WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) participated in a press conference and spoke on the Senate floor to continue shining a light on the rise in violent crime across the country. In 2021, a dozen major cities set all-time high homicide records – including several cities in the Midwest like St. Paul, Minnesota and Indianapolis, Indiana.
 
During the press conference, Grassley condemned dangerous anti-law enforcement rhetoric such as the “defund the police” movement for fueling police recruitment challenges across the country. He previously delivered remarks blaming hateful rhetoric for a rise in attacks on police, with intentional killings of police recently reaching a 20-year high. 
 
“I hear from Iowans all the time about the difficulty of recruiting people to be on the police forces – even in our good state of Iowa. What do you think you get when you talk for months and months about defunding police? You demoralize the police,” Grassley said.
 
Grassley also delivered a floor speech today to denounce the Biden administration’s approach to soaring crime, saying the administration has failed to present an adequate strategy for addressing the alarming spike in murders and attacks on police.
 
“How much more out of touch can the Biden administration be? Crime is happening in Americans’ daily lives all across America. Thousands of people a year are being murdered. Violent crime has increased for two years with no signs of slowing. The administration’s plan to fix the violent crime spike ... won’t seriously reduce violent crime. It focuses on issues that make up only a tiny fraction of violent crime or don’t contribute to it at all,” Grassley said.
 
Yesterday, Grassley spoke to local law enforcement officers at the Major County Sheriffs of America Conference with a clear message: Their leadership is appreciated – and needed – now more than ever. He pledged that he would continue to “champion efforts to combat violent crime and support law enforcement.”
 
As ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Grassley has been an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s lackluster approach to addressing violent crime. In December, Grassley led his Republican colleagues on the committee in calling for a full hearing on the rise in violent crime across the country. And in a Judiciary Committee hearing this morning, he once again called on Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to immediately hold a hearing on the rise in violent crime.
 
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