Grassley: Americans are Rejecting Policies that Kill

Prepared Floor Remarks by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

 Americans are Rejecting Policies that Kill

Monday, July 11, 2022

I stood up here not too long ago to talk about the dangers of bad blue city policies. Ideas like defunding and degrading the police, progressive prosecutors and bail reform. These policies are dangerous for our citizens, our children and our communities.

 

Well, a few weeks later, and I’m up here again with an update: Americans agree with me.

 

Americans are concerned about the nationwide rise in violent crime. And they don’t trust politicians who allow crimes to continue.

 

And I don’t blame them.

 

New York Governor Kathy Hochul was forced to change bail laws to allow judges to set bail for more repeat offenders and those accused of gun crimes. About 66 percent of registered voters in New York overwhelmingly supported that change.

 

And why wouldn’t they? Keeping dangerous criminals away from the innocent public makes our communities safer. And New Yorkers now know it.

 

Across the country in San Francisco, of all places, another referendum on safety happened. Voters there recalled their progressive prosecutor Chesa Boudin.

 

Boudin refused to charge or prosecute certain violent crimes, like felony domestic violence.

 

After only two years on the job, even liberal San Franciscans rejected his soft-on-crime approach and fired him.

 

And why wouldn’t they? Prosecuting dangerous criminals for the crimes they commit makes our communities safer. And San Franciscans now know it.

 

Nationwide, it looks like Americans have cause for hope when it comes to violent crime. Compared to last year, many cities are a bit safer.

 

But a few cities are getting worse. Why? Because they’re still using the bad ideas that Americans are rejecting.

 

Homicides in Los Angeles are up compared to this time last year. Well, they’ve got progressive prosecutor George Gascon.

 

Homicides in Washington, D.C., are up. Well, we’ve got police defunding to thank for that. Now, the city is trying to play “catch up” to fix its mistake while citizens are in danger.

 

Homicides in Milwaukee are up. Well, they’ve got bad bail reform policies. Those policies let a dangerous man who should have been locked up run his car through a parade last year.

 

Now, I want to spend a minute focusing on bail reform.

 

We know that only a few hundred people commit most of the murders in any given city. These criminals get arrested an average of twelve times!

 

And, most Americans know what logic tells us: keeping people who commit violent crimes off of the streets increases public safety.

 

Well, it seems pretty simple to me. If most crime is committed by a small group of individuals who commit crimes over and over again, and we can keep those repeat offenders away from innocent Americans, then we should.

 

The best way to do this is through effective bail policies. The federal bail system assesses the risks to society posed by the individual who is arrested. States would do well to mirror that system.