(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) - 2021-06-16 GOP Crime To SJL Re Hearing Request

June 16, 2021
The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee

Chair
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chair Jackson Lee:
We urge you to immediately schedule a hearing of the Subcommittee on Crime,

Terrorism, and Homeland Security to examine dangerous calls to “defund the police” and the
corresponding increase in violent crime in American cities. Radical left-wing proposals to
defund police forces threaten public safety and put law enforcement officers at risk.
The reckless decisions to defund police forces—and the Biden administration’s apathy
towards these actions—have had a real effect on American communities. Homicides have
increased in many of the cities that have defunded their police forces.1 Other violent crimes are
also on the rise in many of these cities.2 After slashing its police budget by nearly $1 billion,
New York City saw a 97 percent rise in shootings and almost a 45 percent increase in
homicides.3 Austin, Texas, saw a 50 percent spike in homicides.4 Los Angeles, California,
experienced an increase of 11.6 percent in homicides.5
The defund the police movement has led to a decrease in officer retention rates for police
departments. In police departments across the country, veteran officers are opting for early
1
Julie Wernau and Joe Barnett, Police Wrestle with Surge in Crime in U.S. Cities Amid Defunding Efforts, Wall St.
J. (July 11, 2020) https://www.wsj.com/articles/police-wrestle-with-surge-in-crime-in-u-s-cities-amid-defunding-
efforts-11594472400?mod=article_inline.
2
Jon Hilsenrath, Homicide Spike Hits Most Large U.S. Cities, Wall St. J. (Aug. 2, 2020),
https://www.wsj.com/articles/homicide-spike-cities-chicago-newyork-detroit-us-crime-police-lockdown-
coronavirus-protests-11596395181.
3
Ben Chapman, New York City Homicides and Shootings Rose Dramatically in 2020, Wall St. J. (Jan. 7, 2021),
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-homicides-and-shootings-rose-dramatically-in-2020-11610055243.
4
Jon Hilsenrath, Homicide Spike Hits Most Large U.S. Cities, Wall St. J. (Aug 2, 2020),
https://www.wsj.com/articles/homicide-spike-cities-chicago-newyork-detroit-us-crime-police-lockdown-
coronavirus-protests-11596395181.
5
Julie Wernau and Joe Barnett, Police Wrestle with Surge in Crime in U.S. Cities Amid Defunding Efforts, Wall St.
J. (July 11, 2020) https://www.wsj.com/articles/police-wrestle-with-surge-in-crime-in-u-s-cities-amid-defunding-
efforts-11594472400?mod=article_ inline.
June 16, 2021
Page 2
retirement and departments are failing to attract new officers. In New York City the NYPD saw a
72 percent increase in police retirements last year alone.6 With over 25 cities across the country
either defunding their police departments or considering these radical measures, an estimated
4,000 officers have left the nation’s police forces in the last year.7
Republicans have condemned violence and been united against radical calls to defund the
police. However, many Democrats, including several on this Committee, have expressed support
for defunding police forces. In fact, when given an opportunity to support police and denounce
the defunding of police, Democrats on the Committee voted unanimously to support state and
local governments that defund their police departments.8 As a candidate for president, President
Biden proclaimed that he “absolutely” agreed to “redirect” funds that were traditionally allocated
to state and local police departments.9 He openly declared that America’s police forces had
“become the enemy.”10
We ask that you schedule a hearing in the near future to allow Subcommittee Members to
hear from law enforcement and civic leaders about how the increase in violent crime attributable
to defunding of police. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Andy Biggs Jim Jordan

Ranking Member Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Crime,
Terrorism, and Homeland Security
Steve Chabot Louie Gohmert

Subcommittee on Crime, Subcommittee on Crime,
Terrorism, and Homeland Security Terrorism, and Homeland Security
6
Anthony DeStefano, Cops Retiring at Levels not Seen Since 2016, the NYPD Says, Newsday (Jan. 27, 2021),
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/crime/nypd-retirements-2020-
1.50133524#:~:text=By%20the%20end%20of%202020,2016%2C%20when%201%2C376%20cops%20retired.
7
Charles Lehman, Police Departments on the Brink, City J. (Nov. 11, 2020) https://www.city-journal.org/police-
departments-on-the-brink.
8
Amend. by Rep. Dan Bishop to H.R. 2453, 117th Cong. (2021).
9
Molie Mansfield, ‘They Become the Enemy’ Joe Biden Calls to ‘Redirect’ Police Funding and Demilitarize Cops,
but Camp Says ‘no’ to Black Lives Matter’s ‘Defund,’ The Sun (July 8, 2020), https://www.the-
sun.com/news/1107488/joe-biden-defund-the-police-campaign/.
10
Id.
June 16, 2021
Page 3
W. Gregory Steube Tom Tiffany

Thomas Massie Victoria Spartz

Scott Fitzgerald Burgess Owens


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June 16, 2021

The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee

Dear Chair Jackson Lee:

We urge you to immediately schedule a hearing of the Subcommittee on Crime,

Andy Biggs Jim Jordan

Steve Chabot Louie Gohmert

W. Gregory Steube Tom Tiffany

Thomas Massie Victoria Spartz

Scott Fitzgerald Burgess Owens

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