U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding crime on Feb. 16:
“A growing share of American citizens across the political spectrum say tackling rampant crime must be a top priority. And it’s no mystery why they feel that way.
“In my hometown, one neighborhood in East Louisville just endured more than 30 burglaries in thirty days.
“Last year, Washington D.C. 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 here in D.C.
“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 roaming the streets.
“As the Congresswoman herself put it afterward: ‘We have to get these repeat offenders off the streets.’ Darn right we do.
“Unfortunately, the radical local government here is doing the opposite.
“The D.C. Council has responded to the crime wave 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 United States Congress final say over issues in our nation’s capital.
“And when the soft-on-crime local government has become this incompetent; when members of Congress can’t go about their daily lives without being attacked; when families cannot come to visit their own capital in safety; then it is high time the federal government provides some adult supervision.
“Senate Republicans, led by our colleague from Tennessee Senator Hagerty, are leading an effort to use the rightful authority of the 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.
“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 cannot wait.”
