[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S81]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Crime

  Mr. President, on a different subject, residents of blue cities 
across America likely began the new year with the simple wish for the 
Democrats charged with keeping them safe, that this year would be the 
year they finally get serious about addressing violent crime. 
Unfortunately, if our Nation's Capital is any indication, 2024 is 
already off to a bleak--a bleak--start. Just 3 days into the year, the 
city has recorded 53 car thefts; one week in, there have been at least 
125 carjackings and 44 robberies; and one of the year's first homicide 
cases involved a body found in a trash can within sight of the Capitol 
Building.
  Unsurprisingly, violent crime in the new year is already following 
familiar patterns. To the surprise of absolutely no one involved, the 
perpetrator of a drug store robbery last week was the same man who had 
attempted to rob a single establishment six times--six times--last 
year. A six-time offender was still on the streets to try again.
  Washington's radical local government has lost the plot. The city's 
leaders aren't just failing to get rampant crime under control, they 
are actively making matters worse. Less than 4 years ago in a fit of 
woke righteousness, the city cut police funding by $15 million. Two 
years ago, prosecutors decided to prosecute two-thirds of the criminals 
officers brought in.
  And if catch-and-release wasn't enough, MPD officers are still 
subject to bizarre do-not-pursue orders that prevent them from doing 
their jobs. No wonder the department is suffering a recruiting crisis--
and at the exact time that law enforcement is needed the most.
  So I am sorry to say that the list of local disgraces doesn't end 
there. Late last year, the city's Mayor announced a program to fight 
the epidemic of carjackings in Washington by distributing free tracking 
devices for residents' valuables. Apparently, even if you can't expect 
the police to hunt them down, at least residents of our Nation's 
Capital can watch them--watch them--as they escape.
  The American people deserve to walk the streets of their Capital City 
without fear. They deserve leaders who care more about safety than 
about keeping up with the far left's new soft-on-crime orthodoxies.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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