House Democrats distance themselves from defund police movement: ‘It takes more money, not less’

Democrats on a key House committee Wednesday distanced themselves from the defund-the-police movement as they advanced a spending bill with a nearly $1 billion boost for law enforcement.

“Yes, I heard the rhetoric about defunding the police, but this is not what this is,” said Rep. Matt Cartwright, Pennsylvania Democrat. “You can look beyond the rhetoric. We are not in favor of defunding the police.”

Mr. Cartwright’s comments came as the House Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies debated the Justice Department’s budget for the 2021 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

Since the May 25 killing of George Floyd by a White officer who pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck, protesters and activists have called for defunding police departments across the country.

Democratic mayors in major cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia have caved to protesters’ demands by slashing millions from their police department’s budgets.

Democrats on the panel, however, maintained that changes to the policing practices can only happen with increased funding.

“We have $500 million more going to states and municipalities to fund ongoing police-reform initiatives,” Mr. Cartwright continued. “That’s the answer. And that’s what Democrats believe in the House. It takes more money, not less.”

“It takes additional support, not defunding to solve this problem that we are facing in this country,” he continued.

Rep. Nita Lowey, New York Democrat and chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, agreed that funneling more money into the Justice Department coffers will transform policing.

“At a time when we must restore Americans’ faith in law enforcement, [this] bill provides strong funding increases to promote civil rights and improve police practices throughout the country, including more than $500 million for federal grants to states and localities to carry out police reform initiatives,” she said.

The proposed $33.2 billion Justice Department spending bill for the 2021 fiscal year, which begins in October, would increase the department’s budget by $972.5 million. Of the added funds, $596.7 million would go toward overhauling police practices.

The bill advanced out of the subcommittee and will now head to the full committee for approval. Ultimately, the GOP-controlled Senate would need to approve the measure.

The bill would spend $400 million to heighten independent reviews of local departments, including funds to probe police-misconduct accusations. Other funds include $50 million for training state and local law enforcement on best practices, $27.2 million to improve reporting on use-of-force incidents and $4 million to implement civilian review boards.

The bill would ban federal funds from going to police forces that don’t ban chokeholds, no-knock warrants and other methods that have come under fire in recent weeks.

The panel debated the spending bill as a second avenue to implement some of the changes to policing proposed in legislation the House passed earlier this year.

The Democratic-led House approved the measure, but it stalled in the Senate.

Sen. Tim Scott, who authored the upper chamber’s police overhaul bill, said Wednesday the bill is not dead and he expects an agreement with the house in the next few weeks.

“Folks are now calling me about the legislation from the other side, suggesting perhaps it is not dead,” he said. “We may have a Lazarus moment.”

Speaking with reporters after he and Attorney General William Barr met with civil rights and religious leaders in South Carolina, Mr. Scott said he would consider some changes to his bill.

“My bill did not have racial profiling in it, it’s in the House bill,” he said. “That’s something we would at least take a look at having more information on racial profiling so we can draw better conclusions.”

He also said he was open to eliminating qualified immunity, which would open up police officers to civil lawsuits if their actions result in death or injury. But he also cautioned against penalizing officers for following procedures.

“I think making it easier for victims’ families or the victim to sue departments or cities is a really important part of it,” he said. “I also think that keeping that officer by and large protected is an important part of making progress as well if we can find a way to thread the needle on both sides.”

Mr. Barr did not endorse either chamber’s measure. Instead, he called for a measured approach to overhauling policing practices.

While the nation’s top law enforcement official acknowledged a police force is necessary, he also called for oversight to prevent departments from becoming oppressive.

“It is a question of striking the right balance,” he said. “We need to support the police so they are out there protecting communities, but at the same time we have to be sure that there are not these abuses.”

“It is not defunding the police or doing away with police or demonizing police nor is it giving short shrift to legitimate concerns that are out there about police abuses and overreach,” Mr. Barr continued. “I think we need to strike a balance here.”