[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S3693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Biden Administration

  Mr. President, on another matter, in cities across America, soft-on-
crime policies are making the tough job of law enforcement even 
tougher.
  Earlier this month, President Biden declared that ``Americans are 
safer from violent crime today than a year ago.'' But even a quick look 
around our Nation's Capital shows that crime in many American cities is 
still unacceptably high.
  As of this past week, Washington, DC, has already seen 63 homicides 
and much more than 1,700 car thefts in 2024. Among these crimes was the 
deadly shooting of a 3-year-old girl who was hit by a stray bullet in a 
passing car. The child who was described as ``cheerful and chatty'' was 
just one of the youngest in a long list of this crime wave's innocent 
victims.
  Last year, Washington saw homicides rise 35 percent. The city's 
murder rate reached the highest level in a quarter century. And less 
than halfway through 2024, cities across the country are still 
grappling with familiar problems.
  In Los Angeles, home break-ins are rising, and residents report that 
police are complaining that their hands are tied. In Chicago, police 
reports show that crime has increased 69 percent since 2021. In 
Philadelphia, the effort to fire a soft-on-crime district attorney has 
gone all the way to the State supreme court.
  Surely President Biden isn't declaring victory over the lawlessness 
threatening American communities. Surely the fact that violent crime is 
hovering beneath breathtaking highs isn't a cause for celebration.
  As the head of one Washington nonprofit focused on preventing gun 
crimes put it, ``I know some of the repercussions that can come from 
taking a victory lap too soon.''
  Then again, it is not surprising that from a White House to city 
halls across the country, Democrat leaders are downplaying concerns 
about violent crime. If they looked this problem in the face, they 
would have to admit that their own policies are to blame.
  It shouldn't have to be this way. The American people deserve safe 
streets, and law enforcement deserves elected leaders who back the 
blue.