shot, 62 of whom were shot 
     fatally; and
       Whereas supporting law enforcement officers with the 
     equipment, training, and funding needed to protect 
     communities in the United States from criminal violence has 
     long received overwhelming public support from across the 
     political spectrum: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) highly respects and values the law enforcement officers 
     of the United States and greatly appreciates all that those 
     officers do to protect and serve their communities;
       (2) remembers and honors law enforcement officers who have 
     experienced a death or injury in the line of duty and the 
     families of those officers;
       (3) calls for increased measures to be taken to maximize 
     the safety and well-being of law enforcement officers, 
     including improvements relating to the retention and 
     recruitment of officers, improved training and equipment for 
     officers, tougher penalties for assaulting or killing an 
     officer, and increased mental health resources for officers;
       (4) strongly condemns the misguided and disastrous movement 
     to ``defund and defame the police''; and
       (5) calls on all levels of government to ensure that law 
     enforcement officers receive the support and resources needed 
     to keep all communities in the United States safe.

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